Chapter 14: New Career?
Brittany's POV
*Thursday 30th July 2020*
I feel so awful about today and I regret doing it now. I should have never invited that man back to SL Designs to talk. I was being kind of selfish and only thinking about myself when I did it. All I was seeing was the opportunity to talk to someone with more experience than me and someone who could point me in the right direction in how to move my career forward. I should have been thinking what this meant to Santana and how wrong I was. I just didn't want to have the meeting somewhere else like the man's company and Santana to find out and get pissed. I knew she would be mad if I went to someone else's company but I never thought about how mad she would get if I was bringing someone to her company.
After work finished today, Santana and I went back to her place. I had drove to work this morning so we drove back to her place separately. I'm just preparing dinner right now for the two of us. I promised Santana I would make us something nice and I want to do it anyway to apologise about earlier. I'm just chopping up some of the vegetables when Santana walks into the kitchen.
"Need any help?" Santana asks me as she sits down at the table.
"No, it's ok" I smile. "I have got everything under control so you can just relax or do whatever you want to do" I add.
"Ok" Santana smiles back. "Are you staying over tonight?" she asks me as she sits back and rests her feet on another chair.
"I want to but I don't have any clean clothes with me for work tomorrow" I reply.
"There are still some things here that you've left here before so you can wear them" Santana tells me. "I was actually thinking of making you some space in my closet to keep some stuff if you want" she shrugs.
"Ok" I smile. We both love spending the night at each other's places but I don't think we're in any position to move in together just yet. I would rather we had some closet space in each place for one another and just spend the night at either of our places than spend the night alone or rush into moving in together.
When I finally finish making dinner, I join Santana at the table and we sit down to eat together. We don't really talk about too much as we eat because we've had a busy day so we're hungry. We then clear up the kitchen together before running upstairs to get changed. We're just going to have a quiet night relaxing in front of the TV since we're working tomorrow so we decided to just change into our pyjamas now for comfort. I'm just finding something for us to watch when Santana comes into the living room. I was changed first so I went downstairs before her.
"Where did you get those?" I ask as she lies down on the couch in a pair of boxers and a tank top.
"I've had this top for years so I have no idea where I first bought it" she shrugs at me as I lift her feet up and sit down on the couch placing her legs over my lap.
"I meant the boxers smartass" I reply.
"Someone left them here so I like wearing them every now and again. They're comfortable and remind me of that someone" she tells me.
"Are they mine?" I ask.
"Of course, they are" Santana laughs. "Babe who else is going to leave me their underpants and why would I wear someone else's if they don't belong to my girlfriend?" she asks me.
"I'm just making sure I'm following correctly because they don't exactly look like something I recognise. When did I leave them here?" I ask curiously.
"Ok so you didn't leave them here, I swiped them from your place many months ago. In fact, I think I've had them since before we even got together. I stayed at your place one night during our little beneficial friend's thing and didn't take a change of clothes so you let me borrow something and that something happened to be a shirt and a pair of boxers. I gave you the shirt back but kept these" she explains.
"I don't know if I find that so cute or so weird. Cute in the fact you're my girlfriend now but weird because why were you keeping someone else's undergarments when you weren't even with that someone at the time" I state.
"I was having sex with that someone so it's not that gross" she shrugs.
"I didn't mean in a gross way honey, I meant in a strange way because why keep my boxers when we were only messing around?" I ask.
"Because they were yours and they were comfortable. I didn't realise it back then but I clearly liked you at the time so it felt nice having something of yours even if it did seem like a weird choice of keepsake" she points out.
"You are so cute do you know that" I say smiling at Santana. It is so endearing just how cute she is sometimes. She's tough on the outside but really a softy at heart.
"I'm not cute, I'm a badass" she smiles at me.
"You can be both, babe. You're like an onion, there's many layers to you" I smirk. Santana has many different sides to her and I like that. Sometimes she's super serious and sometimes she's so cute like I say.
"I think you're the first girlfriend I've had that's called me an onion. I'm not sure I feel terribly good about that" she says.
"Be glad I said that and not that you smell like an onion" I tease.
"Oh, that's a horrible thought" she laughs.
"Don't worry though, you always smell amazing" I say while leaning over to kiss her.
"Good" she says while pulling me closer to her.
"Hey, I'm sorry about earlier" I say honestly as I put my arm around Santana. "I never meant to upset you and I realise I went about things in the wrong way so I am really sorry" I add.
"You don't need to apologise because I get where you were coming from. I was maybe a little bit selfish because I can't keep you all to myself at work because I want you to do what you want to do but at the same time, I don't like the thought of not seeing you as much as I do now" she tells me.
"I love working for my girlfriend but at the same time, I'm actually in awe of you Santana and I want what you have. I want to be just as successful as you because you've proven anyone can be good at what they do if they put their mind to it" I say.
"I do appreciate that but I don't like the thought of not working with you" she admits again. "I do want you to be happy though so whatever you want I'll support you" she adds.
"Thank you, that means a lot" I say while kissing the side of her head.
"So, what are we watching?" she asks me as we turn our attention to the TV.
"I don't know because you're very picky when it comes to what you want to watch" I say. I don't know how many times I've put something on Netflix and Santana is bored of it after 10 minutes. Also, she can never seem to decide on what she wants to watch because half the time the synopsis of the programme or movie is not detailed enough for her so she doesn't seem interested in it.
"All the movies sound very vague so you put it on thinking it seems good and then it's utter crap so then I get bored because I spend half an hour looking for something rather than settling on a good movie" she tells me.
