Life of Mick -- CH 12
Life went on after Sam left and the girls were good to their word about taking care of my needs. We more often than not slept in my bed. We were heading into the fall and both of my girls would be gone to college during the week and home on weekends. I wasn't looking forward to an empty house most of the time. Business was good even though I was drifting through the process of being the CEO. Sam was never very far from my thoughts even after she left the company. Miss Victoria Hayes was good on her word and had offered Sam a job as her assistant and heir apparent to her job as Vice President. Victoria's star was rising and she had been promoted to Executive Vice President. I had it in the back of my mind that the next time I had to negotiate a contract with her company that I could be dealing with Sam and maybe both of them. That brought a smile to my face.
Because of his military experience, Peter was promoted to Security Chief, even though he didn't have the experience with the company that Sam had. I was concerned about Jason because he had been with the company longer, but he said he understood. A small raise soothed whatever hurt feeling he really had. Peter started interviewing replacements for Sam. I used our time together reviewing resumes to go completely off topic and express my concerns that he needed to stop stringing Misty, Moe, and Claire along. He professed his innocence and I let him know that his protests were bull-shit. When Misty and Monique's summer internships were over and they went off to college, only Claire would be left and he wouldn't have much of a choice then.
Sam had hoped to string out what she described as fantastic sex for as long as possible, but when it became clear that I had fallen in love with her and was about to pop the question as evidenced by the engagement ring that she found hidden in a drawer of my bureau. She hid the ring somewhere else so that I would have to ask her if she had found it. Her thinking was that this would prevent me from proposing in public and embarrassing me by saying 'no', or worse yet, by saying 'yes' with no intentions of going through with it.
She knew the jig was up when she saw me looking for the ring in my bottom drawer. She didn't string it out as I was so stunned that I couldn't even talk. She quietly packed a suitcase and left. I would see her in passing at work until she resigned to take a good job from Miss Victoria Hayes, who had indicated her interest in hiring Sam the last time she was here. I had figured that her interest in Sam was sexual and it may well have been, but it sounded like Sam was drafting behind Victoria's rise to the top. Good for her. I missed her. I think my girls missed her even more.
I had promised to have Mariah over for dinner to meet her step-sisters for the first time and I really intended to do that, but I hadn't. Mariah didn't push, she understood the turmoil left behind when Sam left. She had taken Kay's role in our daily walks from the elevator to my office.
Kay was off in greener pastures. I had seen Jimmy -- the machinist, with the rumored 'big dick' - getting off the elevator as I was getting on. It was always at lunch. He didn't seem to know who I was and we just nodded at each other. We'd smile the same knowing smile. Me, because I knew where he was going and him, because he knew that I knew. God only knows what Kay had told him.
Mariah always kept going to the printer room when she walked down the hall with me. She had never once walked into my office with me as Kay had done, but she always asked if there was anything she could do for me. Today, she asked me when she could meet her step-sisters. I apologized for putting the meeting off so long and thought about inviting the four of us to meet in the cafeteria for lunch. I quickly discarded that plan as I realized that there was no guaranty that the introductions would go well. I committed myself and said, "Can you make it tonight?" I was afraid that if I put it off any longer, that I'd just forget again. I contemplated telling Misty and Monique before she arrived but I decided to deal with the fall-out at the time. Mariah smiled and vigorously nodded. She went her way and I went to my office.
My office phone rang moments after I sat down and turned on my computer. It was Kay, forwarding a call from Hunter West. I took the call immediately and said, "Good Morning, Hunter." Since the call came in on my office phone and not my cell phone, I knew Hunter would be all business, but he wasn't. He asked about how I was doing after Sam left. He relayed how much he liked Sam. Then I realized that the call was in fact, all business when he asked that I come to West Corp headquarters to discuss how the loss of Sam as the Security Chief could affect my company. His reference to the loss of Sam was from a company security point of view and not my own personal loss. The meeting was tomorrow morning and Hunter was sending a company jet to fly me there. I was to bring Peter, my new Security Chief with me.
