Chapter 10
Kain
So, this was it – the day that Mandy was due to start work here. To make matters worse, her office was just down the hall from mine. This was a decision that my father had made prior to leaving the company, and I guess I had the authority to change it but I didn't want to spend my first few days overturning my father's decisions. It wouldn't have gone down well with him or the other senior members of staff. So, in the end, I just had to begrudgingly accept it and just hope that she and I wouldn't cross paths too often.
I saw Phil showing her around, and man, did she look hot. I just couldn't take my eyes off her. I knew that I had to get past these feelings though, somehow, because it would affect how well I was able to do my work.
I breathed in deeply and held the air in my lungs for a while. This had always served to calm me down, and it didn't fail me now. There, I felt a lot better. Why was I getting so bent out of shape over some woman I’d had a one-night stand with? Man, there were plenty of those around, and I had never given any of them a second thought after I had left them in the morning. Why should it be any different with this woman? Yeah, things were a little awkward but that would fade away as time went by, and so would my feelings for her, and eventually she would just be another face in the office.
See? Long-term thinking. That's exactly how I needed to be thinking as a CEO. In the long term, what she and I had done together wouldn't matter in the least. It would be forgotten, inconsequential, gone.
I leaned back in my chair and cracked my knuckles and smiled. I was already feeling way better. This woman wouldn't have any power over me, none whatsoever. I wasn't about to let her get under my skin, no way. I had this under control. Totally under control.
Just then there was a knock at the door.
“Yeah, come on in,” I said, feeling optimistic.
Mildred, who was formerly my dad's PA and was now mine, opened the door and stepped in. She looked worried, and was holding a copy of the Financial Times. “Kain, have you seen this?”
I shook my head. “Not today's edition, no.”
She walked calmly over to my desk, opened the paper up and pointed to an article, entitled Shareholder Confidence Takes a Hit as Inexperienced CEO Takes Over.
I skimmed over the article, and as I did, my blood began to boil. It was about my company, and how, apparently, shareholders were feeling wary about me because I was “inexperienced” and “too young.” The article was full of unsubstantiated rumors and hearsay, and almost all of it was false but the fact that it had been published meant that trouble was on its way.
“This isn't good at all,” I muttered, shaking my head.
“No, it isn't,” echoed Mildred. “But this is what being a CEO – a good one, anyway – is all about. If you look at this from another perspective, you can see that this is your chance to shine, Kain. Show these rumor-mongers that they're wrong. Prove that their fears are unfounded.”
I nodded but anger had me in its grips. I couldn't think straight right now. “I'll deal with this, don't worry,” I muttered. “But right now, I need a breath of fresh air.”
“Wise decision. Cool off before you tackle a problem,” she commented. “I can see that you're somewhat... perturbed right now.”
“Perturbed, yeah.”
“We'll talk later,” she said, turning on her heels and walking briskly out of my office.
I got up soon after she left and strode out of the office, my thoughts a tangle of anger and frustration. I turned the corner and only just managed to avoid colliding with Mandy as she stepped out of her office.
I was in a rare mood, and even though the blame for the near collision was mutual, I was cold and unreasonable toward her, and eventually just stormed off. I couldn't help it; the anger about the lies printed in the article had me in its grasp, and I guess because of the lingering, conflicting awkwardness and attraction I felt about Mandy, I kinda took it out on her.
I did feel bad about it when I cooled off but I guess I was too proud to find her and apologize to her.
Nonetheless, I did have to speak to her about an upcoming marketing campaign. In light of what the shareholders were feeling now due to the rumors that had been spread, the campaign had become even more important. If this succeeded, profits would shoot up and then, surely, shareholder confidence would be restored and bolstered.
However, I didn't want to talk to her face to face, so I just called her office phone and explained the importance of the campaign. Her tone on the phone was cool, understandably, but she assured me that she would be able to make a success of it. I could only pray she would. My fate was partially in her hands now, although, of course, I didn't let her know that. Still, her success would be my success. I not only wanted her to succeed now, I badly needed it.