"We don't have to watch a movie; we could do something else to relax" I suggest.
"Like what?" she turns her head to look at me before wincing in pain.
"You ok?" I ask in concern.
"I slept really weird last night so I had a sore neck this morning and then the amount of time I spent on my computer at work today didn't help either. I've also got quite tense shoulders because I keep moving awkwardly to protect my neck" Santana replies.
"Would you like a massage?" I ask.
"I would love one" she says while tilting her head to look at me. "Do you know any good masseurs or masseuses that would be free at this time of night?" she asks teasingly.
"I'm not a professional but I could give it a good go" I smile. "Plus, you know I'm good with my hands so why would you want a stranger to do it when I'm right here" I shrug.
"That's a fair point so let's do it" she smiles.
"Shall we do it upstairs because it'll be more comfortable on the bed and you'll have oils and things upstairs that I could use" I suggest.
"Upstairs sounds good. You go on up and I'll meet you in the bedroom in a few minutes. I want to lock up the house and make sure everything is turned off" she tells me.
"I'll do that and you go upstairs and get comfortable on the bed" I say. She's the one with the injury so I can happily make sure the house is all locked up plus it'll let her get undressed and comfortable for the massage.
"Ok" she smiles. She kisses me before getting off the couch and making her way upstairs. I check all of the doors are locked and make sure everything is switched off before making my way upstairs. When I walk into the bedroom, Santana is lying on the bed face down with only a towel covering her butt.
"Fuck" I say while licking my lips. I don't think I'm going to be able to do this massage, she's far too sexy like that and it's making it worse to know there's only a towel between me and a very naked Santana Lopez.
"Babe, you ok?" Santana asks. I can hear the confusion in her voice. She's probably wondering why she feels my presence in the room but hears no movement and is wondering about the need of the curse word that I just used.
"I'm sorry, for some reason I totally underestimated how sexy this was going to be so I couldn't stop staring at you like a creep. Anyway, I'll get some oils for this massage" I say as I walk into the en suite and look to see what I can find.
"Don't apologise for staring at what's yours' babe" Santana tells me as I walk back into the bedroom. "Haven't I told you before never to apologise?" she adds.
"Fair point" I laugh. I make my way over to the bed and slowly get on so I don't bounce Santana around and she hurts her neck more. I climb onto her and perch myself on her lower back to butt region. I rub some oil into my hands before leaning forward and gently beginning the massage. "Is that ok or too much pressure?" I ask as I begin working my hands into her skin.
"I had no idea you were even doing anything or had your hands on me" she replies teasingly.
"I didn't want to be too rough because I've never really gave you a massage before" I say.
"I'm just messing because I know you were touching me. You are being a little too gentle though so I want you to do it with a little more pressure and get all of that tension out of my body" she states.
"Ok" I smile. I know she can't see me smiling but Santana honestly always makes me smile. It's hard not to be happy when I'm around her. "You can do me later" I add.
"Do you how?" she asks, a hint of tease in her voice.
"I meant massage me" I say while reaching behind me and playfully hitting her on the butt. "Trust you to turn it into something dirty" I add with a laugh.
"Well you are sitting on my butt and every time you bend forward; I can feel your crotch press against me so it's hard not to think dirty in a situation like this" she states.
"Ok, fair enough" I say. I continue with the massage for a little while. I've just finished working on her lower back when I lean forward and gently leave a trail of kisses on her back as I make my way up to her neck. "Do you feel more relaxed now?" I ask as I leave a kiss to the side of her cheek.
"Relaxed and a little turned on, I'm not going to lie" Santana tells me.
"Oh really?" I ask flirtatiously.
"Definitely" Santana nods as she turns over so she's flat on her back now and looking up at me as I continue straddling her. I've got to say; I am instantly turned on myself as soon as my girlfriend turns around since she is naked from the waist up. The towel unfortunately is still covering her intimate part though.
"You look so sexy right now" I say while quickly removing my shirt and throwing it to the floor.
"Sexy enough that we can finally move this towel between us?" she asks me while tugging on the towel that separates us.
"Oh yeah" I smile. I step off the bed and quickly shimmy out of my boxers while Santana throws the towel to the floor. I then join her on the bed again and lean over her to kiss her. As the kissing intensifies and we both start getting more and more worked up, I slowly begin my descent down Santana's body kissing her. When I almost get to her center, I move to the left and begin kissing the inside of her thigh before moving and kissing the other one, making my way up her body again.
"Oh honey, please" she moans out.
"I thought you liked me teasing?" I ask with a smirk as I look up at her.
"Please just get inside me" she says almost begging. It's actually quite flattering to know how quickly she gets like this and how wet she is right now.
"What part do you want" I ask in a whisper in her ear.
"Any, please" she moans again while trying to pull my body closer to her. "I just need you in me right now Britt" she adds.
"Ok" I say. I kiss her lips before scooting down the bed and pushing her legs apart. I then settle between them and waste no more time by diving straight in. As soon as my tongue touches her, she lets out a loud sexy moan.
"Oh, shit babe" she moans as she tangles her fingers in my hair and pushes my head closer to her. I know some people get offended by that in sex but I love it. I love how much she wants me near her and how desperate she is. Don't get me wrong, I feel the same. I am finding it so hard right now not to cum because I want to make sure Santana is at that point too.
"You taste amazing" I say, letting my tongue rest for a millisecond before going back in.
"I want more right now, kiss me" she instructs while trying to pull my head away this time from her center.
