by Nella Tyler
I grinned, relieved. I was still in shock and recovering from the intense fear that was propelled onto me by their silence to feel anything other than relief presently, but I knew that excitement would come.
“Thank you so much, Sir. I speak for the whole of my father’s company when I tell you how excited we are to be working with you,” I responded as my mind wandered to exactly what my father would think about me closing the deal. After all, he was thinking of firing me, and I had little doubt that he would make good on that threat, had I messed up this endeavor. Fortunately, I was able to be productive enough for them to notice my talents.
“You know,” the older man insisted as I turned to face him to shake his hand as well, “I know your father owns the company you work for but if you are ever looking for a job, we would be happy to not only take on a talented young man like you, but I would be willing to double your salary as incentive. Bob was right about you. You’ve certainly got something special…rare, especially for your generation.”
I couldn’t be sure, but I had a feeling that he was taking a low-blow at his partner’s son.
Maybe this company isn’t all that different than my father’s, I thought but decided it wasn’t worth contemplating. After all, in this situation, I was on the positive end of the underhanded insult, if in fact that was even what it was and regardless of its implication, it felt good to be praised.
I knew that made me sound like Brock and thus, if I was right, the son would automatically resent me for it, but I wasn’t a weasel-faced little bastard, and I had no intention of screwing him. Therefore, the correlation between the two of us stopped abruptly.
“Thank you, Sir. I will keep that in mind. In the meantime, I will have our lawyers draw up the paperwork and have them send it over to you this afternoon.” I gave him a broad grin and maintained eye contact with the older man until he released my hand. Once he did, I looked to the three of them and expressed my gratitude. “Thank you, again, for taking the time out to speak with me, and I am looking forward to working closely with you in the near future.”
After that, we officially concluded the meeting, and after a few more moments, I was walking outside, feeling amazing.
Finally, the gravity of what I had accomplished started to sink in, and I couldn’t have been happier. Everything was going to work out as I had expected it to. I couldn’t believe it.
By the time I had made it outside, I was ecstatic, and the only person I could think of that would undoubtedly share my enthusiasm was Mazie. I knew that she would be happy for me and I was sure that her excitement would only enhance my own enthusiasm.
As I searched for her name in my phone to call her, I briefly thought that my father should be the first call I made, but I hastily rejected that portion of my thought process.
My father can wait to hear the news. I’ll let him sweat it out for a little longer.
Mazie
The following day, I awoke energized and excited.
I had already made plans with Laura to go to yoga together, but after getting started for the day, I couldn’t believe how excited I was to get going.
While I maintained the same reasoning for exercising—because I had to—today, I already felt centered and only wanted to boost that positivity.
“Well, someone’s chipper this morning,” Laura beamed as she spied me walking inside.
“Yes, I am!” I exclaimed, hardly able to contain a giggle.
“Oh?” her eyes grew wide as she threw open her mat and placed it on the ground.
It was already hot in the yoga room, which was the point, but the expression I sensed on Laura made me blush.
I could hardly wait to tell her about my amazing night, but the way she looked at me made me feel like she could read my mind.
“Oh, yeah,” I answered easily, raising my eyebrows to match her expression.
“So, what happened? Does your good mood start with a D, by chance?”
“Yes, it does,” I replied before moving closer to her and lowering my voice, “I slept with Dexter last night.”
Laura, in shock, let out a squeal that caused our fellow yoga-goers to look up from their mats and scoff in our direction.
Unconcerned by their sense of disapproval, Laura shook her head, waved them off nonchalantly, grabbed my hand and hurried me out of the class.
I went along, more because I didn’t want to cause a scene than because I wanted to discuss it at any length.
After all, it was my business.
“Oh my God!” Laura exclaimed before the door even had a chance to shut behind her completely, “You have to tell me everything!”
I narrowed my eyes. Even though the thought of the night before caused the blood to into my cheeks, I couldn’t help but be overwhelmed by the thought of recanting my salacious evening.
“It was…amazing,” I replied honestly, moving back toward the door with the intention of going back inside.
“No! You’re staying right here!” Laura exclaimed, pulling me back around to face her. “I have waited years, no, decades, for this explanation. You have pined over Dexter for what seems like forever. You owe me this!”
While I was never the girl to kiss and tell, I did see her point.
The hair on the back of my neck stood on end as memories of steamy, passionate intimacy flooded my mind. I couldn’t help but grin as I started to relay some of the broader strokes, painting a vague picture of what had truly happened.
However, although I did my best, as soon as I started talking, I was certain there were no words to accurately describe the intense diatribe of emotions that still lingered in my powerful recollections.
Yet, despite my linguistic inadequacy, Laura seemed to comprehend the kind of night I was trying to describe to her.
“So, it was everything you hoped it would be?” she finally chimed in after I had fallen silent for a moment.
“Oh my God…Laura, it was so much better! You don’t understand; I still can’t believe I can feel that way. It was amazing!”
