Disclaimer: I do not own CHERUB
I don't think there is any bad language in this chapter, but there may be. Please don't complain. You have been warned.
Chapter 5
Lauren was finding it difficult to breathe.
She paced up and down the board room quickly, feeling like a caged animal. She glanced at her watch, but didn't see the time. It didn't matter. If this didn't go well, nothing mattered.
Someone knocked on the door. Lauren tensed and spun around, thinking it would probably be Gwyneth.
"Am I early or something?" It was James.
"No, not really," Lauren sighed, slumping down in her chair at the head of the table and putting her head in her hands.
James sat down on her left and patted her awkwardly on the shoulder. She was his boss, but he was still her big brother. She gave him a small, rueful smile.
Bruce came in next, then Gabrielle. After a while, the other heads of department filed in and took their seats. After some uncomfortable conversation, Lauren's intercom buzzed.
You could have cut the atmosphere with a knife.
She reached out, with a shaking hand, and pressed the red button.
"Yes?" She whispered.
"Gwyneth's here, Lauren." Niamh sounded terse and angry.
"Thank you, send her in."
For a few tense moments, the only sound was the ticking of the grandfather clock. James studied the chips in the long wooden table. Lauren picked at her nails. Gabrielle ran her fingers through her black hair.
It felt like an eternity. Waiting was agonising, but Lauren also didn't want the door to open. She didn't want to see Gwyneth standing there, that smug smile on her pale, beautiful face.
The door handle turned.
The Gwyneth standing in the doorway didn't look like the one Lauren had met just a few days ago. She wasn't a different person, she just looked…different.
Her curly blonde hair was still in place. Her eyes still held their steely, penetrating quality. Her figure was still perfect…but…
Lauren couldn't put her finger on it. She was more subdued. There was less fierce confidence burning behind her gaze. But there was something else, something Lauren could more sense than see. A deep sadness, no, maybe not sadness.
Something like betrayal, perhaps.
Gwyneth sat down at the empty seat, took the tape and notebook out of her fake (Lauren thought) Prada bag, and set them on the table. Then she folded her arms in her lap and gazed at Lauren, as if waiting for something.
"Ok. Just to brief everyone, Gwyneth will trade us the tape and the notebook – all the evidence about CHERUB – if we give her a job teaching English," Lauren began, feeling some of her chairwoman confidence return, "I think it would be an acceptable compromise, as long as Gwyneth signs documents promising that she will never reveal the existence of CHERUB. We should also ask her to swear that this is the only evidence."
James jumped in immediately.
"I agree with Lauren," he said.
"Well I disagree;" a rather old, grey-haired woman folded her arms agitatedly, "during my time, CHERUB never would have given in to blackmail."
James glared at her. If she had not been such a high-ranking person, he would have told her where she could shove her old-fashioned opinions.
"I agree with Lauren," Gabrielle said quickly, pushing a strand of hair from her face and smiling. One by one, the other board members agreed (or disagreed) with Lauren's proposal. Some raised arguments and other ideas, but they were quickly rendered silent by James' quick tongue and Bruce's arguments against their points.
By the end, the For outweighed the Against.
"Congratulations, Gwyneth. You are now a member of CHERUB staff. Well, not yet. We'll send the papers to you to make it official," Lauren said happily, standing and walking around the table, reaching out to shake the woman's slender hand.
"Thank you, Lauren. I suppose I'll see you all around…" Gwyneth trailed off and glanced at the objects on the table. A few moments later, she shook her head almost imperceptibly, turned on her heel and walked out of the board room, leaving the tape and notebook where they were.
Ok, I know it was a short chapter. And I know it's been a while, but I've been busy with schoolwork and my own stories (yes, fan fiction comes second to my own writing I'm afraid). The next chapter I'm going to incorporate Monkey's idea and have a confrontation between James and Kerry. Also, how will Gwen get along working at CHERUB? Will she get on with the rest of the staff?
I would just like to thank all the people who reviewed. You guys are great!! I would also like to give a huge THANKS to Chiki – the unofficial CHERUB wiki, and, of course, the one and only .