Chapter Sixteen Ella
Chapter Sixteen
Ella
Later that morning, we sat around the boardroom signing contracts with Flirtify’s legal department.
A wave of pride radiated from the three of us.
Here we were in New York City, about to earn a life-changing amount of money from an offbeat idea we had concocted together.
It felt bizarre, extraordinary, incredible.
I couldn’t help wanting to reach out to Philip, to tell him.
I wanted him to be proud of the businesswoman I was becoming.
I wanted to share with him my cheesy photo signing the contract.
But I still hadn’t heard a thing since he left me, and I was too stubborn to make the first move, even if deep down I missed him.
Though I couldn’t specifically say why. I didn’t know if I missed having someone around most days – someone to message and talk to, someone who paid me compliments and made me feel good.
In reality, maybe I just missed someone who ate me alive most nights like Hannibal Lecter, someone who knew exactly how to please me.
Or perhaps it was a combination of everything.
After the legalities were settled, Katy, Zola and I headed to our office. There we found a small group of people hovering around the door.
‘Hey,’ I said, smiling at them.
A few raised their heads in acknowledgement. Then I heard a loud voice behind us.
‘Good morning! Did y’all sleep well?’ Jimmy asked as he swept over to us.
I felt myself blush immediately, remembering how the orgasm I had to his face and abs had me out like a light.
‘Yes, we did, thanks,’ Katy answered.
‘Yeah, we all had a nice quiet night in,’ Zola said, smirking in Katy’s direction.
‘Wonderful.’ He grinned broadly, and my body tingled nearly as hard as it had last night.
‘I thought it would be a good time to meet your teams. I don’t know how you ladies prefer to work, but we’ve got a whole team of specialists to help you.
Though be sure to tell me to back off if I’m overstepping. ’
I glanced at my friends, who seemed as intrigued as I was.
‘So, Katy, I picked up that you were more of a market researcher kind of girl, right?’ Jimmy continued.
Katy gulped, nodding. ‘I suppose you could say that, yes.’
Fuck, I thought. Market research was all she’d been doing since she hit New York. I wondered who the lucky guy would be tonight.
‘Well, I’ve teamed you up with Tanya. She’s the best we have at Flirtify – she delves into all the latest social media trends and fads. I thought you two would work great together on delivering the key features of the app and finding out what women really want to know when they’re reviewing men.’
Katy turned to Tanya, who had bright orange curly hair and equally colourful clothing.
‘It’s great to meet you,’ Katy said.
Tanya hugged her tightly. ‘I’m so excited about this one!’
‘And Zola, the whizz kid. I’ve paired you up with Darren and Ethan. The brains behind almost all of my operations. But Darren is heading off on paternity leave soon, so it will be Ethan, our head IT specialist, who’s mostly working on this.’
Zola nodded, utterly impressed. She turned to the pair on her left: one was an older gentleman wearing brown cords and a grey cardigan, the other a young, handsome guy in an Illuminati T-shirt and Japanese denim jeans.
‘Nice to meet you both,’ she said politely and smiled.
‘Likewise.’ The older of the two stuck out his hand and shook Zola’s. She turned to the younger one and he bowed his head quietly.
‘Which leaves Ella,’ Jimmy said, turning to me. ‘I’ve teamed you up with Britney, head of our PR and marketing team, and Fee, who you’ve already met. Fee helps develop apps and is our go-to for her great creative ideas. She’s in a meeting right now, but will check in with you today.’
I waved over to Britney, an older woman dressed in a wide-legged pinstriped suit. She was writing notes and didn’t lift her head.
‘We’ve also scheduled you a media interview tomorrow with a journalist we know pretty well; she will run a piece on Apple News about the three women aiming to rid America of its toxic dating culture.
There’ll be photos and a chat, so be prepared.
We don’t want any of the app’s features to be revealed until it launches, so for the interview we’ll focus more on safety and how the dating world has changed, mostly for the worse, in recent years. Got it?’
