Aftermath Book Two Crash Series

Chapter Sixteen

Mason            

            With heavy eyes and slow movements, I make my way through the dimly lit garage towards the back door, while I swipe through what seems like an endless supply of emails. Work, work, and more work. Even at eleven at night on a Friday when I clocked in at six AM but that’s the price I’m willing to pay to run a multibillion-dollar company.

            My inbox is full of union reps giving me their workers’ demands. CEOs of companies we partner with wanting to schedule meetings to adjust profits, supply, and availability. There’s a range of managers, supervisors, and board members requesting information, meetings, and updates or guidance. Even with Michelle filtering through each email and only sending me the emails I need to deal with directly or at the very least look over so, I can forward it back to her with direction.

            Pausing in the doorway of the kitchen I pull at the buttons on my dress shirt having already freed myself of the choking tie in the car, as I pause on an email from the marketing department marked URGENT in a bold red. I can’t help but groan as I take in the details. Instantly, I feel the dull throb of my brewing headache turn into a pulsating, overwhelming irritation that demands my attention even as I chose to ignore it as I process and begin to catalog each of my next steps.

            Below my fingertips, taunting me are side to side comparisons of our marketing campaign that was meant to hit social media, commercials, billboards, and papers on Monday to launch our new clothing line but somehow our biggest competition, an online-only clothing store, lunched their own marketing campaign just minutes ago.

            Both are almost identical.

            I can feel my blood pressure rising as I take in all the details and let my mind spin with the possibilities. Everything is the same down to the stitching and patterns all the way to the poses and scope of the marketing accessibility. There’s a mole in our company and it has to be someone high up to have a leak this big, this far-reaching.

            Finding this person has now taken up the top slot on my priorities list pushing sleep out of the way with no hope to get the five hours I was daydreaming about at my dinner meeting. A dinner meeting that dragged into the late hours with the disguise of business but was really a bunch of old perverted rich men wanting to drink and leer at the young waitresses rather than go home to their wives.

            What the f**k do I do now? The marketing campaign, the launch date, and the product. All the time, hard work, production. The massive costs already invested in this line only for it to be a bust. If we release them now then we’ll look like we’re copying the competition. If we don’t release them at all we’ll lose more money than if we shift direction, reuse, and re-purpose.

            At least in the short term. Long term there will be a legal battle I’ll be happy to lead and fund but I need to take action immediately.

            “f**k,” I groan. Rubbing at my eyes in hopes that it will rid me of some of the exhaustion haunting me. Unsurprisingly when I open them my phone screen is still bright with problems and my exhaustion, irritation, and headache are still there.

            “You alright?” Aria’s low voice is unexpected and if I wasn’t so tired and bogged down, I probably would have jumped with surprise. At least there’s one good outcome to a groggy brain. It also gives me a second to pause.

            I have two simultaneous feelings followed by a reason. One, I missed Aria. Which is weird and foreign. I don’t typically miss anyone let alone a woman I saw just this morning. Yet the ache was there all day only now with my eyes taking her in does it disappear. Leaving me with a feeling of warmth and home.

            But pulling on the coat tail of the spreading warmth is the cold splash of reality and the twisted, ugly, dread of disappointment and a tiny flicker of anger. My lingering feelings from yesterday’s disaster still have me avoiding her eyes and keeping my responses short, simple, and to the point.

            I haven’t had the time nor the will to take the time to have the conversation I know we need to have. I’ve put it off for as long as I can keeping my hope alive that she just needed time and space. But we both know that yesterday was the last straw. She couldn’t even be real with the doctor. A professional who can get her the help she clearly needs.

            If she isn’t willing to get the help herself, I can’t do it for her. I can’t force her to do anything ever. And I don’t want to. Her life is filled with choices only she can make from the moment Brian took his last breath she won that right, the hard way. It was always supposed to be within her own power, her own right but has always been taken from her. I’ll be her biggest supporter and I’ll guard the f**k out of her to make sure no one ever takes that right away from her again. But I won’t continue to watch as she destroys herself either. Currently, she’s self-destructing in front of my eyes. I’m allowing her to wallow in despair and pain.

