I walk down the hall towards my office. However, instead of walking into my office, I stop at Nathan’s door first. As I stand in the doorway, I softly knock on the doorframe and clear my throat.
While sitting behind his desk, Nathan looks up from his computer and a smile instantly forms on his face. “Good morning, Deanna. Do you want another cup of herbal tea this morning?”
I stifle a chuckle and shake my head. “No. It appears that someone has been talking to Cliff about a big fish out there. Do you happen to know who that could be?”
He swallows hard and flashing me a sheepish grin as he leans back in his chair. “Well, that may have been me. Did he get you to agree to go after it?”
I sigh and step into his office. I stop right behind a chair in front of his desk and lean forward with my hands resting on the top of it. “You can say that he has pushed me into a corner. Do you have more information about this big fish that I can look at and see what kind of company they are?”
He smiles and turns back towards his computer. “I have already scanned all the documents and put them on the server in a secure folder. I’ll send you the link.”
I nod. “Thanks. Is there anything else I need to know about them?”
After he types a bit more, he smiles and turns his attention back towards me. “I sent the link. As for the company itself, it is one of the biggest in the country. It has many branches and divisions. I don’t even know where to start. But what I can say is that they only associate with reliable and reputable companies. I don’t know what their current glass partner did, besides the rumor of them getting greedy, but it is probably safe to say they will get no more business from WW Enterprises.”
WW Enterprises. That sounds familiar, but I don’t know why. Even the first time he said it, a little voice in my head kept telling me I know the company.
I sigh and push myself off the chair. “And you think we can handle the additional volume if we get this deal? What are they going to need? Are we talking about a small uptick in production or are we talking about doubling or tripling our outputs?”
Nathan slightly cringes as he sheepishly replies, “Uhm… Triple…” He trails off to a point where I could barely hear him, but I do.
My eyes widen. “What! Triple! You think we can handle triple the output without expanding our manufacturing facilities. Are you crazy?”
I’ve heard enough. Before he answers me, I shake my head and march out of his office.
Luckily, he doesn’t follow me, but he already knows that he has messed up.
He has got Cliff to buy in on this, but I’m sure Cliff doesn’t have any idea exactly what it means to our production line.
I collapse into my chair and shake my head. The man is crazy.
I quickly turn on my computer and begin pulling up the specs for our manufacturing facilities and begin analyzing places and things that we can do rather inexpensively to boost our production and our daily output for the plant.
Just as I’m getting into the numbers, Nathan rushes into my office.
I ignore him and continue looking through the information.
He stops right in front of my desk and quickly asks, “Can you come to the conference room right now and discussion the big fish? There is someone here that will help give us with some of the inside information that we need.”
I slowly turn my head towards him and raise an eyebrow. “Someone is here who will give us an inside track. Did you call and ask them to show up?”
Nathan waves his hand in front of him. “No. No. No. I didn’t call anyone. However, someone just showed up and requested to talk to the person in charge of making decisions and the two women that have turned the company around.”
My eyebrow raises even higher. “What?”
He shakes his head and shrugs. “I don’t know. I’m just repeating what the receptionist has told me. She has put the person in the main conference room on the first floor.”
I tilt my head and think for a moment. Who the heck is downstairs and wanting to talk to us? It couldn’t be any of the executives from WW Enterprises. They don’t come out unannounced. Right?
I sigh and push myself back from my desk. “We need Dotty and Cliff in there too.”
Nathan nods as I pick up my phone and send a message to the others, requesting them to join Nathan and me in the conference room.
Who would show up without an appointment and expect to have an audience with the executives of the company? Granted, we aren’t big, but others still don’t impose on us like this.
I take my time to gather my things and head out of my office.
As we walk down the hall, Nathan asks, “Who do you think it is? Maybe some manager in the company.”
I shake my head. “I don’t know, but I don’t know if this is for the good or the bad. I’m going to wait until after we have talked to the man before I decide.”
When we finally get to the first floor and round the corner, I spot Dotty and Cliff going into the conference room.
At the same time, my gut keeps telling me that something is off. However, I don’t know what.
Nathan rushes forward and goes into the room, while I pause for a moment and take a deep breath.
The closer I get to the conference room, a little voice inside my head keeps telling me to run, but I shake it off and ignore it.
Before I can change my mind, I plaster a smile on my face and walk into the conference room.
