Disclaimer: I don't own anything or anyone.
A/n: please r/r – thanks to all who have reviewed so far, thanks for your encouraging comments.
Chapter 13 – Brian helps out (and gets a date into the bargain)
Brian sat at his desk, not paying too much attention to the meeting that was taking place. He was rather more enjoying the company of the olive skinned, raven-haired beauty that sat before him.
"So Mr Johnson, what do you think to my proposal?" she said.
"Well, Miss Hammell, I am very impressed. I hadn't really been that interested in taking anyone on at the present, but your calibre of work is outstanding and I believe that you have the right attitude to help me take this company into the future. I'm afraid that the job I would be offering at the moment is slightly junior to what you had in mind, but in time I can not see any reason why you wouldn't be able to get what you wanted, if not exceed it."
"Thank you, Mr Johnson, thank you for this opportunity, I am very grateful to you."
"Brian please, if we are going to be working together than I think we can be a little more informal."
"Thanks, Brian. My name is Rebecca, well Becky to my close friends." She said, slightly less confidently than she had been before, "I'm so honoured by your faith in me. I followed your progress right through college. You were my favourite designer and engineer."
Now she had his undivided attention, had it just been a line or not, he wasn't sure, but it had made him sit up and take note of her. But then there was something in her air that made him think otherwise. 'She likes me!' he thought, 'she actually likes me. What the hell, I'm gonna get this girl to go out with me.'
"Becky" he said, "thank you for the compliment, it was very kind of you but you really don't need to suck up to me or anything, I know your good at what you do." She looked hurt for a moment until he said, "Your weren't sucking up were you. No. Uhm, look I need to make this up to you, perhaps we could start over, would you accept an invitation to dinner?"
She looked slightly shocked for a second, and then she smiled. "Okay" she said shyly, "I'd love to."
"Good. I've got your address, shall I pick you up at say 8 on Sunday. We can discuss a bit of business and get a little more familiar if you would like." He got up and moved around the desk to where she was sitting, took hold of her out stretched hand and helped her from her seat. He then gently kissed her hand before releasing it.
"Sounds great, I'll see you then, Brian." She said as she made her way to the door of his office. In a flash she had gone, 'but only until Sunday' he contemplated.
"Mr Johnson" his secretary said over the intercom. "There are a Mr John Bender and a Miss Leila Standish here to see you."
"Send them in," he said immediately.
The door opened again and this time John and Leila entered the room. "John, Leila, how are you both" he said uneasily.
"Brian, why are you so tense?" Leila asked.
"I guess I'm not too good around your father, especially when he wants to get violent" he replied.
"I'm not gonna get violent, you goon. I came here … we came here to see if you could possibly help us. If you can't then fine, I'm not going to hit you." John said.
Brian's face broke out into a smile, "thank you god" he said under his breath. He walked over to where John and Leila stood, looking at them both it wasn't hard to see their connection and let anyone try otherwise. Shaking John's hand he didn't expect the bear hug that was to come from him. Leila watched on and then joined in putting one arm around both of them, they brought her into the circle.
"So who was the broad?" John asked.
"My new junior designer." Brian replied.
"I didn't know you had an old one," Leila deadpanned. They all laughed. Brian had a leather suite in one corner of his office and he motioned for them all to take a seat. "Does anyone need a drink?" he asked. "No" they both replied.
"Becky's work is incredible," Brian continued, collecting looks from the other two.
"She must have knocked you for six" John said
"He's smitten" Leila concluded.
"She hasn't and I'm not. But she has agreed to meet me for dinner on Sunday evening. Anyway," he joked, "I'm a very busy man what did the two of you come over for, I'm sure it wasn't to see how my love life was going."
"So you do have one?" John teased.
"I have happened to have had several affairs in my time."
"And one large crush" John continued. Leila couldn't help but laugh at the scene that was unfolding before her, the rapport between these two was wonderful.
"And what exactly are you laughing for?" Brian interjected.
"It's just so good to see you two get on so famously, especially with the situation with mum and everything."
"Well, I have just had to give up gracefully as far as your mother is concerned, Leila. John was always pretty tough competition, even when we were both led to believe he wasn't around anymore. You know, over the past sixteen years, there is one thing that always remained constant. She hid it well for a long long time, but when she told me the truth on Friday I knew," turning toward John, he went on, "She has always loved you, man. Maybe with only her knowing the truth about the two of you it was easier for her to go on, and believe, perhaps, that if you did come knocking she would be able to be there for you. She's messed up, messed up bad, but if you hold this against her for the rest of her life I'm afraid the pressure will make her heart die. After everything bad she has done she has made up for it by bringing up this wonderful young woman on her own, practically. John, she doesn't deserve to be tortured – she deserves to be loved, by the only man she wants and has ever wanted."
"Thanks Brian, I was kind of hoping you would say something like that, I mean I didn't want to have to fight you or anything" John teased, "I love her too, I want her back so badly it hurts, that why I'm here."
"When I saw the way you watched her on Sunday I knew, knew you still wanted her. It was difficult for her, knowing you would be there made her completely psycho. I've never seen her react before, like she did when I picked her up. She was shaking, she was angry, she was sorry and she was sad, so sad I'm sure it would have broken your heart if you had seen her. She is my friend and I would never want to see her like that again, but you're my friend too and I know you'll never allow her to become like that again. The only thing I have to do is forget I ever saw Claire Standish as a person that could fall for me. It's not so bad, at least I know who I lost her to," he joked, "and I know he would never hurt her, he's the salt of the earth, a very decent man by all accounts. John, you two are soul mates."
"Thanks, you don't know how much that means, coming from you," John said.
"Are we ready now," Leila exclaimed, "because I think we better get on with setting this plan in motion."
