The Proposal

by R. R. Banks

  "Yes," he said, standing and walking over to the bar he always kept fully stocked. "With the exception of the first Reed who established this company, every man who has come into power has done so after he already had his heir, his successor. Let's keep up with that tradition, shall we? For now, I won't say anything about my plans to the board. Things will continue on exactly as they have been. For one year. If you are on your way to a family by then, I'll reconsider."

  "One year?" I asked in disbelief.

  "Yes, Gabriel. One year. You are thirty years old now. Surely, you've met women who might be relationship worthy in all this time. At the very least, you should know how to make these connections by now."

  I couldn't wrap my head around the concept of having a baby just so that I could inherit what was rightfully mine to begin with. I thought about what my father had said about the women I knew, and my mind went immediately to the pair of panties I found in my car a few days earlier. Bright purple mesh with black cheetah print and tiny purple bows on the hips, the panties had been balled up and shoved down into the passenger seat. They weren't leftovers from any recent dalliance that might have happened in the car itself. Instead, they were from my most recent fling wriggling out of them when I wasn't paying attention and shoving them there like she was marking her territory. It had made me angry when I first found them, but after thinking about it, I realized just how pathetic it really was. I pitied her for being desperate enough to think that she had some kind of hold over me. In truth, however, that one ridiculous move had been the closest to being tied down by any woman that I had ever been before.

  I didn't do relationships. I never had. A woman might keep my bed warm for a few hours, but that was it. If she was really entertaining, I might even go for a second helping. I had a reliable selection of women from good families who I could bring as a date to galas and other events, but I was careful to keep them at a certain distance. Each group of women fulfilled a specific need that I had, and that system had always worked out for me nicely. I knew that my choices weren't necessarily considered seemly for a man of my family's wealth and prominence. Honestly, I didn’t care much about what society thought of me or my choice of dates. Nine years ago, I watched my best friend die and the impact had thrown my life into chaos. I have never been the same.

  Now my father wanted me to give him a grandchild to prove that I had put that unseemly life behind me and was serious about taking over and making the company my number one priority. As he stood there pouring bourbon from his brilliant crystal decanter into his tumbler, I knew the conversation was over. I had lost. I didn't have any other choice but to accept this as my reality and decide on my next move.

  Chapter Three

  Cherry

  "So, I won't be interviewing with my actual boss?"

  I didn't mean for it to sound quite as suspicious as it had come out. I intended to sound curious and engaged but had managed to sound as though I thought this was a cover for an underground fighting ring, and she was preparing to shanghai me. The woman who had greeted and escorted me back to the small office where we were now sitting, paused and narrowed her eyes at me.

  "No," she said. "He's too busy to handle something like this. I've been working with the company since before he was born. I was his dad’s secretary when they still called us secretaries. Now I'm an executive assistant. Same job but better title, more pay, and I get to wear pantsuits. I'm not sure if that really has anything to do with it, but I will take the little things where I can get them. And once I fill this position, I'm going to be nothing but a retired grandmother of twelve.”

  "Wow," I said.

  I found myself leaning slightly closer to Miss Edna, Chief Executive Assistant. She hadn't introduced herself that way, but she was just the type of woman that warranted the title. The rich tone of her skin reminded me of Jess. Edna wore the vibrant jewel-colored tones that I always tried to pull off but ended up looking like a reject Faberge egg. She seemed to fill the room with a sense of quiet dignity and strength but looked like she gave the best hugs in the world. Can I be her when I grow up?

  "So, what are your qualifications for this position?" Miss Edna asked.

  She took her place in the seat across the desk from me while I tried to come up with something clever to say in response.

  "I don't have any," I said.

  Well done, Cherry.

  "You don't have any?" she asked slowly as if she was making sure she had heard correctly. "You did read the listing, right? It specifically mentioned that I am looking for an experienced executive assistant to fill the position. The responsibilities of this position must be taken very seriously and there isn't the time to train someone on every little thing."

  I sighed in defeat and nodded.

  "I was pretty much expecting that," I said. "It kind of fits with the month I've been having."

  "Well what qualifications do you have?" she asked.

  "I've answered phones a lot," I said. "Both professionally and personally. And I know how to get an badly packaged holiday gift on a front porch and past two dogs without breaking its contents."

  I tried to sell myself optimistically, but she was looking at me as if she was about as convinced as I would be in her shoes.

  "That will be right helpful come White Elephant time," she replied dryly.

  "I worked for a courier company," I explained.

  Miss Edna nodded with understanding.

  "And when did you leave your last position?"

  She picked up my resume and glanced it over before setting it back down.

  "A week ago," I admitted.

  I was beginning to feel crushed again. I had used up all my optimism putting together this flimsy resume and trying to find an outfit that would make me look like I even somewhat fit in at the tall, mirrored office building where I now sat. Yeah, I was back to feeling like I should be sitting on my living room couch eating sad peach crumble.

  "What made you leave?" she asked.

  "The company downsized," I said. "They said my position was no longer needed."

  "You don't sound like you're completely convinced about that."

