Her Conquest

2. A New Day

The next morning Laura woke with a surprising feeling of relief. Gone was the anxiety that had befallen her the past several weeks since her father’s announcement. Now it was replaced with a feeling of hope for what the future holds. She hops out of her bed and makes her way to the en suite bathroom to get ready for the day. Turning the shower on to the right temperature of warmth she discards her pajamas to step in. The warm water soothing her aching muscles from yesterday's events bring her back to the best part of her night.....the alluring, mysterious Chase. Just picturing him had her growing hotter as desire pooled in her belly. She can't get over how he definitely looks like someone she's met before. It was killing her that she couldn't place him though as hard as she tried. Desire was dwindling now that she was growing frustrated with herself for lacking the ability to recall where they'd met before. Finishing her shower, she steps out toweling off to finish her morning routine before she has to report to her meeting with the new boss. Dear God, please let him be a decent man and not some narcissistic asshole, she prayed silently to herself.

The morning commute wasn't awful to downtown New Orleans. She arrived to her new office building staring up at structure willing the energy to make her feet walk her inside. "Lou?" She hears Cole call to her snapping her from her thoughts. "Cole, I didn't see you there. I thought you would've been upstairs by now Mr. Early Bird," she teased him. Cole looks down shifting from one foot to the other, "Just doesn't feel the same without Daddy here." "You and I are having the same internal battle big brother," she said in a depressed tone. "Well, we can't keep standing around out here," as Cole offers his sister his arm. Taking it, she smiles up at him, "We can do this, Cole. We can do it for Daddy," she replied confidently. Arm in arm, Laura and Cole make their way into the new office building. Laura immediately takes in the comforting southern decor. Artwork of beautiful country landscapes hang on the walls, highlighting all the beauty Louisiana has to offer. Cole calls the elevator for them to take them up to the top floor for their meeting with Mr. Marshall and the other department heads. Once the elevator doors shut, reality sets in as this is a new chapter for her and her family. You can do this, Laura. Do it for your family. You can't let them down now.

Arriving to the top floor they are met with a young receptionist. Her red curls falling gently around her face as she notices the siblings enter, "Good Morning! Y'all must be Cole and Laura Jameson. Mr. Marshall is running a little behind, but please go on into the conference room with the others, and he'll be along shortly." Cole and Laura look to one another and make their way to the conference room. Upon entering, the muffled lively chatter that was heard from the hallway, has all but disappeared. You could hear a pin drop as the duo made their way to a set of empty chairs near the end of the table. "Tough crowd," Cole mutters to his sister and she gives a quiet chuckle. Setting their bags down they take a seat beside one another anticipating Mr. Marshall's arrival.

“Laura Jameson. So, we finally meet, little lady.” She looks across from her to where the scratchy voice came from. She sees a balding, middle-aged man with a laptop in front of him. He pushes his glasses back up to the bridge of his nose and clears his throat. She catches a faint scent of cigar smoke coming from him as well, which would also explain the rasp in his voice. “You’ve certainly been giving my division a run for its money,” the man continues, “Nick Baker, P.R. Manager for Mr. Marshall.” His tone is demeaning towards her. “Just so you know, Miss Jameson, my division has a reputation for being one of the best, so I expect nothing short of perfection from every employee.” Oh, that does it! “Sir, I believe you’ve just said so yourself that I’ve kept your division on its toes. So, if anyone should be questioning performances that are lacking, it would be Mr. Marshall, since you're unable to keep up with the little lady that's been giving CMI a run for it's money.” The room falls quiet as everyone looks to the now furious Nick anxiously waiting for a retort. Cole hides his smirk trying not to show how proud he is of his sister in the moment. “Why you little—” the door slams shut to the conference room and everyone’s heads turn to direction of the sounds to see none other than their boss, Mr. Marshall.

“Please Nick, don’t let me interrupt you on my account. I'd love to hear what you were going to say....,” his tone warning him to be mindful of his next words. Its him! From last night! Holy s**t. Its official, the universe hates me. I’m going to die a spinster with twenty cats. Chase walks to the head of the table, his eyes never leaving Nick’s, asserting his power over his employee as Nick cowers down from him. “I was going to simply ask Miss Jameson if she had a few pointers that I could pass on to my staff. It would most certainly be appreciated,” he finally responds. If sucking up to your boss was a sport, Nick would place gold every time. Laura regains the ability to speak again, “I’d be happy to give your staff some insight. We could all stand to benefit from one another. I look forward to hearing from your division as well.” “Well said, Miss Jameson,” Chase’s deep voice washes over Laura, his grey piercing eyes finally making contact with hers. He gives her a small smile, “I look forward to this new partnership with you and your family’s company.” Laura feels a blush spread across her cheeks as thoughts of them dancing the night before come back to the forefront. The warmth that radiated off him as they swayed around the dance floor. The way his arm held her around her waist felt like he was claiming her as his, but loose enough to feel like he was letting her have control of the moment. She forced the thoughts back, “I look forward to working with you and your company as well, Mr. Marshall.” Smiling as he takes his seat, “Alright, let's jump right into it shall we?”

Hours fly by as they discuss projections, future projects, and contracting sought after clients.The meeting finishes up and everyone starts collecting their belongings. “Miss Jameson, may I have a moment of your time please?” Oh s**t. “Sure just give me a minute to discuss something with my brother.” “Of course, I’ll just be in my office when you’re ready.” He nods to Cole and leaves towards his office, his secretary following behind him scribbling down instructions on memos needing to be sent out. “Okay, that was weird. What would he want to talk to you about,” Cole asks. I hope its about last night, was all Laura could think. “Well, we kinda met last night at Heather’s wedding. He saved me from a super awkward situation pretending to be my date,” she explains in a hushed voice. “No, s**t sis? Are you serious?” Cole returning the hushed tone so as to not be overheard. “I mean that has to be what he wants to talk about, right? Our evening got cut short when I had to give a toast, because I went to look for him after and he was gone.” “Well look at you, sis. Catching the boss’ eye. Tread carefully with him though," Cole gently warns her, "There’s something about him I can’t quite put my finger on.” She fiddles with her nails trying to will herself to move towards his office, “I know what you mean. I feel like I’ve met him before. I just can’t place him for the life of me.” Cole places a comforting hand on her shoulder, “Maybe that’s what he wants to talk to you about, but the only way to know is to go talk to him. Don’t be nervous because if you go in there all awkward I’ll never let you live it down.” He pats her shoulder turning to leave, “If you need me, you know how to reach me.” “Thanks, Cole.” He nods to her, “See ya, Lou. Have a good night.” “You too. Give my love to my nephews and Cassie, ” she yells after him.

As the back of Cole’s head disappears down the hallway, Laura grabs her belongings to head towards Chase’s office. The secretary Laura saw with him earlier is perched at her desk outside his office, her auburn brown hair falls around her face bringing out her blue eyes, “You can go on in, Sweetie.” She seems really nice. Hopefully we can be friends outside of here. I need more female friends, she thought to herself as she passes the desk arriving at his office door. Well, here goes nothing.