Chapter 27
Drew
I lingered at Cici's door for a second, fighting my desire to ask to come in. After dinner this evening we both agreed there would be no overnighter. We both had an early morning and things to get done, and staying up late doing what we'd been doing all weekend wasn't conducive to a good night's rest. I had to go home. So after I kissed her goodbye, I tore myself away from the door and rode the elevator down to the ground floor where my limo waited.
We'd had some intense discussions between moments of intimacy and sheer lust--and of course eating. But half of our time had been spent at my place, and half at hers. She promised to launder the clothing I left there, and I promised to treat her to dinner tomorrow evening when we finished our workday tomorrow. I was walking on cloud nine, until I walked out the door of her apartment building onto the sidewalk and saw Beck leaning against my limo.
"I knew you'd be here..." He scoffed and shook his head at me, then pushed off my limo and dropped his arms to his side from their position crossed over his chest. For the shit he'd pulled with us, this was a ballsy move, even for Beck.
"I don't really have anything to say to you, Beck. Please move out of the way so I can get in my car and go home. And don't bother your sister either. She's really upset with you." I sidestepped, hoping to go around him, and he placed his hand squarely on my chest.
"We have a lot to discuss." His tone was cold, and I gripped his wrist and politely removed his hand from my body. "Like how I asked you not to mess with my sister."
Taking a step backward, I breathed deep to control my anger. I didn't want to hit him; that would only hurt Cici in the long run. And I didn't want to damage my relationship with him any more than I already had. Despite being too protective and controlling of his sister, Beck and I were close friends. Once he understood that Cici and I were together and he had no say, eventually he'd calm down and relax.
"Let's talk about something else." I squared off with him, looking down my nose into his eyes. He was a few inches shorter than me and not nearly as strong. He was lucky that night in the bar that I hadn't struck him back, or he'd have been laid out. "Let's talk about you sending Kendra to my house. What the fuck was that?"
His face contorted into rage and then shame, and then rage again. His cheeks were bright pink in anger, and I didn't have to look at his hands to know they were fists.
"Cici wasn't supposed to be there. She wasn't supposed to see that." I could tell by his body language and the way he spoke that he felt guilty for hurting her, or even the thought of hurting her. I knew he cared about her. The two of them had been thick as thieves since I met them.
"What exactly was supposed to happen? You hired her to make me forget Cici? Or you thought Cici would see that and call me a cheater?" I felt my own hands curling into fists and reminded myself this was a discussion not a fight.
A car swept past, and the breeze picked up, tossing Beck's hair into his eyes, and he ran a hand through it to push it out of his face. "No... I--" He scowled and glanced up at the streetlight overhead, then looked back at me. "I honestly thought maybe you would see her and remember what you had with her and forget Cici. I had no clue Cici was going to be at your apartment when I sent Kendra over."
His defeated tone matched the way his shoulders slumped, and I relaxed a little. Beck was impulsive and never thought things through. Of course he couldn't plan something that sadistic on purpose, even if he wanted to. He was a prankster, not a complete asshole.
"I have to go. Do yourself a huge favor and give Cici some space, okay? She's really pissed about the Kendra incident. And I don't think you'll be hearing from me for a while either." I walked around him and opened my car door, and when I looked back at him, he still stood facing away from me. Now his shoulders drooped, and his head hung.
"For what it's worth, I really was just trying to protect her. I meant no harm, nothing against you, Drew. You have to believe that. You know who you are... Is that what you'd want for your sister?"
I slid into the car and shut the door, gesturing for my driver to take off. I didn't even bother responding to him. After my discussions with Cici yesterday and today, I'd had a real wakeup call. Beck was kind of right in trying to protect her from me--kind of. Who I'd been in my past wasn't exactly the sort of person she deserved; she'd made it a point to address that. I'd made a promise to do my best to be everything she wanted and needed.
