Banking on Him

Chapter 32 - Serena

I ended up tossing and turning most of the night, working my way through every worse case scenario in my head for the board meeting. There was the one where I got humiliated, the one where everyone knew about Reese and me all along, and it was all a big joke, and the one where Reese told everyone the truth right in front of me as I sat there speechless, like an idiot.

I got up around 4 am and just got ready. I headed to Starbucks with my laptop before going to work, deciding that I needed at least one very large iced latte before I even spoke to anyone.

After I inhaled some caffeine, I felt relatively normal. I was nervous, but that was pretty fucking typical for board meeting day. Thinking about that, I realized maybe this job wasn't for me. If I despised this part of it so much, maybe it wasn't worth it.

I was just hoping I would have an answer from Erica soon so I could move on with the planning and hopefully, executing stage.

Erica surprised me by being seated at my desk when I got there. She leaned forward and smiled at me. "You should get used to this boss because I'm not going anywhere." Then she jumped up to hug me before sitting back down in my chair, me across from her.

"You're sure?" I asked tentatively. She nodded, "I've thought a lot about it, and I'm ready to do something more with my life. I'm thankful that you thought of me."

"There isn't anyone in the world I'd rather do this with."

"So, I thought we could skip our normal after board meeting routine and head back to your place. I have some ideas I'd like to run by you, and I thought maybe we could start doing some planning on the next steps. Maybe, even create a timeline to keep us on track," she said with a shrug.

I could feel my megawatt smile. I honestly couldn't be more excited to start a business with my best friend. I knew it was going to be tough, and there would be a lot of disagreement ahead, but this decision felt right.

*****

We got through the rest of the day with relatively no issues, and before I knew it, it was time to head upstairs for the meeting.

There were a few members already seated when I got upstairs. Erica and I took seats next to the head of the table where Harry was always seated. I opened my notes and immediately started fidgeting. Members were huddled together all around the table talking shop. Normally, I would be up conversing with them, keeping myself up to date on anything important within their industries that could help the bank better serve them. However, today I just didn't have it in me. Knowing that Erica and I were going to be leaving to start something new soon, coupled with the fact that Reese would be here soon took all my brain capacity.

The minute Reese walked into the room I knew.  It was as if someone had sucked all the air out of the room with a vacuum and replaced it with stifling hot air.  

I turned to Erica, "Tell me that this is going to be fine."

She laughed casually and placed her hand over mine, lowing her voice so only I could hear, "This doesn't even matter S, we are going to get everything in place for the new company, and then we'll both be out of here.  I will tell you, Reese looks smokin' hot today."  

I glanced in his direction, and my jaw almost dropped.  There he was, looking every bit the formidable CEO in a black three-piece suit.  He had on the most vivid red tie, and his hair was tousled to perfection.  I longed to run my fingers through it but gripped the chair instead.  

His eyes met mine, briefly, and I noticed a smirk play at the corners of his lips before he turned his attention back to Harry and Jack.

I took a deep breath and told myself it was fine.  He was hot, but he loved me, and soon enough we would find a way to tell the world.  

I realized then that I had been kidding myself trying to stay away from him.  We were like magnets, clinging to each other in even the toughest of circumstances.

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Authors Notes:  Well, we have finally reached the end of what I had prewritten for Reese and Serena's story.  I'm not sure how long it will take me to write/edit chapters from now on, but I am going to really try to make it happen twice a week.

As always, please vote!  It keeps me motivated.  I would also like to encourage my readers to comment!  Good or bad, as long as it's constructive, I'd love to hear it.  

I truly feel like I see a difference in my writing in these later chapters, and I hope you, as a reader, can see it too.  I'm still struggling with comma placement, as shown by my extremely helpful Grammarly tool, but I do see improvement.

Last, but not least... THANK YOU SO MUCH FROM THE BOTTOM OF MY HEART FOR READING THIS STORY!  It truly means the world to me!!