            I can’t bear to see it any longer. Nor do I want to encourage, promote, or enable the behaviors. And yes maybe my OCD and Controlling personality are playing a large role as they encourage and almost demand I take action. I want to fix this situation before it spirals out of control and into a future I don’t want.

            So that’s where I’m left. I’m the stunt man in the circus that’s being sandwiched between beds with long sharp knives pressing into every inch of my being.  Because as much as I love Aria Crawford, I know I need to let her find her own way.  I need to step back and give her room to be her and deal with everything in her own ways. I need to let her process and clearly, it isn’t working with me alongside her.

            But that means letting her go. Giving her space means the ache I felt today after only hours will be a constant extension of myself, I’ll have to learn to live with and tune out. And that thought alone has me once again avoiding the dreaded conversation and the obvious reality of what I must do next.      

            Instead, I let the exhaustion win, the frustration, and the company problems that are still as urgent as they were seconds ago. Shifting down I shove my nose back into my phone as I scroll to Dibb’s number, looks like I have a new security mission for him.

            “Yeah, I’m fine. I have work to finish I probably won’t make it to bed tonight.” Walking through the kitchen I ignore the sweet smell of espresso and sugar. I ignore the messy counter I only get glimpses of through the corner of my eyes and the remembered image of Aria standing so close with her hair thrown up in a messy bun. The curls that don’t reach or have fallen out, resting alongside her face in a beautifully chaotic way that perfectly fits her.

            She’s wearing a purple matching sleep set I bought for her after the fire with her black and white checkered apron she wears as she bakes, she looks as beautiful and tempting as ever. Still, I keep my focus on my phone and the messages I’m forwarding to Dibb before I call him.

            Dixie has a massive IT and security team and I’ll be forwarding all this information to them as well as legal but I trust Dibb and I want his resources focused on this. I need someone outside the company, and any inside influence to give me a report I can trust and confirm with IT. 

            “Mase it’s already twenty after eleven!” She’s following behind me, abandoning her station to follow me as I retreat to my study. She has the same fire in her veins that I’m choosing to ignore in my own.

            “I know the time,” I grind out, irritated. “I have to deal with this and try and get a few minutes of sleep in so if you’ll excuse me.” I don’t look at her or slow, I move faster. The sooner I get away the sooner I can lose myself in my work and avoid this situation.

            I don’t have luck on my side today so of course Aria doesn’t give up. Her steps quicken behind me so I tuck my phone in my pocket and turn to face her. Locking eyes I stop her in her tracks. “I won’t do this right now,” I motion between us. My face is tight as I fight to keep my control as I feel it slipping. I'll respect her boundaries all day but she needs to respect mine too. 

            My words are blunt, my voice tired, and my annoyance is written all over my appearance. With instincts that were developed over years and used to survive Aria’s are spot on. She raises her eyebrows in what I recognize as her defiance. Her hands swinging to her hips as she takes me on.

            “Do what Mason? Talk to me? Because you’ve been avoiding me since the doctors yesterday.”

            “Exactly! I’ve been busy. I’m still busy that’s why I don’t have the time nor the energy to do this…” I exaggerate this but try to rein my voice and annoyance in. Aware of how gentle I have to be, even when my emotions are wild I have to remember who I'm talking to. “I have brunch with my mother tomorrow at 10. We can talk before.”

            “Fine. That’s fine." She sighs = as she lets some of the defiance deflate from her posture. "Still, it doesn’t change the fact that you’ve been going all week and especially all day. Come to bed, you’re exhausted,” she begs more calmly almost pleading. Bed sounds amazing and her pleading eyes call to me, tempting. But Dixie is already in trouble without our latest line crashing before it launches, I don’t have time to waste.

            “I can’t. I really do have urgent work I need to take care of before bed. I’ll be up in a few hours.” Already I’ve pulled my phone back out so I can finish my message to Dibb while continuing on to my study.

