Chapter 16
Chapter sixteen
The Powerful Oz
The page is lying on my chair, waiting to be read, when I walk in the next day. My throat tightens as I read the words in unmistakable red ink: Meet me in the conference room immediately. Another demand from the powerful Oz. I’ve never been summoned like this at seven in the morning.
The eerie silence in the office only makes my hand tremble, spilling coffee with every step to the conference room.
When I swing open the door, I find them both quietly waiting for me. A cosmic joke.
Albert Linderman and Chris Blackburn are staring me down. Both gesture to me nicely to take a seat at the end of the table.
I’ve never been more repulsed in my life.
They ask me how my ride was to the office and politely offer me a donut from the box sitting in the middle of the table.
“So you are probably wondering why we’ve requested such a formal meeting,” Chris starts.
I say nothing.
“I’m sure you are wondering why I gave you the day off…” Chris says.
“Chris had the most brilliant idea,” Albert cuts in.
“No, you are the one who showed me the picture.”
“It was obvious. Right there in front of us.”
I clear my throat. They both are agreeing on the same idea. Has hell frozen over? This is the oddest Friday of my life.
Albert turns to Chris as if I am not there. “Has she always been this quiet?”
Chris whispers back. Loudly. “As long as I’ve known her.”
They must not know how to whisper or how to keep their inside voices to themselves. I guess teaching these boys manners was never a part of their upbringing…
I bring my fist to my mouth and pretend to cough. “Ahem. Ahem.” Signaling: I’m still in the room, fellas.
“Right. Charlotte, we brought you in here to make a proposition.”
“Okay…”
“We want you to date someone for us.”
“I’m already in a relationship.”
“That doesn’t matter. We can scrub your social media accounts.”
“Yes, logistics are covered,” Albert repeats.
“There will be an NDA. The other person is already on board. The best part is that you can be yourself.”
Albert chimes in, “Being yourself is exactly who we want you to be.”
“Who’s the client?” The question finally jumps out of my mouth.
I know the answer, but somehow waiting to hear the name raises the baby hairs on my arms.
“Holden Strauss.”
“You know, I think I’ll have that donut.”
I lift myself from the chair and lean toward the box, settling on a chocolate glazed.
Mid-bite, I mumble, “He is on board?”
“Yes, the first thing he has agreed to since he signed with us. Perfect to tee up before the interview.”
I reach for her—my lifeline around my neck. An unfiltered opinion.
Skye appears to the left of Albert, playing with her hair.
“So what do you think, Miss Tate?” Albert is smiling so hard that it makes me shift in my seat.
“I think…”
I think a lot of things…
How dare they make me a prostitute for their clients?
Can’t I sue for this?
Who do they think they are?
“Charlotte, we are waiting.” Chris’s feet tap faster on the carpeted floor.
Skye stares at Albert, analyzing the two of them. “Don’t you think he looks like Santa? The pants are barely buckled, the hair’s practically snow-white. All he needs to do is grow out his beard.”
Skye moves, lurking over Chris now.
“And Chris, what could he possibly be antsy about? I’ve seen how he spends his lunches—the money he is hemorrhaging off the corporate card. Don’t let that hairline fool you. A very expensive toupee.”
I stifle a giggle as I dart my eyes between the both of them.
“Something funny?”
“Umm, no. Of course not. Can I just read the NDA and let you both know?”
They both nod and slide the paperwork down the mahogany table.
“I think once you sign on the dotted line, I was thinking of giving you the enclosed office next to Eric. Maybe even that title change…”
And just like that, they leave me to read. A binding agreement that means one of two things…
If I don’t sign, I don’t keep my job.
If I sign, I move up in the company.
Skye and I are left in the room to stare at the stack of papers lying in front of me.
They repay me for stealing my ideas with another binding agreement. Another attempt to shut me up and serve me on a platter.
My top teeth bite down on my lower, feeling the slow grind that I can’t prevent myself from doing.
“Are you really going to put up with this?”
Her words sound sincere as her tone softens for the first time since I’ve met her.
“I shouldn’t…” My voice trails off. I shift my focus to the empty white wall that I lose myself in. When I look up from the trance, she is gone.
My feet drag out of the room. The cloud over my head is much heavier, harder to ignore. The time between my impromptu proposition and my scheduled lunch break feels endless.
