Chapter 14 - Kayla
Bianca sets the Carter file on my desk. “Here you go, was there anything else I might get for you?” she asks politely.
Last night’s conversation with Josiah is still looping in my head.
It’s a nightmare playing on repeat. He planted that seed, the idea that someone would hurt my twins…
every time I think about it again, which is almost non-stop since he said it, my entire body goes into a dark sense of panic and fear.
I would never survive something like that happening to them. It would break me.
That’s why I have to bury myself in work—to stop thinking about it. It’s a desperately needed distraction that I am incredibly grateful for. And thank goodness there is a massive meeting today.
“No, this is perfect, thank you, Bianca.”
I push my laptop to the side and pull the file closer, opening it to double-check my calculations. Everything is in order. It’s all perfect.
Standing, I clutch the file against my side and hurry into Josiah’s office.
“Are you ready? They’ll be here in a few minutes,” I say.
He looks up at me, concern touches his eyes. “Are you ok?” he asks causioulsy.
“Fine,” I snap. Come on, we have work to do,” I add quickly.
“It’s just that… we haven’t spoken since last night and…”
“Now really isn’t the time.” I hold up the folder and try to push a missile onto my face. The muscles around my eyes twitch.
“Ok, yes. I’m ready,” he stands, understanding not to push that conversation now. “Why do you look so nervous?” he asks, smirking playfully, trying to ease the tension.
“Just the possibility that they might increase their budget again after only doing it as recently as a month ago is really exciting. I want this to go well,” I say.
“From what I heard from Mr. Carter, the deal is already done. He’s only coming here to sign papers.”
“It’s never done until it’s done, Josiah. You of all people should know that,” I scoff.
I hurry ahead, annoyed at his calm confidence. He should fight for the deals right up until they are finalized. Clients can flip and change their minds in a matter of seconds.
I guess he isn’t the one who spent every day obsessing over every detail of this account for the past few weeks.
Josiah gently wraps his hand around my arm and pulls me to a stop just inside the boardroom.
“Kayla, I’ve been watching you closely with this file. You’ve almost tripled his revenue since he last increased his budget, and you have to know what I wouldn’t have put you fully in charge of his account if I wasn’t confident in you,” he whispers.
I smile tightly.
It’s nice to hear his feedback like that, but it doesn’t take away my nerves about doing a perfect job right now in this meeting.
“Kayla! Josiah! It’s good to see you two again,” Mr. Carter’s voice booms into the boardroom.
Josiah steps away from me with a cheeky wink.
“Welcome! Come in, sit down. Can Bianca get you a coffee?”
“Sparkling water for me,” he says as he takes a seat.
Bianca, appearing out of nowhere, confirms his request and asks anyone else if they would also like something.
We all order sparkling water.
Jackson throws me a warm smile and shakes my hand, holding on longer than he really needs to, wrapping his other hand around the back of mine as well. “How are you, Kayla?”
“I’m good,” I smile, pulling my hand away. “I’m very excited to show you my plans, should you choose to increase your budget again,” I smile at Mr. Carter.
“Oh. We aren’t here to hear about all that,” Mr. Carter waves his hand in the air to dismiss my plan, and my heart constricts so tight that I can’t breathe for a second. I glance nervously at Josiah, who is still smiling confidently.
“Mr. Carter,” I say quickly, trying to get the meeting back on track before he can dismiss the entire thing so hurriedly.
“No, no, Kayla. Don’t waste your breath. I am fully confident in whatever plan you have up your sleeve, and I’ve got a few other meetings to attend this afternoon. I’m just there to sign what you need me to sign,” he explains, pulling a silver and black pen from the inside of his jacket.
He pops the lid off and shows me the fountain pen tip. “My grandfather’s pen. It’s brought me much luck in this life. I save it for very special occasions, like this one. Now, where are those documents?”
I flip his file open as my heart races. The anxiety is still there, the nerves I had about this meeting going well, but now there is a confused flutter of excitement too.
My body hasn’t caught up with reality yet.
I flick to the last few pages in the folder and slide them out, then across the table towards Mr. Carter. “This is the increase I wanted to suggest, and here is…”
He pulls the document in front of him and signs without looking at the number.
“Whatever you suggest is what I want to do,” he declares, flipping to the next page and signing at the bottom, then scribbling his full signature across the last page.
Mr. Carter stands and slides his grandfather’s fountain pen back into his pocket.
