A/N: I'm back!!!!! I can't believe it's been so long since I've updated and I can't believe I made you guys wait that long. This chapter is long because it's been so long since I've updated that I wanted to give you guys a longer chapter. I hope you guys enjoy this chapter and please review and tell me what you think!
Disclaimer: I owe nothing related to OTH, I only owe the OC's and plot line.
Brooke sighed and looked across the desk towards her executive assistant. "What are you saying Greg?" Brooke asked trying to comprehend what he's spent the last five minutes trying to tell her.
"I think that Peyton's going to quit." He replied leaning back in his chair. Brooke sighed again and pinched the bridge of her nose.
"What made you think this?" She asked leaning back in her chair, a dull throbbing beginning in her head.
"She's called in sick for the past eight days, and if she does manage to come in she's stays for like an hour and finds a reason to leave. I don't think she wants to be here anymore." Greg explained glancing around the office at all the pictures of Brooke and Peyton together each celebrating a milestone of the company. Brooke sat up and sighed again before picking up the phone.
"Thanks Greg, I'll get to the bottom of this. Could you cancel my appointments for the rest of the day and hold all my calls? I'll let you know what I find out." Greg nodded and stood up reaching over placing his hand on her shoulder and gently squeezing. Brooke looked up and squeezed his hand giving him a small smile. As he left the room Brooke dialed the all too familiar number of just the right Scott boy that she needed to talk to.
"Hey, it's me. Do you think you could meet me in like ten minutes at Karen's? Good I'll see you there." Brooke hung up the phone and stood up grabbing her bag before looking up at the most recent picture of Brooke, Haley, and Peyton celebrating the launch of Haley's Clothes Over Bros campaign. "Oh Peyton, what's going on?" She asked to the Peyton in the picture before shutting off all the lights in her office and shutting the door.
Brooke sat at a booth in the corner of Karen's playing with the coffee cup sitting in front of her waiting. She really hoped that there was nothing seriously wrong with Peyton. She looked up as Luke made his way over towards her. She stood up and wrapped her arms around him. "Thanks for coming." He sat down opposite her clasping his hands together in front of him.
"What's up?" He asked after he ordered a cup of coffee for himself. Brooke sighed and drank the last of her coffee.
"What's going on with Peyton?"
"What do you mean?" Luke asked smiling at the waitress that poured his coffee.
"Please save me the dumb routine, I know that there's something wrong. She's been calling in sick and only working for like an hour here or there. So you tell me, what's going on with Peyton?" Brooke replied really not wanting to spend all day trying to get the info out of Luke. Luke looked at her and stayed silent for a few moments, internally debating on if he should tell her or not.
"Brooke, I really don't think that I'm the right person to be asking about this. I mean this is a conversation that you and Peyton need to be having."
"Maybe I should've gone to her, but I want to go to her with a solution to the problem. Now in order for that to happen I need to know what the problem is, understand?" She asked her patience beginning to wear thin; she had so much more work to do since Peyton had begun her ditching work routine. Luke looked down at his coffee and swirled the tan liquid sighing. She was right, Brooke Davis-Scott was always right; he had to tell her because he knew that Peyton would never tell her. Sighing again he finally looked up from his cup and took a deep breath.
"She's not happy anymore. She doesn't find the business exciting anymore. When she took the job to help you start the company, she thought it would only last a couple of years before she could move on to something else, but then it became her life and she lost herself. She really wants to do something with music or art, but she doesn't want to hurt you by telling you all of this. I really shouldn't be telling you any of it, but I know that you would do anything for her." He quickly replied looking at Brooke anxiously trying to gage her reaction. Brooke looked at him, her mouth hanging open.
She thought back to the time when she had told Peyton about the company. Peyton had offered to help her design the logo and some of the t-shirt designs, since Brooke's fashion empire had to have t-shirts that Peyton would actually wear. She had promised Peyton that she wouldn't have to work at the company after it hit it big, but that had happened almost 7 years ago and Peyton was still working with Brooke. Sighing, Brooke instantly felt like a horrible friend. She had used Peyton in order to make her life easier. She looked up at Luke with tears pooling in her chocolate eyes and Luke flew out of his seat and slid in next to her and wrapped his arm around her shoulders. "Oh Brooke, you shouldn't feel bad. Peyton was more than happy to help you out."
"But I should've held up my end of the bargain, what is wrong with me? I was off having a life and she was the best friend ever. I have to fix this Luke, but how am I going to fix this?" She asked more to herself than to Luke.
