Authors: Kylie Knight
ROMANCE: Sleeping With The Sheikh (Billionaire Alpha Male Sheikh Romance) (New Adult Forbidden Series Short Stories) (10 page)
Christopher stopped into front of an office door and knocked. The office door had a plaque that read, ‘Joe Smith, Executive Producer’ on it in gold embossment.
“Come in!” A man with a deep voice yelled from inside.
Christopher opened the door and walked into the man’s office. The man who had told them to come in was a big burly type of man with a t-shirt on and black framed glasses. He was seated at a big oak desk, typing away on his laptop. When he looked up to see who had entered his office, he smiled and stood up, coming around the desk to give Christopher a hug.
“Christopher! It’s been ages! How the hell are ya?” They embraced and patted each other on the back.
“I’m good Joe! I want you to meet someone very talented. This is Monica Cambridge.”
Joe reached out and embraced her in a hug as well, “Any friend of Christopher’s is a friend of mine! Nice to meet you Monica.”
“The pleasure is all mine Joe!” Monica was in such high spirits, it was like she was living in a dream world.
“Monica here has written an incredible comedy that you’re going to buy.” Christopher said, passing over the script to Joe as he settled down in a leather chair in front of Joe’s desk. Monica sat down beside Christopher, and Joe sat down in his chair behind the desk, with the script in hand. He started flipping through the pages and reading it.
“Hey! This is gold!” He laughed a few times while reading the script. “You wrote this Monica?” Joe stopped and looked up at her.
“Yes, of course! The idea just came to me one day and I thought it would make a funny story. I’m glad to hear you like it, thank you!” Monica was beaming from the compliment.
“I do like it, in fact, I love it! How much do you want for it?” Joe said to Monica.
Before Monica could answer, Christopher spoke, “She’s selling it for $500,000.00 flat rate, with rights to royalties once the movie goes into theatres and after it’s out on DVD as well. Monica also has to be accredited as the writer on the credits of the film.”
“Well, lucky you Monica, you’ve got one tough dog in your corner here. Good thing you brought him here with you, he knows what he wants and he’s known for getting it.” Joe laughed and flipped through the script some more, thinking about the offer.
“Come on Joe, we don’t have all day.” Christopher was all business right now, it was seriously hot and seriously intimidating.
“Alright, you’ve got it. Done deal.” Joe stood up and shook Christopher’s hand and then turned to Monica and shook her hand as well. “Congratulations on your new film Miss Cambridge. I can’t wait to work with you on this project.”
“Thank you so much Mr Smith, you have no idea what this means to me.” Monica was overwhelmed with emotion as she shook his hand.
“Let’s make movie magic!” Joe smiled and laughed.
“We’ll discuss more details tomorrow Joe, we’ve got a date with this beautiful sunshine.” Christopher said as he turned to leave Joe’s office.
“See you tomorrow! Ciao Monica! Pleasure to meet you!” Joe said as they walked out of the office.
Monica floated back down to the car in a haze of happiness and disbelief wanting to pinch herself, but knowing full well that this was really happening. Her script was going to be turned into a movie, and she was $500,000.00 richer. Dreams really do come true...
THE END
A dozen faces stared at her, every expression blank. Elaina crossed her arms over her chest and stared back, eyes flitting between each set of eyes. Sometimes she succeeded in chasing the stare away, but most times the man or woman she looked at stood their ground.
"If you want to keep your jobs," Elaina reminded them, restating what she'd just said, "you're going to give me one-hundred-and-ten percent. Until we've got this under our belts we need to implement ten minute lunches, fewer coffee breaks, and your choice of earlier hours in the morning, or later hours at the end of the day. I'll need a team for both morning and evening, so you can decide amongst yourselves who will take what role. I am confident that as adults you will be able to sort things out fairly."
The boardroom was so silent she could hear the catering cart wheeling down the hall even through the closed door. Elaina's lips pursed tightly and she continued to try to dispel the unease.
"We are where we are because of what we have sacrificed. Success is not easy. If you want to see us succeed in the future, we will get there by sacrifice and hard work, just as we always have. So no more fooling around."
More silence. Elaina had never known the men and women she worked alongside to be so quiet. All of them were vastly intelligent, cunning, outspoken people and she counted on their advice and opinions.
"I'll give you some time to digest our plan of action," Elaina said with finality, "and we'll meet back here in the last hour of the day to discuss what additional shift each of you will take and how we will be using the time to see our company soar."
At last there was a murmur of noise as each of the well-dressed individuals scooped up their papers and pens and slid their chairs back from the long table. Elaina took the chance to sit, winded as though she'd just run a race. Many of her meetings had gone poorly since she'd taken over the company following her father's death, but never had they gone over this badly. In that moment she was sure she'd elicited the hatred of her twelve highest ups. It was a feeling she didn't want to get used to.