“Young lady, it is a pleasure, as always. In our next meeting, you can show me all the wonderful things you have done with my money to make it grow,” he smiles, reaching across the table to shake my hand.
He turns to Josiah and shakes his hand, too. “She’s the best decision you ever made,” he chuckles.
“I’m fully aware,” Josiah says with a steady smile.
The clients say their goodbyes, and my heart is still beating way too fast. I wait until they are out of the boardroom, then start packing up the file and taping the documents into a neat pile inside it.
I’m grinning.
I’m really proud of myself.
“Well, that went very well,” I say, tucking the file under my arm and getting ready to leave.
“Wait,” Josiah says. “We have another meeting.”
“We do?” I stammer, confused.
“Yes, you can take a seat. They’ll be here in a second.” He sits down at the head of the table again and pulls his phone out to browse on it.
I sit as tense as hell, wondering what this is about. “Josiah,” I say, wanting to push him for information, but as I do, Mark from HR walks in.
“Ready?” Mark says cheerfully, slapping his black leather binder onto the table.
“Ready?” I repeat, standing up to greet him.
“Sit, sit, this is going to be quick.”
He looks at Josiah, his brows raised and expectant.
Josiah slips his phone into his back pocket and turns to face me with his hand resting on the table in front of him.
“Kayla, you have proven yourself to be invaluable and a huge asset to this company. Mark has drawn up your new contract with your increased salary and improved benefits. Congratulations, you are being promoted to head of client analysis.”
“I’m…” I trip over my words. “I’m being promoted?” I mutter in disbelief.
Both men chuckle. Mark slides the contract over to me.
“Please read through it. Sign it. Give me a holler when I can send my assistant over to collect it from you. I’ll need the original to put on file. I’ll make you a copy once it’s signed.”
He stands up, satisfied. “You two have a good day. I’ve got to get back to everything. Congratulations, Kayla. You should be very proud of yourself. I’ve seen the work you’ve been doing, and I can say one thing for sure—you deserve this.”
My cheeks turn pink as Mark smiles, then leaves the boardroom. I glance at Josiah, who is grinning like a madman.
“I was really impatient to tell you. It’s hard to keep a secret when you’re so excited about it,” he chuckles.
“But…what if the Carter meeting didn’t go well?” I stammer.
He laughs loudly.
“I had no doubt, Kayla. And you should stop doubting yourself, too. You fight so hard to prove yourself, constantly working to show people what you’re capable of…so enjoy this moment. Because you showed everyone and you earned that promotion.”
Josiah stands up, reaching his hand out to shake mine.
I stand, too.
It feels weird to shake his hand. So formal. So official. His skin is warm against mine. His touch sends a current through me.
“I’ll be in my office. You can use the boardroom to read the contract if you like.”
“Thanks,” I mutter as he steps away from me.
“Seriously, Kayla. I am very proud of you. You’ve exceeded my every expectation.”
Alone in the boardroom, I sit down to look at the contract. It’s not that I want to make sure it’s fair or a nice increase. My salary was already excellent. And the benefits, too…it’s more just that I want to double-check that it’s real.
And there it is. My name printed in black ink. My new title. My new position in the company.
It really is real.
And as I read through the details, I can’t help but think about Josiah.
He gave me the freedom to prove myself. He cut away any restraints in my workspace and never once interfered when I worked.
He let me do whatever I wanted, and in doing so, he gave me the space to push towards greater potential.
No one has given that to me before. No one has had that much trust in my abilities or such a lack of need to take credit for my work.
He never stood in my way, not once.
And now he’s still pushing me forward, still helping me grow. He gave me this opportunity, and I really have nothing but gratitude towards him for this.
I sign my name on the solid black line on the last page. Then I page slowly backwards, putting my initials on the bottom right corner of every page.
I leave the boardroom and climb straight into the elevator, pressing the button for the eighth floor so I can drop the signed contract off with Mark’s assistant right away. I also need the walk to clear my head.
When I get back up to the top floor, instead of going to my desk, I walk into Josiah’s office, knocking softly on the door.
“Yes?” he says, leaning back in his chair with a smile on his face.
“I wanted to say thank you.”
“Oh, there’s no need for that,” he says, brushing it off.
“No, really, Josiah. I mean it. You’ve given me the space and freedom to show you what I’m capable of, and you’ve allowed me this chance to prove myself. Thank you. Seriously.”