With business done, Hunter invited me and Misty and Monique to come to his house - it was really a mansion - for a big party before our girls went back to college. He set the date and mentioned that Misty and Moe would love to fly in the company jet. I smiled to myself. I knew they would be thrilled. The call ended and I held the phone to my ear for a while as I thought about what was up. Hunter and Alexis had been a fan of Sam's skill-set as much as for her personally. Were they not a fan of Peter's? On what basis?
I called the Security Podium internal number and Jason answered. I asked Jason to have Peter come up to my office. I hung up and went to work which was being disrupted by thoughts about the meeting tomorrow.
When Peter knocked on my office door, I said, "Come." Peter came in and I offered him a seat in front of my desk. I told him of our travel plans and he didn't push back. I suggested that he brush up on Corporate Security Procedures for the rest of the day. I told him I had no clue what this was about. He left looking a little nervous.
I texted messages to Misty and Monique that they should dress a little nicer than usual for dinner. We would be having company. My phone dinged in succession with texts reading, 'Okay." Misty's text was followed quickly by another text that read, 'Can you give us a hint?" I didn't respond.
When I got home, the girls had started preparing for dinner already. I kissed each of them and thanked them for being proactive. I didn't change from my work clothes and Misty and Moe were dressed in the new outfits that they had bought while visiting Alyson. I joined Misty's efforts in the kitchen while Monique set the table for four.
Precisely at six o'clock, the front doorbell rang. Misty and Moe were intrigued by my secrecy about this company. They gathered in the family room waiting to see who it was. I opened the front door and Mariah was standing on the top step of the stoop and this time Rita was standing on the bottom step. I looked past Mariah and frowned a little. She immediately said, "I know it was supposed to be just me, but Mum and Stephen arrived this afternoon to close on a house. Mum insisted that she come too. I hope it's okay."
I bent down and kissed her and looked over her shoulder at Rita. She had a sly expression on her face. I got the feeling again that Rita was going to make problems for me, again. I looked back into the house and loudly said, "Moe. Can you add another setting?" I stepped aside and motioned for Mariah to come in. I gave Rita a disapproving glare as she came up the front steps. She was concentrating on negotiating the steps in her stilettos and didn't notice.
Moe was just coming back into the family room when I led Mariah and Rita from the foyer. I introduced Misty and Monique to Mariah and then Rita and then Mariah and Rita to Misty and Monique. There were smiles all around, but Misty and Monique were confused at who these people were. Were they family or old family friends?
This was the hard part but I launched into more detailed introductions. "Misty and Monique are my stepdaughters with Miranda, my second wife." Mariah was looking my girls up and down with a sultry smile on her face. Rita was more reserved. I introduced Rita first, leaving the hard part for last. "Rita is my first wife - David and James' mother." Misty and Moe smiled and then looked at each other. I swallowed and put my hand on Mariah's shoulder and she looked up at me and smiled. "This is Mariah. She is Rita's daughter and umm ... it seems that she is my daughter too." Mariah stepped forward first and bypassed the handshakes offered by Misty and Moe and she hugged them both. I could see that Monique was uncomfortable, but she smiled at Mariah's brazen display of affection.
I continued the introduction by saying that Mariah works for Kay, one office down the hall from mine. I finished up with, "Rita and her husband Stephen have bought a house in the area and are relocating here."
Rita jumped in with, "It could be a while. We still have to sell our house before we can move." She looked Misty and Monique up and down and turned to me and said, "Your stepdaughters are gorgeous." Misty and Moe went red with embarrassment and neither of them thanked Rita for her compliment.
I spoke up and said, "I had nothing to do with it. They are the spitting image of their mother." A timer went off in the kitchen and I excused myself to check on dinner. When I got back, everyone was seated in the family room talking easily amongst themselves. I was pleased with how things were going and I hated to break it up by announcing that dinner was ready.