Chapter 22 William
“William!” my coworker Charles cried as he approached.
I was sitting in The Pub waiting for Charles to meet me for lunch.
A Sublime song, “What I Got” played on the jukebox.
Charles had just met with Kit and Rita to sign the Intent to Sell and a Memorandum of Understanding.
All that was left was the due diligence period.
Charles and I had decided to get lunch before he headed back to Atlanta.
He gave me his typical ‘up top” high-five, handshake, and pat on the back.
“What’s good, Charles?” I said, as he settled onto the stool next to me. Ray appeared with a second beer and a bowl of pretzels.
“Ah, man. That closing was a breeze. I am surprised you didn’t do it yourself,” Charles said. He looked at the menu on the bar.
“Glad it went well,” I said.
“So, I heard the board was deliberating a new transition plan that Braithway proposed,” Charles said, holding back a grin.
I nodded. “Yeah, I’ve heard about that. What have you heard?”
"Well, I’ve heard your name is at the top of the proposed org chart. So, congrats on that, my guy,” Charles said.
I shook my head and said, “Nothing's official yet. I haven’t heard anything from Braithway all week, but I’m scheduled to go down there in a few days to meet with him.”
“Nah, I know it’s gonna happen. Braithway has always had a soft spot for you, but don’t get me wrong. You’ve earned it. I’m happy for you, brother.”
“Thanks,” I said. I was a little surprised that Charles was being so supportive. I had assumed he had wanted this role for himself.
We chatted, mostly about work. Charles gave me a few updates about projects he’d been managing.
Notably, he shared only the ones that were successful.
Usually, he had a lot of stories that started out with him working and ended up with him golfing with a celebrity or going out all night with some hot girls.
Charles punctuated the end of every story with, “But don’t worry, I didn’t use the company card for any of that last part.
” But today, Charles kept it all business and above board.
Charles was sharp, and he knew how to work the system.
He graduated top of his class and came highly recommended.
His work was stellar, and he missed almost nothing when it came to contracts.
But Charles was an absolute tool when it came to his social life.
Meredith couldn’t stand him. She not only loathed his bro-culture persona, but she felt the way he was tolerated underscored the double standard in corporate culture.
But as I listened to Charles give the PG version of all his work trips, it occurred to me that the C-suite had never seen that side of him.
I was well aware that Charles wasn’t the kind of guy that should be easily trusted.
“So, Creekstone is a pretty small town. Have you really been living here since December?” Charles asked, then took a swig of beer. “When I heard, you were relegated to this project, I thought it was a punishment, but what could the crime have been to deserve this?”
“Yeah, the business development work that needed to be done started from basically ground zero, so I had to be here to really move it along. It’s how Braithway wanted it done,” I said, picking up my beer. “But I like Creekstone. It’s not all bad.”
“I guess it’s not all bad,” Charles echoed me with a smirk.
I raised my eyebrow but didn’t respond, so Charles chided me.
“Well, I saw the way you and Kit Campbell were looking at each other all week,” Charles said a suggestive flash in his eyes. “You hittin’ it?”
I was expecting this from Charles. I kept my cool. “I’ve grown close to Kit. She’s a good person.”
“I see. Mixing a little business with pleasure.” Charles clucked his tongue on the roof of his mouth. “So, is this how you convinced her to sell her land to Braithway & Randall?” he hooted.
“I don’t think it has anything to do with me,” I said non-reactively. “It was a good business decision for her family.”
“Sure,” Charles said, looking back down at his lunch.
“I mean, keep telling yourself that. But what it looks like is you proposed a land sale in December. She said, ‘Not just no, but hell no.’ You moved here, got into her bed, and voila…she suddenly is interested in selling her land.” Charles laughed, took a bite of food, and added, “Good for you though. She’s a total smoke show. ”
I didn’t respond. I felt a fury inside myself that Charles was making light of my relationship with Kit, but I knew I needed to keep my cool. Guys like Charles lived for the reaction. I took a bite of my burger.
As if something had just occurred to him, Charles gasped. He squinted his eyes and pointed at me. “Is this why Braithway sent me up here to lead the negotiations?”
I didn’t want to respond, but I knew Charles could dig around and figure this out for himself.