            A glass of scotch sounds heavenly but I’m afraid it’ll only encourage my eyes to droop more than they already are. Instead of heading for the bar, I go straight to my desk so I can gear up my workstation. A replica of my desk at work. It helps with my concentration and organization to keep everything the same something I’m grateful for now at this late hour as I have all my screens opened and my emails firing off to the IT and Legal teams.

            Minutes later Aria walks in asking “What can I do to help?” She sets a glass of water down in front of me with a bowl of vanilla yogurt with fresh peaches and cinnamon granola on top. The yogurt looks delicious, extremely refreshing. I don’t have a sweet tooth as she does, I rarely ate dessert before I meet Aria, but this looks perfect.

            I grab for the bowl of yogurt enjoying it as I lean back in my desk chair. Aria makes herself comfortable on the edge. Her creamy legs crossing next to me while her sleep shorts are struggling to cover her full ass, giving me a really good view. I swear she’s the hottest woman I’ve ever been with so it’s easy to become distracted. And I’m learning every day the more you love someone the wilder the roller coaster is.

            With every bite and the still quiet air heated by our simmering connection that’s impossible to shake it has my need for her, for us replacing everything else. Her eyes are softening and my shoulders sag. The tension leaving us both as we come to a silent agreement.

            We’ll have the tough conversation tomorrow. Tonight, we’re both okay with pretending.

            “How’d you know this is what I needed?” I look to the almost empty bowl before looking back at her.

            She slides closer and pushes herself back, giving her the perfect opportunity to rest her feet in my lap. She props herself back on her hands pushing her chest out, the loose V on the silk top gives me a perfect view. I know she feels my interest growing next to her foot, her seductive smile only confirms it.

            “I have two passions.”

            “Just two?”

            “Yup.”

            “And?” I question while I grab her feet with one hand as I lean over so I can set the empty bowl on my desk.

            “I’m passionate about cooking. Sweets specifically.” She doesn’t give me the opportunity to lean back. Instead, she pulls my head to her chest and starts scratching her nails into my hair, scraping them down my neck, and digging them into my tense shoulder muscles.    “And I’m passionate about you. You put up with my sweets because you know it makes me happy which I appreciate. And because they’re pretty f*****g good.”

            Her fingers are like magic relieving me of the stress that’s always there. But her words are the key to my soul and she has the only copy. With her fingers dipping in the edge of my hair near my ears its easy to grip her wrists. Lifting my head brings us nose to nose where our breath mingles. Rubbing my thumbs in small circles on the underside of her wrist loving the shudder I feel because of my touch.

            “Why yogurt though? And now?” It’s no more than a gentle whisper of a rhetorical question. Her eyes flare wide and I can see her pulse speeding up.

            “You’ve worked late every night this week. The past few weeks actually. Not to mention the stress you’ve been under and you’ve been rocking them bags under your eyes for days now. You’re pretty f*****g hot Mase but even you’re rich ass creams can’t hide them, bad boys.” She smiles and shrugs which knocks her head into my nose. Instinct has me pulling her forward. Her legs open around my hips as she settles on my lap.

            She glares in mock anger before she continues. “You’re a health nut Mase it wasn’t hard to guess you’d love some fresh yogurt with peaches. AKA you’re fave. Now tell me what’s this urgent issue at work so I can help you and we can both go to sleep.” It's not often if ever I've had anyone in my corner checking in and ensuring my well-being or thinking about what I need or want. Not unless it benefited them in some way. But not her, not Aria. She's just kind-hearted, caring, and in love. 

              There's no doubt in my mind that the two of us have is special, true, and meant to be. But I know enough about life to realize that sometimes things are only meant to be for a brief period of time. I've been lucky in life. My money, my position,  the power, and the opportunities I have. I've been lucky. Aria's the unluckiest woman I've ever meet, in life and as a built-in characteristic. And the two of us together? 

            What if all we were ever meant to be was tossed from unlucky to lucky to have found each other for the briefest of moments in the long haul that's life? 

