BRIELLE
I took a look at my wristwatch,
9:45 am.
I was in my office, waiting for it to be 10 o’clock so I could move to the conference room.
In about a few minutes, Dylan and I were going to hear who had succeeded in getting the most investors… we were going to be told which one of us was turning vice president, and which one of us was moving to Tulsa;
Some news I wasn’t really sure I was ready for, yet.
My relationship with Dylan had been nothing short of perfect so far,
Almost a month of blissfulness… of enjoying our second chance as man and girlfriend, and I must say, we were both settling into the role a little too much if you ask me.
I may have quickly forgiven him for being a jerk when he found out about the whole cheating-that-actually-turned-out-not-to-be-an-actual-cheating-situation, but that didn’t mean I didn’t make him work for that forgiveness.
Oh believe me, I completely understood make-up sex in every sense of the word now.
We had also gotten very intimate, and really comfortable with each other as well… so much so that I was practically living with him now.
It was all for the best anyway, since it gave Silvie and Nick some chance to explore their new budding romance; they started going out a few weeks back.
I really didn’t know how I could handle Dylan going to Tulsa, or myself going there instead…
Either way, it was still a loss-loss situation.
Dylan was way more optimistic than I was about the whole ordeal, I honestly don’t know where he gets such a bright outlook on life from, but a part of me also feels like he is hiding something from me, you know?
There was a knock at my door, the action interrupting me from my musings. “Come in.” I gently ordered, and an excited Amy barged into the office.
Yeah, I know… I kept her.
Amy Johnson wasn’t so bad at her job, and I figured it was alright to have her working for me anyway rather than go back to stressing Chloe out with double of her normal workload. Aside the fact that she loved talking too much, and was way too cheery for my liking, she was a decent assistant, who was slowly growing on me.
“What is it, Amy?” I called out.
“Oh, sorry… I just couldn’t stop admiring your outfit, Brielle. I mean, who would have thought to combine fuchsia pink with orange? Absolutely no one, but you did… and you completely nailed the look in the process. Girl, I really need to start taking pointers from you-”
“Why are you here, Amy? I’m sure it’s definitely not to praise my outfit.” I cut in with a chuckle, drawing an embarrassed blush out of the young woman. “It’s totally not. Sorry. I just wanted to let you know that Shawn Thomas just came in, and the meeting will be starting shortly.” She told me, rushing out of the room right after.
A grin broke out on my face both at her clumsiness and the fact that Shawn was in.
I stood up, closed my laptop shut, and headed out of my office and up to Shawn’s.
I really couldn’t wait to see him.
The elevator doors opened at the top floor and I made my way to Shawn’s office. With a brief knock, I barged in. “Shawn!”
His grin was instantaneous. “Brielle! Why have I missed you so?” He boomed with laughter, steering his wheelchair in my direction. My heart broke at the sight, but I managed to stay cheery for his sake.
Shawn’s health was deteriorating, and fast. He had become too weak to be able to stand on his feet, let alone move a couple of steps, hence the wheelchair.
I wrapped my arms around him in a hug. “Everyone here at RetroCorp has missed you too, Shawn… myself more than the others.” I said with a grin, invoking another bout of laughter from the old man. He pushed me to arm’s length in order to take a better look at me, his laughter slowly receding into a gentle smile. “Are you ready to claim the position you have always been dreaming of since you stepped into this company?” He asked me seriously. I squared my shoulders. “You know I am, Shawn.”
“Good.” He said. “Please take good care of my company, and of my son.” His voice broke at the end, and I felt my eyes well up with tears. “I promise, I will.” I told him earnestly.
Shawn cleared his throat noisily, that jolly look that I had come to love returning on his face. “What are we waiting for? Let’s start heading to the conference room!”
****
“I am pleased to inform everyone present here today, that thanks to the amazing contributions of Brielle and Dylan to the company, RetroCorp's time as a corporation is far from over.” Shawn boomed over the microphone as he addressed all staff present.
This meeting was a quarterly one, which meant the new Vice president was going to be introduced in front of the whole company. My heart beat rapidly against my chest. Dylan sat beside me at my right hand side, his eyes shining with love, his entire demeanor calm and collected, as if he wasn’t aware that the results of this meeting could probably change our lives and our relationship forever. He squeezed my hand gently, “Relax, princess.” He whispered. “Everything will turn out okay, you’ll see.”
I smiled tightly at him, but didn’t say a word.
After Shawn’s speech, all departmental heads took turns briefing everyone about their achievements and failures… an activity that took up even more time. I zoned out for most of the briefings, and went through mine as though in a daze. People who had been given promotions were then acknowledged, and a few new promotions were awarded to a couple of deserving people.
My stomach rumbled with nervousness as Shawn was handed the microphone for the second time. The whole board of directors stood behind him in silent support. “Now, for the announcement we have all been waiting for… it’s finally time to reveal the new vice president of RetroCorp.” The large conference room was silent, as everyone waited for the results with bated breaths, it was so silent that you would have heard a pin drop.