“I disclosed to Braithway and HR that I had a conflict of interest with this particular land sale. I rent an apartment from the family, and I’ve become close to them.
I just wanted to keep everything aboveboard for the company. ”
“See this is why Braithway loves you. You’re always keeping the company’s best interest in mind.” Charles frowned as if he was giving something serious thought. “It’s just surprising. You’re a hot commodity on the dating circuit. A lot of ladies are going to be disappointed you’re off the market.”
I didn’t want to give Charles too much. I didn’t want to tell him that I was madly in love with Kit and that I would abandon Braithway & Randall in a heartbeat for her.
I didn’t want to tell Charles that for the first time in my life, I felt safe and loved.
I didn’t want someone as crass and shallow as Charles to ruin it for me.
So, I just let a little chuckle out and said, “None of that matters, Charles. I just know I’m happy.”
Charles shook his head. “Hey, this gives me hope. If a dog like you can find happiness, then maybe it can happen for anyone.”
“Thanks, I think,” I said with a forced smile.
Ray appeared with one check, which he handed to me without saying much else. Charles looked up at Ray and said, “This steak salad is fucking amazing.”
When I finally got the confirmation about my job promotion, I couldn’t wait to get back to Creekstone to tell Kit.
I stopped and picked up a pizza before I got back to the house.
Kit liked a white pizza with buffalo chicken and hot honey drizzle.
It was her favorite. When I got there, Kit was curled up on the sofa reading a book.
As soon as she saw me, she popped off the sofa and gave me a sweet peck on the cheek.
She followed me into the kitchen. I put the pizza on the counter, and she went over to the fridge and pulled out a bowl of salad she’d made.
“I’ve been thinking about this pizza all day!” Kit said, pulling two plates out of the cabinets.
“What about me?” I said. “You haven’t been thinking about me?”
“Well, you are the cutest pizza delivery boy I’ve ever seen,” she said, smiling playfully at me. I was headed across the kitchen to scoop her up for a kiss when she said, “Oh, speaking of deliveries. Something just came for you.”
Kit pointed to a crate sitting on the kitchen counter. It resembled the crate delivered on Christmas Eve. I walked over, popped it open, and pulled out a bottle of whiskey and a bottle of wine. Kit clapped and said, “Is that the same wine from Christmas Eve?”
I walked over to the cabinet, pulled out two wine glasses, and opened the bottle to pour us a glass of wine. “It is.”
Kit started humming the song “It’s Beginning to Look a Lot like Christmas” while spooning salad onto our plates. She stopped to ask, “Did Braithway send that? What’s the occasion?”
I kept my eyes on the glasses as I poured the wine and I said coolly, “The offer’s official. Salary negotiations are complete. I’m the next CEO of Braithway & Randall.”
“CEO?” Kit said, her eyes wide with surprise. “Your promotion was to become the CEO of your company?”
I nodded. “I was too nervous to talk about it, but yes, Braithway is retiring at the end of the year, and I’ll be working alongside him preparing to take over as the CEO.”
Kit dropped the wooden salad spoons with a clatter and ran over to me. She threw her arms around me and gave me a huge hug. “That’s such great news! Congratulations.”
I kissed Kit’s forehead, “Thank you.”
We took our plates into the dining room. Kit looked down at her pizza and salad and said, “I’m still in shock! This is such a big fucking deal. Should we go out and celebrate? You didn’t even pick out the pizza toppings you like!”
“Honestly,” I said, “This feels perfect to me.”
“Why didn’t you call me and tell me the news?” Kit said, swatting at my arm and pretending to be mad, then laying her hand on mine.
I smiled, “Is it too painfully corny to say all I wanted was to see you and tell you in person?”
Kit smiled and straightened up in her chair. “Okay, a toast to you. Congratulations on your promotion. You’re going to do such remarkable things.”
Our glasses clinked, and I took a sip of the wine. Kit smiled as she picked up her fork and started to eat her salad. “Tell me all about it. This is so amazing.”
The moment felt perfect. We chatted about the job and enjoyed the pizza.
Kit refilled our glasses of wine. Then we decided to head upstairs to my room.
Kit and I sat on the bed together, and I turned on the tv to stream one of our shows, but before I started the show, I said to Kit, “Hey, can I talk to you about something?”