            Sighing, “Monday we were launching a new clothing line with an option to customize each piece. You could order online or at any of our participating stores which we were hoping would draw people in with the convenience and accessibility. You can order your shirt, go grocery shopping and it’ll be done by the time you’re ready to check out.

            “The colors and designs were studied and designed by an amazing team over the past year and look at this.” Twisting us to the side I show her the emails, the comparisons, the proof of the betrayal and disorder within Dixie. Furthering the urgency surrounding us.

            “What the f**k?” I can feel her anger and her confusion as she takes it all in. Her emotions are as wild and shocked as I was, still am. “You have no idea who did this? Could it be your dad?” She leans closer to the screen as she shoves my hand away from the mouse so she can scroll herself. 

            “This isn’t Edwards’s style. He thinks he’s invincible… the best. He would never sabotage or make us look weak. No this was someone else. I have people working on it but I want to see what I can find on their company and I need to figure out how to shift this in our favor,” Rubbing my on the small of her back in circles is comforting. Having her here, talking it through will forever be better then the silent still room I thought I wanted. 

            “Okay so there’s not much we can do about tracking this person down but we can figure out how to recuperate the loss and product.” She sits back in the chair looking off to space before she continues digging her fingers into my stiff shoulders making me lean my neck from side to side to give her better access.

            “Hundreds have been printed already the only thing we can do is make simple changes to the style. It’ll take a little time but we can use the same product.” Running both my hands up and down her sides I enjoy the trail of goosebumps I find and work on creating more.

            “Yeah, but that still wastes more time and additional manpower and gas. You’d have to increase the prices while anyone could get a simpler version for way cheaper online. This line is for kids right?” Her fingers still for a second while she tries to gather her thoughts. 

            “Yeah, it’s the winter line. Which sells like crazy.” We always see our biggest profits during this time of year. No matter what we will survive this but I would rather not go to the board with a failing like this at the exact time I need them to back me up in the war with my father. 

            “Hmm. What if you shift the marketing and adjust the sales technique? With all of this stuff being holiday-themed and focused on kids what better time than to incorporate it into charity work?” She's bouncing on my lap now with excitement. Which honestly frightens me. Again this woman is extremely unlucky and I have no idea how her cute clumsy self will derail this situation nor when the derailment will come. I do know that her and bouncing equal disaster. 

            “Charity? How so?” I’m interested in where she’s going with this, curious as hell but still, my focus is more on holding her sides so she doesn't go flying off the chair and anchoring us both to the floor in case she manages to knock us both over in her excitement.  

            “It’s brilliant really. You’ll make them look bad along the way! You can put a campaign out there around how they're stealing profits from children’s charities. People won’t buy from them you’ll get more sales and you can donate them to the kid's schools and everyone wins.” She's wilder now. The massage is all but forgotten as she shakes her whole body in excitement. I have to sit up straighter as the chair begins to rock and flashes of what's to come start taunting me. 

            “Yeah, that sounds awesome if you’d tell me how we make a clothing line into a charity event.” I struggle to stick to the point and not give worry away. She doesn't even realize our situation she too caught up in her own ideas. Which are good but not the most critical problem right now.

            “You have to have someone contact all the local schools by any of the stores offering the customization and get brochure printed ASAP. Have the kids sell the clothes as a fundraiser with custom names and sayings and have fifty percent of the profits going directly to the schools to fund whatever each school needs.” She's clapping at herself with a bright light in her eyes. A light that reminds me of all the good times before our world shifted. I'm so breathless at seeing her, seeing Aria, free of pain and torment that it's easy to grab on to that hope. To again to wonder if maybe we will be okay. Maybe we are meant to be. Forever. 

            “Mhm, you are brilliant.” Digging my nose into her neck I kiss her with a sigh. How can I walk away from this? How can this not be what we both need? 

            Keeping tomorrow in the distance I show her my thanks by carrying her upstairs to our bed and loving her in all the ways she deserves.