~ Earned It ~

Meetings ; Chapter 1

The elevator dinged as I stepped out onto the 34th floor of Whiel Enterprises. My assistant Alec was the first one to come up to me with my morning hazelnut latte.

"Ms. Mota, Dereh Hough from Morgan, Inc. is in meeting room 13. He has asked to speak to you and Charlie together."
"Hough? I've never heard of this company."
"Seems to me to be a very quiet organization. Stays on the down low." He stated.
"Did Mr. Hough clarify what he wants from Whiel?"
"Not sure, ma'am."

I nodded in agreement and set my stuff down in my office. Grabbing my coffee and notepad, I made my way down to the meeting room. Mr. Derek Hough was leaning up against the window sipping on coffee. He had dark blonde hair that followed his whole facial figure. Well, you could have at least shaved. I straighten myself out and extend my hand.

"Mr. Hough? I'm Bethany Mota, CEO of Whiel Enterprises. How can I be of assistance to you?"
He turned with sharpness and slowly licked his bottom lip. I retracted my hand back to my side, "I was told that Mr. Charlie Gran would be meeting with us."
"Charlie is currently in another meeting. Can I help you with anything while we wait for him?"
"I believe we could start without him."
"Do have a seat."

He sits down almost at the same time as I do.

"I've never heard of Morgan, Inc. May I ask what you do?"
"My partner and I started this company about 7 years ago. We manage in almost everything. Communications, Marketing, etc. Kind of like the business you've got running here."
I mentally rolled my eyes, "Whiel Enterprises is mainly a communications setting, but over the years we've managed to scoop transportation and architecture under our wing. Most of the buildings here in L.A. have our name on it somewhere."
"Except for the few that we've managed to get our name on." He can't be serious.
"Tell me, Mr. Hough, what exactly are you here for?"
"Well you see, Ms. Mota, our company is looking to extend our hand of marketing for your hand of architecture."

I looked at this man in disbelief. Is he trying to take architecture away from us?

"You want to trade?"
"Not as wise of a woman as I expected." He smirked at me, "Ms. Mota, we want Whiel Enterprises to join hands with Morgan, Inc. Not in every aspect, but just the architecture area. We would offer some of our marketing to you in return."

Interrupting my response, Charlie entered the room with a smile.

"Mr. Hough, how nice to see you again."
"Charlie, it's a pleasure."

Hough shook his hand and then sat back down. Charlie just smiled down at me as he took a seat beside me.

"So Mr. Hough, as I said to James Morgan, no real deal can be made between the two companies without this one's approval."

Charlie made a head gesture towards myself and then started flipping through his papers.

"Bethany, how are you feeling about his proposal?"
"In all due respect Charlie, I'm not one hundred percent convinced that we should go ahead with it. I haven't been given enough background information on their decision to come forward about this. All I've been informed about is how I am below expectations." Hough raised his head and stared at me. I just smirked and looked back at Charlie. "Well then, it seems that we will have to take a couple days for a decision, Mr. Hough. We will talk to our other board members and then the manager of the architecture department to get their take on this. We do appreciate your visit this morning, and look forward to seeing you soon."

Charlie stood up with Mr. Hough and they shook hands. I pushed the chair out from underneath myself and grabbed my notepad. Charlie left the room, and Hough turned around.

"It was a pleasure, Ms. Mota."
"I agree, Mr. Hough." He slipped his card into my hand when he shook it. We both made our way out of the room together, taking off into separate directions. I headed to my office, where Alec was typing on his computer right outside it.

"Ms. Mota, you have a call on line 4, and make sure to check your emails immediately. Your next meeting is at noon, and then we have the board meeting at 5."

I just nodded and then shut my door. Setting my stuff down on my desk, I looked down at the empty notepad. Not as wise as I expected. Who does he think he is, coming into my company and saying that to me? I felt my face go flush as I looked down at the card he handed me. I held it up and writing was visible on the other side when the light hit it. I turned it over.

I like the game you think you're good at playing, Ms. Mota.
~~~
New story!!!! Please please please give your feedback. It's kinda different so I'm really nervous about this. Hope you guys enjoyed 😊😊