"I don't know Brooke, but you'll figure it out. You always do." He replied trying to encourage her and make her smile. Brooke looked up at him and suddenly the idea popped in her head. Smiling at Luke she leaned up and kissed his check before sliding out of the booth and thanking him over and over as she rushed out of the diner.
Haley sat at the kitchen table trying to write a new song when her phone began to ring, glancing at it for a second she thought about ignoring it until the ringtone became familiar. She picked up the phone and got up from the table. "Brooke, what's wrong?" Haley asked knowing that Brooke Davis only called during her quiet time when it was an emergency.
"I need to meet with you, it's really important." Haley immediately agreed and rushed out of the house and towards Brooke's.
Haley didn't bother knocking when she got to Brooke's house; she knew that the door was open. She rushed into the house and immediately began calling for Brooke. Nathan walked out of the living room and smiled at Haley, pointing up the stairs while motioning for her to be quiet before pointing to Megan who was sleeping soundly in the living room. Haley nodded and mouthed her apology before rushing up the stairs and towards Brooke's bedroom. "Brooke!" She exclaimed throwing the door open spotting the brunette on her bed. "What's wrong?" She asked making her way towards the bed and practically throwing herself on it.
"I'm the worst friend ever, did you know that?" Brooke quietly wailed a fresh batch of tears falling from her eyes.
"Where did that come from?" Haley asked moving so she was lying down parallel to Brooke.
"I talked to Luke today and he told me that Peyton's heart is not in the business anymore. She's been blowing off work and I lied to her. I told her that she would only have to stay with the company until it got big and after it did I just kept finding reasons for her to stay. I never took her feelings into account and now I'm going to lose her because I'm a selfish bitch of a friend. Haley sighed and wrapped an arm around her friend.
"Oh Brooke you're not a selfish bitch of a friend. You just let life overcome you and you forgot about Peyton. You can still fix this; we just need to come up with a solution." Brooke nodded and together the two began to think of solutions.
An hour later Brooke suddenly sat up, just as Nathan came walking in to check on her. "I got it!" She exclaimed shutting off the bed and throwing herself into Nathan's arms. "I'm going to give Peyton her dream."
"Which is?" Haley asked sharing a confused look with Nathan.
"I'm going to open a record company." Nathan pulled away from Brooke and smiled at her happy that she had figured out the solution, a solution that Nathan knew Peyton would love. "I just need to find an artist for her and it'll be even better." Brooke looked at Nathan for a moment before both turned their heads to look at Haley, who was looking back at them innocently.
"What? Why are you both looking at me like that?" She asked getting up from the bed and standing in front of them.
"Haley, honey you're an artist, who just so happens to looking for another record label correct? So why not take a risk and work for Peyton?" Brooke asked stepping away from Nathan and resting her hands on Haley's shoulders. "It makes the most sense, you can help Peyton get started while also recording the album that I know you've been working on since you left Chris' label." Haley nodded, not even trying to deny the fact that she had been trying to find a new label while trying to get an album done.
"I would love to work with Peyton." Haley replied after thinking about it for a little bit.
"Excellent! Maybe you could help me find everything I need for the label and for the studio and then we'll have to find a place for it." Brooke replied, her heart feeling lighter. She was determined to make up her neglect to her best friend. Haley smiled and wrapped her arms around her, also wanting to help out a friend.
"Maybe we could get it done before Peyton's birthday on Sunday and totally surprise her." Haley added the plans already formulating in her head. Brooke squealed and nodded already picturing Peyton's reaction to the news.
Kissing Nathan's cheek Brooke asked him to look after the kids while she and Haley began firing off one plan after the other trying to think of everything they would need. Nathan just smiled and watched them rush out of the house excited to have a project to tackle.
Peyton woke up on the morning of her birthday and sighed. She knew that she was going to see Brooke today and knew that Brooke was going to ask a ton of questions, but Peyton just didn't have the heart to tell Brooke that she wasn't happy. She knew that her helping out at the company made Brooke's already stressful life a little bit better, but she needed to live her own life and that meant eventually telling Brooke that she was quitting. Giving another deep sigh Peyton got up from her bed and plastered on her fake smile, just wanting to get her birthday over and done with.