"Ok" I say while pulling away. I line myself up between her legs and lean down to kiss her as I slowly push into her. I start off really slowly as we kiss before building up a rhythm with my hips. Santana moans every time I hit a sensitive spot and honestly, I'm almost undone at the sound.
"I'm going to cum whether you're ready or not" she warms me as she grips onto my hips tightly.
"I'm so fucking ready" I say as I quicken my pace for the last little bit before we're both coming together. I kiss her lips before rolling off her to lie next to her.
"That was a nice way to end a stressful day" she says turning her head to the side to smile at me.
"Yeah, it was" I nod.
"Are you ok?" she asks concerned as she notices I'm not as smiley as she is right now. "It felt like you came but maybe you didn't?" she asks worriedly.
"Oh no, I was there" I say enthusiastically. "Just please don't be mad ok" I say worriedly.
"Mad about what? Babe I orgasmed and you said you did too so what's up?" she asks.
"I was getting too carried away and it wasn't until we both came that I realised I didn't wear a condom" I say nervously. I'm usually always good like that but Santana just wanted me in her so badly that it slipped my mind and I was too turned on to realise.
"I'm on birth control babe, don't panic" she smiles. "Contraception is never a 100% guarantee that you won't get pregnant as we already found out but I think we'll be ok. I actually think I may has missed a pill now that I think about it when we did get pregnant" she reassures me.
"Ok" I nod. "If it did ever happen again before we were ready then I won't make you get an abortion" I tell her. I want things to be done properly like living together then marriage and then babies but if something happened it will be different this time.
"Ok, stop right there" she says while turning to fully face me. "You did not make me do it. We made that decision together. I do regret it; I won't lie but you didn't force me so don't ever think that honey" she says while taking my hand in hers.
"I do want children with you, personally I just need to be more settled first" I admit.
"I get it because I feel the same. We are too busy right now to bring a baby into our lives because it wouldn't be fair on the child. If it did happen though, then we'll adapt" she tells me.
"I agree" I smile. "We're not too far off though, right?" I ask. We're certainly not ready at the moment but I can see in a couple of months we could be. Certainly, in a year I want things more settled. I want our careers sorted out and hopefully us moving in together.
"I don't think so, actually" Santana smiles.
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*Monday 3rd August 2020*
Santana and I are just making our way into work right now. We've both got busy days ahead of us so we probably won't see each other all that much today before we finish. Santana stayed at my place last night and I think she's staying over again tonight if we get finished on time. It's times like these that make us so glad we work in the same place otherwise we would never see each other today at all. Hopefully we'll get 5 minutes with each other at some point just to de-stress.
"I'll catch up with you later" Santana tells me as we walk inside.
"Ok" I smile. We quickly kiss on the lips and then head our separate ways to our offices and start working.
I'm only working for about 3 hours, which actually felt like an 8-hour shift, when I decide to take a quick break to get some coffee and to refuel. My girlfriend loves coffee so there is no way I can go and make myself some and not offer her. I know we're not working together today like in the same office or anything but I know she's going to be super busy so she probably won't have had any coffee yet. I'm quickly making my way to Santana's office right now to double check if she does want some coffee. When I get there, the door is a jar open so I knock on it before opening it a little wider.
"Coffee?" I ask as I peek my head around the door.
"Is the sky blue?" Santana replies as she looks up from her desk. She looked like she was glaring for a second but when she heard it was me her glare quickly turned into a smile.
"I'll be back in a second" I laugh. I go and get us some coffee before going back to Santana's office. I know we're both busy today but I want to spend at least 10 minutes with her right now to drink our coffee and take a short break.
"Thank you" Santana smiles at me as I hand her the coffee. I then take a seat across from her at her desk.
"How is your day so far?" I ask my girlfriend.
"Busy. Very busy" Santana tells me. "I'm looking forward to going back to your place tonight though. It's the only thing that's keeping me upbeat at the moment" she adds.
"I know exactly what you mean" I smile. "What shall I cook for us later?" I ask as I take a sip of my coffee.
"I think we should just order take out and open a bottle of wine today. We're going to be so busy here so I think it'll be better to just relax at your place and no one needs to cook" Santana replies.
"Sounds good to me but I can't have too much wine if we're working tomorrow" I point out.
"Let's both take the day off tomorrow. We don't need to go into work" Santana shakes her head.
"I've got stuff I need to do though" I state.
"It doesn't matter. As your employer I am telling you not to go into work tomorrow and you can finish your work the day after. Do you really want to disobey your boss right now?" she asks me with a smirk.
"Absolutely not so I am more than happy to not work tomorrow" I smile.
"I'm going to cook you breakfast tomorrow morning and bring it to you in bed. I don't think I've ever done that in the whole time we've been together" she tells me.
"Oh, don't say things like that babe" I groan.
"Why not?" she asks confused while laughing.
"Because I need to get back to work now and thinking about cute things isn't going to motivate me to want to work. I want to stay here and hang out with you now" I say.
"Doesn't it give you an incentive to work extra hard today knowing fun stuff is still to come" Santana points out.
"I suppose it does when you put it like that" I smile. "Anyway, I really should be getting back to work now but come and find me when you're finishing and we can leave together" I say.
"Ok" Santana nods. I lean over and kiss her before grudgingly making my way back to my office. I really just want to be with my girlfriend now and to hang out with her. I don't want to work anymore but I guess I have to otherwise I don't make any money so I can't buy my girlfriend nice things.