A tall, handsome man in a tailored black suit greets the others while I stare at him for a moment. He looks familiar, but I don’t know why.
As I walk over to him, I extend my hand. “Welcome to our company. I’m Deanna Hunter. I’m glad to meet you.”
He turns and smiles at me, but as soon as I say my name, his smile falters for a bit as he furrows his eyebrows. However, he asks nothing.
He shakes my hand, and his smile, once again, beams bright. “I’m Ryan Smith, a VP at WW Enterprises. Can you hold for a minute? I need to make an important phone call to our CEO. I’ll be right back.”
I nod. “Sure. Not a problem. We will take a seat and wait for you.”
His smile widens as a spark in his eyes glimmers brightly.
I watch as he hurries out of the room.
I glance back at the others. “What was that all about?”
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I grab my phone off my desk and without looking at the caller ID, I answer it. “What! Speak!” I let all my frustrations pour out of me and into my words while I continue to scan the various proposals from the multiple vendors. This is the reason why I usually stick with the same vendors once I settle our relationship. My hand tightens around my phone as Ryan quickly replies, “Wow there, tiger. You don’t need to bite my head off. I have done nothing wrong.” I raise an eyebrow and snort. “Really. You did nothing wrong. I’m sure if I comb through my memory, I’ll find something that you did wrong. Like, leave me here to go through all these proposals by myself, while you are off trying to get the up-and-coming company to agree to a partnership. You know that I’m the one who wanted to go there instead of you. I’m still trying to figure out how it has worked out that you have gone instead of me.”
I grumble under my breath as I walk into my office. I had spent the rest of the day yesterday trying to rearrange my schedule to accommodate Ryan and the CEO. As I walk around my desk towards my chair, Dotty bounces into the room. However, her face is anything but excited. She has a crease along her forehead with her mouth curving downwards in a slight frown. “Hey, didn’t you grab anything to eat this morning? You were running late and ate nothing at the house. Are you sure you don’t want me to go down to the corner and pick you up something?” I sigh and shake my head. “I don’t know if I have time to eat anything even if you got me something.” Just as I finish my sentence, Nathan walks into my office with a cup of tea in one hand and a muffin in the other. “Deanna, I thought maybe you would like another cup of herbal tea to get you started off on the right foot. I also picked up a few muffins this mo
I pace back and forth in the living room. I still can’t believe that I punched the jerk, but I have to admit it felt great. I put all my pain for the last several years into that one punch. However, if it wasn’t for Nathan and Cliff pulling me away from Connor, I would have landed a few more, too. Regardless, this doesn’t explain why he is here and why now. I run my hand through my hair as I turn to pace back in the other direction. Dotty slides to the edge of the couch. Her concern written all over her face, but it is also woven through her words. “Deanna. Sit down, please. You will not solve anything by pacing back and forth. Now, come on.” I shake my head as my eyes sting. “No. I’m too upset to sit right now.” She sighs as a slight frown forms on her face. “Okay. But we are going to talk while you continue to work out your anger.” I wave my h
I collapse on the end of the bed and groan as I lower my head down into my hands, with my elbows resting on my legs. Why did it happen that way? That isn’t how I thought it would go. I close my eyes and run through the earlier events today in the conference room. My heart had soared when I saw her entering the room. She is just as pretty as she was both in Vegas and at the church many years ago. I still remember my breath hitching and getting stuck in my throat when I looked down the aisle and saw her. Her wedding dress hugged her curves just right, and I instantly wished she had been wearing something like that when we got married the night before. Ryan’s concerned voice cuts through my thoughts. “Con, are you alright? That isn’t quite the reaction that I was hoping for when Deanna finally saw you again.” He pauses for a moment. “To be honest, I don’t know exactly how she would react, but that
I drag my feet into my office.Usually, I’m eager to get to the office and begin working. However, as soon as I walked into the building today, the images from yesterday came flowing back to me.I could barely pull myself together to give the lobby receptionist a smile or even tell her good morning. From the puzzled look she gave me, I know she can tell that something is wrong with me. I’m just grateful that she didn’t ask me what was wrong. Then again, I’m sure that most of the building probably heard me screaming my lungs out yesterday.Just thinking about it has my blood boiling.This is exactly what those nasty women in the office need to start another horrendous rumor about me. Not that I care though, but at some point, the office gossip might end up out in the business world as gossip our potential clients may hear or our competitors can try to use as some sort of advantag
I stare at my computer monitor, but my brain won’t process the information. The only thing that my mind keeps doing is playing yesterday’s event repeatedly. Not only his actions are running on an endless loop, but so are his words, along with my lack of response. The look of anger boiling out of him when Nathan told him about my regular appointments. If he only knew where I go all the time, he would probably run for the hills. However, that secret is one he must never find out about. I take a bite out of my bagel. A soft moan falls from my lips as the strawberry cream cheese hits my tongue. At least I stopped on my way to work this morning and got something to eat. I have to say that this hits the spot. As I’m taking another bite, Dotty walks into my office. “So, you left early again today. I was going to ask if you ate anything, but I see you stopped and picked up something. 