A/n: please r/r – thanks to all who have reviewed so far, thanks for your encouraging comments.
Chapter 13 – Brian helps out (and gets a date into the bargain)
Brian sat at his desk, not paying too much attention to the meeting that was taking place. He was rather more enjoying the company of the olive skinned, raven-haired beauty that sat before him.
"So Mr Johnson, what do you think to my proposal?" she said.
"Well, Miss Hammell, I am very impressed. I hadn't really been that interested in taking anyone on at the present, but your calibre of work is outstanding and I believe that you have the right attitude to help me take this company into the future. I'm afraid that the job I would be offering at the moment is slightly junior to what you had in mind, but in time I can not see any reason why you wouldn't be able to get what you wanted, if not exceed it."
"Thank you, Mr Johnson, thank you for this opportunity, I am very grateful to you."
"Brian please, if we are going to be working together than I think we can be a little more informal."
"Thanks, Brian. My name is Rebecca, well Becky to my close friends." She said, slightly less confidently than she had been before, "I'm so honoured by your faith in me. I followed your progress right through college. You were my favourite designer and engineer."
Now she had his undivided attention, had it just been a line or not, he wasn't sure, but it had made him sit up and take note of her. But then there was something in her air that made him think otherwise. 'She likes me!' he thought, 'she actually likes me. What the hell, I'm gonna get this girl to go out with me.'
"Becky" he said, "thank you for the compliment, it was very kind of you but you really don't need to suck up to me or anything, I know your good at what you do." She looked hurt for a moment until he said, "Your weren't sucking up were you. No. Uhm, look I need to make this up to you, perhaps we could start over, would you accept an invitation to dinner?"
She looked slightly shocked for a second, and then she smiled. "Okay" she said shyly, "I'd love to."
"Good. I've got your address, shall I pick you up at say 8 on Sunday. We can discuss a bit of business and get a little more familiar if you would like." He got up and moved around the desk to where she was sitting, took hold of her out stretched hand and helped her from her seat. He then gently kissed her hand before releasing it.
"Sounds great, I'll see you then, Brian." She said as she made her way to the door of his office. In a flash she had gone, 'but only until Sunday' he contemplated.
"Mr Johnson" his secretary said over the intercom. "There are a Mr John Bender and a Miss Leila Standish here to see you."
"Send them in," he said immediately.
The door opened again and this time John and Leila entered the room. "John, Leila, how are you both" he said uneasily.
"Brian, why are you so tense?" Leila asked.
"I guess I'm not too good around your father, especially when he wants to get violent" he replied.
"I'm not gonna get violent, you goon. I came here … we came here to see if you could possibly help us. If you can't then fine, I'm not going to hit you." John said.
Brian's face broke out into a smile, "thank you god" he said under his breath. He walked over to where John and Leila stood, looking at them both it wasn't hard to see their connection and let anyone try otherwise. Shaking John's hand he didn't expect the bear hug that was to come from him. Leila watched on and then joined in putting one arm around both of them, they brought her into the circle.
"So who was the broad?" John asked.
"My new junior designer." Brian replied.
"I didn't know you had an old one," Leila deadpanned. They all laughed. Brian had a leather suite in one corner of his office and he motioned for them all to take a seat. "Does anyone need a drink?" he asked. "No" they both replied.
"Becky's work is incredible," Brian continued, collecting looks from the other two.
"She must have knocked you for six" John said
"He's smitten" Leila concluded.
"She hasn't and I'm not. But she has agreed to meet me for dinner on Sunday evening. Anyway," he joked, "I'm a very busy man what did the two of you come over for, I'm sure it wasn't to see how my love life was going."
"So you do have one?" John teased.
"I have happened to have had several affairs in my time."
"And one large crush" John continued. Leila couldn't help but laugh at the scene that was unfolding before her, the rapport between these two was wonderful.
"And what exactly are you laughing for?" Brian interjected.
"It's just so good to see you two get on so famously, especially with the situation with mum and everything."
"Well, I have just had to give up gracefully as far as your mother is concerned, Leila. John was always pretty tough competition, even when we were both led to believe he wasn't around anymore. You know, over the past sixteen years, there is one thing that always remained constant. She hid it well for a long long time, but when she told me the truth on Friday I knew," turning toward John, he went on, "She has always loved you, man. Maybe with only her knowing the truth about the two of you it was easier for her to go on, and believe, perhaps, that if you did come knocking she would be able to be there for you. She's messed up, messed up bad, but if you hold this against her for the rest of her life I'm afraid the pressure will make her heart die. After everything bad she has done she has made up for it by bringing up this wonderful young woman on her own, practically. John, she doesn't deserve to be tortured – she deserves to be loved, by the only man she wants and has ever wanted."
"Thanks Brian, I was kind of hoping you would say something like that, I mean I didn't want to have to fight you or anything" John teased, "I love her too, I want her back so badly it hurts, that why I'm here."
"When I saw the way you watched her on Sunday I knew, knew you still wanted her. It was difficult for her, knowing you would be there made her completely psycho. I've never seen her react before, like she did when I picked her up. She was shaking, she was angry, she was sorry and she was sad, so sad I'm sure it would have broken your heart if you had seen her. She is my friend and I would never want to see her like that again, but you're my friend too and I know you'll never allow her to become like that again. The only thing I have to do is forget I ever saw Claire Standish as a person that could fall for me. It's not so bad, at least I know who I lost her to," he joked, "and I know he would never hurt her, he's the salt of the earth, a very decent man by all accounts. John, you two are soul mates."
"Thanks, you don't know how much that means, coming from you," John said.
"Are we ready now," Leila exclaimed, "because I think we better get on with setting this plan in motion."