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*Thursday 6th August 2020*
It's been another busy morning so far for Santana and I so we're finally getting to see each other for the first time today. We both stayed at our own places last night so we've only texted each other this morning so I haven't physically seen my girlfriend since yesterday or heard her voice. We're both just in Santana's office right now having lunch together. I picked us up something to eat on my way into work with the intention of eating together later on in the day.
"I am so hungry right now" I say as I start eating. "The funny thing is though I've already eaten breakfast so why am I so hungry already?"
"Probably because you were working out this morning so you worked up quite an appetite between the workout and the busy morning here" she smiles.
"That could be true" I nod.
"I really need to start working out again. It's not like I meant to stop. I just got so busy so there was no time in the morning to do it and by the time I finish at night I just want to go to bed" Santana replies.
"You look in great shape to me" I shrug. Santana always looks amazing and I can't say she looks any different from not working out. "You don't need to go to the gym to work out all the time because just keeping busy here can keep you in shape" I point out. Santana is always running around at work because she's not someone that sits behind a desk all day so she will be working out in some way.
"You have to say I look great because you're my girlfriend and I'll kill you if you don't" she smirks.
"I see what you're saying but I'm not saying it because of that; I'm saying it because it's true. If you do want to go back to the gym though then come with me tomorrow morning" I shrug.
"You always go way too early though" Santana groans. I don't blame her though because after all the hours she puts in here then I wouldn't be getting up that early if I was her.
"There are other ways to workout though remember, a very easy one is in bed. Sex is supposed to keep you fit" I say with a wink.
"I guess we'll just need to make sure we stay at one of our places every night then" she smiles.
"I can do that" I smile back. I can easily spend every single night in bed with Santana so there are no complaints from me. We sit in silence for the next 10 minutes just enjoying each other's company and getting a chance to eat something before we need to get back to work.
"Do you actually like working in accounts?" Santana asks me curiously as she looks up from her salad, breaking the comfortable silence between us.
"Yeah, of course I like it" I smile. "I studied hard at college to be where I am right now so I do love it and I especially love working for you because you're a very great boss. I'm not actually saying that to suck up, I mean professionally you are a great boss Santana" I say seriously. I'm always going to think that since she's my girlfriend so I'm biased but, in all honesty, she is a great boss and I love working for her no matter whether I'm with her or not.
"Is having your own accounting firm your ultimate dream?" she asks.
"I know you don't like the thought of us not working together babe and I don't either but I want to do something good with my career and progress some more if possible" I reply. I'm still young so I do want to see what else I can do career wise even though I love working here.
"I'm not saying it to stop you; I'm saying it because you don't have to work in accounts" she tells me. "If you have other passions then maybe now is the time to chase them instead while you have the chance to look into progressing your career" she adds.
"I'm not really good at anything else" I sigh. It's a fair point but there really isn't anything else I'm capable of doing.
"You love dancing and you love fitness so why should accounts be the road you take. What about opening a dance studio or running your own fitness centre. I mean you could be a personal trainer maybe" she suggests.
"If I am being totally honest then I think I do want to do something different because I've got what I can out of accounts so there's not much left to achieve in that respect" I admit. Other than opening my own accounting firm then I can't really go any higher and honestly, I am a little bored of it at times. I would like to do something different career wise if I could. On the other hand though, I do still like what I am currently doing because I am good at it so I guess I am scared of failure.
"I hate the thought of not being as close to you if you did do something else but honestly Brittany, you have many options to do whatever you want right now. You're still young and you have nothing tying you down so if you are looking to do something outside of SL Designs then what I'm saying is broaden your horizon" she tells me. It does make sense because if I am thinking of leaving here then why am I leaving to go to another accounting company when I could do something completely different?
"I guess what I need to do right now is have a good think about what I really want because I can't just jump into something because I want a change" I say.
"Exactly, take your time and think about what you really love doing. There is no reason to leave and go to a similar job if you have the opportunity to see what else is out there. Also, don't stay here because of me because at the end of the day, I'm always going to be your girlfriend so if I can't be your boss then I'm still clearly in your life" Santana smiles.
"I really love you Santana Lopez" I say while leaning over to kiss Santana. I can see how hard it would be for Santana to say because I know she likes us working together so I really appreciate it and her support.
"I really like you too Brittany Pierce" Santana says as we pull out of the kiss.
"Really? You expect me to believe you just like me?" I ask with a smirk.
"Yeah, it's blatantly obvious I love you" she laughs.
"Anyway, enough about me right now" I smile. "I know we're having lunch right now but I was working through the accounts earlier and you're doing the best you've ever done before. Sales are sky rocketing and the management of your finances is so much better" I say. Santana's company is going from one step to the next and it's doing so well right now. I am so proud of Santana.
"It's not all down to me though because I couldn't have expanded this company if you hadn't of been here. You gave me some harsh financial advice when I needed it and you made me realise that I should go further than children's clothing. When I first started all I did was children's clothing but you've made me see that I can develop into adult clothing and do all these amazing fashion shows" Santana smiles at me.
"All that hard work recently has really payed off" I state. "There were some tough times recently where we barely got to see each other but I think it's all been worth it now because the company has never been this profitable before" I add.
"I still feel like I can do better though so I want to keep working hard and doing new designs and stuff" she tells me.
"I know I can't design clothes but I actually had a few ideas for you" I tell Santana. "I was working out the other day and it came to me; you should launch your own line of sportswear for adults."
"That is an idea" Santana says interested.
"I've just never found the perfect workout clothes so I want you to design them" I say. I think this would be a good step forward for Santana because it's something different from what she's done so far.
