Chapter 20
CHAPTER TWENTY
brIANNA
Her date with Audrey was so wonderful, it had succeeded in distracting Brianna from her important presentation to the library CEO. Now, that day had come, and her usual anxiety had returned tenfold.
Audrey
you’re going to be amazing, gorgeous
she’s going to approve the presentation and tell you that you are the best librarian ever
and then I will come over and tell you what a good girl you are for doing all that hard work
Brianna’s stomach fluttered at the messages, but at least she was somewhat distracted from thinking about work.
you can’t text me that during work hours
why? You’re going to skip your presentation to come see me? That doesn’t sound like something a good librarian would do
omg please
fine, fine, I’ll save it for later
you still owe me that FaceTime session…
maybe
either way, you have my full support. You’re amazing, you know that?
Brianna had trouble believing it lately, but Audrey’s support made her think she wasn’t as terrible as her brain liked to tell her she was sometimes.
I’m trying, babe
I’ll talk to you later
The door to the CEO’s office opened, and Brianna hastily threw her phone into her tote bag, not allowing herself to think about the nickname that had slipped out.
She needed to focus on this presentation.
She had to do well. It wasn’t just her career at stake; it was her future here in this town.
She had always thought if things didn’t work out in Beaver Creek, it wouldn’t be so bad, since she could get a fresh start anywhere else.
But now…she had a reason to want to stay.
She couldn’t let it all end before she saw it through, both her work and whatever was going on in her personal life.
Brianna put it all aside to focus on what was in front of her—more importantly, the big exec in front of her.
“Nice to meet you,” Mrs. Clements said, extending a perfectly manicured hand.
She was in her later years, with stunning silver hair in a neat bun.
She was wearing a pencil skirt and fancy top, and Brianna felt very underdressed in her cozy sweater and black pants.
At least she had the sense to put on dress pants earlier that day.
“Nice to meet you as well. I’m Brianna Robinson, Head Librarian.”
“Yes, of course. Let’s chat inside?” Mrs. Clements said, leading the way into her office.
It was awkward to set her laptop to run through the presentation she had prepared, but Brianna did just that, doing her best to get through the slides without too much stuttering.
As she went through everything, she felt extra proud.
The idea for a romance book event wasn’t based on just her interest, though that certainly helped, but she had the data to prove it.
She had the list of authors she wanted to contact, the bookstores she could get to partner, and even some of the businesses that could sponsor a booth.
It was the perfect blend of literary celebration and tourism she thought the library board would be looking for, and she was proud of it.
When she ended the slideshow, Brianna turned to Mrs. Clements nervously. She brushed her glasses up as she waited, hoping her makeup wasn’t rubbing off on the plastic.
“Well, that is certainly impressive,” the CEO said.
“Thank you,” Brianna replied, meaning it very sincerely.
“I’m very impressed by the idea, but I have to admit, I’m skeptical the rest of the council will see it the way I do. They can be a bit traditionalist…” Mrs. Clements trailed off and smiled in a way that signalled her hands were tied, eyes apologetic, lips pursued together.
“I can amend the presentation, perhaps to a more general audience? I can add some more statistics, maybe even get some brands on board before we present to the Town Council. I know it has the potential to be successful. I really believe in it.”
“That’s great. It’s so wonderful to see young librarians passionate about something.”
Brianna couldn’t tell whether that was meant to be as condescending as it sounded. She tried to think it wasn’t. “Thank you.”
“Can you put this presentation into a more formal report? I think that may help them see the vision. They process information best that way.”
It was hard to picture these people as individuals when the CEO talked about them as some sort of amorphized sentient blob, but Brianna tried.
“Sure. I will do that.”
“Great work, really.” The CEO stood, and Brianna copied the action. She held out her hand for the younger woman. “Thanks again. I’m excited to see the formal report. I will do my best to get everyone on board.”
“Thank you. I really appreciate it. I can’t wait!”
All things said and done, that went better than Brianna expected. She managed to make it down the stairs to the general area of the library before she pulled out her phone to send a bunch of celebration emojis to Audrey, who responded in kind.
She was working a late shift that day, having started in the afternoon, so she wouldn’t get to see her in person.