Brooke and Haley waited patiently in the living room at Peyton's house waiting for her to finish getting ready. The plan was set, Luke had gone in and woken Peyton up telling her that he had a surprise for her. Luke looked over at Brooke and Haley and wondered what the two had up their sleeves, but couldn't get a word out of them. After sitting there for almost a half an hour Brooke nearly gave up and was about to go get Peyton when the blond appeared.
"Alright Luke I'm re…Haley? Brooke? What are you guys doing here?" She asked stopping mid step and looking at her two friends quizzically. Brooke smiled and stood up stopping right in front of Peyton and resting her hands on her shoulders.
"Peyton Elizabeth Sawyer, you are my best friend and I love you more than anything because of what you have done for me for the past 9 years with the start-up of the company and designing of the shirts and everything you've done for Nathan and me. I know that words alone cannot express how grateful I am so Haley and I have something to show you that might express how much I love and appreciate you." Brooke turned towards Haley both smiling brightly with an edge of giddy excitement, both wanting to get Peyton over to their surprise as soon as possible. "Oh Luke, you should come too." Brooke threw over her shoulder as she and Haley walked side-by-side with Peyton out of the house. As they got in the car Haley blind folded Peyton and they set off to pick up Nathan.
Finally almost 15 minutes later they pulled up in front of the surprise and both Nathan and Luke were confused as to why they had pulled up in front of Tric. Nathan turned toward Brooke who merely smiled and got of the car to help Haley lead Peyton into the club. They stopped in front of what Nathan and Luke thought was the storage room of Tric and the two Scott brothers exchanged another confused look. Brooke nodded at Haley, who pulled the blind fold off of Peyton and both girls watched at Peyton's eyes took a moment to adjust before her eyes took in the office area. She looked at Brooke and Haley, who were practically jumping up and down with excitement. "What is all of this?" Peyton asked taking another look around the room.
"Well okay first I'm firing you from Clothes Over Bros." Brooke started, after composing herself. Peyton's eyes widened and she starred open mouthed at Brooke.
"What?" She sputtered, not seeing how the two could still be so happy after Brooke had just fired her. No matter how relieved Peyton was to not have to do a job she didn't like, she wasn't cool with being fired on her birthday.
"Well I can't have you working at CB and Red Bedroom Records at the same time." Brooke laughed at the confused look on both Peyton and Luke's face. "You see, I kinda found from Luke that you weren't happy and I know that you were only supposed to help me at CB for a couple of years and I know how you wanted to get into recording. So CB has branched out and invested into Red Bedroom Records."
"I have no artists, Brooke. I'm touched that you did all of this for me, but I don't know what I'm doing!" Peyton cried overwhelmed by Brooke's surprise.
"I figured that so that's why I took it upon myself to find you an artist that could help you get the label started." Brooke replied throwing her arm around Haley's shoulders both looking at Peyton waiting for the moment that she finally understood. Peyton looked at them for a few moments before the light bulb went off and she looked at Haley, who smiled and nodded. Peyton smiled and threw her arms around Haley, both jumping up and down smiling. Nathan and Luke looked over at Brooke, who watched the happiness return to Peyton's eyes and felt tears pool in her own. Luke walked over towards Brooke and wrapped his arm around her.
"Thank you." He whispered turning back towards Peyton. Brooke merely shrugged.
"It was the least I could do after everything she's done for me over the years, she deserves this." Luke nodded and gave Brooke's shoulders a squeeze. "Now if you excuse me I have an assistant to promote." Luke nodded and watched her leave the office area before walking over towards Peyton and joining in her celebration.
Nathan saw Brooke walk out and instantly followed her slightly concerned by the worried look she had on her face. He saw the front door of Tric swinging closed as he left the office and sprinted towards the door hoping to catch Brooke before she left. "Brooke!" He called making his way towards his wife that had stopped short of her car. "Where are you going?"
"I'm going to the office; I have to talk to Greg."
"What's going on?" He asked now fully worried by the almost terrified look on Brooke's face. Brooke shook her head silently telling him that nothing was wrong. "I know you better than that Brooke, so how about you stop trying to pull the wool over my eyes and tell me what's got you so freaked out."
Brooke sighed and leaned back against her car, running a hand through her hair. "I'm just overwhelmed I guess. Obviously with Peyton running her label I'm promoting Greg to her position but then I lose my assistant, the assistant who makes it possible for me not to have to be in the office every day. I could of course find a new assistant but that would take even more time away from you and the kids, since I would have to train them to do things just like Greg. Maybe I'm not cut out to be a CEO mom; maybe I should sell the company and just be a stay at home mom." Brooke rambled, letting every worrisome thought run out of her mouth. Nathan stepped forward lightly grabbing both of Brooke's arms, forcing her to look at him.