"It was your idea babe so I want you to tell me what you think about designing them. What ideas do you have?" she asks me.
"Well, I'm terrible at drawing so I'm going to have to describe what I mean rather than try and draw it" I state with a chuckle. We all know I'm horrible with fashion so making it look good might be hard but I know what I want them to look like from a fitness point of view.
"You can think about it and tell me what you think and I'll draw up some sketches for ideas" she tells me.
"Sounds good" I smile.
"I could actually call my line, BP Sportswear" she smiles back at me.
"You really don't need to do that" I laugh.
"I want to though because this was your idea honey" Santana says seriously. "One thing I never do is steal other people's ideas so the least I can do is name the line after you" she adds.
Santana's POV
*Monday 10th August 2020*
I'm hard at work, just drawing some sketches in my office right now. Brittany had a great idea the other day about developing a sportswear line. I do still love doing my kids' line but I like branching out into adult fashion too and what's better than a sportswear line. I mean lots of people workout so I'm sure the demand would be high as long as we make it different from the established brands there are out there. I've also had another idea about how to develop this line so I need to find Brittany and let her in on my plan.
"Jade, you're in charge right now. Brittany and I have a new launch to develop" I say arriving at the accounts department and trying to pull Brittany with me to my office.
"Santana, I'm kinda busy right now" Brittany tells me.
"Yeah and Ms Lopez, I don't think I can do this" Jade says nervously.
"It's only for a couple hours and I know you can do it Jade" I say. "Meanwhile for you Pierce, I need your help right now so whatever you need to work on will have to wait or Jack can pick up the slack" I shrug.
"Ok" Jade says nervously.
"Jack, can you help Jade if she needs it today" I say looking over at Jack.
"Sure" Jack nods.
"Good" I say. "Also, like I just said pick up some of Brittany's work if you can because we're too busy right now to be working in accounts" I add as I pull on Brittany's arm.
"I'll catch up with you all later" Brittany says over her shoulder to the others as we go back to my office. "Honey, I love helping you but I was really rather busy today" she tells me as I close the door behind us.
"I know but this is important Britt" I say as I sit down behind my desk as I motion to Brittany to take a seat also.
"Britt, huh?" she smirks at me. "You usually only call me Britt when we're in bed so is this supposed new launch you want to develop really code for a secret sexy meeting?" she asks teasingly. I do actually usually just use 'Britt' in bed so I can see why she might think that.
"It's not a secret sexy meeting, sorry" I smile. "I just felt like calling you Britt but we are here to work on something important and I do have some important things to discuss with you that cannot wait until tomorrow" I say.
"Ok" Brittany smiles.
"You should step down in your role in accounts for SL Designs" I state. She is my best worker so it is a bit unfortunate that I need her to do this but it's for the best for everyone.
"Excuse me?" Brittany asks, surprised yet a little offended.
"I want you to be the head of BP Sportswear and I want you to run the whole thing. Yes, it's a branch of SL Designs but SL Designs is mine and I want BP Sportswear to be yours" I say. I want her to step down in her current role and take on this even better role within the company.
"You can't be serious" Brittany tells me shocked.
"I'm deadly serious" I nod. "You want to do something different with your career and what's better than this. I mean you came up with the idea babe and you practically designed everything so it's yours" I smile. It really is win-win all around because Brittany gets to do something different with her career and at the same time, I don't lose my best employee or my girlfriend from my company.
"I don't know if I'll be any good at handling something like that" she admits.
"This is my company so I'm always here so whatever you need just ask me. I want you to know you can control this whole thing but I am willing to help you with whatever you need" I say. I am still her boss but I want her to know that she has complete control over BP Sportswear and she's free to do whatever she wants with it.
"I don't know what to say Santana. I had no idea you were going to suggest this today" she says, still unsure of what to make of all of this.
"Say you'll do it?" I smile.
"I would love to do something like that but at the end of the day, BP Sportswear is still owned by SL Designs so I would hate to fuck it up and cause you a lot of problems. I have some idea of managing something since I became head of accounts but managing a whole line especially when I know nothing about fashion is a lot to handle" she admits.
"I know you can do this babe" I smile. "I'll also speak to my lawyer first thing in the morning and we'll draw up some legal documents just so we know where each of us stands with BP Sportswear" I add.
"Ok" Brittany nods.
"Ok as in you'll do it or ok as in you understand what I'm saying?" I ask curiously.
"Ok as in can I have a moment to think about it because it's a big responsibility?" she asks.
"Of course, no problem" I smile. We sit in silence for a moment, each of us just thinking. Brittany is thinking about my idea for her to oversee BP Sportswear and I'm just thinking what I'm going to make us both for dinner. I'm not concerned about Brittany's answer because I know she would be amazing at it so I don't even need to think about it. Brittany has done a lot more for my company than anyone ever has so I know she has the skills needed to fulfil this new role.
"I think Jade should take over my role" Brittany tells me, breaking the silence between us.
"I like the girl Brittany but no, she is not going to be the head of BP Sportswear" I say while shaking my head. If Brittany really doesn't want to look after BP Sportswear then I will do it. The only person I would ever trust with a big responsibility like this is Brittany so if she feels she can't do it then no one else can.
"No, I mean within accounts and in the company" she states. "I know you would be losing your assistant again but honestly; Jade is better than that. She is someone we can trust and I think she could really benefit from this and so could we" she adds.
"She has been working really hard recently so maybe that is an idea" I say. She is quite knowledgeable on all areas of the business so maybe she would be able to keep the accounts department afloat. There is no way she could ever fill Brittany's shoes but she could definitely be an asset to that department. Also, Brittany has taught Jack well so he can be there for support.
