Chapter Ten: The Board Meeting
467 Words
CHAPTER TEN: THE BOARD MEETING
8:45AM.
Rebecca knocked twice before entering.
“Your coffee, sir. And the board files.”
Wade didn’t look up from his laptop.
“Set them down.”
She placed the tray on his desk. The silver star at her neck caught the light.
Wade’s eyes followed it.
He closed his laptop.
“Rebecca.”
“Yes, sir?”
“Do you remember anything?” His voice was quiet. Tired.
Rebecca’s fingers tightened around the tray.
“No, sir.”
Silence.
The clock on the wall ticked to 9:00AM.
“Let’s go,” Wade said, standing.
---
9:00AM. Boardroom.
Twelve directors. One long table.
Rebecca followed Wade in, head down, pouring water for everyone.
Her hands didn’t shake. Not until she reached Wade.
She set his glass down. Their fingers brushed.
She pulled back fast.
“Sir,” a director cleared his throat. “About the new branch in the US. We need your decision today.”
_US._
Rebecca’s pen stopped mid-note.
Something cold ran down her spine.
Rain. Screeching tires. Darkness.
She blinked hard.
Wade saw it. His jaw tightened.
“We’ll discuss it later,” he said sharply.
The room went quiet.
The meeting dragged for an hour. Numbers. Charts. Reports.
Rebecca wrote everything down, but her mind kept drifting to that one word.
_US._
Then—
_BANG._
A director dropped his file. Loud.
Rebecca flinched.
For one second the lights went white.
She smelled rain. Heard a crash. Felt hands grabbing her—
“Rebecca.”
Wade’s voice cut through it.
She looked up. Breathing hard.
“I’m fine, sir,” she whispered. Her hand flew to the necklace.
Wade stared at her for one second too long.
“Meeting adjourned,” he said.
Chairs scraped. Directors filed out, whispering.
“New secretary’s pretty jumpy.”
“Since when does Wade end meetings early?”
Soon it was just them.
---
Wade walked to the window. Hands in his pockets.
“Did something happen in there?”
“No, sir.”
“The US branch,” he said to the glass. “That’s why I—”
He stopped.
“Why what, sir?” Rebecca asked before she could stop herself.
Wade turned. His eyes were dark.
“Nothing.”
He walked back to the desk and picked up the necklace between his fingers. It was still warm from her skin.
“The necklace suits you.”
Rebecca touched it. “Thank you for letting me keep it.”
She bowed and moved to leave.
At the door, Wade’s voice came, barely a whisper.
“Ember…”
Rebecca stopped.
Her heart stuttered.
She didn’t turn around.
She just closed the door behind her.
In the hallway, she pressed a hand to her chest.
Why did that name feel like home?
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