  "I think it might have more had to do with them not appreciating me crying my way through three straight shifts and trying to peek into a wedding present before we delivered it."

  Her eyes widened slightly.

  "Why would you do that?" she asked.

  "Which one? The crying or the attempted peeking?"

  "Both," she said.

  "Oh, okay. Well, conveniently they both have the same explanation. I never got a chance to have a wedding or open any wedding presents. Michelle's going to, though. She’s going to get everything."

  Miss Edna's head tilted to the side.

  "Who's Michelle?"

  "My fiancé's fiancée. Well, my ex-fiancé's fiancée."

  I had really intended to be professional throughout this interview, but Miss Edna made me feel like I didn't need to put on a perfect front. I didn't know if she meant to inspire this reaction or not, but I suddenly found myself pouring out the entire story about Anthony and Smyth the Wedding Planner and the floral centerpiece and the whole disaster to her.

  "Then I peached him."

  "You peached him? Is that some sort of slang I don’t know?"

  "You'd hope, but no. I threw a peach at his head." I sighed and let my hands drop back to the desk in front of me, looking at her with defeat. "It was very nice of him to not press charges."

  "Girl, you've really been through it all, haven't you?"

  "And then a week after that, I lost my job."

  "Well, honey, you just found yourself a new one."

  I perked up a little.

  "I have?"

  She nodded.

  "I figure that if you can deal with all of that and still get yourself out of bed and get presentable so that you can provide for your mama, you can figure out how to be a secretary."

  "Executive assistant, you mean?"

  "
Not yet. You'll get there. Maybe. For now, I'd stick to skirts."

  I wasn't entirely sure what she meant by that, but I decided now was not the time to be offended. She had just offered me a job and I really couldn't let this opportunity slip through my fingers. Miss Edna stood up and I scrambled to follow her as she left the office and started down the hallway.

  "When do I start?" I asked.

  "Monday," she said. She turned a corner and we ended up an airy atrium that I hadn't even realized was in the building. As we passed by, she gestured at another desk. "That's where you will sit. That fancy office was just for interviewing purposes."

  I nodded.

  "Alright."

  We walked a few more feet before she stopped in front of a pair of large arched doors. She knocked, and we waited a few seconds, but there was no answer. She knocked again and sighed when there was still no answer.

  "He must not have ever come back from lunch with his father. I have told that man a thousand times that he needs to let me know when he's going to just disappear from the office. How does he expect me to keep his schedule when he won't even tell me where he's going to be?" Edna sighed loudly. "Well, I suppose that’s your problem now, isn’t it? You'll learn pretty quickly that Mr. Reed isn't like the other executives."

  "Mr. Reed?" I asked, the name striking more fear in me than her somewhat ominous warning. "Monroe Reed?"

  "His son, Gabriel. He runs this office. Now, I've known him since he was born, and I love that man like he was one of my own, but I will be first to tell you, he's a handful. He likes to get himself into trouble and sometimes he'll ask you to do some fancy footwork to get him out of it. Not lie, per se, but maybe you won’t let a certain lady who snuck by security know that he's hold himself up in his office and won't come out until after she is escorted out. Like I said – he’s a handful. There’s just something about him that women find irresistible."

  I nodded.

  She had no idea that I knew Gabriel Reed all too well.

  "I need you to come over."

  "Oh, no. Is this another intervention moment? Are you calling your own interventions now?" Jess quipped.

  "Just get your butt over here."

  I ended the call and curled up on my couch, only to stand up and stalk into my bedroom. I changed into my favorite pair of leggings, thick socks, and a sweatshirt that had been worn so thin it was basically a T-shirt. Twisting my hair up onto my head, I clipped it in place, trying to find something to pass the time until Jess arrived. Fortunately, she only lived a few blocks over, which meant I only managed to build a four-level square domino tower on my coffee table by the time she knocked on the door.

  "Come in," I called.

  "For the love of all that is holy, woman, lock your damn door."

  Jess shut the door and slammed the deadbolt into place as if to make a point.

  "I knew you were coming."

  "Doesn't matter. But it does bring me to...what happened?"

  "It's about the job."

  She got a sympathetic look on her face and rushed to the couch to wrap her arms tightly around me.

  "Oh, Cherry. I'm so sorry."

  "Why are you sorry?"

  "You didn't get the job."

  "I did get the job."

  She pushed me away and glared at me.

  "Then why am I here comforting you?"

  "I don't know if I should take it."

  "Why?"

  I took a deep breath.

  "You know how we couldn't really figure out what that company was until we looked it up?"

  "Yeah?"

  "And then the unnamed owner who was only described as a powerhouse in the industry, continuing a generations-old tradition of business, blah blah blah?"

  "Yeah?"

  "It’s Monroe Reed."

  "Monroe Reed," she muttered under her breath, trying to figure out how she knew that name. She drew in a breath and her eyes widened. "Gabriel's father?"

  "That's the one. Apparently, it's one of his many subsidiaries."

  "So, you would be working for Monroe Reed?"

  "Nope. Not Monroe."

  Jess looked at me quizzically for a few beats before her mouth fell open.

