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CHAPTER 37
Last Updated:
2024-10-29 19:42:56
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WAKING UP WITH THE CEO CHAPTER 38
After Lance pulled the car into one of the reserved parking spaces at the Olympia Stadium and cut the engine, Annalise turned and looked in his direction. It was so good being with him again. After their night together, she didn’t see much of him. The presentation had to be perfect, so Annalise chose to focus on her work, much to Lance’s chagrin. At that point, Lance decided to leave Los Angeles and flew to New York to take care of some business. Not having him near, not being in his arms at night was excruciating, especially after her revelation. But even away from each other, he called her every day and especially every night. Sexting and video chatting… such a wonderful invention! And now, it was so good being with Lance, enjoying his warm smile and heart-melting gaze, but the fact that he was going to meet John was a bit nerve-wracking. Oh, well… this is it! Annalise could no longer pretend that she didn’t know John. She knew th
WAKING UP WITH THE CEO CHAPTER 39
The teams, “LA Cali FC” and “Titans FC” entered the field, saluted the fans and the referee went to the center field with John and the captain of the other team for the coin toss. John’s team won, so he decided to stay on the right side of the field. The kickoff belonged to the ‘Titans’. “John already did the right thing. He always goes for the right side. He’s a bit superstitious,” Annalise explained in an excited tone. “Oh, this is going to be such a good game… I can feel it in my bones!” “Really?” Lance asked, trying hard not to pull her in his arms and keep her there for the entire duration of the game. “I’ve read somewhere that they bought two new players.” “Ah, yes, it’s true. One is Davide Rossi, the new attacking midfielder. He comes from a great Italian team in Serie A, which is the Italian First League. The other player is Owen Shearer, a goalkeeper from the Premier League. Both of them are quite good… or at least, this is what the newspapers and the experts are saying. R
WAKING UP WITH THE CEO CHAPTER 40
But they didn’t leave the stadium. Instead, they went down to a restricted area, where Annalise flashed a pass he hadn’t seen up to this point. He shouldn’t be surprised. Nonetheless, when they stopped outside the players’ locker room, Lance was absolutely bewildered. They waited a good while. Several members of the press came and went. Finally, one of the players stuck his head out the door, looked up and down the hallway, and then his eyes brightened when he saw Annalise. It was Cali’s forward, Tom Bostwick. “Miss Annie!” he exclaimed. “You should have just come right in. John got held up by an interview, but he wanted you to come inside the locker room.” Annalise walked over and gave the man a big hug and a kiss on the cheek, congratulating him for the points signed and for such a great game. “My God, Tom… The team was on fire tonight. If you guys, keep playing like this, I might reconsider my decision and come see every Cali’s game. The way you and John a
WAKING UP WITH THE CEO CHAPTER 41
Her brothers eyed Annalise with renewed interest while she stared at Lance, her eyes wide with shock. Her gaze was saying: ‘a few minutes ago, you thought I was a gold digger and a bad advertising executive and now you say I’m one of the brightest minds in the business?’ “I am very confident that your sister’s determination and hard work are the key to the success of my brand,” he added. Well, those words won’t chase away the way his accusations made her feel, but they were sincere. She was still mad at him, but Annalise couldn’t step away when Lance, smiling at her, reached for her hand. To his surprise, she accepted his gesture without complaint and curled her fingers tight around his. He pulled her slowly towards him and away from Jeremy. Both her brothers looked quite stunned, but none of them said a word about it. “If you’re meeting John to talk business, then we will just go,” Brandon said tapping Jeremy’s shoulder. “Anna, are you going to be at Mom’s for
WAKING UP WITH THE CEO CHAPTER 42
“I need to talk to Howard about a few details. Has he arrived yet?” Annalise asked Tara the moment she entered the conference room. “No. I tried calling him as you suggested but my call went straight to the voice mail,” Tara replied, stopping her friend from pacing nervously the room. “Listen, from what I saw, the presentation is perfect. But if you need me for anything, I’m right outside the door. Okay, sweetie?” Annalise nodded and took a deep breath. Her nerves were wound tight, but she meticulously went again over every little detail of her presentation. Her little team worked day and night to create something unique to present to Lance. She was extremely proud of every single one of them, but she was a little worried about Howard. The past few days, she found him a bit distant and quite distracted. Trying not to focus on the negative things, Annalise took a look around and smiled slightly. The two displays in the room were running over and over little clip
WAKING UP WITH THE CEO CHAPTER 43
Tara made a sound of sympathy and smiled. Annalise looked at her friend entirely perplexed. “Anna, calm down. You are not alone, girl. After what you did for the agency, for all of us, you will forever have my undying gratitude and my eternal friendship. You can always count on me to land a hand whenever you need it. Yes, inside the agency, I’m the one with the big mouth, but I can keep it quite shut when required by the situation.” Annalise lowered her gaze. “Thank you, Tara,” she murmured. “I appreciate every single word you said, everything you did and still do for me, as a friend, as a colleague. But not many will understand this situation… I can already see them talking…” “Listen, sweetie, people are stupid and they will always gossip about this and that. Someone I truly admire has a saying: ‘unless they paying your bills, pay them bitches no mind’,” Tara said earnestly. “Stop trying to please the whole world. Do only what pleases you. Live your life the way you like