“I am so happy for you!” she exclaimed, hugging me tightly for a second before breaking away with mischief in her gaze. “So, are you going to try to recreate perfection?” she insisted.
I chuckled, thinking about the opportunity to see Dexter again.
“I hope so,” I offered honestly, “He’s on a business trip right now but he swears as soon as he gets back, we will see one another again.”
“Oh yeah!” Laura’s eyes widened, “He’s got that big meeting this week,” she chuckled, “And you’re over here distracting him,” she teased.
“I like to think that I helped him,” I shot back. “If nothing else, I know I got him to relax, release, and stop thinking about work for a few minutes.”
“That’s true,” Laura offered before her expression grew serious and her tone deepened slightly. “So…speaking of work…how does your father feel about all of this?”
Killing the mood, I felt my cheeks redden for a completely different reason.
“I haven’t told him yet,” I admitted but was quick to defend my position. “The only reason I haven’t said anything is because I don’t want it to be a big deal, in case it doesn’t work out.”
“Okay, sure. I get that,” she replied in her best-friend voice that I absolutely hated. “But, how serious do you guys have to get? I mean, it will definitely be awkward to try to explain how you got engaged if your father doesn’t even know you’re dating.”
She rolled her eyes playfully and tried to seem lighthearted, but I knew that she was making a valid point. However, I still found it utterly ridiculous.
“Laura, if it gets that serious, I’m sure he’ll know!”
Laura backed up and put her hands in the air, as though in surrender, “I know. Listen, I just want to make sure you’re making the right decision. This is a big deal, and you guys have a good relationship. I would hate to see something happen to it, not because of who you’re dating but how long it took for you
to tell your father.”
“And, I get that. I do. Thank you, but he may never call me again. Let me at least wait until I’ve had a few dates with him before I open up that potential nightmare.”
“Maybe it won’t be as bad as you think?” she offered, but I was still doubtful.
While I didn’t think my father was going to disown me or anything, I was certain that he wouldn’t be exactly welcoming to the idea, and as for Dexter’s father, well, that might be a whole new issue.
“Anyway, all I had to say is I think you should tell your father sooner rather than later.”
“Noted,” I replied without any inclination to say much of anything else.
Getting the hint, Laura continued on a more positive note.
“Seriously though, all best friend advice aside, I am extremely happy for you. He’s definitely a catch and…” As she paused, her eyebrows raised and a knowing smirk crossed her features, “It also doesn’t hurt that he has money.”
I shook my head and rolled my eyes. While I knew I was far better off than Laura ever was and even with having a wonderful job, she would go after a man with money for the sake of stability and fun, I didn’t share that ambition.
“Laura, I have money too. Our fathers own the same company.”
She thought about this for a moment, as though she wasn’t quite sure how she forgot that, before giving a small giggle and responding, “Oh yeah, that’s right. But it still doesn’t hurt to have another kickass income. There’s no such thing as too much money.”
Again, I rolled my eyes at her.
“Yes, there is. Trust me. I have grown up around people who have had too much money, and it isn’t a pretty thing.”
It was obvious from the look on her face that she wholeheartedly disagreed but nonetheless, she didn’t say anything else and thus, I dropped the subject and we returned to the yoga class.
All throughout the class, I thought of Dexter, and every time I tried to relax, I was met with a stunning shock, a memory of what we had done or how he had touched me that made me tense. It was not an unpleasant feeling, considering the memory was welcomed, but it certainly wasn’t relaxing.
Every time one of these vivid memories broke the concentration, I felt my heart race and my breath grow hasty. As a result, my cheeks flushed, and I swallowed hard. My mind raced, trying to overthrow the feelings I was having and trying to force myself to relax.
However, each and every time I tried to simmer down, focus and reconnect with my inner-self, devoid of Dexter and all the issues our relationship incited, another thought would plague me. This thought would grow until it couldn’t be ignored, thus starting the whole process all over again.
Therefore, by the end of the session, I found myself feeling more stressed than when I arrived.
Yet, all that stress and paranoia melted away when I walked out of the class and felt my phone start to buzz inside my yoga bag.
Scooting away from Laura, not wanting to have to explain the situation to her, whatever it may be, I reached inside the bag for my phone and became excited upon reading Dexter’s name on the screen.
“Hey,” I answered, trying not to sound eager, but was pretty sure that I epically failed, “How did the meeting go?”
“You’re not gonna believe it,” he exclaimed and I couldn’t help my heart lurching forward in my chest with fear and anticipation. The way he said it, I couldn’t be sure whether he was pleased or so angry he was consumed in a seething haze of ire.
“What?” I asked, trying to keep my emotions from going too crazy.
“I fucking did it!” he screamed, and despite the expletive, he sounded like a child, now undeniably excited. “I locked the deal, Mazie!”
“Oh my God! Yes! I knew you could do it!” I replied, trying not to be too loud or give into the urge to jump up and down. “This is wonderful!” I added breathlessly, “Your father is going to be so proud of you!”