  "Gabriel?"

  "And we've made it back to why I don't think I should take the job."

  Jess knew the history that I shared with Gabriel. Or maybe the lack of history. I wasn't entirely sure which.

  "Does he know?"

  "No. I interviewed with his executive assistant and he wasn't there. Thank God."

  She let out a breath.

  "How long has it been since you've seen him?"

  "I haven't seen him since he left home. I didn't even realize that he was back in town."

  "He didn't stay in touch with your mom?"

  I felt an unexpected rush of emotion go through me as I shook my head.

  "No. Well, I don't know, really. He might have. She never mentioned it to me if he did."

  I understood why she asked the question. Gabriel and my brother Brent had been inseparable from the time they first met in preschool. The Reed family was modestly wealthy then, but not so wealthy that they belonged to the social bubble that would prevent their friendship. Gabriel's grandfather was running the family's first business and starting plans to expand by the time that I was old enough to notice Gabriel.

  "It would be a good job for me," I said, trying to push the memories from my mind. "It would be stable. It would look good on my resume for future jobs."

  "Would you be able to do it, though?"

  "Be a secretary?"

  "Be his secretary. Gabriel's secretary. Would you be able to see him every day?"

  Gabriel was the first boy I ever had a crush on and that crush kept getting stronger over the years. But he was older and one of the cool kids – which I most certainly wasn't. There had never really been a possibility of anything more. But that didn’t stop me from throwing myself at him the night before he left town. I had been absolutely shameless.

  But then he completely turned me down. Then there was a whole lot of shame.

  That was the last time I had seen Gabriel.

  "That was a long time ago," I said, trying to sound dismissive of her concerns. "What’s it been now? Nine years? We’re probably being silly. He probably doesn't even remember what happened."

  I remembered. That night was burned into my memory so vividly that I knew it was one of the most crucial, formative moments of my life. The whole idea of saving myself for marriage started that very night. Now that so many years separated me from the humiliation of being rejected and standing there alone in my pink lingerie, it didn't make as much sense anymore.

  "You're probably right," Jess said. She hesitated for a few seconds. "How's Mom?"

  I drew in a breath and let it out slowly.

  "She was better for a little while. Then a lot worse. The doctors aren't sure what to do next. Whatever it is, though, it's going to cost money."

  I barely slept from then until Monday morning. I tossed and turned and agonized over what I should do. But, by the time I was walking through the empty office building an hour earlier than required, I had convinced myself that this was the right thing to do. The thought of working for Gabriel still made my stomach flip, but after hours of repeating to myself that it might be nice to see him again after all these years, I had finally stopped shaking.

  "It looks like there is finally another member of the Early Bird Club."

  The voice behind me made me jump and I turned around suddenly. A sandy-haired man in a sharply tailored, navy-blue suit held up his hands and smiled at me as he approached.

  "I'm sorry," he said. "I didn't mean to startle you. I'm just used to being the only one here at this hour."

  "Oh. It's my first day. I wanted to make sure that I wasn't late."

  "Welcome aboard," he said. "I'm Blake. Blake Sheridan."

  He extended his hand and I took it.

  "Hello, Blake, Blake Sheridan," I s
aid. "Cherry Spencer."

  "It's very nice to meet you, Cherry. Can I help you get settled?"

  He was eyeing the cardboard box that I had precariously balanced on my hip when I accepted his handshake.

  "I think I'll be alright," I said. "Thank you, though."

  "Sure. Where are you working?"

  "I'm the new secretary for Ga— Mr. Reed."

  Blake nodded.

  "I heard that Miss Edna was finally retiring. Good for her."

  "She said that she had been here a long time?" I stated with a smile.

  "That she has," he replied.

  I adjusted the box in my hands and flashed Blake another smile before heading to my new desk.

  "Have a good day," I called over my shoulder.

  "You, too."

  I learned that when you are new to a company, there is absolutely nothing for you to do before the work day begins, which makes for a long, awkward stretch of silence. Fortunately, I had only arranged the pictures, plant, and paperweight Jess had given me as a good luck gift three times before other people started filtering into the building. Soon I had met a few of my new coworkers and was feeling more at ease with the whole situation. Almost enough so that I didn't notice time was quickly passing by and Gabriel still hadn't come in yet.

  The greetings had slowed down, and I was reading through the thick stack of instructions Miss Edna had left me for the second time when the shadow of someone standing over my desk made me look up. I was both disappointed and relieved that it wasn't Gabriel standing there. Instead, it was Blake from earlier.

  "How’s it going so far?" he asked.

  "Well, I've been officially working here for almost a whole hour now and there have been no disasters, so I'll count that as a victory."

  "Good," he replied with a smile. "I just came by to see how you were getting on – and ask if I can help welcome you to the company by taking you out for lunch this afternoon?"

  I was surprised by the offer and momentarily struck mute. I hadn't expected to be asked out anytime soon, especially by someone in the office. I didn't know if I was ready to even think about dating someone else. At the same time, Blake was attractive and sweet, and I had committed to a fresh start. It was just lunch. Maybe this was just what I needed.