The CEO'S Regret

Chapter 11: A Proposition

The door swung shut behind Alex Blackwood, and I stood alone in the conference room, my heart racing so hard I could feel it in my throat.

I still caught his aftershave on the air. Those final words still echoed through me: "Be prepared." What did he mean by it? Was it with regard to the client meeting? Or else?

My brain was reeling. One minute, he's this pompous CEO waving off my family's bakery as "not relevant."

Next, he's gazing at me like he can see through me, talking passion and practically on my arm. The give-and-take was dizzying.

My hands were shaking as I clutched my computer. Exiting the conference room was like coming up from the water after I had inhaled too much.

The rest of the office was simply functioning as usual. No one knew how insane I was on the inside.

Jason looked up from his desk as I passed by.

"You alright?" he asked, his brow rising. "Blackwood didn't eat you alive in there, did he?"

I forced a weak smile. "No. He thought your idea was excellent. That's going to be our feature pitch."

Jason's face split into a huge grin. "No way! That's awesome, Olivia!" His grin sagged slightly. "So what else did he want to talk about?"

I chewed on my lip. How much could I say? Definitely not the bakery stuff. Or the odd intense flashbacks.

"Uh, just some presentation things," I said to him. Not a lie, really.

"Okay, okay," Jason said, but I still sensed the concern in his voice. "You aced it in there today."

"Thanks, Jason." His approval was the one rational thing about this crazy job.

The rest of the day was a blur. I dove into work, refining the presentation for the client meeting.

It was easier to deal with design matters than to concern myself with what was going on with Alex Blackwood and all his secrets.

But I couldn't get him out of my head. Those blue eyes, that cold-then-hot attitude.

I just couldn't help thinking these words of Vanessa's in my head: "You're his pet project." Was that all there was to it? Was I another one of something to be picked up and subsequently dropped? Or was something more at play?

We were all in prep mode for the Archer meeting the next few days. I would run into Alex periodically in the office.

He'd look my way from across the room, and it was as if a shock of electricity. He never stopped by my desk or invited me to his office, but having him in the building made me walk around on pins and needles at all times.

Jason and I spent countless hours together working on the presentation. He was an easy-going conversationalist and a great supporter, light-years away from the high-pressure executive atmosphere.

We talked design, work, city living. He never asked me about Vanessa or my sessions with Alex, but I knew he still had feelings.

In the middle of one afternoon, while going over slides, Jason sighed.

"This Archer pitch is gonna be huge, dude," he told me. "Everyone's dying to know what Alex is doing on this one, with all the drama Vanessa's been bringing."

My gut tightened. "Vanessa? What is she doing now?" I hadn't spoken to her since that disaster of a lunch.

"She's been sending signals to the media," Jason leaned in closer and whispered, "about Alex's 'suspicious' business affairs. Trying to scare away the investors."

The spider kept on spinning her web. And she was after Alex.

I worked late that evening to finish a design for the presentation. I was almost alone in the office, only the hum of computers and city noise outside. I was totally focused when my computer beeped with a message.

*From: Alexander Blackwood*

*To: Olivia Gray*

*Are you still here, Ms. Gray?*

My fingers on the keys, suspended. He knew that I was there. Was he working late as well? Or. checking up on me?

*To: Alexander Blackwood*

*From: Olivia Gray*

*Yes, sir. Finishing the Archer graphics.*

A few seconds went by:

*From: Alexander Blackwood*

*To: Olivia Gray*

*Round up to 32.*

My heart stuck in my throat. Floor 32. His office. Alone. Again. Being alone with him again after what had happened that weird time in the conference room was thrilling and frightening.

I tried to keep my answer professional, though my heart was pounding.

*To: Alexander Blackwood*

*From: Olivia Gray*

*On my way, sir.*

I shut down my work, grabbed my laptop, and headed towards the elevators. The elevator ride up was brief and an eternity. My mind could not stop thinking about why he had to talk to me. Was it regarding Archer? Or was there something else?

When the doors to the 32nd floor were opened, the reception room was dark and empty. I moved down the still hall to his office. The door was ajar, light pouring out. I moved slowly inside.

He was standing near the window, staring out over the lights of the city.

He wasn't in a suit this time, but black pants and a black v-neck sweater that hugged him tightly.

Let me know if you need me to continue.

He wasn't so much like a CEO, more just an average guy. Well, an average super-super-serious guy.

He was facing away from me when I stepped in but swung around right away, his blue eyes locking right onto me immediately. The solemn mood was more oppressive in the somber office.

"Thanks for coming up, Ms. Gray," he grunted.