After I the last part, I felt the drop in the level of his elated emotion, and I knew I had said something wrong, at least to Dexter, but I wasn’t sure what it was. I hadn’t meant to bring up his father, but since my father and myself were so close, it seemed like a natural way to reassure him of his accomplishment.
Of course, now, I wasn’t so sure I had made the right decision.
I stopped talking abruptly, waiting for him to speak after realizing he didn’t have any kind of agreement after I spoke. Instead, it seemed as though his voice and attention trailed off.
“Yeah, maybe,” Dexter answered after a moment of silence. I could tell that he sounded hurt and therefore, I wanted to try to reaffirm that he should be proud of himself. After all, the small amount I had heard about his father was that he wasn’t the best at giving praise and perhaps the two weren’t all that close.
For the first time, I wondered if perhaps his father hired Dexter out of obligation but surely, if that were the case and he wasn’t actually good at his job, Laura would have told me.
Maybe nothing is good enough for his father, I wondered, knowing that was not an uncommon trait among the people in our parents’ social circles.
I knew I was lucky that my father was so supportive and growing up, it seemed that Mr. Myers was equally as supportive as of his son, if not of anyone else.
However, with the earnest reaction I received, I couldn’t help but wonder if I was wrong. I wanted to delve further into this, to assuage my own curiosity but instead, I remained silent.
Thankfully, Dexter changed the subject quickly after that, disallowing a lot of time to elapse, so that the conversation didn’t end up becoming overly awkward.
“Anyway, I am excited to come back and spend some time with you. I’ve been thinking about you ever since the moment I left your house,” he told me in a low, sensual voice that yet again reminded me of the previous night’s escapades.
This time, however, instead of being embarrassed, I was excited. I felt the grin creep widely over my face and I giggled as I told him, “Hurry back, Dexter, and then you won’t have to miss me.”
Dexter
I was eager to return home, especially after the conversation I had with Mazie. Therefore, I took the first flight I could, which brought me home a little later than I thought I would be, which made me realize my father would have to wait a little longer to get the news. I wasn’t broken up about it in the least, but I did need to tell him soon, lest risk him trying to pull some crap about me not disclosing pertinent information to him.
However, since it was late, I figured if I woke him up instead of simply waiting until the morning he would be even less grateful than he was sure to be when I told him during business hours.
So, I decided to wait.
The next morning, I woke up in a great mood. My job was finished, as far as this deal was concerned, and I had pulled it off fantastically. Now, it wouldn’t matter much what my father had to say; I was going to be taken care of. The best part of it all was that it had nothing to do with my father. I had landed this big deal all by myself, and I hoped that my father would appreciate it.
I doubted it, but the hope was still there, and that hope made me increasingly eager to wake up the following morning.
I knew I would probably have to mentally prepare myself for my father’s reaction when I told him about the deal, but all my mental preparation was done while I prepared and ate my breakfast.
When I was finished, I headed out the door.
The whole way to the office, I thought about the implications of this deal, and thus, I grew to be more than moderately excited about it.
The more I contemplated how much of a win this was, not only for me but for the company as a whole, the more I realized that there was absolutely no way my father could deny being proud of me.
Therefore, by the time I reached the office, I was in a great mood. For once, I had done exactly as I was supposed to do and the outcome was exactly as I had expected. There was no surprise at the end and no bad news.
&nb
sp; In fact, I had even received word by that point that Mr. Wilson had already returned the signed paperwork. The plan was progressing even quicker than I thought it would.
At best, I thought it would take a few days to narrow down the specifics, but they seemed to have no problem with anything. They were leaving it up to us, specifically up to me to take the vision they had of their company and market it into a reality.
Perhaps it was my own fault for thinking that my father was any kind of a decent human being. That tends to be a running assurance of failure and disappointment throughout my life, but by the time I made it within eyesight of my father’s office, I was looking forward to finally making him proud.
After what I had accomplished, literally against all odds, even my own father and the company that had raised me, I was feeling especially confident.
However, when I walked into his office, I was immediately shot down, simply by circumstance. I walked into the office and looked around, eyeing the empty chair, behind the colossal, overly burdened desk, as well as the empty corner, with two fresh scotch glasses tipped on their rims. The decanter of the expensive gentleman’s drink also remained untouched.
After a moment, first getting over the sheer absurdity, given the importance of the news I was certain he was expecting, I finally concluded that my father hadn’t graced his office with his presence today.
I huffed with disappointment as I wheeled around to face the rest of the office.
I rearranged my emotions so that the secretary I approached had no idea that I was let down.
“Hey, beautiful,” I offered with a wide, fake grin.
I hoped she didn’t notice.
Her blush indicated that I had gotten my wish.
“Good morning, handsome,” she replied in a manner that caused me to wonder if she knew something that I didn’t, or at least, something I had yet to reveal. Fortunately, she didn’t leave me in suspense all that long, “So, I heard about your big win yesterday.”
“Did you?” I asked, trying to only feign surprise, “How did you hear about it?”