"First off, you were destined to be as great as you possibly can be. You are a fantastic mother and awesome CEO, Clothes Over Bros is your dream and I'm not going to let you throw that away unless you absolutely have to. Second, Greg will not let you just throw it all away because you're afraid of hiring a new assistant. I'm more than 100% positive that he will be more than willing to help you find a new assistant or two to make working a lot easier. And third, I love you." Brooke smiled at his last statement and leaned forward lightly kissing him. "Is your freak out over now?" Brooke nodded and wrapped her arms around Nathan's waist.
"I guess I better get going I have an assistant to promote before I head over to get the kids from your mom's. I'll see you later at the arena." Nathan nodded and kissed her temple before walking over to his own car. Brooke watched him drive away before getting behind the wheel of her car, still contemplating what she was going to do.
By the time Brooke had made it into the office she had finally decided on what she was going to do, she just hoped that it was the right decision. Walking into her office Brooke flipped the lights on and took a look at her office. Sitting down behind the desk filled Brooke's heart with an indescribable emotion, she had never really taken the time to just absorb everything around her. The company had been Brooke's baby for the longest time, almost her child and as she sat behind the desk and thinking about even letting half of it go made her heart clench and ache.
Greg stood in Brooke's doorway watching her starring off into the distance an odd face that instantly put him on edge of what was going on in his boss's head. He instantly knew why Nathan had called him and told him to check on Brooke. "Brooke?" Greg questioned waiting a few moments to see if she had heard him. "Brooke." He said again this time walking into the office and sitting in front of her desk. Brooke turned towards him with cloudy dazed eyes. "You okay?" He asked as she shook her head and looked at him again with hesitant eyes.
"I'm fine just thinking about some things that's all." He looked at her for a few moments still concerned over how she was acting. "So I talked to Peyton."
"And?" He questioned letting her change the subject for now.
"She no longer works for Clothes Over Bros, she's the president and CEO of Red Bedroom Records."
"That's great! She'll be great as the head of her own record label." Greg replied happy that at least Peyton would find some happiness.
"I think so that but that means that her job is vacant and that puts the company at a disadvantage."
"Ah I see, well I put the word out on Monday that we're looking for someone and start setting up interviews." Greg replied pulling out his blackberry and taking notes. Brooke smiled and shook her head.
"That won't be necessary, I already know who I want but I do need you to find me another assistant." Greg stopped typing and looked up at her, eyes wide with concern and slight anger. Brooke just shook her head and laughed at her ever faithful assistant.
"I can't have you be my assistant and do Peyton's job at the same time, so I need you to find me a new assistant, essentially someone just you. Actually, now that I think about it, we should get at least three new assistant that way you have one and I have one and then there's another to help out, yeah that's a good idea." Greg just sat there starring at her with his wide eyes and his mouth hanging open. "Greg? Are you still with me?" Brooke asked snapping her fingers to grab his attention. Moments later Greg shook his head bringing him back to the present moment.
"Sorry, I don't think I heard you correctly, did you say that I'm getting Peyton's job?" Brooke nodded leaning back in her chair. "Why?"
"Greg honey, you've been with me since the beginning and who knows Peyton's job better than you?"
"Thank you so much Brooke!" He exclaimed standing up and quickly rounding her desk before pulling him into his arms.
"You deserve it."
"And I promise to find you the best assistant possible." Brooke nodded and grabbed her bag placing some files and work inside before hugging Greg again. "You have no idea how much I appreciate you for giving me this amazing opportunity." Brooke nodded and kissed his cheek letting him to celebrate with Haley since she also had a fantastic day. As Brooke got in her car she smiled, reveling in the moment, things had gotten so turned so upside down that Brooke didn't think that anything would work out but judging by Peyton and Greg's happiness things were going to work out just fine.
Present Day
"Hey dad?" Adam asked looking up at his father confused. Nathan looked up at Adam acknowledging his question while taking a chug from his water bottle. "I thought that Aunt Haley ran the label." Nathan choked on his water and looked at his son wondering how he was going to answer his question.
A/N: Sort of a Cliffhanger, a little one at that. I hope you guys enjoyed this chapter and thank you to those that have stuck with me. There's only three chapters left in this story and I'm hoping to finish before I head back to school.
