15. Elliot
ELLIOT
Waking up early Monday morning, I had decided that Harper's silent treatment was going to come to an end.
I would call a meeting and get her to come to me; we still had a working relationship, and I wasn't above using it to get her to talk to me.
She made her point after I made mine, and now we could move past this.
The anxious feeling, that prickling sensation that made me feel on edge, was back in full force, and I somehow knew I wouldn’t be able to get rid of it until I saw Harper and we put this all behind us.
I put on the suit that Harper had commented on a time or two, the rich blue one that she said brought out the colour of my eyes and made it hard to resist me.
I had called my assistant asking to set a meeting with Harper today, and a meeting with Timothy had been added to my calendar, which pissed me off. When I asked her about it, she said she was informed that he was my direct contact and to only schedule meetings with him.
Who the fuck did she work for?
Then I tried calling Harper again and got an automated message.
So by the time I stepped onto the executive floor, I was already on edge.
That irritation only got worse when I saw the conference room.
Everyone was there. Julian, Rowan, Caleb, half the executive team, and then Timothy…
my eyes frantically searched the space until they landed on her.
Harper. She was standing with her team. My heart beat a little harder, and that anxious sensation seemed to settle at the sight of her.
The meeting appeared to be wrapping up; people were standing, gathering folders, and talking quietly amongst themselves.
And Harper was at the front of the room.
Fuck she was stunning, her ice blonde hair was pulled back in a low bun, and she was wearing a silky cream coloured blouse that was thin enough it hinted at what she was wearing beneath, she had on high waisted trousers and suspenders, with her signature high heels.
I had to swallow down a groan and slow down my racing heart as I approached the glass doors.
Just in time to hear her speaking to Julian.
"...everything should be laid out for you.
" Julian nodded as she continued, "And if you or Lucy need anything over the holidays, you can reach out to me directly; my number is in the folder.
" And then she gifted him with one of her rare genuine smiles, one that I had only started to earn… The kind I hadn't seen in days.
Something ugly twisted in my chest. Before I could stop myself, I pushed through the door. "What about me?"
The room immediately fell silent, every conversation stopped, as every head turned in my direction. Harper's eyes found mine. For a second I thought I saw something: hurt, maybe anger… anything. Instead, her expression settled into cool, polite professionalism.
"What about you?"
I hated the answer immediately, but I hated the tone even more. It was as if all warmth and familiarity had been pulled from her, and all that was left was this. I shoved my hands into my pockets, trying to ignore the fact that Caleb looked like he wanted to throw me out of a window.
"Can I reach out to you directly?" I asked, trying my best to be the charming Elliot everyone knew and expected, even as my heart was beating in my throat.
Nobody moved, and the only sound was a pen rolling off the conference table and landing on the floor.
Timothy suddenly became very interested in his laptop, as Julian's gaze narrowed on me.
But Harper remained perfectly composed, when she replied, "That won’t be necessary.
Timothy was already handling your account and will handle the entire Northwell group moving forward. "
My jaw tightened, and the panic reared its ugly head, "Moving forward?"
"Yes," and the way she said it had a finality to it that made my skin crawl.
"That's it?" I managed to ask. Still trying to keep my cool, still trying to keep the smirk in place and my back straight.
A flicker of annoyance crossed her face. The first genuine emotion I'd gotten from her all morning. "I am not sure what you mean, Mr Vale."
Bullshit, she knew exactly what I meant, so I took a step closer. "So that's it?" The room felt too small, too quiet. But I swallowed my discomfort and continued, "You are just going to walk away? Disappear?"
Something shifted behind Harper's eyes. Not pain.
Disappointment? But she too pushed it down; those walls that had come down were all the way back up.
"That would be highly unprofessional Mr Vale.
I completed my analysis. Timothy and his team, along with yours, have the transition plan I put together. "
I laughed; the sound wasn't pleasant. "Transition plan?"
Her chin lifted slightly. "I completed the work I was hired to do."
Something snapped. Maybe because I suddenly understood what she was doing, or that she was reducing everything that happened between us to work. Maybe because I deserved it. "That's not what this is."