* * * * *
“Get a load of this,” Mildred said with a satisfied grin as she tossed me the latest issue of the Financial Times.
I picked it up and smiled as I read the article she had highlighted. Shareholder confidence had been restored, despite the pack of lies that had been printed about me and the company the week before, and now things had been turned around 180 degrees.
“This,” said Mildred, “is in no small part due to the hard work and brilliance of the new marketing director. The campaign she designed – in record time too, I might add – had business shooting the roof the last couple of days.”
I nodded; I had to acknowledge that Mandy's expert marketing strategy had helped massively. “She has done an amazing job.”
“Perhaps you should tell her that – in person.”
Again, I had to agree with her. I had been pretty good at avoiding contact with Mandy over the past week but continuing to do so was proving to be difficult. We talked mainly via email but once or twice I had bumped into her in the hallway or the cafeteria, and each time that feeling of intense, fiery attraction had ripped through my whole system, filling my blood with its burning flames.
“All right. I'll call her into the office now and tell her what an excellent job she's been doing.”
Mildred nodded, smiling sagely. “Good.”
She walked out, and I drew in a deep breath and called Mandy's office phone.
“Hi, Kain.” Her tone was cool and flat; this was how we talked to each other now, just like a pair of damned robots or something.
“Could you come to my office for a second?”
She paused for a few moments. “Um, all right,” she eventually replied, her tone hesitant and uncertain. “I'll come now.”
I really hoped this wasn't going to be too uncomfortable. Well, I would find out soon enough.
After a minute or so there was a knock at the door.
“Come on in,” I said.
Mandy walked in, looking stunning in a black business suit that showed off her gorgeous curves. The sight of her almost took my breath away, and I really had to focus hard on not staring.
“Hi.” She paused halfway between the door and my desk, unsure of what to do next.
“Take a seat,” I said.
“All right.”
She walked over and took a seat across from me.
“Your marketing campaign was brilliant,” I said. “And I want to congratulate you personally on a job very well done. As you might be aware, we've had some issues recently, with bad publicity and rumor-mongering in the press. The success we've had with this new campaign of yours, it's managed to turn all of that around. So, thank you.”
She nodded, and then looked me right in the eyes. The fire of attraction ripped through my blood as she did this. “That's the longest you've spoken to me since I started here, Kain.”
I looked away, as I didn't really have any way to respond to that. “Yeah,” I eventually said.
“Are you going to keep on punishing me like this? Are you going to keep up this petty schoolyard crap, avoiding me and giving me the cold shoulder all the time?”
Now an altogether different fire was warming my blood – the heat of anger.
“That's not fair,” I snapped. “It's not as if you've exactly been friendly.”
“Only because you started it. Every time I see you, you look away or turn around and walk in the opposite direction. And, quite frankly, I'm getting sick of it.”
“And you think you're innocent? You give me that cold stare the instant you lay your eyes on me, and you clam up and turn away whenever I'm in your presence.”
We both stared at each other in cold silence for a few moments. A strange mix of conflicting emotions was gushing through my blood. On the one hand there was anger but on the other, intense attraction and arousal.
“Look,” I said eventually, doing my best to swallow the anger and stuff it deep down inside me. “Can we just stop fighting? Can we just try to be civil toward one another?”
“I can, if you make the effort to as well, Kain. Don't try to pin all of this on me.”
I wanted to lash out at this snide little jab at me but instead I forced myself to keep my cool.
“I'm prepared to make the effort. Starting now. Thank you, Mandy, for your hard work. I really appreciate it. You're a true asset to this company, and I'm glad we hired you.”
For the first time in a very long time, I saw her smile. And it was a genuine one, too; there was nothing fake or plastic about it.
