Chapter Sixteen #2
"I know…which is precisely what I told him when she called me after their phone call and asked me if there was some kind of mistake. I went to him immediately and explained that you have always honored her special occasion requests because she is an elite member."
"And what did he say?" I ask, assuming he must have realized his mistake.
"He told me that it's time this company trains its clients a little better and that Newport Staff is starting with her."
My soul just about leaves my body the moment she says it. "Train our clients? Is he insane? Mrs. Vanderbeaker has the kind of weight to push around. If she leaves, all of her minions who make up a massive portion of our portfolio will leave and sign with our competitor."
"Thus, the reason for this call. What should I do?" she asks.
I think for a second. This is my company, and I am still the CEO, no matter what the hell Richard or Martin thinks.
I'm the one who built it and landed big fish clients like Mrs. Vanderbeaker and her friends by offering them a service they couldn't resist and customer service that's above what anyone else in our field is willing to offer.
I won't let it go down like this. Not if I can do something about it.
"What did you tell Mrs. Vanderbeaker when she called?"
"I told her that you were on leave looking at venues in France for your elopement with Jameson and that's why Martin took the call, but that she is your most important client and I would personally have you call her back while you're tromping through gorgeous vineyards."
"You're brilliant. Thank you for thinking so quickly on this. You might have just saved our client from leaving and taking her followers with her. I'll call Richard and make sure he understands to slap some sense into Martin since Martin isn't taking my calls right now. I owe you big."
"Just get back here, and soon. I can't take much more of this. I’m a little worried he’s going to fire me if he finds out that I told you, and I’m not the only one who’s worried he’s going to fire us for our loyalty to you."
When I look up for a moment, I see Trey is watching me. Listening in with curiosity.
“You’re not getting fired, Virginia. I may not be the current CEO, but I won’t let that happen. Tell anyone you talk to who seems worried that I won’t let him get away with firing any of my staff as retaliation.”
“There’s a rumor going around that he’s planning on cutting your Christmas bonuses because they are too costly. A lot of people are really worried about that since they depend on those extra funds to help get them through a very expensive time of the year.”
I can't even believe I am hearing this. These Christmas bonuses mean so much to our staff, and it’s one of the things I’ve always done to show our appreciation and make their loads a little lighter around the holidays to make it a more enjoyable and stress-free time for them.
This is exactly why I knew our CFO couldn’t handle the CEO position. Sometimes money is spent on employees as an investment into your future working relationship.
“Squash that rumor whenever you hear it. Reassure them that I will be back in the CEO position way before Christmas, and bonuses will definitely be happening. Just stay strong and keep the front office as united as you can until I can get back to work.”
Now the fantasy I had of telling the board and the Holidays to kiss my ass and run away with Trey is out of the question, even if it was only that…a fantasy.
Walking away from the CEO position at Newport Staffing means letting down a lot of staff members who have been with me since the beginning and have never let me down. I have to show up for them.
“Thank you, Vivi. Just come back soon, okay? We all miss you.”
We hang up, and I shake my head at how quickly everything is falling apart without me.
"You're good at this whole CEO thing, aren't you?" Trey asks.
"If almost losing one of the biggest clients we have is what you consider good, and my employees think that we’re going back on our promises…then we should work on your standards."
He chuckles. "I mean, you have a team that's so loyal she hid out in a bathroom to call you. And she has enough faith in you that she believes you're the only one who can save the company."
"Maybe it means something."
"It means you're a good leader. You understand that the client is more important than the bottom line and that the people who work under you feel you will have their back when they tell a client you're going to fix something, because Virginia believes that you will. You told her that you’re coming back, and she believes you.
I knew you were good at your job, I just didn't realize how good," he says, his eyes on mine.
"Now I've seen it. You need to save your company—whatever it takes. "
I want to ask him what that means for us, but with Adeline sitting at the island, I can't. For now, it means I have to set my sights on marrying Jameson, unless some Hail Mary comes out of nowhere and saves us both from a loveless marriage.
