Chapter 23

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After an entire night of blissful sighs, breathy moans, and urgent gasps, I'd made up my mind that no force on earth could drag me out of bed the next morning.

Except for the hurricane-strength force that is Renee.

"What are you doing?" I groaned, burying my face in the mattress and covering my head with a pillow.

She'd flung my curtains open and the sun blaring through my east-facing window was enough to blind twenty people.

"You've got to get up," she said sternly, though I knew she was having a hard time keeping a straight face. I could hear the laughter threatening to escape.

"No." I waved her off. "Go away. Let me sleep."

Renee ripped the pillow from my grasp, tossing it across the room. I reached for the covers to pull them over my head next, but she was too fast for me, jerking the sheets down to the foot of the bed.

"Brittany. Seriously." She let a giggle out at the hilarity that is me in the morning.

I climbed out of bed, Alec's button-up hanging down to my thighs. Renee was all dressed for work and here I was looking like I'd just gone dumpster diving. I had sex hair to the max. No way I could fool anyone into thinking this was my normal bedhead. Renee was clearly wise to the truth as she eyed my appearance with a look that only a best friend could give, practically saying I know what you did last night.

She probably had a damn good idea who I did too.

Alec. My body hummed to life at the thought of him. We'd shared an incredible night of love-making, wrapped up in my sheets. There was evidence in the form of pillows and my duvet littering the floor. Orgasmic images of him on top of me, under me, beside me, and even holding me danced through my mind.

"Hello!" Renee waved a hand in front of my face. "Earth to Bree! Are you there?"

I simply groaned again, flopping back onto the bed.

"The lights are on but nobody's home," she giggled. "That must've been some sex last night, girl."

I blinked up at the ceiling, watching the fan spin. I sighed at the thought of him leaning over me. I missed him already. He'd left just after five, citing that he had to be at work early. It had only been an hour but I was already craving and missing him as if it had been years since I'd gotten to touch him or hear his sweet, sexy voice.

"Bree, we have a meeting in like forty minutes." Renee's too-chipper voice interrupted my thoughts.

"What?" My head snapped up. "Meeting? What meeting?" I didn't remember any meetings on the schedule today.

She folded her arms, tapping her fingers on her bicep. "Well, you might've known if you'd checked your emails before jumping in the sack with Mr. Shaffers."

"Crap!"

Before Renee could utter another word, I'd hopped up and dashed to the bathroom. I took a pathetic excuse for a shower, hurrying as fast as I could and yanking my clothes on without bothering to dry off. I didn't have time to dry my hair and pulled it into a wannabe bun. I would have to do without makeup or breakfast and opt for coffee at the office instead of on the way to work. Forty minutes was more like five minutes when I had to brave the rush hour traffic. There was no time to lose. Mr. Corbin would just about skin anybody who was late for a meeting.

"Are you finally ready?" Renee couldn't help but laugh when I raced to the front door, keys in hand.

"As I'll ever be!"

I followed her minivan into downtown Wilmington. Despite the bright, sunny dawn, it was quickly becoming cloudy. An uncomfortable feeling settled inside me when I noticed a black limousine with a Pennsylvania license plate parked outside the building Corbin and Hilliard office-d in. Renee and I parallel parked behind the vehicle.

"Hey," she said, walking up alongside me as we headed into the building. "Any idea who that is?" She thumbed toward the limo.

I gave her an uneasy look. "I wouldn't be a bit surprised if Darin Forbes is attending this meeting."

The concern in Renee's eyes only grew with each floor closer the elevator got to ours. When the doors slid open, my suspicions were confirmed. There, in the hallway, stood Mr. Corbin speaking in hushed tones with Chase Levitt, the president and CEO of Abernathy Advertisements. Footsteps coming down the hall signaled Darin's arrival. As soon as our eyes locked, I wanted to run for the hills.

"Good morning, Miss Laughlin," he greeted me, grinning mischievously.

I reluctantly shook his hand. "Darin."

My informal hello was enough to earn a cocked brow from Chase. Renee and Darin simply exchanged nods.

We all filed into the boardroom, along with Michelle, Shelby, and a few others. Mr. Hilliard was the last to enter the room, a regretful expression crossing his face as he passed me.