“Thank you, Kain,” she said. “I really do appreciate that. Let's do our best to try to keep the peace between us. Now, if you'll excuse me, I have more work to do on that upcoming campaign. The deadline is looming, and I can't afford to waste any time.”
I nodded. “That's all I wanted to say to you. That, and good luck with the new campaign. I hope it's as successful as this last one was.”
“It will be,” she said as she stood up. “Trust me.”
She turned and walked out, and my eyes were locked on her gorgeous body until she disappeared from view.
* * * * *
Things had just been getting better and better—business-wise anyway. I had been handling my responsibilities well and had managed to get a grip on most things and it had only taken about a month. This wasn't to say that I wasn't under a lot of stress. I definitely was. But the pressure I had felt in those first days of taking over as CEO was finally starting to ease off a little.
A lot of the success the company was enjoying was because of Mandy's brilliance as marketing manager. I hadn't seen her much, although not from consciously trying to avoid her, like I had done when she first started. I had been out of the office a lot over the past few weeks, meeting people and going on business trips to secure new contracts and such, and I just hadn't been around really.
That didn't mean that she hadn't been on my mind, though. No, quite the opposite. It felt as if the attraction I felt toward her was just getting stronger and stronger.
I had actually gone out one night to a few bars, looking to take a woman home with me. I figured that that might help me get my mind off Mandy.
That had been a failure, though. I hadn't picked up a single girl – not because I had been unsuccessful but because as soon as I had started trying to flirt with anyone, thoughts of Mandy had just come into my head, and that pretty much made me lose interest in whatever girl I was talking to.
I wasn't sure what to do about this. I mean, should I go on as I was, and just hope and pray that my brain would eventually stop thinking about her? Should I talk to her about these feelings I had for her, about the fact that I just couldn't get her out of my head?
While I was sitting at my desk thinking about all this stuff, my phone rang. It was Mildred.
“Someone's here to see you, Kain.”
“Who is it?” I asked.
“You'll see in a minute.”
“All right...”
Shortly after this, there was a knock on my door.
“Come in,” I said.
The door opened and my dad walked in, beaming a great, wide smile at me.
“Well,” he said, “you're looking mighty comfy in my old office!”
I stood up and smiled, walking over to give him a hug. “It's a great office,” I said. “I've got some big shoes to fill but I'm doing my best.”
He chuckled. “And your best seems to be more than adequate, son. I've been keeping a close eye on things, and profits are really rising. You're doing a fantastic job, and surpassing all of my expectations.”
“Thanks, Dad. I can't take all the credit though. A lot of the success has been driven by Mandy's marketing campaigns.”
He nodded. “Yes, I've been following her campaigns closely. What an asset to this company she's proved to be, eh?”
“Indeed.”
He walked around his office for a few minutes, examining everything. I had kept a few things the same but had changed a lot of it. He had spent many years in this office, and seeing it all different like this was probably a bit strange for him.
“There's something I want to talk to you about,” he said suddenly, changing the topic.
“Yeah, of course. What is it?”
“When are you going to settle down, Kain?”
I sighed. He had been bugging me about this for years now. “I told you, Dad, when I find the right girl.”
“It'll do wonders for your public image if you settle down and get married and have a kid or two. A lot of the shareholder scare a month ago was because of how you're perceived, you know. They think you're this arrogant playboy who only cares about chasing tail and spending cash. And while we've pretty much recovered from that, your image is still a bit of a sore point. By settling down with a girl, by getting married and becoming a family man, you could totally erase those fears. You need to do this, Kain. For me, for the company... and for yourself, of course.”
“Dad, I can't just go out and find some girl and get married. It's not that simple.”
“You know what,” he said. “Sometimes it is. You've been messing around with these airhead models and actresses and other bimbos for far too long now. You need to stop this and get serious. Do you hear me, son? You're the CEO now. You're the man in charge. And it's time to start acting like a man, not a spoiled boy. It's time to start acting like a real man in all areas of your life.”