WAKING UP WITH THE CEO CHAPTER 44
Friday evening, Jeremy called Annalise and let her know he would stay at their mother’s house for the entire weekend. This was a really unique occasion, so Annalise decided to do the same, happy to spend some quality time with her brother. Well, the weekend has been difficult since Saturday. If the lunch had been quite okay, giving her hope for two wonderful days, the dinner crashed every single shred of hope left in her. Her mother started an apparently harmless conversation, praising her two sons, as she usually did, and pointing out once again, if ever was necessary, Annalise’s personal… lacks: too much work, no free time, no man in her life, no marriage plans. And since all this wasn’t enough, Martha even brought up the fact that Annalise ruined on purpose her romantic relationship with John by choosing her career over love and security. And she did it out of spite. Thank God John wasn’t there… After the verbal punches
WAKING UP WITH THE CEO CHAPTER 45
David and Elaine stood there, in silence, waiting for Annalise to gather herself together again. She took a deep breath and then looked up. “I promise you both that it’s not how it looks,” Annalise said as she wiped the tears from her cheeks. “I swear to you I never used cheap tricks to get my hands on this account. I’ve worked relentlessly to bring this here. Everything I did was done by the book.” Elaine said nothing. David glanced at the magazine on her desk. “Well, Anna, in this photo, it looks like you were wearing his ring, but I don’t see one on your finger right now…” David continued handing her a paper tissue. “And I remember that you had lunch with him some time ago… It was the day I’ve wanted to talk to you about this account.” After she cleared her throat, Elaine intervened. “David, I know Anna. I’ve watched her for the last few months, working harder than anyone else around here, giving her best to save this agency. She spent so many sleepless nigh
Latest chapter
WAKING UP WITH THE CEO CHAPTER 53 (a long-overdue epilogue)
A couple of days later, John was signing the contract with “HL Sportswear”. Once he finished, he put down the pen and gave Lance a very serious look. The last time they saw each other, John was calling him a dumbass for letting Annalise go and threatening not to sign the contract if he would not find Annalise and get her back. And now, the three of them, together with the lawyers, were making their agreement official. With Annalise’s help, with John okay, Lance was preparing to make history. “Welcome to ‘HL Sportswear’, John!” Lance exclaimed shaking his hand. “Thank you for doing this.” The young jock looked first at Annalise, and then at Lance. “I did it mostly for Anna. She was your winning card. So, cherish her, Hamilton. Treat her like the fierce, powerful, hard-working queen she is. This woman went through hell to arrive here,” John told him, then smiled at Annalise. “I’m extremely proud of you, baby girl. I really am.” Annalise got close to Joh
WAKING UP WITH THE CEO CHAPTER 52
She made a derisive sound deep in her throat. The memory strangled her. Annalise hated that helpless feeling. “One evening, I was working late and he dropped in to see how I was doing. He came onto me hard and didn’t intend to take no for an answer. I fought against him, I even slapped him hard a couple of times. I tried to push him away from me, but he was so much stronger… He probably would’ve raped me if his wife hadn’t burst in.” Annalise was trembling, but she knew she had to go on. “I think she knew what was going on… I thought she would help me. But… I was dead wrong. She couldn’t care less. She called me a whore, even if that wasn’t true. She was also his partner, so she used me to make him pay for everything he had ever done wrong to her. And she also had her way out of the marriage.” “What happened after?” Lance asked. “Well, these days you have experienced it first-hand. Because of that woman and her disgusting husband, I was named a homewrecker, an arrogant
WAKING UP WITH THE CEO CHAPTER 51
Annalise pressed her lips together. “He told me not to bother looking for him, even if I changed my mind. Well, too bad. I made a mistake… Happens, we all make them. It’s not the end of the world. I’m sure he has made his share. He was angry and I’m sure he didn’t mean half of the things he said. So, since I know now what I want, I’m going to make him listen to me. Then I’m going to take the leap of faith Dad mentioned in the video and tell the man of my life that I love him. I hope that I’m not too late and that he will listen.” Jeremy touched her cheek in a tender gesture. “If he doesn’t, he’s a fool who doesn’t deserve my brave, beautiful baby sister. Whatever happens, I will be right here, remember that! You are not alone.” Annalise glanced down at her rumpled appearance. She shuddered to think what her hair looked like. She spent the last three days going around the house like the ghost of the Christmas past. “I need to go jump in the shower and t
WAKING UP WITH THE CEO CHAPTER 50
