The Other CEO (On Hold)

Chapter four: the decision

I sit in the office, staring at the picture sitting on my father's desk.

In the picture is a family. A happy one at that.

There are two happy little girls clinging to a young boy with brown hair. The boy is smiling brightly at the two blonde girls. Behind him stand a smiling man and woman, with her being heavily pregnant. She looks happy.

I never saw my mother smile much when she was still alive. She looked grim and only smiled at my dad or brother.

My brother was always cheery. The positive one. The optimist with an opinion.

I loved him dearly. If I ever fought with my sisters or parents, he'd be the one to talk some sense into me. And I listened to him.

So it was pretty hard for me when he ... wasn't there anymore. I haven't cried once since the day of ... the accident.

"Ah, that old photograph. Gena wasn't even born then." My dad walks in and sits behind the desk on his chair.

I nod, smiling a little. "What have you gotten yourself into, Emmy?" he asks softly.

At moments like these, I seriously want to cry. Just to put some emphasis on the situation. But as much as I try I can't cry. Can't even squeeze a single tear.

"Who is it this time, Ember? A gold digger? Or some whore who doesn't treat my daughter right?"

Basically, I've never had a real boyfriend. I never let anyone get close to me after what happened to ... him. I just sleep with guys to get rid of any boredom and then I kick them out. Everyone realizes that. And my father never approved. But now that I'm the becoming CEO of Emerald Company's I might have to change my ways.

So I take a deep breath and tell him. "Stupid press. Seriously don't they have anything better to do than to stalk me? Anyways, the guy this time is actually my boyfriend, Dad. I've known him for quite some time now. We went celebrating yesterday after your announcement with Win and Harry."

"That much was clear. But, November, you never mentioned a consistent man in your life. Much less a boyfriend." Dad tries to look me in the eyes but I refuse to look up.

"Yeah, yeah. But Dad, I'm serious about this one. I think I love him." I cringe in my mind at those words. Like I could ever love anyone again after what happened with my brother.

My father knows this. So he smirks a little and then says ,"Is that so." I nod my head at him, still not looking up.

"What's his name?"

"What?"

"What is his name, November?"

Shit. What is that guys name? Uhh ...

...

HA!

I clear my throat loudly before saying "Jake. " I faintly remember him telling me his name last night between two drinks.

Dad raises an eyebrow. "Jake? Just Jake?"

I nod. "Um, I don't exactly know his last name, uh..." I mumble.

Dad just laughs and shakes his head. Which means he's letting it go. For now. Whew.

"So when am I going to meet this gentleman who stole my daughters heart? Seeing as the press's already met the young man?"

I stare at him. "Are you serious?", "Dead serious. A nice family dinner. Here, let's say, tomorrow? At 7pm.", "He can't. Not tomorrow. Um ... Actually, I'm going over. He invited me, you know?"

"Did he, now?", he raises an eyebrow, again.

I nod and quickly jump out of the chair. "I'm going back to my room, you know to um ... shower. I'll ... uhh talk to you later." I hurry out of my father's study but not before I catch an amused look casted my way.

I reach my old bedroom but don't go inside. Too afraid of the painful memories. I sigh when suddenly a hand lands on my shoulder.

"It's ok, Em. You're gonna be ok." Lou's voice whispers into my ear.

I nod and bracing myself, I open the expensive white door.

It looks the same. My room looks the same as it did three years ago. It's more like an apartment than a room, though.

My king sized bed stands along the glass walls which give an excellent view of Hudson river. Aside there is my bedside table with my night lamp, a few books and ... his picture. A picture of him holding Gen when she was still a baby.

I gulp and take a step into the room.

On the adjoining white walls with the designer wallpaper are my bookshelves. All along the wall. Stacked with books. Books, CDs, and DVDs.

On the dark parkett floor lies my favorite black designer carpet.

Everything looks the same and it feels like it, too. I breathe in the fresh air coming in from the opened windows.

I don't possess a desk. Well, I didn't when I was still living here.

I'd go to the company and do my homework in the little office my dad set up for him. There was also a desk for me.

After he was ... gone I took over but sitting in that room without him beside me, broke me even more. So I turned it into a janitor's closet. And after that I did my homework in school or in the kitchen of the penthouse.

I take a deep breath and Lou behind me says, "Em. You will get over it, eventually. And then you'll be happy again. I promise."

"I have a boyfriend, Lou."

Her hand on my back stills and I can hear her drawing a sharp breath.

"Seriously?"

"Yes."

"Oh my god, I'm so happy for you! When can we meet him? How does he look? What's his name?" "Calm down, Lou. Um, I think Dad wanted to meet him this weekend. But well, I'm going over to his place tomorrow, so I'm going to talk to him then. And, he's hot. Uh and his name is Jake. Uh, yeah." I say in a rush, because come on I don't really know anything about the guy.

"Well, why don't you call him now?" Lou suggests, wide eyed. I shrug.

"I could ... do that, I guess." I walk toward the bed and take a seat. I pull my cellphone put, pretending to put Jake's number in as I notice Lou still standing in the doorway.

"A little privacy, please?" Lou giggles and shuts the door behind her.

Finally. Alone.

I heave out a sigh and dial the number of the Plaza Hotel.

***********************************

Short chapter, sorry for the long wait.

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Xx Luz