I gulped. Jesus, this was such a big deal. I suddenly felt more than a little sick.
‘Everyone happy?’ Jimmy asked the group.
There was a scattering of ‘Yep’ and ‘Sure thing’ as everyone acknowledged his introductions.
‘OK, let’s get to work then, people!’ Jimmy clapped, making me jump.
This deal was enormous. Huge. Worldwide. Apple News? I could feel my pulse in my hands throb so hard like the blood was trying to escape my body. Then I felt Zola and Katy at my side.
‘This is insane!’ Zola laughed.
‘This is overwhelming, no?’ I replied, keeping my voice low. ‘We haven’t even discussed what we’re doing. What type of app are we making? What’s its name? What are its functions?’
‘Whoa, calm down, Ella,’ Zola murmured.
‘Calm down? Zola, we literally have a team of people relying on us here!’
‘Babe, you’re panicking. We’re recreating The Dicktionary Club, just like we pitched, remember?’
‘But even better!’ Katy grinned.
Neither of my friends seemed in any way fazed, but I felt a wave of anxiety rush through me, remembering how awfully that turned out the last time for me.
I mean, sure it was a massive hit with the women of Glasgow, but it basically ruined my life, my career, and my relationship.
What if this went the same way, but on a much larger scale?
What if we pissed off the wrong guy on our new app?
A politician, or a sports star? A musician, or some hotshot lawyer?
We could be extradited from the USA, couldn’t we?
‘Look, we got this. We know what we’re doing. Just stick to our teams, we’ll all do our own little bit, then we can reconvene.’ Zola rubbed my shoulder, calming me down slightly.
I spotted Katy glaring at Travis as he passed through the corridor opposite with his head low.
‘American women need this app, Ella,’ she said as soon as Travis was out of sight.
We’re basically like Batman – well, Batwoman, I guess – a group of hardcore vigilantes, coming to save their love lives from imminent disaster! ’
There was a quiet moment between us. Zola and I stared at Katy, who eventually turned to us when she noticed we hadn’t responded.
‘What?’ Katy asked.
‘Too far again, babe. Always too bloody far!’ Zola shook her head.
‘Ella, shall we head to my office? I have a group of staff there waiting to begin,’ Britney said, piping up beside me. Her face was deadpan. I couldn’t tell whether she was resting-bitch-face dour or if she hated me already.
‘Sure.’ I smiled at my friends as they scattered off to their own teams.
‘So, how long have you worked at Flirtify?’ I asked as I jogged behind her to keep up.
‘Quite some time, now.’ Britney sounded completely indifferent to my efforts to chat.
Great, I thought. I’ve landed an Ice Queen. We continued in silence until we reached her spacious office. The door was slightly ajar and I spotted a cluster of people gathered around a desk.
‘OK, Ella, this is the PR and marketing team,’ Britney informed me as we entered.
I examined the young, sharply dressed team in front of me.
‘Nice to meet you all,’ I said, spotting an empty chair and steering towards it.
Britney tittered, and it wasn’t a friendly sound. ‘Can you lead, Ella? This is your pitch, after all. Tell us about this app and what you need from us.’
Shit, she definitely hates me, I thought.
‘Sure,’ I replied, deciding it was not the time for a seat.
What do I even say? I felt totally unprepared. I headed up to the front of the table, where the group were glancing between me and their notebooks.
‘Well, hello, everyone. I’m Ella. And I’ve been asked to come over to the States to redesign, relaunch, a website my frie – my colleagues and I developed back home in Glasgow. We called it The Dicktionary Club and—’
‘You realise that name won’t stick here?’ Britney interrupted.
Nods of agreement from the group in front of me.
‘Do you understand?’ Britney asked.
I hovered, not knowing if she was addressing her minions or me.
‘Yeah, totally. It’s too long,’ one of them stated, with an unimpressed glint in her eye.