"Good morning, everyone," Mr. Corbin began. "I know you're all wondering why we called this meeting. I don't care to beat around the bush so let's get straight to the point. I'd like to introduce Chase Levitt and Darin Forbes of Abernathy Advertisements."

Shelby made a face, hiding behind her water glass so only Renee, Michelle and I could see her fake gag. Michelle took a sip of her water, choking on a giggle. I elbowed her in the side when Chase frowned in our direction.

"It's nice to meet all of you," Chase spoke up, standing beside Mr. Corbin. "Darin and I are looking forward to getting to know each of Corbin and Hilliard's star employees over the next two weeks."

Two weeks? What the hell is going on in two weeks? Why are they sticking around, harassing us for two weeks?

"We know this is going to come as a shock to some of you," Darin chimed in, looking straight at me. "But your bosses and we have decided that, in light of recent events, the best thing for Corbin and Hilliard is to become a part of the Abernathy family."

A chorus of crude and worried responses instantly sounded off. Several of us said no. Some asked what, as if they weren't sure they'd heard correctly. Darin looked like he expected us to start booing and throwing things any second. He stepped back, giving Chase a light shove to take over. Coward.

"Right," Chase spoke again. "I know this is a lot to take in, but we at Abernathy Advertisements are excited and happy to welcome some of you to our team. We-"

"Some of us?" Michelle butted in. "What the hell do you mean some of us?"

Chase was clearly caught off guard and took a step back. He tried to keep his composure, but wasn't doing a great job. "Well-"

"What's two weeks got to do with anything?" Shelby interjected.

Mr. Corbin slapped his hands together in one loud smack, silencing the whole bickering room. All eyes were on him and he looked pissed.

"These gentlemen will be working alongside us for the next two weeks," he explained. "They'll be observing how we work together and by ourselves, how we work with clients, and the work we generate."

"But why?" A member of our graphic design team asked.

"To better determine who to keep and who to let go," I answered before Mr. Corbin could open his mouth. I was glaring daggers through Darin.

The room erupted in protest and Chase and Mr. Corbin started trying to calm everyone down but the realization that probably more than half of us would lose our jobs was enough to anger each employee to the point that it was impossible to silence them. Darin, thinking no one was looking at him, slipped out the door into the hallway. I decided to follow him, unable to hear myself think for all the yelling.

"Don't tell me. Let me guess," he spat, leaning against the wall between two elevators. "You've come to give me another piece of your mind." His tone was flat but his eyes were sorry.

I sunk to the floor across the hall from him, my jacket riding up when I slid down the wall. "No," I sighed. "I just want to talk."

He tore his gaze from the flickering florescent bulb above us to look at me with confusion. "What, Bree? I feel bad enough already."

"Good. You should." My words were icy.

He sat down on the floor as well, running a hand continuously through his bangs. "Thanks."

"Darin, I need to know something," I said in the most serious tone I could muster.

His eyes met mine and if I hadn't hated him so much at the moment, I might've felt sorry for him. "What?"

"Am I going to lose my job?"

I couldn't believe I'd dodged such a huge bullet, avoiding Mr. Hilliard firing me, and now all the sudden Abernathy was taking over, I hadn't even had a chance to send Rutherford Laurence the contract, and I was actually asking Darin Forbes if he was going to fire me. What the fuck.

A mixture of hurt, shame and guilt settled in his eyes. There was a part of me that wanted to believe Darin was a good man who just happened to be a victim of the business world's wrath. I knew acquisitions were a regular part of business. It wasn't like what Abernathy was doing was anything new or some big conspiracy. But my resentment of Darin clouded my ability to see him as anything more than a conniving snake who only cared about himself and his company. Maybe he was a good guy underneath the corporate veil, but I wouldn't believe it until I saw it.

"Darin?"

He shook his head, pinching the bridge of his nose and closing his eyes tightly. "Bree, this isn't up to me. I hope you know that. This whole thing. I'm only one man on the whole board. It doesn't matter what I think."

I could feel my blood starting to boil again. "That doesn't answer my question."

He swallowed and looked at me again. He looked pitiful. "I know you need this job. Hilliard already stressed that to me. I'll try my best to keep you on but I can't make any promises."

For the time being, that would have to do. I doubted I could pull a better answer out of him.

"Thank you," I reluctantly mumbled.

He nodded, running a hand through his hair again.

"Tell me one more thing," I said. "Is Abernathy acquiring Harper Media too?"

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