"Thank you for seeing all of that in a four-minute phone conversation."
"I saw it before that… This just confirms it." And then he turns back to the stove, working a frying pan.
Something in him, believing that I'm good at what I do, has my chest swelling with pride. It's all I've ever wanted. For people to see me as Vivi Newport, CEO, not as one of the Newport sisters who must have gotten where she is with her daddy's money.
Trey seeing that means more to me than he'll ever know. But holding onto it means I have to let him go when Jameson gets back.
No more ice cream chasing around the kitchen. No more impromptu sex on the couch when he catches me. No more grease stains on my ass where his hands have been.
"Something smells good. I thought you didn't cook?"
"Uncle Trey stole your recipe for the pancake batter," Adeline announces, sliding onto a stool. "Let's see if he can pull this off and impress you."
He turns towards us and sets a plate in front of her. Now I'm gifted with the front view of Trey, the tattoos over his pecs and the dog tags that I didn't get to read last night. "Keep that up and you can make your own breakfast, squirt."
The domesticity of it all makes my chest ache. This is what I want—morning teasing and shared coffee and family breakfast. Not some arranged marriage in France with a man who's currently ghosting everyone from Greece.
"I should get going," Trey says, checking his phone. "I'm meeting some of the guys at the gym."
"Right." I busy myself with my coffee. "I'll drop Adeline off at school, and then I've got ballet covered later."
He nods, heading upstairs to change. When he returns, he drops a kiss on Adeline's head.
"Be good for Vivi."
"I'm always good."
He snorts, then hesitates by my chair. For a moment, I think he might kiss me too. Instead, he hesitates, his eyes shift to Adeline who's watching us with a coy smile, and then he squeezes my shoulder gently instead.
"See you tonight?"
I nod, not trusting my voice.
After dropping Adeline at school and sending off an SOS text to Richard that we have to talk, I head to Serendipity's. The coffee shop is already full of WAGs when I arrive.
"There she is." Cammy waves me over. "We were just talking about girls' night."
"At Ground Zero," Peyton adds. "This Friday for Kendall's birthday—no boys allowed. You in?"
I slide into a chair. "I'll have to check if Trey has plans or if I can take the night off."
Peyton nods. "Perfect, just let me know. I'm going to book us a VIP lounge so we don't get hassled like last time."
"I'll know tonight," I tell her.
"Speaking of Trey," Cammy says, a glint in her eye.
I nearly choke on my latte, panicking that somehow I have "Trey and I had sex last night" stamped on my forehead. "What about Trey?"
"Oh, please." Isla rolls her eyes. "We all saw how he looked at you during the home game last week. And now you're wearing his shirt."
I glance down, realizing I grabbed one of his Hawkeyes training shirts by mistake this morning instead of the new work out gear that Isla sent me from her new line. Heat floods my cheeks.
"It's not… We're not…"
"Honey." Cammy leans forward. "We've all been there. The 'it's complicated' phase. Trust me… that phase fades fast, and then before you know it, you're living with the man and planning a future. Right, Peyton?"
Peyton chuckles. "Don't trust a Hawkeyes boy. They're like quicksand. They suck you in faster the more you struggle.”
"I'm not struggling, and he's not sucking me in." Unless you count what he did to my nipples, I think to myself. "In four weeks—"
"In four weeks, you have a choice to make," Isla says softly. "The question is, what do you really want?"
My phone buzzes—another text from Genevieve about wedding venues. This time, flower arrangements. I ignore it.
"I don't even know what I want right now. Except that I know that my company is in trouble, and the only way to fix it and to save Jameson's situation is to get married.”
"Just think about it." Isla squeezes my hand. "Sometimes the right choice isn't the easy one."
Right now, I don’t even know if there is a Trey and me. He knows I'm leaving in four weeks, and it's not like he's asked me to give it all up for him. Even if he did, I’d have to think about my employees and clients who are counting on me.
For today, I just need to focus on getting Richard to fix the mess that Martin is making, and then maybe I'll have time to figure out the rest.