I run my hand through my hair and march across the room. How dare she prevent me from seeing her? I couldn’t even get past the front desk today. I groan as I get to the end of the room and turn back the other direction, while running my hand through my hair again. The hotel room door opens. I glance up as I continue marching across the room and sigh, as Ryan kicks the door shut with his foot while his hands are full of bags. The aroma of burgers and fries fills the room, but for once, it doesn’t smell appetizing to me. He shakes his head. “Why did you even go there? Didn’t we talk about trying to use the project and partnership as a way to get her to see and talk to you? You know you are digging yourself a hole by doing this.” He walks past me to the coffee table and sets the bags down. I shake my head as I continue pacing. “I don’t know. I just had to see her
I slowly scan the restaurant. I don’t trust Connor at all. I never know where he will try to talk to me next. The last thing I need is for him to ruin my lunch by suddenly appearing in front of me and making some wild remark about wanting to work beside me or something like that. As I scan through the area again, Dotty taps her finger on the table. “Stop it, Deanna. He isn’t here. Even if he was, I don’t think he would cause a scene. Now, stop this and let's have a wonderful lunch. Mom gave me strict instructions to make sure you have a good meal today. You have been working through your lunches and eating only small amounts of snacks and not any proper food. You need to stop it.” Even though I want to look around the place again, I stop myself from doing it. The corner of my mouth curls downward as a sigh slips from me. “I don’t mean to worry anyone, but I’ve been too worri
Dotty and her mom walk into my bedroom as I stand in front of the mirror, making sure I look perfect. My off-white silk wedding dress shimmers in the afternoon light as I shift from side to side, looking at it from every angle. A smile dances around on my face while my eyes sparkle. My attention soon drifts down to my stomach, and my smile widens. The silky material falls loosely across my large baby bump. I gently caress my stomach and whisper, “This is it, babies. I’m finally getting the wedding I’ve always wanted.” Dotty smiles and wraps her arm around my shoulders as she looks down at my stomach. “Kiddos, your mommy is finally getting everything she deserves. Not only is your daddy giving her the gorgeous wedding she deserves, but he has agreed to stay here with us.” Her mother lightly slaps her shoulder. “Stop hugging her. You are going to wrinkle her wedding dress.” She then looks at me throu
My palms glisten and my stomach twists as the nurse leads us back to the exam room. With each step, my mind goes wild with the various reasons for why I’m tired lately. However, none of them really makes any sense. I quickly wipe my hands against my pants as I take a deep breath. Connor wraps his arm around my waist and kisses the side of my head. “Don’t worry too much, love. We are here to take some simple tests and then we will hopefully have some answers soon. Okay.” I glance at him out of the corner of my eye as I tentatively nod my head. He kisses the side of my head again and whispers, “I’m going to be right here next to you. Don’t worry. I’m sure it isn’t anything serious.” I take another deep breath. I wish I could be that confident, but my history reminds of what could go wrong. The nurse stops in front of an open door. “You will be in here. Please have a
My gut tells me something is wrong with Deanna. I don’t know what, but I’m not taking any chances.I work like a madman trying to get everything done in a short period of time, so we can go back to the Midwest.I completely ignore my father and mother. I did the only thing I could, and that is I got him his lawyer. However, his lawyer wouldn’t even take the case until I gave him a hefty retainer. I didn’t want to ask how much my father owed him, but I figure I gave him enough money to cover everything.Unfortunately, it hasn’t stopped my mother from trying to bug me, but I let my security handle it, both at the office and at my apartment. In addition, I have removed her name from the approved list of people who can visit me.I have also let Dotty and her parents know what is going on. So, if I need to have backup, I have it when we get back there. With Deanna’s
