Bonnie had not missed any of the signs. Judging by how Kim seemed elated every time she saw Sheridan, Bonnie knew that the redhead was either crushing really badly, or that the two were trying to keep their relationship under wraps.
The subsequent meetings after the preliminary designs were viewed, along with Kim's sudden removal of her supervision over the entire process, seemed to support Bonnie's suspicions. Bonnie was glad Kim met someone new, but she wasn't too sure it would be wise that she would be left with most of the control over this 'logo revitalization' project. Sure, power and authority were what she strived for, but Middleton Daily stood to represent the values and heart of the city.
Bonnie, much to her dismay, was probably not representative of a Middleton city girl - Kim was. Bonnie knew the Rockwallers weren't well-liked, mostly since they were arrogant and flaunted their wealth when they could, unlike the Possibles who were modest and probably didn't have a mean bone in their bodies. Rather than feeling threatened by the Possibles' popularity, it probably surprised a lot of people that she ended up working for, and with, Kim.
As kids, they were fairly close until they all had to 'grow up' and began to drift after junior high. Whether it was the unspoken social norms that had to be blamed, or the fact that appearances needed to be kept and maintained, Bonnie and Kim never really saw eye-to-eye during their teenage years. Sure, Bonnie had a mean streak and constantly teased Kim and Ron, but it only made the redhead stronger and more determined to prove Bonnie wrong.
And that she did. To Bonnie, Kim had grown into a remarkable young woman, who had unfortunately been surrounded by too much grief in the past few years, that donned a mask of self-confidence that would have otherwise been shattered if she wasn't strong enough.
Sure, Bonnie gave her hell once in a while, but it wasn't on a personal level, strictly business. Although they didn't hang out or get together outside of work, they had an unspoken understanding of each other, perhaps due to the fact that they exchanged many quips at each other since high school.
The fact that the shareholders favoured Bonnie over Kim didn't sit well with Bonnie. It was true that she had a sharp business sense, but needed to be grounded when it came to planning out long-term goals for the company. Unknown to Kim, she had been given offers to work with other publishing, not necessarily newspaper, companies. All of these offers were turned down; Bonnie would never admit that she would rather stay loyal to Kim, so she made up excuses to the opposing companies by saying that their offers weren't enough and made outrageous demands for lavish benefits.
Had the shareholders known of any of these offers, they would automatically promote her. It was something she didn't want. Kim had always taken the shareholders' criticisms (that verged on insults) in stride, never showing signs of weakness to them. While they were keen on replacing Kim, Bonnie felt that no one held Middleton Daily together like the redhead. Kim didn't treat everyone differently based on their social status or ranking in the company, she treated everyone as a friend. Yet, she was so plagued by "scandals" in the past year that Bonnie understood the shareholders' motivations for replacing the CEO.
Who would be next in line? Bonnie. While reigning over the paper and having her say over everything would give her ultimate control, it probably wouldn't feel right.
But, what kind of job would really make her feel 'right'?
Bonnie smiled. When did I start entertaining such thoughts? Working with Kim must be making me soft.
She blinked and looked at the occupants of today's meeting. Betty and Sheridan were present today, along with some guy who looked like that Star Trek character, Smock or something. He was their accountant of some sort and was present to look over wherever monetary sections were drawn up in the contract.
Kim was talking to them about something to do with Wade helping them out whenever they needed tech support. Bonnie turned her gaze to Sheridan; the pale woman was staring at the desk again. It seemed like that was all she did during these group meetings. When pulled aside by Kim to have a 'chat', Bonnie could see the change in demeanour for both of them: they genuinely looked happy.
Author's Notes: Insight into Bonnie's perspective of things... Sort of conflicting feelings for her...
Chapter title is from "Do What You Want" by Guster.