"I haven't been properly working in accounts for a while and I think the team need a good leader. If I'm going to step down and do BP Sportswear then I think Jade is the ideal person to be our new head of accounting and finance" she smiles.
"If you think she can do it then I'll make it happen" I nod. I trust Brittany and she clearly knows what the role entails so if she thinks Jade can do it then I'll appoint Jade as my new head of accounting and finance.
"Ok" she smiles. "I'm actually kinda excited about doing something different because as much as your job is stressful, I watch you sometimes and wish I had what you had. I did like working in accounts but I was getting bored of it so I am looking forward to having a change and doing something fun" she adds.
"My job can be stressful but it's so worth it in the end when you have the success. You'll see that yourself with BP Sportswear" I tell her. "You have to be prepared though because you're almost working on the same level as me. You're not a manager anymore, this is your clothing line babe so you run the whole thing now" I add.
"I noticed you said 'almost' and not that I was on the same level as you" she smirks.
"That's because no one can take my title from me. I'm still the boss around here so I'll always be in a higher position than you" I smirk back. I am teasing her though because I do want this company to be a bit more of hers although it is still my company. If anything, ever happened it's still all mine but I do want to give Brittany more responsibility here because she can handle it and she's not just my girlfriend anymore. We're not ready to put like another label on us but at the end of the day we're not just dating and having fun. She's my partner now and eventually I see her getting married and having children with me.
"Seriously though, thank you for giving me this opportunity" she smiles.
"You should be the face of BP Sportswear and you can model all of the products" I tell her.
"Oh, I don't know about that" she shakes her head.
"Why not?" I ask with a frown. Why wouldn't Brittany want to be the face of the line when she quite clearly loves fitness and she's a beautiful person so she could draw in the sales just based on that. Don't get me wrong, the designs are amazing so that will bring the sales too.
"I'm not really a model. I always just look awkward and out of place" she shrugs.
"I don't think you do at all babe because I am asking you to model workout clothes and working out is something we do all the time so it can't be hard to look natural" I point out.
"Models are sexy and hot, I'm kinda funnier and quirkier rather than like so sexy so I don't want to embarrass myself" she shakes her head.
"You don't have to do it but if you did then it would be a professional shoot and you would be modelling the clothes the way they're designed which is for working out. I'm not asking you to go topless or something" I tell her. Of course, that would be a lovely private photoshoot I'd like to do but this is about work. I just thought it might be nice if we made Brittany the model for all of the clothes because this is her line now.
"Can I think about it?" she asks, looking over at me.
"Of course, you can" I smile. "I would never make you do something you didn't want to do so have a little bit of a think about it" I tell her. If she didn't want to do it and be a little bit more behind the scenes then that's totally cool. BP Sportswear is to be run however she likes so if she doesn't want to be in front of the camera then that's her decision.
"Speaking of modelling, your sister is into modelling nowadays so I think she should be one of our models for both SL Designs and BP Sportswear" Brittany suggests.
"She could be for BP Sportswear if that's what you want but honestly, I think the children's clothes I design are just too small for an adult" I tease.
"I wasn't talking about your children's line; I was meaning with the adult lines you're developing" she clarifies. "I like this fun and teasing side of you though. You're normally very strict at work but you seem a lot more comfortable these days at work. I mean obviously you command your team but you are a little more carefree with us now" she tells me.
"I'm always going to be strict at work but I think you and I are finally in a good place now so it's really easy to be relaxed around you at work" I say honestly. It's not like we were ever bad in the beginning but work was really stressful and I wasn't sure how to handle people knowing we're together when we work together. No one really seems to care nowadays which is good and they still respect both of us but at the same time, they can still have fun with Brittany and still be friends with her even though she's the boss's other half.
XXX
We're finally finished work for the day now. Brittany and I are now having dinner with her parents Alison and David tonight. They invited her over for dinner since they haven't seen her much recently and she asked if I could tag along. I probably don't know my in-laws as well as I should by now so it'll be nice to have dinner with them tonight. It's a little unfortunate her sisters couldn't be here so I could get to know everyone better but it's ok because the main thing is that I can show her parent's that I really love their daughter and I'm serious about Brittany.
"So how are you both and how is work?" Brittany's mom asks, looking at the both of us.
"Work is probably keeping you on your toes no doubt?" David adds.
"It is very stressful sometimes but so worth it in the end. Plus, I get to work with Brittany alongside me all day so that's definitely not a complaint" I say, smiling at Brittany.
"That's nice" Alison smiles. "What about you honey, you're very quiet" she says turning towards Brittany.
"Yeah, work is ok" Brittany nods.
"Nothing new on the horizon for you then?" David wonders.
"Actually, I am no longer the head of accounting and finance at SL Designs" Brittany says nervously to everyone. "In fact, I'm no longer the head of accounting and finance anywhere" she adds for clarification.
"You quit your job?" her mom asks surprised.
"In a way" Brittany nods.
"And you don't work for another company in accounts or work for an accounting firm?" her dad asks worriedly. I can see they're worried that they think she doesn't have any kind of job anymore.
"I don't but I do have another role nowadays" Brittany smiles.
"Ok, what is it?" Alison asks curiously.
"You are looking at the new face of BP Sportswear" Brittany smiles.
"I don't mean to be rude but I don't know what that is" Brittany's mom says apologetically.
