Hating the CEO

Chapter 3 - Weekend trip

Julia knew her bliss could not last forever. Ever since Zoey had offered her to work for Brand Today, Julia couldn't believe her luck.

When she had arrived in New York after the events in Seattle, all she had wanted had been to find a hole she could hide in. Lost and terrified she'd bumped into Zoey, who wouldn't let her go until Julia had told her the whole story and had allowed Zoey to help her out.

Now, a year later, Julia had definitely not forgotten Seattle, she was still afraid to walk alone in the streets in the evening, she was always weary when returning to the empty apartment after work. Hell, there was a reason she worked late; she definitely loved the job, but she was usually the last one to leave the office, because she felt safe within the glass walls. On top of that Harvey, the security guy in the lobby, would always call her a cab. Julia had never told him her story, but somehow he felt that this was what she needed.

Well, the time of peace and quiet, the time of feeling safe, at least partially, was coming to an end. Jack Deschanel was back in town and she hated every moment of it.
First of all, he'd always annoyed her, so nothing had changed in that matter. Second of all, even though Julia tried not to show it, he was making her feel insecure, as if she did not belong in his company and his city... This in turn made her think back on why she had come to New York in the first place, which in turn brought back the nightmares.
And to make things worse, like adding a rotten cherry on a disgusting cake, it turned out that the prick would also work late! So she couldn't even enjoy the office anymore.
The ringing of her cellphone pulled Julia out of the tiring reverie.
"Hey, Jules!" Zoey yelled enthusiastically in her ear. "I have the best of ideas!"
"Hi Zoey." Julia smiled hearing her friend's warm voice. "Do tell!"
"Let's visit my parents on the weekend!"
Julia leaned back in the office chair and closed her eyes. She loved Mr and Mrs Deschanel; they had always treated her like their second daughter, but she was not in the mood right now to be smiling and talking to people.
"Zoey..."
"Don't zoey me!" her friend interrupted, probably anticipating Julia's response. "Jess is flying to Chicago for some boring medical conference and I refuse to be alone on the weekend. So you are coming with me, Miss Stiles!" Jess was Zoey's partner. She was a surgeon, so would often work night shifts or attend various medical events.
Not knowing how to say no to her friend, Julia stayed silent.
"Where are you, Jules?" Zoey asked suspiciously.
"At home," Julia lied.
"No, you're not! I can hear the humming of the office airco, you liar! What are you doing at the office at 8pm, you lunatic!?"
"Working... and thinking," Julia answered quietly. "Mostly thinking, actually..."
"That's it! I'm taking you with me to my parents! Clearly you are in a desperate need of changing the environment. Bring your bags to the office tomorrow, we will leave straight from there after three. If you behave, my mom might make your favourite lasagna! Love you!" and she hung up without giving Julia a chance to object.
"Love you, too." Julia answered, throwing her phone on the desk and packing up her things. It was indeed time to go home.
Maybe it was not such a bad idea to visit the Deschanels....

                                                                      ***

"So, tell me, Jack, what are Brand Today's plans for the upcoming months?" the sleepy journalist asked.
Jack rescheduled the interview to seven am on Saturday to be able to leave New York early enough to join Zoey and visit his parents. Initially, he'd told her he would not make it; the interview was important to him and he did not want to postpone it. He felt New Yorkers had to be reminded of Jack Deschanel and know that he was back. But when the newspaper called to confirm the meeting he requested a new time. Jack knew they wouldn't say no.
"Now that you are back in the Big Apple, I assume we will see you in action?"
They had been talking for almost an hour and it seemed the journalist was now just stalling in an effort to get some business gossip out of Jack. Apparently facts and figures that Jack had been feeding him were not what he wanted to hear.
"That you definitely will." Jack smiled widely. "Don't get me wrong, I loved LA and was able to achieve a lot there during last year. I mean, our office there is thriving. But what can I say? It's good to be home. My team here is as busy as ever. Their enthusiasm is really inspiring..."
"Have they inspired you to some new ventures?" the journalist butted in, his eyes shining bright in anticipation of news no one had heard before.
"They have indeed..." Jack trailed off on purpose. "But nothing is official yet, so I will have to disappoint you and not share it with you just yet."
"Of course, of course!" Clearly the guy was afraid to push Jack any further, but disappointment was evident on his face. "Thank you, Jack, for your time today. I hope that once you finally want to make that news official you will share it with our magazine first?"
"Thank you." Jack stood up and shook the journalist's hand. He did not answer the guy's question on purpose. Every now and then he liked to show people that he was the one in control.