5. Chase
Chase
Blink by The Moss
I skim the budget reports on my desk. Ever since I received my promotion as Marketing Manager, I’ve been brainstorming hard to figure out how to impress the investors.
Of course, this would be much easier if I knew how much the company could spend overall, but that would involve asking him.
My stomach twists at the thought of how Bailey was practically drooling all over him inside his office this morning. As though he’s some sort of piece of meat. It’s honestly ridiculous—
“Hey.” Mia’s voice shocks me out of my daydream.
I jolt so hard, I nearly launch my pen across the office. “Jesus Christ, Mia.”
“Don’t you have a meeting or something?” she asks, mindlessly tapping on the phone in her hand.
I press a hand to my chest, trying to steady my racing pulse. “Yeah, at nine.”
She blinks at me. “Uh, Chase?” She lifts her phone in front of my face. “It’s five past nine.”
I look at the time staring back at me. Fuck! She’s right.
Quickly, I check to see if Jeremiah’s still at his desk. My stomach falls to the depths when I realize he’s no longer there.
I don’t respect tardiness.
“Dammit, dammit, dammit.” I curse to myself while I quickly round up as many papers on my desk.
“Good luck.” Mia sings after me as I race toward the boardroom. Unfortunately, it’s on the next floor so I skip the elevator and go for the staircase, doubling on steps to cut time.
Swinging around the corner, I shove open the conference room door. Every head turns as I stumble inside. I straighten my posture and force my breathing to slow. The last time I was in this room, I completely embarrassed myself. I’m determined to not make it a repeat performance.
It doesn’t look like the meeting has started yet, thankfully, so I slip into an empty seat right beside Jocelyn, our HR manager.
Immediately, my eyes find their way to the end of the long table. Jeremiah is already seated at the head, quietly talking to Heather, who sits to his right.
I feel that familiar feeling of nerves catch up to me again. I’m not sure why, but seeing him in that seat, talking to my favorite people, makes me feel uneasy.
He stops leaning into Heather, and his eyes scan the room. Landing on me, he pauses for a moment.
He nods simply. “Great. Now that everyone’s here, it looks like we can get started.”
I look around the room. Was I the last one to join?
Dammit.
Jeremiah clasps his hands on the table. “As it’s my first day here, I wanted to chat personally with the executive team to say my official hello. I’m excited to use what I’ve learned from my years leading Ignite Digital, Bloom Systems, and SmartCore to really add to the team here.”
Damn, he really has worked for some prestigious companies. Memories of him in high school immediately creep into the front of my mind. He was always lost in projects, his nose always in a book or working on schoolwork. He’s always…thinking.
I wonder if he ever takes a break. Does Jeremiah Blackwood ever have fun in the sun?
“This week, I wanted to meet with all of you that make up the department heads to really go over current processes, conduct some one-on-one meetings, and really get a feel for where we’re currently at–”
Looking at him now, it's hard to imagine anyone overlooking him. My eyes travel across his face. From his groomed brows that sit perfectly over his dark, moody eyes to his soft, cupid’s bow on his lips and sharp jawline.
His shiny black hair falls effortlessly around his temples. He looks like a goddamn prince.
Hell, if he'd shown up to school looking like this, half the girls in our graduating class would've lost their minds.
Probably more than half.
“And, Chase. How about you?” His deep voice pierces through my thoughts like a bow and arrow.
A clatter of my teeth against the clip on my pen snaps through the air. I look around the room.
Oh, shit fuck.
Sweat quickly dampens my underarms as I feel all the eyes in the room shift to me.
“I…uh—” I lick my lips. What the hell were they talking about?
My eyes jump from Jeremiah to Heather in a silent plea to help me out.
Jeremiah’s brow lifts. “Would you like me to repeat myself?”
I cough into my fist, buying myself a second. “That’d be great, thanks.”