At twelve forty-five, I rush out the door. One quick outfit change in the lobby bathroom and a fifteen-minute rideshare before I arrive at Crumbs and Coffee, a coffee shop on the south side of town that Aidan and I prefer over any place near us.
Patting my blue dress, removing any hairs on it, I grab the handle of the shop, locking eyes on Aidan, who is already at a circular table in the middle of the joint. Two coffees and muffins sit there untouched, waiting for me. I take a few deep breaths, knowing he hasn’t looked up quite yet.
“You got this,” I whisper to myself. The words come out more unsure than anything.
An unstable “Hi” escapes me.
“Hey, Charlotte.”
He says my name with warmth and confidence. This could be good?
He puffs out his chest and pushes the coffee closer to me so I drink what he just bought me. I read the word on the cup: “Sunshine.”
“Don’t worry—it has oat milk with hazelnut syrup. Your usual,” he mutters, watching me take the first sip. I try to swallow it fast, since hazelnut always leaves a weird aftertaste in my mouth.
“Ugh—no,” I choke out.
“What? I got your usual” he says, scanning the label on the cup.
“Um, it has hazelnut. I usually get Vanilla.”
“I’ll have them re-make it for you.”
“No, no—it’s fine.”
I tear off a piece of my muffin and slowly chew, washing the taste out of my mouth. Aidan and I just… watch each other. Scanning and assessing one another while we fumble through small talk.
How was the drive here?
Weather is nice, isn’t it.
How was the luncheon with your mom?
I try to keep everything neutral. With the photo that just came out that clearly looks like me, I’m not sure what is the right thing to do or say around Aidan. Any conversation could land me in a minefield.
“I bet you are wondering why I asked you here…” he says. My head screams: obviously. I purse my lips and fidget with the sleeve on my coffee cup. I nod, with a “Yeah,” trying to keep my replies simple.
“This morning, I saw the article—” He pauses, trying to assess if I will have some kind of reaction. I remain strong.
For all of ten seconds.
“Before you say it, I just want you to know it’s not what it looks like. I know people say that all the time, but this time it is true. The media is cruel. I would know, since I work in the field.” All my hand gestures are on full display as I say each word.
Skye whispers, “Smooth,” behind my ear. I clear my throat. As if I didn’t already know how easily I am crumbling. I promised I wouldn’t give myself away so easily. I force a quick smile while my eyes avert from his.
I am ruining this in a matter of ten seconds. I didn’t even kiss Holden, so I don’t know why I am acting this way.
“Someone’s squeamish that Holden Strauss wants to date them,” Skye announces to the entire shop. Luckily, I’m the only one who can hear her.
“Baby, you’re fine. I knew it was you. I thought you looked beautiful.” His head tilts ever so carefully to the side, flashing a grin. A small velvet blue box is sliding over to my side.
“Go on, open it.”
His smile is contagious, because now I am wearing one, hearing my own pulse as I open the hinge of the box.
“It’s, uhhh—” I pause, holding up a key.
“Move in with me, Charlotte.”
My silence hangs there. The words beg to come out, but I’m falling short.
“For a while, I never asked because I thought we were good with where we have been. I didn’t want to mess it up, like having bills or chores to share and now…”
“And now you want me to move in?” I say skeptically. “I thought you couldn’t sleep in the same bed as me?”
“I’ll adapt.”
“What about my place?”
“We will sublet.”
The gold key feels like a trumpet moment for us. After four years, it’s finally happening. I don’t know why I’m not frantically jumping up and down with a definite yes blurting out of me.
“You don’t have to give me an answer now. Just think about it when we are on our trip.”
“Our trip?” I echo.
“We have that event at the Hamptons, remember? Tomorrow. I could really use your support there. My mother is even letting us stay in the same room this year.” He is beaming at this fact, since past stays at their estate had us in separate guest rooms.
I try to keep my facial expression neutral, since I had forgotten all about this party he reminded me about weeks ago. The annual one I’ve been to since we started dating…
Aidan returns to his phone to show me all the upcoming flights. I grit a smile when he looks at me for reassurance. His kind eyes that ask, Is this okay? My phone screen lights up and my smile drops fast.
A preview message appears on my phone: I’d really like to see you.
From NDAs to a golden key… I flip my phone screen to face the table.
“What time are we leaving?”