"No?" she asked, her blue eyes flaring slightly.
"No!" The word came out sharper than intended.
Harper looked at me for a long moment and then shook her head, turning to gather her things.
The tension in the room was heavy. I could feel everyone’s eyes on me as I took another step closer, asking, “Can we discuss this in my office?”
Harper didn't look up; she remained focused on packing up her things when she asked, “Why?”
I cleared my throat and lowered my voice, saying, “I wanted to discuss our arrangement, I…” but she cut me off saying, “Why? It’s over.”
I could feel the sweat on the back of my neck. I adjusted my cufflinks, trying to think about what I could do or say.
This wasn’t going the way I had planned.
This wasn’t what I wanted.
What did you expect, asshole? Nobody stays. You did this…
Harper stood up, reaching for her coat, as she said in a frigid tone. “It ended at midnight? Or was it twelve o one?”
I didn’t know what to say, so I swallowed down my panic, looking around the room for someone to help, to say something. Finally, I got out, “What about we just stay here and talk for a minute.”
Harper put on her coat and reached for her bag, then replied, “No need, Mr Vale, anything that you may require can be handled by my team or scheduled with Timothy.”
Her face was blank; gone was the warmth and affection that I had been accustomed to. Harper turned and started shaking hands and saying her goodbyes, and I could see her disappearing right in front of me. She is leaving me…
“Are you fucking kidding me?” It bubbled out of me before I could tamp the fear and anger down.
Harper didn’t respond, and after shaking Rowan's hand, made to walk past me, but I stepped in her path, saying, “That’s it, you have nothing to say.
Nothing to ask? "You're just going to shut down and walk away?”
She stopped in front of me, too far to touch, but close enough that I could smell her and I had to resist pulling her in my arms and begging her to stay.
She cocked her head, asking quietly, “Is that what you wanted? A scene? A fight? Me to beg and plead and demand to know why? I don’t need to, Elliot, you timed everything beautifully.
Good job. Your booty call of the hour passed me on my way to your place and I overheard exactly what happened.
But you know that already don’t you…” She let that hang between us, gasps and murmurs filling the room and then she added, “Just a note, professionally, if you really are trying to improve your PR standing, maybe choose women who are a bit more discreet with your hook ups.”
I heard Caleb curse and felt everyone’s eyes on me.
I needed to get control, I needed her to see…
to understand, and then we could fix this.
I shoved my hands back into my pockets to hide the shake.
I could feel everyone’s disappointment, judgments, “This isn’t what…
I didn’t… This isn’t what I wanted. I didn’t do anything wrong. ”
Harper didn’t move or react to my rambling.
Her face was neutral, voice cool when she replied, “What was the point of all this, Elliot? Is that what you need to hear, that you didn’t do anything wrong?
I mean, you did tell me you couldn’t go 30 days without sex…
I assumed you could at least go more than a few days, more than a minute.
But you are a free man, free to do whatever and whoever you want.
Just as I am. So if that is all, I am going to… ”
The panic and anxious feeling were riding me hard.
I stepped closer, trying to reach for her, but she moved away from me as if she couldn’t stand the thought of my hands being on her ever again.
Rowan said something, but I needed to get back in control, “Harper… Fuck… listen I just needed, no wanted you to understand the truth of us… so we were both on the same page and now that we are we can talk about what comes next, I put some thought into this and came up with a one year…” Harper cut me off with what could only be described as a manic laugh, it wasn't soft or practiced, this had an edge to it that made me flinch.
“There is no truth to us, Elliot. You did what you set out to do. I know exactly what we were, thank you for that reminder. We were a PR stunt, a contractual agreement, and now that is over. You can reach out to Timothy for anything else you may need.”
I felt flustered and out of control when I tried to reach for her again, but she put her bag between us blocking my attempts, “I think if you just, come to my office and look at what I have come up with…”
She cut me off again saying, “No thank you. I have no further interest in participating in your PR makeover. I am sure Timothy can help recommend a few other options for you to help clean up your image.”