His gaze stays locked on mine, like he’s testing whether or not I’m actually listening this time. “What’s one change that would make your job easier?”
I think about my answer quickly. “Well…for starters, marketing expenses are being tracked separately from the overall budgeting reports. We see our budget, but it’s not aligned with the whole company.”
Jeremiah blinks once, making my skin prickle. “So, you’re saying there’s a disconnect?”
I sit up in my chair. "Yeah. If we merged marketing costs with sales and operations, we’d get a clearer picture of ROI and where to scale."
He leans forward. “So, seeing the full financial reports would help you?”
I feel my throat bob as I try to find my words. “Having that data would definitely help...yeah.”
His eyes stay fixed on mine, pausing for a beat. Finally, he looks at Todd, the head of the financial department, across the table. “You think we could integrate those reports?”
Todd sits up in his seat and eagerly nods. “Oh, absolutely. I’ll get on that.”
Jeremiah gives him a polite smile before looking back at me.
“Very good,” he says.
It’s simple and brief, but it’s enough to spread a confusing warmth across my chest and settle in my stomach.
I look down at my hands. What the hell is going on, and why’d that feel so good?
During the rest of the meeting, I’m hanging on to his every word. There’s no way I’ll get caught slacking off again.
***
After going over some plans of action, the meeting eventually wraps up, and everyone slowly leaves the room. Truthfully, Jeremiah did a great job. His powerful tone is sort of infectious. I kind of want to run a marathon now or something.
I take my time packing up my papers. I took a few notes during the meeting and want to keep track of what I wrote.
“See you.” Heather smiles, patting me on the shoulder before leaving the room.
I wave to her quickly and look back down at my stack.
“You were worrying me before.”
I look up to find Jeremiah standing in front of the floor-to-ceiling windows at the back of the room, his hands tucked into his pockets as he stares out at the bustling city below.
I glance around.
Everyone else has left.
“Are you talking to me?” I ask, pointing to myself with my thumb.
He looks down at his polished shoes before turning to face me. “I was starting to wonder how you got the promotion.”
I can’t help but bite back a laugh. “I’m sure there’s a compliment in there somewhere.”
With a small click of his tongue, he begins strolling over to me. “I’m just saying, it was nice to see you awake today.”
I open my mouth to say something, but before I can think of something witty, he takes a piece of paper from the stack in my hand and looks over my notes.
Tonguing the inside of my cheek, I feel nerves start to climb up the back of my neck.
Jeremiah doesn’t say anything for a moment, looking through what I wrote.
“Think of any ideas yet for our little joint project?” he asks, his eyes scanning my document.
“Well…I’ve been thinking of something fun. WingMate is all about love and community, so what about a social event?” I bite my lip.
Giving me no reaction, he slips the paper back into my pile.
“What type?” He folds his arms over his chest. He’s a little taller than me, but not by much. I’m happy to see I’ve caught up to him since high school.
“Charity run?” I suggest.
His nose scrunches up as he shakes his head. “WingMate is a dating app. We need something… romantic.”
“Right. Romantic…” I repeat, my pulse speeding up. I look away and try to ignore his cologne, now that he’s standing so close to me. Sharp and sophisticated. It makes the ideas spring to life in my head. “Tuxes. Gowns. Decorations. Maybe…a Gala?”
The sides of his mouth perk up, only slightly. “Sure. Let’s work on that. We’ll take this week to brainstorm and come together next Monday.”
Monday? Having to wait all week doesn’t sit right with me.
“Or, I could just come to your office tomorrow morning. We could discuss it over breakfast.” I shrug, simply.
His brows furrow. “No, that’s not necessary—”
“We’ll get way more done in a shorter amount of time.” I back away, heading to the door.
“Rutherford—”
“See you tomorrow!” I cut him off, leaving the room before he has a chance to say no.
If he doesn’t remember what I did in high school, this is my chance to make myself his favorite person.
Even if he doesn’t know it yet.