"Is something wrong, sir?" I said, holding my laptop as if it could protect me.

He walked over to his desk and nodded at the chair. "Sit, please."

I sat, and he sat, leaning back and looking at me. The desk was a barrier between us, but his eyes gave the impression that nothing was there at all.

"The Archer client meeting is enormous," he started, all business. "A lot is on the line. Particularly with Vanessa trying to cause some problems."

"I heard," I breathed. "About the media thing."

He nodded. "She doesn't give up. And she has influence. Her father is someone."

He paused, looking at me. "Your idea is great, Olivia. It may be just what we need. But it has to be perfect."

"I'm putting a great deal of effort into it, sir," I answered, wishing to impress him that I meant business here.

"I understand," he replied quietly. "But perception isn't about the presentation.".

The narrative they create." He leaned forward, his voice low. "Vanessa waits to see what happens. The media waits to see what happens. The board waits to see what happens."

He paused, allowing that to sink in. Then he dropped the bomb.

"I want to be your girlfriend, Olivia."

The words hovered there like they were written in neon. I couldn't breathe. "Your. your girlfriend?"

"Yes," he responded, his face stern. "During the Archer campaign. In public. At company gatherings. With clients. With the press."

My universe spun. "But. why?"

"It's strategy," he said, logical and relaxed, as if describing an ad campaign.

"Vanessa's trying to make me look unstable, to portray me as a poor decision-maker.".

Dating someone openly who's a good worker and responsible for a large project. It contradicts that image. Shows that I'm confident. Making rational choices. Stuns her.

He attempted to couch it in professional terms. A plan. An obstacle.

"And. why me?" I asked, the one question I couldn't help but ask him each time he gave me that piercing stare.

He stared at me for a long time. "You're already being noticed because of this project. Your connection to it is real. And," he paused, something shining in his eyes, "you can take pressure. Even with Vanessa Sharp."

He said it like it was all so simple. So rational. Just business.

But it was hard. This was Alexander Blackwood. The guy who made my stomach do backflips, who rejected my family's bakery, who gazed at me like he could see something the others couldn't.

Dating him? Even fake? It seemed madly dangerous. Like leaping into a fire I'd been avoiding.

"It would be purely professional," he went on, as if he could see into my mind. "Only public appearances. Nothing more than is required to make it appear real."

Purely professional. My heart thudded, reminding me that nothing in my experience with him had ever been "purely professional."

"What. what's in it for me?" I asked myself, trying to think, to see it as the proposal he was making it out to be.

"More visibility," he said at once. "Access. You'll be sitting right beside me, entertaining large clients and investors.

It'll advance your career like you wouldn't believe." He paused. "And. it would make things so much easier for you here. Vanessa wouldn't dare pursue someone she thinks is. under my protection."

Protected. Like his other threats. Protection from Vanessa. From this crazy world. But at what cost?

This was a proposal. More significant career advancement, security, for pretending to be in a relationship with the man who embodied everything that ruined my family.

I was bewildered, attempting to weigh pluses. The pressure was tremendous. Having to be out there in public, pretending to be intimate with him. it was intimidating.

But the possibility. the potential to provide for myself forever, to never again have to plead, to be powerful in this world. was overwhelming.

And under all the fear was this odd pull towards him, towards those intense eyes, towards the mystery of what he really wanted.

"I." My voice was tiny. "I don't know, sir."

He leaned back, his expression blank. He did not push me, just waited.

"Think about it, Olivia," he said to me, employing my first name, which felt odd after all that stiff "Ms. Gray" stiffness. "It's a solution for my problem, and is an opener for you."

He stood up and went back to the window, looking out over the city lights. "I'd prefer having your answer tomorrow morning."

He didn't turn, simply stood there like a silhouette before the shining city. The meeting was over. The offer was made.

I stood to shaky legs. "Yes, sir."

I walked towards the door, the silence thick with his offer. My hand was on the doorknob when he finally spoke, still not turning.

"And Olivia?"

I halted, looking at his figure before the window.

"Be prepared," he said to me again, but this time the suggestion was unmistakable.

Be prepared for what? The fake relationship? The fallout? Getting close to him, his world, his secrets?

I left his office, the heavy door closing behind me with a soft click.

I stood alone in the dimly lit reception room, city lights stretching out below me. Be his fake girlfriend. Take a step into the limelight. Pretend to fall in love with Alexander Blackwood.

My career, my safety, maybe even my heart. everything hung in the balance.

I had until tomorrow morning to decide whether I was willing to accept the golden cage he was offering, or miss out on the greatest chance of my life.