I stared at my left hand, giving my fingernails a hungry look. I don’t know why, but I strongly felt the urge to bite them… I always felt the need to do so whenever I was extremely nervous, but I was recently learning how to get over the nasty habit.
“The new vice president of RetroCorp for the 2020 board of Directors is… Dylan Thomas!” A round of applause broke out as we all stood up.
I couldn’t believe it.
There was a rush in my ears, as Dylan and I shared equally incredulous looks of disbelief. We had spoken about this a few times, Dylan had been convinced that he wasn’t going to get the position, and honestly speaking… I had been thinking the same thing too.
Even just today, Shawn had asked me to take care of his company for crying out loud… what the fuck had that been about then?
My heart broke at the news, even as I willed myself to smile for Dylan and gesture for him to climb up the podium. He held my gaze, his eyes shining with sadness and something else I couldn’t quite identify before he slowly tore them away from me and walked up there to accept the position.
God, I was going to go to Tulsa!
I couldn’t be sad… no, I couldn’t cry. This was great news for Dylan. I was going to do my best to be the happy, supportive girlfriend I was supposed to be. We were going to figure out a way around this.
There was a sudden rush of silence that had me snapping out of my reverie. Up there, Dylan stood with the rest of the board behind Shawn, who from the looks of it wasn’t done with his announcement. “As you all know, I haven’t been in the right state of health to show up at the office for the past couple of months.” He said. “My health is rapidly deteriorating, and as such, I feel now is the time to take a step back from active duty to spend the rest of my time left with my family. It is with this conviction that I am resigning from my post as president of this prestigious institution.”
Loud gasps filled the once silent room, and people began to chatter excitedly. I didn’t understand, what was Shawn doing?
“Can I have some silence, please?” He pleaded, the entire conference room going silent again at his request. “Thank you. The board of directors, and myself, have agreed that there is no one more worthy of this now vacant post, than Brielle Jackson.”
Oh, my God!!!
“Brielle has demonstrated countless times that she can be an excellent leader for Lavish , and though she may be very young, she has shown time and time again, that age is just a number, earning herself the full, unanimous support of the entire board.” Shawn continued. “Please, welcome your new CEO, and president of Lavish… Brielle Lucia Renaud!”
Ear-crushing applause broke out in the conference room as I made my way up to the podium. A stray tear rolled down my face as I laughed, my eyes on Dylan who threw me a very flirty wink.
The idiot had known, and he didn’t tell me.
I was still reeling from the news. My palms were clammy, my legs like jelly as they carried me up to the podium. “This is all too much, Shawn.” I whispered happily as the old man engulfed me in a hug, a proud look on his face as he whispered in my ear. “You deserve this, child.”
I shook hands with the members of the board. Dylan opted for a hug instead, a very happy grin on his face as he planted a soft, chaste kiss on my lips that had the entire room booming with applause. “You have no idea how proud I am of you, Bree.” He whispered. I couldn’t bring myself to say anything, still being completely overwhelmed with the whole news.
The microphone was handed to me, and I cleared my throat countless times to get my vocal cords working again. “I-I’m honestly speechless right now.” I declared to everyone joyfully. “This is a very unexpected honor, and I am totally humbled by the faith you all have placed in me to get me this far. I can assure you all that I am not going to let you down, and I hope you all will work together with me as you have already been doing, so that together, we can all bring RetroCorp to greater heights. Thank you once again for the wonderful opportunity.”
The meeting basically ended after my acceptance speech, people were just huddled in twos and threes exchanging small talk. I slowly made my way over to Dylan, a goofy grin on my face. “I can’t believe you knew and didn’t tell me, Dy.” I accused, invoking a bubble of laughter out of my handsome boyfriend. He pulled me closer to him and held me in his arms. “I didn’t want to ruin the element of surprise for you, love.”
“At least a little hint would have been nice.” I pressed. He shrugged, “I actually wanted to tell you, but Dad was pretty adamant about it. He said you couldn’t know until the actual day of the announcement.”
“Wow, I see.” I muttered.
“So…” Dylan drawled with a smirk. “You really are my boss now, huh?” I flashed him a smirk of my own. “It would seem so.” I told him. “Why, do you have a problem with that?”
“Not at all, princess.” He admitted. “If anything at all, it gives me immense pleasure knowing I’m going to be frolicking in bed with my boss.” He teased, his eyebrows wiggling up and down. I laughed, shaking my head at his antics, the subtle image he painted doing a lot of things to certain private parts I wouldn’t like to mention.
Dylan walked me out of the conference room, his hand on the small of my back as we headed over to my office, as though he wanted to declare to the whole world that I was his. “You do realise we’re at work, don’t you?” I teased, but he only chuckled. “Indeed I do. This is me trying to be professional, Bree. Believe me, the things I want to do to you…” He whispered, his eyes dark and smoldering, telling me everything his mouth didn’t want to say…
Oh, God.
I couldn’t control myself, couldn’t control the unbearable ache I felt between my thighs.
I wanted him, now.