"I know you don't because it's a new sportswear line owned by this lady right here but created and run by me" Brittany smiles. "You both know I love working out and I had this idea about a new line for Santana but she said she wanted me to develop it."
"If it's something you want and are passionate about then we're really happy for you. We both clearly know nothing about fashion or sportwear really but I'm glad you've found something you really want to pursue" Alison says honestly. Brittany has told her parents about her struggles recently about not sure where to go in life so they understand she needed something else and to move away from accounts.
"Yeah, we're glad you've found something you like doing" David smiles. "I must say though; your mom is wrong. She might not know anything about fashion but I would say I'm very fashionable for a 50-year-old" he adds.
"I know nothing about fashion either dad but I can safely say you are not fashionable" Brittany teases her dad.
"Joking aside, tell us more about this new line" Alison says.
"Well it's all Brittany's ideas and she runs everything but we figured it would be better to connect it to my line since I'm an already established brand. We did want to give it a different name though to kind of set it apart from what I do because it's targeted to a different demographic" I say. "Everything is made and produced at SL Designs and all the income comes to the same company but Brittany is free to do whatever she wants with it" I add.
"I have complete control of how everything is handled with it so it's going to be fun" Brittany smiles.
"Brittany is going to be amazing in her new role, I just know it" I smile back at her.
"Anyway, enough about us. What is going on with you both?" Brittany asks her parents.
"Not a lot really. We're just working as usual and spending lots of time with our grandchildren" Alison replies. Brittany's sisters are both older than her so they're both married and have started families with their husbands. "We would like to see a little more of our youngest daughter though" she adds.
"I know mom but I've just been super busy recently" Brittany replies.
"That's probably my fault but we're making more of an effort these days to cut back on work and spend time with the people we love" I say. Even though we are busy at work we have both agreed to be around our families and one another a little more because we miss them. "Why don't you both come over for dinner next weekend. You can come to my place and we'll invite your other daughters and their families and Brittany and I can cook."
"If Brittany is cooking then it's a hard no from me, I'm sorry" David teases his daughter.
"I can actually cook a lot better now dad, I promise" Brittany replies. She told me she used to be an awful cook when she lived with her parents but when she moved out and became more independent then she got some cooking skills.
"It's true actually" Alison nods. "You were away on business a few weeks ago so Brittany invited me to dinner and it was lovely" she smiles at Brittany.
"Plus, I have Santana cooking too so it can't be that bad" Brittany states.
"Ok" David nods.
"Ok, what?" Brittany asks confused.
"What your dad means is it would be lovely to have dinner with everyone so yes we'll come" Alison replies.
00000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000
*Friday 21st August 2020*
Brittany and some of the others at BP Sportswear are doing a photoshoot today to launch the new campaign. They're all modelling some of the new products and are doing a photoshoot to market them and really put the new line out there. Brittany has enlisted the help of my head of marketing to make sure she does it right and has my social media expert on hand too to help. Even though she runs this project now, a lot of the staff work for both of us. It was a little stressful in the beginning to be able to accommodate both of us but if Brittany and I work on that together then we'll be able to share the staff appropriately. There really is no need for two marketing teams or two sales teams etc. because all of the fashion lines here are under SL Designs so we just need to make sure we manage things properly and respect the other's choice of management in their line. I really don't think it'll be an issue though because Brittany always worked amazingly for me so she and I have the same management techniques I would say so things will go according to plan.
"Hey guys, how is it going?" I ask as I walk into the room where everyone is working on the photoshoot.
"It's going great" Courtney smiles.
"What are you doing here?" Brittany asks with a smile as she wraps her arms around me.
"I just wanted to come and see how things were going" I smile while shrugging slightly. I'm not trying to step on her toes and take over, I just wanted to see what they've done so far from a nosy point of view. The designs look great so I just wanted a sneak peek of the photoshoot.
"Do you want to try on some stuff?" she asks me. Brittany has had complete control over this so I haven't seen any finished designs yet or tried anything on to see how they fit.
"Ok" I smile. I have some free time right now so it might be fun to try on these new things. I definitely know the next time I'm working out or at the gym then I'll be wearing BP Sportswear so why not try it on now.
"Do you want to pick something yourself or should I pick some things for you to try?" she asks me.
"You pick me something" I smile and she nods. As I keep saying we both love working out so I'm sure Brittany will know the right thing for me to try on. As soon as she picks me something, I go over to change before walking back over to her. "What do you think?" I ask.
"You look great but I am kinda biased since I designed the clothes" she shrugs. "Also, you know my favourite thing for you to wear is nothing so it's more clothes than I would like" she whispers in my ear.
"I'll wear nothing later, I promise" I say while giving her a flirty wink. "Seriously though, these feel very comfortable. I definitely could workout in these or even just wear them casually in the day" I add.
"Yeah, exactly" Brittany nods. "My first thought was for working out and things but the more I put some ideas together the more I realised that you don't have to work out in them. You can wear them any time really like going to the store or running errands. Just casual and comfy clothes yet stylish since they are under the SL Designs umbrella" she smiles.
"I'm not just saying this because I own the company or you're my girlfriend but I really think all of these designs are great. I definitely think they're going to sell and I think you'll have great success with this whole thing" I smile.
"It means a lot to me so thank you for saying that" Brittany says while kissing my cheek. She has been a little nervous lately because she's never done something like this before on her own and she doesn't want to let me down. She could never do that but I get where she is coming from because her clothing line is a part of my company so there might be a little pressure on her.
"I only speak the truth, you know that" I smile.