“Sure,” Kit said. She had brought a bag of chocolate candies up with her, and she was happily unwrapping the chocolates and popping them into her mouth.
“I wanted to talk a little about how my new job might impact us,” I said softly. I saw the change in Kit’s expression, and I felt a panic growing inside of me.
She looked down at the candy wrapper in her hand and said, “That’s probably a good idea.”
I took a deep breath and pressed my lips together. “Now that it’s official, I will need to be in Atlanta most of the week, and I’ll have to take work trips pretty regularly.”
Kit was nodding but not looking directly at me. “So, you’ll be in Atlanta permanently?”
“Yes, and I know the distance was a factor in your decision to break up with Matt. I wasn’t sure how you’d feel about being in another long-distance relationship.”
Kit didn’t look up. She kept her eyes down and she said, “Okay.”
I felt the nervous flutter in my stomach harden into a knot.
I had worked so hard to get this job. It was the one goal I had laid out for myself, but suddenly, feeling like my relationship with Kit could be in jeopardy because of it, I was having serious second thoughts.
I had never had a relationship talk with a woman in which I was asking her for more, and I was trying not to panic.
I said, “I don’t expect you to change anything, and I don’t want to promise you that I can be here as much as I have been over the last few weeks because I just know it won’t be realistic. So, I wanted to tell you that next week I’m going to start looking for a place in Atlanta.”
Kit licked her lips and kept her eyes down, she said softly, “Are you breaking up with me?”
Surprised, I leaned forward and gently lifted Kit’s chin with my index finger. I saw the tears in her eyes. “No, hey. No. That’s not what I want. I want us to stay together. I was going to ask you if you’d ever consider trying a long-distance relationship again.”
Kit’s eyes went down again, and I dropped my hand into my lap. She shook her head, and I felt crushed.
“I don’t want to be in a long-distance relationship again,” she said softly. “I don’t think it works, and I think it would just delay the inevitable.”
“Would you be willing to think about it?” I asked.
I tried not to sound upset. I felt almost foolish for suggesting it because Kit had been so clear that she’d never want to be in a long-distance relationship.
I swallowed the lump in my throat and leaned back against the headboard.
I felt the muscles in my chest getting tight and took a deep breath.
I looked down at my hands in my lap and said quietly, “What we have is rare, Kit. You know that. It’s rare and special, and I don’t agree it’s a foregone conclusion that we would break up just because of a long-distance relationship.
It feels like you’re giving up without trying. ”
Kit slid her hand over mine. She said, “A few months ago, when you started talking about a potential promotion, I wanted to know more about what that might mean for you and for us. You told me talking about the promotion made you too nervous, so I haven’t asked more questions, but I assumed that your new role wouldn’t be in Creekstone.
I’ve been afraid to bring this up because I haven’t wanted to freak you out and scare you off, but I can’t imagine us not being together now. ”
I shrugged and asked sullenly, “How would we stay together if you don’t want to try a long-distance relationship?”
Kit pushed herself up and crawled into my lap so that she was straddling me. “I don’t want the norm to be us living apart and seeing each other on occasional weekends and random weeknights. I don’t think it would work in the long term. I think we should stay together.”
The realization came suddenly. I had been so sure that Kit would never leave Creekstone that I had never even considered asking her to move with me. “Would you be willing to move with me to Atlanta?”
The surprise must have been all over my face because she laughed and cradled my face in her hands.
“Are you asking me to?” she asked, then gave me a sweet kiss on the lips.
“Yes,” I said quickly, my lips still against hers. I closed my eyes. “Yes, I’m asking you to move to Atlanta with me.”
I was stunned. “What about your job at the library?”
“I love the library, but I think I’m ready to think about what’s next for me.
Now that we’ve sold the land, I finally have a little room financially to take a break and think about what I want.
” Kit sat back and said seriously, “I know it’s crazy.
Maybe it’s too much too fast, but the idea of doing anything else and potentially growing apart feels wrong.
” She laced her fingers into mine again.
There was a look of honesty but also fear on her face as she waited for me to respond.
I pulled her to me, and we kissed, long and hard.
I flipped Kit over onto her back and eased myself on top of her.
I felt her hands rake over my body as we kissed.
I whispered in her ear, “You are everything to me. Please come with me.”