Bitter and Sweeter

Chapter 6 - Ndole

I slammed my binder down on the desk. "I have a solution."

The board members looked at me like I was an alien that had just come out of a tanning bed. 

"To what, may I ask?" Michael asked. 

Even Tae raised an eyebrow.

My ponytail wooshed behind me as I stood. "You guys think a man will brighten my image, and I think we need a replacement for the sponsor we lost at the ball."

"Where are you going with this?"

"Have you all heard of Abel corporations?"

Tae raised a finger. "Owned by Khalid Abel?"

"Correct. Emily," I gestured at her to start the presentation.

A slideshow of Khalid's perfect repertoire showed up. Perfect image to the press. Perfect reviews from customers. Perfect hair...perfect teeth...

I shook my head.

 "I think that if we announced to everyone that Khalid and I are dating, not only would we gain Abel corporations as a partner, but my image would surely be improved."

Emily clicked the next slide. It was a photoshopped picture of Khalid and I holding hands, staring out at the crowd who was cheering for us. 

"Aren't we just perfect?" I sighed happily. 

Tae snorted. 

I glared at him. 

Michael drew his eyebrows together. "Are you okay, Miss Montgomery?"

"I am perfectly fine. Isn't this what you guys wanted? For me to find a man? Well, I found a man! And a partner. I'm a genius, aren't I?"

They had all run out of words to say. 

I smiled happily and picked up my binder. "So? When should I tell Khalid the big news?"

...

"They say it's never a good idea to mix business with romance," Tae said. 

I inspected my nails. "Yeah, well, tell that to all the romcoms that are dedicated to just that - mixing business with romance."

He grabbed some papers from my desk. "Yeah, well, they never work."

I grabbed some red nail polish from my desk and twisted the cap off. Carefully, I applied a nice layer over my nails. "You're just bitter because you're lonely."

"I'm in love with my job, thank you very much."

Now it was my time to snort. I blew on my nail, now covered in a fresh layer of nail polish. 

Emily tip-toed in. 

Tae and I shot her a wary glance. 

"What?" She asked. "I told you guys I'm fine."

"You sure?" Tae asked. "You didn't check into work with your usual smiley face."

She nodded. "Really, I'm fine."

I stood. "Em, it's time."

"Time for what?"

"Come with me."

I brushed past Tae and led her out of my office.

Her heels clicked behind me as I led her past a corridor and into a room. She gasped when we were inside. 

The first thing we saw when we entered the room was a large window that showed an amazing view of the city. The remaining three walls of the office we were in were coated in blush pink paint. I had ordered a nice brown rug to complement the wooden chairs.