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CHAPTER 52
Last Updated:
2021-02-26 11:06:37
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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
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“Where are you, Elaine?” she said slowly looking outside the window. She then turned and started gazing around the room. Being part of a shiny, rich, boring crowd such as this one wasn’t the way Annalise hoped to spend her evening. She always hated participating in social events but most of the time, they were solid gold occasions for someone in her line of work. However, this fundraiser was a bit different than the usual ones she’d attended. And she knew exactly why it was important to take one for the team. Lance Hamilton was there! The new ‘King of Los Angeles’ was the main attraction of the event. Annalise was standing way back, near one of the large windows of the ballroom, sipping white wine and observing him thoroughly, gazing away every time Lance would look in her direction, trying not to show him how impatient she was to deliver the decisive pitch and start working for him. Being an advertising executive (A
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A waiter was passing near them and Lance took two glasses of champagne and handed one to her. She didn’t like champagne but she accepted it anyway. “Lance,” Annalise replied, greeting him with a slight nod. “You finally freed yourself from your adoring fans. You were having so much fun…” “Yeah, I was having the time of my life,” he replied in a sarcastic tone. “Come on, Annalise! You know very well I’m not into these gatherings.” “Do I?” she asked and raised an eyebrow. “Even so, you are the ‘New King’ in town. This is just one of the many social events you will have to attend from now on. So, prepare yourself, ‘Your Highness’. Every important person in this town will request your presence.” Lance smiled, and his eyes locked with hers for a few seconds, then checked her from head to toe, lingering way too much on her curves. Annalise started to feel a bit uncomfortable under Lance’s intense scrutiny. “The new King…” he said. He was practically undressing her r
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Enough socializing for one night… It was time to go back to his hotel suite and unwind. All these events were draining the life out of him. Lance walked out of the hotel that was hosting the fundraiser and went straight to the parking spot. He asked the valet to bring him the car. Up until a couple of weeks ago, his headquarters were in New York. But then, he decided to move the “HL Sportswear” base to Los Angeles. Lance dropped off the old advertising team and started looking for a new one, able to put his company on the right path to universal success. He never thought that all this would include socializing, meeting people willing to do anything to get the big prize, to have his approval, to get their hands on something so important as his pet project. Their behavior was understandable, though. “Hamilton Inc.” was well-known in the business environment and everybody wanted a slice of the pie. But this business development wasn’t the only reason that
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Lance could sense a note of anxiety in his mother’s voice that always seemed to creep in when his brother was being mentioned.“Oh, come on! You really expect me to go to their wedding and act like we are one big happy family?” he asked, trying to stay calm. “I know how my ‘dear’ brother’s brain is working. And I can say without a doubt, that the only reason Arthur wants me to be present at this ‘celebration’ is to show off… He wants me to watch his triumph. This is all that matters for him and nothing more.” His mother made a disapproving sound.“‘Son, I know it won’t be easy for you… But even so, don’t you think you should finally forgive your brother? It’s obvious that he and Guinevere are made for each other. They have so much in common… Please, Lance, it would be so nice to have my whole family back together once again.’”“Easy? Mom, please… For me, it won’t be easy or difficult. And you know why? Because I don’t care about Arthur or Guinevere. You got one thing right ab
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‘Come on, Anna! Suck it up!’ she thought. ‘It’s just another Saturday like all the other Saturdays... The good thing is you’re not going to be alone this time.’“I have to get through this day and be there on time,” Annalise whispered, taking a quick glance at her wristwatch.“Don’t you worry,” the cab driver replied. “I’ll get you to your destination in no time.”“I hope so, for both our sakes,” Annalise told him smiling. “Otherwise, you will be the one explaining to my mother the reason for my arriving late.”“Piece of cake!” the man exclaimed.“Don’t bet on it! My mother is an iron lady. Even Lucifer would be afraid to face her when she’s pissed off.” Annalise was a bit anxious about that particular day. It was her mother’s birthday. And since she had no wish to be alone with her mother, as always on Saturdays, Annalise ‘summoned’ for the event the most important men in her life: her two siblings, Brandon and Jeremy. She even asked her ex-boyfriend to be there, ‘
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Brandon got near Annalise. She turned toward her brother and disappeared in his embrace. His arms surrounded her in a hug that nearly squeezed the air out of Annalise. Sometimes her older brother was acting like a giant panda. “I’ve missed you, Anna,” Brandon said laying a kiss on the top of her head. “How are you?” “I am okay now that I have you both here with me,” she replied and took a small step back from him, stopping right in the middle. “And how are things between you and Mom lately?” he went on. Annalise lowered her gaze. “Not bad…” “Really?” Brandon asked. “Well, at least, she stopped repeating ‘you should quit your job and get married’ during every lunch we have. Now she’s talking to me about her friends and their grandkids…” Annalise answered and smiled but the smile never got to her gaze. Brandon looked at her, then at Jeremy. “We should talk to Mom about this,” he said to Jeremy. “Reassure her that as long as we are around Anna, she is going to
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Yes… she left home to get away from the strange, awkward relationship with her mother and at that time, San Francisco was the best option in the world. And it had been for a while, until the CEO, Todd Crosby, brought his wife, Wanda, to work at the same agency, as executive creative director. Two of the best in the business… Two of her idols… Annalise felt the rage overwhelming her. But she knew she had to calm down and avoid unnecessary drama. Jeremy rising from his chair pulled her away from her angry thoughts. Annalise forced her fingers to relax and winced at the marks she had left on her palms while once again walking down memory lane.“Mom, this was amazing, but…”“What? Are you leaving already?” Annalise asked watching the clock. “Stay until tomorrow morning…”“Anna, sweetie, I can’t. My team is expecting me bright and early in the morning. We have a lot to do for the campaign.”“But…”“Anna, leave your brother be. He’s got bigger responsibilities now,” her m
Last Updated : 2021-01-21
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
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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
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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