‘Oh, OK,’ I said, my tone as understanding as I could make it.
‘Way too vulgar,’ another added.
‘We could take it to a control group, but it’s giving gossip column,’ one concluded.
‘OK, well . . . we called it that in the first instance, and the principle of the website was always to—’
Britney raised her hand.
‘We can’t continue without a name at this stage.
We need something we can launch in the press statement tomorrow, Ella.
I’m afraid the concept of the app will have to wait until we have a market-ready working title.
’ She attempted a polite smile, but I’m pretty sure there was venom behind those teeth.
What a fucking bitch, I thought.
‘OK, right. Got you. Should we . . .’ My mind was racing. ‘I mean, we could always brainstorm?’ I suggested, knowing how much a group imaginative session would help ideas come to life at my old work.
‘My team work better researching what names are already on the market. Perhaps we should reconvene at twelve?’ Britney suggested, staring at her watch.
‘Yeah, OK, that’s fine.’ I was still standing, facing the group. There was an impassive wall of silence glaring back at me. ‘Will I just . . . go then?’ I asked, not knowing my place or value at this company.
Britney glanced at me with an undisguised look of disapproval. ‘For now, I think that would be useful.’
‘Cool, see you all at twelve then.’ I headed towards the door, hearing what seemed to be a brainstorming session ignite behind me.
What the fuck was her problem?
I shook my head and stormed back to the office, hoping Zola and Katy would be there to vent to. Unfortunately, the room was empty. The vast glass walls gave a clear view out to the bustling office, full of work and focus and creativity. I slumped down in my chair, not having a clue what to do.
‘Agggghhhh!’ I groaned, punching my fists off the desk in exasperation and fury.
‘Well, I can see your first day is going to plan,’ a deep voice said.
I lifted my head and spotted Jimmy leaning against the door frame.
‘Y’all having fun?’ he asked, looking somewhat entertained at my lashing out.
‘Sorry.’ I immediately sat up and sorted myself.
‘Hey, don’t apologise, carry on, that’s what offices are for.
But here’s a quick tip . . .’ He stepped in and closed the door, taking a few steps towards me.
‘If you don’t mind.’ Jimmy leaned over the desk, his neck and chest sweeping by me.
His warm, fanny-tingling scent engulfed my senses.
Then I noticed we were in darkness. The glass had tinted over, making the world beyond disappear.
No more office, no more New York skyline. It was just us.
‘The switch for privacy is right here.’ His voice was soft as he showed me, his finger lingering over the button just under the lip of my desk.
I cleared my throat, allowing my eyes to adjust. I was hyperaware of his muscular silhouette leaning beside me.
‘Thank you,’ I managed, clearing my throat.
I thought I could feel an obvious tension in the room, but was I making it up?
Was it because I’d masturbated to him last night?
Well, only for a second, technically, so it doesn’t count if it was Philip who made me cum, right?
Nonsense, I told myself. For the love of God, stop thinking about it, Ella.
I pressed the button, allowing the sunlight and the office bustle to reappear magically beyond the glass.
‘So, what’s the problem, Ella?’ Jimmy asked, casually resting his thigh on my desk.
My eyes skimmed over his physique again. Jesus Christ, his quads looked like they could crack open a watermelon at any given time.
‘Nothing.’ I forced a grin, not wanting to seem weak. This guy had just taken a massive gamble on our idea, and I didn’t want him to think I wasn’t capable of delivering.
‘Well, when nothing bothers me, I like to take a walk. Would you care to join me?’ he asked, standing again.
‘I have to get back here at twelve for Britney,’ I explained.
‘Noted. Come on.’ He nodded towards the door and started walking. ‘Don’t leave me hanging.’ His voice sailed back to me as he exited my office and eventually I smiled, getting to my feet.
‘Oh! There she goes!’ Jimmy laughed as I joined him, and together we headed out of Flirtify’s headquarters to stroll the hectic streets of midtown Manhattan.