"Since you're wearing some of the designs, do you want to get in on the photoshoot. We could take a couple of snaps of you in what you're wearing" she says.
"Sounds like fun so why not" I smile.
"Cool" Brittany smiles back.
"I don't want any of these pictures to go out though because this is your project" I say. I want Brittany to have her own success because I know she's good enough so having me in the photoshoot might attract people from SL Designs. I don't want people buying the stuff because I'm in the photoshoot but buying it because they love the new designs Brittany has come up with.
"Maybe you being in it though will give the line some popularity" Brittany shrugs.
"You don't need my help babe. You're already good enough so don't be worried. This is going to be amazing and tons of people will buy your stuff" I smile. I can already see this will be successful so I want to make sure Brittany gets all the credit and she doesn't think it's because I'm taking over her photoshoot.
"I really hope so" she tells me.
"Don't take this the wrong way ok but I will point out that you might not have as big a following as me right now because you are new to this but it doesn't mean you're not good enough" I assure her. These things take time because I remember when I first started my company, I was making cute little outfits from home with only a few online customers and now my brand has really grown. The key is to set yourself apart from other brands and do what they don't.
"I know" Brittany nods. "I worked with your finances so I know how big you are so I don't expect that right now but hopefully in time I can change that and maybe expand things even more" she shrugs.
"I already know this is going to be amazing so I'm looking forward to all of your success" I say. "If you ever need me then I'm here for you but I will keep myself out of things here because this is all yours babe" I tell her.
"I think I'm doing ok just now but you will definitely be the first person I come to if I ever need anything or have fucked up majorly" she says with a slight chuckle.
"You won't fuck up so have more confidence in yourself" I say while reassuringly squeezing her hand. "You practically ran my whole company with me for a while so you've got this more than you know" I smile.
"Thank you for believing in me and giving me this opportunity" she says honestly.
"You're very welcome" I smile. I didn't just do it because she was my girlfriend, I did this because I know Brittany is amazing and she is better than just an accounts manager. Don't get me wrong all of my employees are valuable to me and have great jobs but I could see for a while there that accounts weren't where she wanted or should be. Everything has really worked out well now because we still work in the same place but each have our own roles so we can have control and our own thing but still walk along the corridor and have coffee with each other whenever we need a break. This whole thing is definitely working out for the better so I'm excited for the future now, not just because I don't lose Brittany but because I want to see what else we can do together.
XXX
It's quadruple date night tonight so Brittany and I are going out for dinner with Quinn, Tina, Mercedes and their partners. After Brittany finished the photoshoot, we both got back to work on our own things. I did stay and watch some of the shoot but I left before they finished because I want to be just as blown away by the whole thing as everyone else so I didn't want to completely spoil the big launch for myself. Once we left work, we headed back to my place and got ready for our night with our friends before getting a cab and making our way to the restaurant. Brittany will likely stay at my place again tonight so it's going to be a fun night no matter what happens.
"You've got a Brittany on your face Santana" Quinn says with a smirk as we sit down. We are last to arrive to dinner as usual because I ended up getting distracted by something like always. Brittany does like to be on schedule so she wasn't too happy we weren't on time but on the other hand, she was my distraction so it is sorta her fault as well that we're late. She wouldn't stop dancing around because she was so excited for her new project to take off and since I find Brittany particularly sexy when she dances then I did entice her to bed.
"I'd rather a Brittany than no one" I smirk. "What's up James, are you tired of my best friend's old boring face?" I ask.
"I don't need to be glued to my girlfriend's face to prove to everyone I love her" James smiles at me.
"Santana doesn't need to prove she loves me because it's obvious" Brittany shrugs.
"Exactly" I smile at my girlfriend before kissing her.
Dinner with our friends went really well. We just ate lots of food, drank lots of alcohol and really all caught up with one another. Now that I'm in a good place personally with Brittany then I can actually stomach nights like this. I used to hate having dinner with other couples but nowadays I think it's fun. It's also nice to see my best friend so happy too and I think Brittany feels the same way about things. She likes hanging out with her friends and seeing them happy but also likes the fact it's just her and I at the end of the night. All of us are currently at a bar now really making the most of the night and just having fun. Quinn and I are just at the bathroom right now while the others are getting a table and ordering some drinks.
"Is Brittany the one?" Quinn asks curiously as she touches up her makeup at the sink.
"Oh 100% she's the one. There's no doubt about it" I say, smiling at thinking about Brittany. I am seriously so happy in my personal life right now.
"I'm really happy for you Santana. I am so glad you've finally found someone you're destined to be with" Quinn says genuinely.
"I've never been happier with someone before" I say honestly. "In the past I've had fun in relationships and stuff but they clearly didn't work for a reason and that's because no one has ever made me feel like this before except Brittany."
"I can see that so you're welcome" Quinn smiles.
"I'm welcome?" I ask confused. "What have you got to do with my happiness?" I question.
"I brought you and Brittany together. I have been telling you since day one since Brittany started working for you that you should go for it" she states.
"You did tell me that but you can't take the credit for us finally being together because that happened all on our own. Brittany and I got closer and it made us realise on our own that we're meant to be together" I say. Quinn might have teased us in the beginning but I don't do anything Quinn tells me to unless I want to do it so I am with Brittany because of Brittany and not Quinn.
"Well anyway, I am really happy for both of you and I can't wait to see what happens next for any of us" she smiles.
"I agree" I smile back. Once we finish up in the bathroom, we make our way back out to the table and join everyone else for drinks.
Let me know what you think. I'll probably move things on a little bit in the next chapter.