Chapter Eight : Who we are
1467 Words
ROD’S POV
It had been two weeks since I last visited the hospital and now, every morning felt like walking into a battlefield where everyone already believed I would lose. I spent hours reading reports, contracts, projections, and meeting notes. Two weeks ago I could barely understand half of what the executives were discussing, but now, the words were beginning to make sense.
I was in my office reviewing a financial report when a soft knock came from the door
Before I could answer, my secretary Clara came in.
She closed the door behind her gently and walked toward my desk with her tablet in hand. Her heels clicked lightly against the floor as she cat walked towards me.
“Mr. Gallagher,” she said smoothly.
I glanced up. “Yes?”
“You have a meeting in twenty minutes.”
“With who?”
“The investors from the Langford Group.”
I leaned back in my chair, “Right,” I said. “The ones threatening to pull out.”
She nodded slowly, “They believe the company is unstable without Mark.”
I rubbed my temple, “That rumour spreads fast.”
Clara stepped closer to the desk, way too closer than she should.
She leaned forward slightly and placed the tablet down in front of me. The movement made her blouse dip just enough to expose more than necessary.
“You know investors,” she said quietly. “They panic easily.”
Her perfume smeared against my nostrils and I shifted my eyes back to the tablet.
“What do you think they want?”
“They want reassurance.” Her fingers rested on the edge of my desk. “And you should try to give it to them.”
“I’ll try hard.”
She smiled, very slowly, “You’re learning fast.”
I ignored the comment and continued reading the notes on the tablet.
She leaned a little closer, “You’ve been working very hard lately.”
“That's my job.”
“Even so,” she continued softly, “people still need breaks.”
“I’ll survive.”
Her fingers slid lightly across the desk toward my hand, “Let me help with that.”
I lifted my eyes slowly, questioning all her little movements that did not go unnoticed and stared at her long enough to show disinterest. “You're my secretary, Clara.”
The door opened slowly and Clara straightened instantly. Grandfather stepped inside, his eyes moving from her to me.
She cleared her throat. “I was just reminding Mr. Gallagher about his investor meeting.”
Grandfather nodded once.
“That will be all.”
She picked up the tablet and gave me one last glance, brushed her skirt and did that walk of confidence as if nothing mattered.
Grandfather walked slowly toward the desk and sat down across from me.
“You should be careful.”
“With what?”
“Office romance.”
I frowned, “There isn’t any.”
He lifted an eyebrow, “She looked very comfortable leaning over your desk.”
“She leans over everyone’s desk.”
“That doesn’t mean you should allow it.”
I exhaled slowly.
“He’s improving,” Grandfather was talking about Mark now. “But the board must not know.”
“You think they’ll panic if they know he might recover?”
“No,” Grandfather said calmly. “We just don't want any attack. We don't know who is who. Your brother’s recovery is family information.”
Finally he stood, “The investors will test you today but you have to prove them wrong. You can do this.”
“I figured.”
He walked toward the door, “And Rod.”
“Yes?”
“Do not let them smell weakness.”
Then he left.
The meeting lasted two exhausting hours and when it did end, the Langford investors looked less confident than when they arrived. They were not convinced; I saw it but they were testing the water.
I returned to my office afterward and collapsed into my chair.
Clara appeared again almost immediately.
“How did it go?” she asked quietly.
“They have decided to invest really small but that's a good start.”
“That’s a success."
She walked behind my chair and placed a file on the desk, her hand brushed my shoulder lightly. “Long day?”
“Very.”
She leaned down slightly beside my ear, “You should let someone help you relax tonight.”
I didn’t even look at her. “Clara.”
“Yes?”
“Go home.”
She laughed softly. “Playing hard to get?”
“No. Playing tired.”
She studied me for a moment. Then she straightened, smiled and walked out. I did not know how long this would go on for but I was tired of her already.
*
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ANA’S POV
Alicia and I sat at the small table in my dinning room, sharing a bowl of rice and grilled chicken, the noise from the television invading the toom.
My phone buzzed and I glanced rapidly at it. Leo.
Alicia noticed my tightened face, “You’re not answering?”
I shook my head, “He probably wants me at the club.”
“And?”
The phone buzzed again. Alicia leaned back in her chair, watching me cunningly. “It's because of me you've stayed back from work for like two weeks.”
That was true; I did not feel comfortable dressing up to leave the house every night while my younger cousin knew what must have happened with me.
“Answer the phone.”
I hesitated for a bit before picking it up, “Hello.”
Leo’s voice came immediately, “Ana.”
“What?”
“I need you tonight.”
“I’m not working tonight.”
“Ana, it's been two weeks,” he grumbled, his voice low and begging.
He sighed and then continued, “There's a client here, you'd be glad you came out.”
“Leo, I’m not in the mood.”
“This one pays very well.”
I stayed quiet, listened to him sing my praises and how the client had declined the other escorts.
“Is it Rod?” I whispered, glancing at Alicia to see she was watching me with a bewildered look.
“Nope. Rod has not been here for two weeks.”
I pressed my fingers to my forehead, pain spreading across my heart for hearing Rod has not come to ask for me; he was probably still angry that I knew his worker. Some of those men were too jealous and did not like sharing even an escort.
“Fine,” I said finally. “But just tonight.”
“I’ll send a car.”
I dropped the phone onto the table when the call ended. My cousin looked at me sadly, “Go get ready.”
I stood in front of the mirror twenty minutes later, admiring the skimpy orange gown I had bought like a month ago. It was short enough to reveal my bottom if I bent and I smeared baby oil generously on my skin. The neckline dipped low, revealing enough skin to make any man stare twice. My hair fell over my shoulders in loose waves and I set my feet into my glass heels.
“The car is outside,” my cousin announced as she looked out of the window. I grabbed my purse and she followed me gingerly to the door.
“Don’t let them push you around tonight,” she said.
“I never do.”
She hugged me quickly and quickly stepped aside so I could moved. The car was a Porsche and the driver did not even mutter a word to me. We drove silently to one of the expensive suites in Maxix.
Leo was waiting and as he roamed his eyes over me and licked his lips, I knew I had dressed to kill, “What would I ever do without you?”
“One of these days, you owe me a trip out of this country.”
“Certainly,” he smiled and led me to the door of the room, knocked lightly and when he heard a voice, opened it and I entered.
The man standing inside the room in a white wash robe was someone I had done things with before. He always loved me drunk and almost unconscious. His eyes were red and two glasses of wine rested on the table.
“My doll,” he smiled.
The last time we were here, I was so drunk I couldn't move and he always used s*x enhancers. Tonight, I would have it rough.
Fvcking Lohan Pierre!
- Writer