Dotty’s voice booms from my phone. “If you don’t come back here right now, I’m going there. How can you let yourself get so run down that you nearly faint at work? Is Connor not taking good enough care of you?”I shake my head and stare out the bedroom window. “It isn’t like that, and you know it. Connor has been taking good care of me. We have been under a lot of stress lately. You know that full well. I’m sure it has finally caught up to me. There is nothing to worry about, though.”I glance around the room. “Connor has me resting in bed right now. He said he wasn’t going to take no, so I gave in. Everything will be fine. Now, stop worrying.”She sighs. “I’m just concerned, especially after what you went through before. I don’t want a repeat of it.”I slide under t
Connor and I walk into his office building. What little smile we can muster is barely visible as we walk through the lobby. The bags under our eyes show everyone exactly what we have been going through. Even though we should be going back to the Midwest and to my job there, we are still in the city and dealing with his issues here. A slight yawn escapes my mouth as I try to acknowledge the receptionist as we walk by. She smiles back at us, but it doesn’t reach her eyes as her eyebrows knot together. I need a hot cup of herbal tea. I’ll be good then. Connor places his hand on my back and whispers, “Do you need to take a nap? You can sleep in my office if you can’t stay awake.” I sigh and shake my head. “No. I have too much to do. If for some reason I get too tired, I’ll just lay down on your couch and take a small cat nap.” “Uhm. Okay. I’m assuming you nee
Why did I let my mother talk me into this? I keep telling Deanna to not let her parents affect her, and here I am letting my mother talk me into leaving with her for a private talk. However, this isn’t really a private talk at all.I glance around the table and politely smile at Mr. Gold while I ignore my father. I then turn my attention back to my mother. “What is this all about? I have work to do, and I need to get back to the office.”She flashes me a sweet smile and reaches across the table to pat my hands. However, I yank my hands away before she can touch me.Her smile falters a bit as she stares at me. “Son, we need to have a very important conversation with you. This is the best way to do it without having any interruptions.”Interruptions. She is worried about interruptions.Anger rushes through my veins. I grit my teeth and growl, &
I stare down at my herbal tea as I sigh. What am I going to do now? Dotty’s voice booms from my phone, and I instantly pull it away from my ear. “Stop doing that! You have talked about this before. Shoot, even you and I have talked about this. Neither of your parents deserves to be called your parents. Your parents have abandoned you and even when given the chance, they still ignore you like the plague. While Connor’s parents seem to only want to use him for whatever stupid scheme, his father is cooking up. So, stop giving them the benefit of the doubt.” I slowly put the phone back to my ears as I nod. “I know we have talked about it, but it isn’t quite the same thing as when you see it with your own eyes. I don’t want to be the reason Connor has a strained relationship with his mother.” “Ugh… Girl, you are really trying my patience here. Stop treating them special because s
The look of defeat on Brett’s face still floats around in my mind. I have never seen him look like that, even when he was dealing with his family. However, this particular blow seems to have been a little too close to home. I sigh and stare out the window and across the city’s horizon. For once, I’m alone in Connor’s office while he has another meeting with a few department heads on another project. However, I’m not in the mood to sit there while everyone looks at me with either envy or disgust. As my focus drifts to the sky and some wispy few clouds floating along, my thoughts go back to Connor’s father and the board’s decision. Will his luck finally run out? However, I think the bigger question is will the board actually follow through with their threat this time. Connor has given me a complete history of his father and the things he has done. In addition, he has explained how he became the CEO at
My stomach sinks as my assistant explains what the board has decided to do.A part of me knows this is the right thing, but another part of me still wants to protect my father. However, I don’t think he deserves any protection right now, especially after some things he has done lately.I can also breathe a sigh of relief since the board isn’t holding me accountable for anything my father does. Most of them remember what he did in the past. Plus, his recent slips of judgement have sealed his own fate.As my smile fades and turns into a deep frown, I turn so Deanna can’t see my expression. However, I know it is already too late.I run my hand through my hair as everything slowly sinks into my brain.Deanna’s concerned voice keeps me from turning my back around completely to her. “Connor, did something bad happen? Is the board going to go after your father