That day, the silence inside the house was soul-crashing. Lost in her thoughts, Annalise didn’t even realize that her coffee cup was empty. She put it in the kitchen sink and decided to go on the back porch and get some fresh air. Her father bought the house right after the wedding and renovated it all by himself. It was perched near a cliff, though it was situated a good distance from the drop-off. As a child, after reading about mudslides, she’d been convinced that they’d fall into the ocean. Her brothers had told her it was far more likely they’d fall off in an earthquake. Annalise shook her head at the memory of how they liked to torment her. It was peaceful here, and not for the first time during the last few days, she wondered why she’d been so anxious to move away. “Sometimes, a nice, calm, honest talk is the key to solving so many misunderstandings…” Annalise said, sitting on the rocking chair. “Look at Mom and me… We are finally starting to create
WAKING UP WITH THE CEO CHAPTER 49
John looked at Lance and instead of shaking his hand, he crossed his arms on his chest and let his lawyer do the talking. “Mr. Hamilton, my client instructed me to speak on his behalf during this meeting. Since this is going to be a very brief encounter between the two of you, Mr. Beckett asked me to inform you that he… changed his mind about signing the contract with ‘HL Sportswear’. This decision was taken after very careful consideration. Mr. Beckett wants you to know that…” The lawyer stopped and looked at John who, with a brief movement of his head, urged him to say the exact words. The man coughed just to clear his throat and continued. “Mr. Hamilton, these are not my words, so, please, excuse my language… My client wants you to know he will never sign with a… dickhead such as yourself, a dumbass who doesn’t see a good thing when it crosses his path. You should not have let Annalise Walsh out of your sight, even if she asked you to. Annalise was the real deal and you
WAKING UP WITH THE CEO CHAPTER 48
After a while, they started talking like they never did before. Martha pampered her endlessly, preparing her favorite food: French fries and chocolate ice cream. Her mother’s expression showed complete disapproval, but Annalise told her it was her comfort food. By the time evening rolled around, her brothers arrived and made it a point to shower her with lots of hugs and endless cuddling, as her father recommended. Martha retired to her room, leaving her children sitting on the couch together, watching ‘Roman Holiday’ and eating popcorn. Everything was so wonderful… For the first time, since the disaster that had hit her, Annalise was feeling a little bit better… and a little bit optimistic. Once the movie ended, Annalise wiped her eyes and tried to stop the sniffling. She knew her brothers hated it when she cried. Jeremy especially. He kept Annalise’s head on his shoulder. “Anna, if you feel like talking, we’re here for you. But if not, w
WAKING UP WITH THE CEO CHAPTER 47
Unwilling to face the judgment of the entire “S&W Advertising” squad after the security leak and tired of crying all night long, Tuesday morning, Annalise decided to call and inform her boss that she was going to take the rest of the week off. Hearing how horrible she sounded, Elaine allowed her to take this vacation, reaffirming the fact that the agency was standing behind her one hundred percent. Still, she emphasized once more, if a reminder was needed, that hiding would not solve her problems. That taking the coward’s way out was not the right way to address her issue. “‘I agree you should rest and think,’” Elaine had told her on the phone. “‘So, take a day, a week, a month… Take all the time you need, kiddo. But don’t do it because you need to hide from the world. Come out and face the music. I believe in you and I know for a fact you are much stronger than you think. I wish I could be half the woman you are.’” Those touching words and Elaine’s trust moved
WAKING UP WITH THE CEO CHAPTER 46
Annalise laid her head on her desk and tried to ignore the painful ache that had developed around her temples. Elaine told her to go home, but she couldn’t… not yet… She knew what she had to do, and it will hurt far more than those damn pictures. Still, she hadn’t worked this hard to rebuild her reputation and her career to have it go down the drain over her affair with Lance. Yes, she was in love with him, that was so very clear in her head, but he wasn’t responding the same way. For him, what was going on between them was just enjoyable sex and nothing more. They were great between the sheets, but out of his hotel bed, in front of the cruel reality, their relationship was doomed. Annalise sighed and covered her face with her hands. “You can’t escape your past, Anna,” she whispered. “It will hunt you forever.” She turned off her cell phone and spent the rest of the day locked in her office. She only spoke to Tara to tell her she was not acc
WAKING UP WITH THE CEO CHAPTER 45
David and Elaine stood there, in silence, waiting for Annalise to gather herself together again. She took a deep breath and then looked up. “I promise you both that it’s not how it looks,” Annalise said as she wiped the tears from her cheeks. “I swear to you I never used cheap tricks to get my hands on this account. I’ve worked relentlessly to bring this here. Everything I did was done by the book.” Elaine said nothing. David glanced at the magazine on her desk. “Well, Anna, in this photo, it looks like you were wearing his ring, but I don’t see one on your finger right now…” David continued handing her a paper tissue. “And I remember that you had lunch with him some time ago… It was the day I’ve wanted to talk to you about this account.” After she cleared her throat, Elaine intervened. “David, I know Anna. I’ve watched her for the last few months, working harder than anyone else around here, giving her best to save this agency. She spent so many sleepless nigh