Maybe the FaceTime idea that Audrey had teased her with wouldn’t be so terrible, and Brianna found herself daydreaming about it a little.
Her good spirits remained with her at the information desk when she was on shift there a few minutes later.
“Presentation go well?” Bill interrupted Brianna’s musing as he walked up to the desk.
She had told a few people about it, and though she had initially thought Bill would judge her (he really did still remind her of her father, which was something she tried not to think about often), he had been oddly supportive of it.
He said his wife was really into romance books, and they read some together; she did not want to know any more details beyond that, though.
“Yes, I think so. I just need to turn my PowerPoint into a report for Council. They ‘process information best that way’,” Brianna said, mimicking the CEO.
“Oh yes. I forgot how pedantic Mrs. Clements can be.”
Brianna sighed. “Anyway, how’s everything else going?”
She was trying to be better at being involved in other peoples’ lives and not just her own, so she sat through the clattering about Bill’s latest woes about his child’s shiny new video game console he received for the holidays.
When they finally switched shifts so Brianna could go to the backroom and Bill could man the desk, she was more subdued about her earlier excitement.
“How did it go?” Mike basically yelled in Brianna’s face when she went to the staff work area.
Brianna laughed and told Mike about the presentation in detail, which was more than she could say she would normally be comfortable sharing with a boss.
She was starting to get used to the familiar feeling of trusting people.
She didn’t have much anxiety about her workplace, other than the new initiative she was working on, and that was a relief in and of itself.
Her contentment allowed her to finish the rest of her shift with relative ease, and she found the practically empty bus a reprieve from the hustle and bustle of dealing with the public.
At her apartment, she showered and changed into her pyjamas fairly quickly, wanting to curl up with a good book after some mindless scrolling on social media. Her scrolling was interrupted by a text from Audrey, asking if she got home safe.
After confirming she did, she was shocked to see an incoming FaceTime call. Brianna hurriedly sat up, hoping her wet hair wasn’t too messy and trying to lean somewhat sexily against the headboard, which was hard to do in her graphic T-shirt. Why did she not wear something cuter?
“I’m not at all ready to be talking on the phone right now,” Brianna said as she finally answered the call, skipping any pleasantries.
When she focused on the screen, though, she was not prepared for the sight in front of her.
It was Audrey, wearing pink lingerie as she sat on the edge of her bed.
She must’ve had a tripod, because Brianna could see her entire body in frame.
The sight was entirely too much, and all she could do was swallow.
She really was not prepared for this.
“Like what you see, gorgeous?” Audrey asked, smirking.
Brianna was glad she had the sense to wear her glasses to bed, as she imagined this was the look Audrey had given her those few nights ago, and she couldn’t get enough of it.
“Very much,” Brianna managed. God, was her voice always that squeaky?
“So…how does this work?” she managed to ask when her brain seemed to realize it wanted to know about logistics. As tempting as this had sounded in the off-hand mentions Audrey had made, she was not sure at all.
“How do you think this will?”
Brianna had some ideas, but she had never been good at using her words in these moments. She paused, forcing herself to try to be logical. Audrey kept looking at her with that same seductive stare, making it very hard for Brianna to think of anything else.
“Will we be interrupted?” she managed to ask after too long of a pause.
“Nope,” Audrey said. Brianna really wanted to ask how she could guarantee it, but the confidence in Audrey’s voice comforted Brianna. She trusted Audrey, and if she had this planned out, Brianna was more than willing to play along.
“So, how was your day?” Brianna finally asked, trying to ignore her ever-increasing heart rate.
“Really?” Audrey said. “You’re asking me about my day when I look like this?”
Brianna giggled awkwardly. “I’m sorry, okay. I’ve never done this.” She grew more serious. “But I want to.”
“Good, because I want to too. I’d prefer to touch you, but you were working late, so this will have to do. Won’t you tell me what to do so I can pretend it’s you touching me?” Audrey asked.
Brianna nodded.
“Words please, gorgeous.” Audrey had that mischievous smirk on her face again.
“Okay…” Brianna swallowed before continuing. “Touch yourself.”