Downgrading Miss CEO

Chapter 29

A month later a lot of things had changed at the office. Allison was no longer my assistant. She was now in charge of our social media presence and managed all our accounts. It was our first step to getting our renewed brand out there. Our marketing department also made some changes. A lot of the people who worked there were stuck in their old routines and didn't feel for the changes that needed to be made to make our company profitable again. We had to let some of them go. Fortunately, Julian offered to help. Together with the employees that stayed on, he developed a whole new marketing strategy. We could no longer afford to see ourselves as an exclusive brand. We needed to broaden our clientele.

A lot has changed in the past month, but we weren't there yet. There were still long days ahead of us. Chris, who was recovering relatively well, took over some of the day-to-day business so that we both had time to keep strategizing together. I loved having him back within the company as a colleague, but that was nothing compared to how happy I was to have my brother back.

"Okay, I think this may work. However, we don't have the stand-by funds to do this all by ourselves. We need some investors."

Chris smiled at me. "Don't worry, sis. I've got it covered. I scheduled a meeting for tonight."

"Did I tell you how good it is to have you back? I could never have done this all by myself. Do you need me to come to this meeting with you?"

"Luce, you know we work better as a team. You've got the company knowledge covered like no other. And, I'm sorry if this insults you, but I have the people skills. And if that doesn't work, I can always play the coma card." A cheeky smile formed on his lips. He wouldn't do that, would he?

"Just let me know when and where." I looked at the time. "Don't you need to go to the hospital for a check-up?" I asked my brother while he was shuffling some documents around. Before he could answer me, there was a knock on the door to our office. In the doorpost stood Rachel, smiling brightly. Then I looked over to my brother and saw that he reciprocated Rachel's smile. He made his way over to her and kissed her on the cheek. That sneaky bastard. He never told me about this certain development. Although, I wasn't surprised. I knew they would hit it off.

"Are you ready to go?" Rachel asked my brother.

"Give me one minute." And then he made his way over to me. "Okay, I'll see you tonight at six at our hotel on 72nd street. Wear something pretty." He pressed a kiss on my forehead as a final goodbye before he walked away with Rachel.

"Did I hear you needed to wear something pretty? Should I be jealous?" Two strong arms wrapped around me from behind. I knew it was Julian without looking. Heck, I would've known it was him if he hadn't said a thing. His smell was intoxicating to me and I would recognize it everywhere. I loved how he smelled like pine and citrus. It was my new favorite scent in the entire world.

"Of course I have to wear something pretty. As that is how I get my business done as a woman. I'll just have them have a peek at my breasts and it will all work out in my favor." I rolled my eyes and pecked his cheek. "I was just kidding. We have a meeting with an investor tonight, to talk about upgrading our brand. But we can't exactly change our brand without changing our existing hotels as well. We just need some extra funds for that."

Julian's smile dropped. "But we had plans for tonight, Lucy." There was a look on his face that I couldn't really place. Was it disappointment? "We were going to see my sister and my niece and nephew. You promised you would come." Okay, so definitely disappointment. And, was there a hint of anger?

By now, his arms have left my waist and the smiles have left both our faces. I took a step back to properly look him in the eye. "I know, and I'm really sorry. But I have to prioritize this for now. This is my legacy. And it's not just my job on the line here. It is about thousands of jobs for other people. I can't turn my back to them."

"That's bullshit, Lucy, and you know it. There is no reason for both you and Chris to attend that meeting. You know as well as me that he can manage just fine on his own. Wasn't that the part of sharing responsibilities in the first place? That you both would have some spare time left? Time to live your life? You're just scared to let go of control." He wasn't exactly yelling, but his voice was raised. The last time I heard him speak with this much anger was when he found I lied to him. It hurt me like hell but there was no way I was going to show him just how much he actually hurt me. I didn't reply for two reasons. First, I didn't want to say anything I might regret later on. It's never a good idea to react out of emotion, to hurt him as he hurt me. Second, I really didn't want to show him how much it really hurt, and replying now would only make me a sobbing mess. So I remained quiet and I wish Julian would've done the same. But I guess luck wasn't on my side today.

"You go around and keep telling people that you don't want to end up like your father. But guess what, Lucy. You're heading in that same direction. Remember to practice what you preach. You don't want to end up like your dad? Don't act like he would do. It's that simple!"

After that final blow below the belt, I turned away from him, making sure he wasn't able to see the tears that were now fast forming in my eyes. "Leave."

"Lucy, I'm sorry. I didn't mean it like that."

"Yes, you did. Now leave before I too will say stuff I am going to regret."

Julian didn't give up that easily. He moved the distance between us and laid his hands on my upper arms. "Lucy, please. Please, look at me." His voice wavered. It sounded unsure. "I'm really sorry. I really didn't mean it. I know that you're trying your best to balance things. I know that. I guess I just have to get used to not being your number one priority."

This made me turn back. The dazed look in his eyes and his messy hair, as if he raked through it with his hand out of utter desperation, made me forget my anger for a fraction of a second. I didn't like seeing him like this. It was hurting me and I knew why. I felt deeply for this man. This realization made me take a deep breath. I needed to calm myself down before I'd talk to him.

"Can't you see that I'm doing all this to be able to make you my number one priority? I want to be with you and relax with you. I'd die for a relaxing vacation with you at the moment. But as long as this company is a mess, as long as it's not back on track, I can't." I took a step closer to him and laid my hands on his shoulder. "I'm in this. I really am. I just can't prove it the way I want to. And all I can do is hope that you'll have a little more patience and are willing to wait until things here are slowing down."

This time it was Julian who took a step closer. He wrapped his arms around me and pulled me close to his chest before he pressed a kiss to my crown. "I know. I'm really sorry." He then caressed my cheeks with his thumb, wiping away the tears that managed to escape. "I don't like to see you cry. I hate it a lot more when I'm the reason for your tears."

I stood on the tip of my toes and pressed a kiss to his lips. "I forgive you. I'm sorry to be the one to make you feel like you're not worthy of my time. Because you definitely are. And I promise I'll make it up to you when I get the chance." I gave him another kiss before stepping back. "That being cleared. I really have to get back to work. I can't expect my employees to work themselves over, while I'm slacking off, can I?"

-

"Thank God, that's over." Chris sighed after the dinner. "I've never met as dull of a person as this suit. And I thought dad lacked a certain oomph, but this man would five our old man a run for his money."

I snorted. No joke. I snorted while laughing and for a moment I was happy Julian wasn't here to witness it. "Oh come on, I know he was terrible company and he didn't care much for you people skills nor your coma-card. But at least he wants to invest. With the money he is willing to put in, we can make the changes we need to at least ten hotels. Now we just have to figure out which hotels would give us the most profit and we can start there. And then after, if everything works out the way we want it to, we can use our new profits to upgrade the rest."

"You're absolutely right, little sis. And with his let's-cut-straight-to-business mentality, it's still an early night. Which means that I'm going over to Rachel's." I gave him a look and opened my mouth to say something. But he beat me to it. "Yeah, yeah. I know. You told me so. Shouldn't you be running out and go see your man as well? We had a win today. You should go and celebrate it with the person you want to celebrate with most." He pressed a kiss to my forehead and then made his way to the door. Chris was right. I did want to celebrate this win with Julian. I shot him a quick message, rushed out of the hotel restaurant, and hailed the first cab I saw. I was going to see my man.