Iscariot

It's been a long time coming

Mika sat back, reaching for the mug of coffee the admin maintained for her. She wasn't sure how many times they'd refilled it, but she was grateful. She'd finally gotten rid of a headache she'd woke with, finally got past the wall of fatigue weighing her down. She'd enjoyed last night with James, still blushed at the weird daydream she had. Yet, she couldn't help thinking that drinking wine after all the stress of yesterday had been a bad idea, especially when she had an empty stomach to start with. No wonder she felt so rough.

"This year's financials show a significant upward trend as the company's initiatives gain momentum." The head of finance was 'going through the company's numbers' for her. It was a brief summary that was already half an hour in. They'd sequestered her in this small conference room, no windows, and paraded individual after individual to meet with her 'one on one'.

Mika blinked, finding herself falling asleep again. A small black notebook and pen were abandoned on the table in front of her as she realized she couldn't understand enough to take notes yet. Her laptop had one set of slides while the flat screen projected another. Because you can never have enough graphs. It's as bad as the patronizing pictures that marketing put on everything for me instead of the straight information. She hoped she could talk to Matthew about it. I'm not an idiot; I just need someone to go through the basics at least once.

Speaking of Matthew, the executives were meeting in the boardroom down the hall. She'd met them in the hallway, Jared giving introductions, though she already knew most of them. Thankfully she didn't need to join them. Yet, she groaned in her mind. Essentially, she now owned Anderson Toys; they just didn't know it yet.

Her father was there, his usual disapproval apparent, but he shook her hand like the rest of them and finally smiled. "I know you'll do well. Remember, you're an Anderson." It was a level of pride in her that she hadn't seen from him in a long time.

"Thanks, Dad." She didn't care if it was immature, she hugged him anyway and he hugged her back to the smiles of the other executives.

"We are a family company," Jared admitted, touched as she hugged him as well.

The door opened a crack and Mika quickly looked up to see an admin peering in. She begged the woman with her eyes to free her but only got a sympathetic smile before they held the door open. Matthew moved past his secretary and into the room, flashing a smile and thanking the woman kindly as even more coffee was provided.

He looks better, Mika thought with relief as he considered her. He straightened his tie and dropped down in the chair next to her with almost a flop, shoving his closed laptop away and giving her a grin. The CFO raised a brow, but Matthew waved to him to continue, pulling a pad of light blue post-its and a pen from his pocket.

'Surviving?' he wrote, passing the note to her as the presenter raised a brow with a scowl.

Mika grabbed her own pen. 'Barely.'

'Want me to save you?'

She gave Matthew a sidelong glance and subtle nod, seeing his smug smile. It was good to see. He'd been out-of-sorts when they'd first met that morning. She'd thought he was smiling as she entered the reception area but the look he first gave her was a frown. He'd seemed upset, distracted, and terse as he directed the admins to set her up in her office and had IT in to get her a laptop, phone, and anything else she wanted. He'd demanded several other things she thought was overkill. She didn't need to talk to her computer. She didn't want a camera that would automatically pivot and follow the sound of her voice to video conference her anywhere.

'What'll you give me in return?' She read the next note. Now she did smile, seeing the dare in his eyes.

'My eternal gratitude.'