Beck had just gone about things the wrong way, and both Cici and I needed time to calm down. If we were going to have a chance at a healthy relationship, we had to distance ourselves from anyone who tried to cast doubt on what we had or divide us, and unfortunately that meant my best friend and her brother. There was no way around that.
Chapter 28
Cici
My heels clicked on the floor as I strolled up the hallway toward Mr. York's office. He'd asked me to report in on the Pratt account and I'd crunched the numbers and put together a detailed rundown of how things were going. I was nervous to say the least. Sure, Drew's name was on the account and having our firm associated with that name meant huge things for us. But it was my name on the account on our side. I was managing it, and it was my work that had to speak to my boss.
I'd worked my tail off even through everything that happened with Drew to make sure things were handled and the account was managed well. My only shot at impressing Mr. York and shaking Drew's shadow was to excel at everything I did, and this was the biggest account the firm had seen in recent years, topped only by names like Trump or Musk. I wasn't letting that prestige slip out of my grasp so long as I could control it.
I stopped by his secretary's desk briefly but she announced me as I approached and waved me in with a smile and: "Mr. York is ready for you, Cici." Her tiny wink told me my name had been passed around the C-suite more than once, and the fact that she'd used my given name meant it had been done in a benevolent manner.
I pushed his door open with the file tucked under my arm and let myself in. He rose to meet me, buttoning his coat as he stood.
"Ah, Cici, I'm so glad to see you. I was just wondering how our Pratt account is going. Come in and sit," he said, gesturing to the leather armchairs situated around a small round table.
The room was huge, large plate glass windows letting in so much light it felt like we were outdoors. I'd never been in his office before and found it very comfortable. There was a sitting area with a few couches and tables. Floor lamps made it look homey, but the desk in the corner reminded visitors this was the office of a big wig. And the far wall was nothing but a giant bookshelf, no doubt hosting many of the titles this firm had produced and published over the years.
"Thank you for having me, Mr. York. I have all the numbers here." I handed him the file as he met me at the table then smoothed my skirt over my thighs before sitting.
He sat and opened the file folder, his eyes poring over the numbers I'd drawn up. Everything was going so well, Drew was ready to pour more money into the marketing. Our team had tracked an eight percent increase for him already and it had only been a few months total.
"This is just fantastic, Cici. I've never seen such impressive work." He closed the folder and looked up at me. "But what I really want to know is, have you worked things out? Drew seemed very upset the last time he was here."
I relaxed in the seat and the smile on my face lingered. But it was different. It wasn't the smile of a woman proud of her work, but of a woman deeply in love. Things had worked out between us better than I could have even hoped, but I wasn't going to jinx it by bragging.
"We're working things out. I think we'll be just fine. We just have to move a bit slower since I'm not used to sharing my space so much." Mr. York seemed to genuinely care about my relationship with Drew, and that felt good, to have a boss who wasn't just giving orders and demanding performance.
"Ah that's so good..." He sat back in his seat and dived into a story about him and his wife when they were younger and I listened intently, fascinated by how open he was being. I felt at home in his office and his presence, and I doubted I'd have been invited into the inner circle so quickly without Drew.
I'd been so frustrated by him always being in the spotlight that I hadn't stopped to see that he'd really done exactly what he promised to do. Drew had gotten my name on the lips of the CEO of the United States' largest marketing firm and I owed him one.
After listening to several stories about Mr. York's relationship pains, he excused me and I headed back to my office with a skip in my step. My name was on his lips and it wasn't because of Drew--not entirely. He was impressed with my handling of the account and that was what mattered. I had a feeling I'd be moving up in the world quickly now and with my personal life finally working out too, I couldn't be brought down. Not even when Tifany Andrews scowled at me on the way past her desk.
"Cici," Julie hissed as I walked past her, and I stopped and paused at her desk.
"What's up?"
Her eyes flicked up and down the hallway and she smiled. "How are things? You seem... happier."