As the last executive filed out of the office, someone else slipped in through the open door. Elaina looked up to find her brother had entered, his arms crossed against his beat up graphic t-shirt and the loose jeans he wore splotched with paint in multiple colors.
"Yo, Lainey," Matt said as he strolled across the room. He was three years her senior, and yet in dim light Matt could probably still be mistaken for a teenager. At twenty-seven Elaina headed a financial empire, and at thirty Matt was doing... Well, she wasn't sure. But whatever endeavor he'd become involved with, she was sure he was trying to do as little work as possible. It was why she'd filled her father's shoes instead of her older brother; Matt had never had a head for business. Or work.
"How do you keep getting in without a security pass?" Elaina asked, exasperated. She'd spoken multiple times to the men who worked security about making sure they checked all badges. This wasn't a game, and they weren't workers fresh out of high school. The men she employed were meant to be professional, and yet here was Matt standing before her in ripped jeans and a t-shirt, without clearance and clearly out of place.
"Uh, because I look exactly like dad," Matt said. "Everyone still considers this Mr. Harraway's company, and no one's going to deny his younger, more attractive ghost entrance."
"I can't believe their incompetence," Elaina muttered to herself, lifting a hand to cover her face. Matt crossed the room and put a hand on her shoulder, squeezing her through the suit jacket she wore.
"You know what you need to do, Lainey?" he asked. "You need to learn how to chill out. Like, I know that you're really smart and have a good head for business, but hard work isn't the end all, you know? Not everyone has the same work ethic you do, and if you work your men into the ground all the time no one is ever going to respect you. People are going to jump ship. You know what I heard out in the hall when your execs were leaving that meeting?"
Another one of Matt's speeches. Elaina had heard the same message so many times she'd lost count. The first time was in high school, when she'd broken down in her senior year fighting to graduate at the top of the student body. Matt had told her she needed to have fun, but she hadn't listened. She'd graduated valedictorian and had won a full ride scholarship. Next was in college, when she'd complained to him about how so many men on campus had tried to hit on her and ask her out when all she had time for was studying and other homework. At Christmas parties and holiday gatherings, Matt's one piece of knowledge spilled from his lips again and again like he was a recording on repeat. She was tired of it.
"What did you hear, Matt?" a sigh.
"I heard Richardson say that Zocore Financial had sent him a job offer, and that he was seriously considering accepting the position. You're working them down to the bone and into the arms of the enemy, Lainey. You need to learn how to chill out and let other people chill, and then maybe you'll find that the company runs much more smoothly than you ever would have imagined."
Investments were down. Employees had been handing in their resignations in groups, like rats fleeing a sinking ship. Ever since her father had died, nothing had felt the same around the office, and so far hard work wasn't solving anything. If Elaina hadn't been so desperate to find a solution, she would never have listened.
"... And so where can I learn 'to chill out'? I'm not a fun person, Matt. That's just not me."
Matt bit down on his bottom lip, looking her over.
"You know," he said, considering his words before he spoke them, "I think I might know just the guy who can help you out. Not saying it's going to be easy considering how uh, serious you are, but if anyone's going to get you to loosen up, it's this dude."
Elaina looked at him hard. Had he not looked so much like her father, she would have sworn Matt was adopted. She'd inherited her mother's blonde hair, while he had their father's dark features. On the street no stranger would be able to tell they were related for as opposite as they were, both in appearance and in personality — and so Elaina knew that what Matt said had to be true. If anyone would know someone she could hire to teach her how to have fun, Matt would know the guy.
"Alright, fine. I accept. May I have this individual's contact details so we can arrange an appointment? Of course, I intend to properly compensate him."
Matt hitched an eyebrow and crossed his arms, mouth screwing up in a bewildered grin.
"You don't need to pay him. I don't think he really needs the extra work, if you know what I mean."
Elaina had no idea what he meant. She frowned and furrowed her brows.
"Just give me his number, Matt. I will take care of the details."
As Matt drew his cellphone from his back pocket he scratched behind his ear. A thumb whizzed across the screen as he unlocked the device and brought up his contact list. Elaina withdrew her cellphone and opened up a new contact as she waited.
The number was exchanged, but the name field was still blank. If Elaina was going to cold call one of Matt's friends out of the blue, she at least wanted to know what his name was.
"First name?" she asked.
"Caleb, with a C."
"Last name?"
"... Don't you just need first name, Lainey? It's not like you're going to have to run a background check or anything on him. He's a cool dude." The hesitance in Matt's voice caught her attention. Elaina narrowed her eyes, wondering what the holdup was.
"Last name, Matt," she insisted. Matt sighed.
"Colten."
Elaina nearly dropped her phone.
"Caleb Colten.
Caleb Colten
! Are you serious, Matt? You want me to go willingly spend time with
Caleb Colten
?" She had recorded the number of the enemy. As the shock subsided, Elaina continued her tirade. "And how did you get Caleb Colten's number? How do you know he's such a
chill
guy? The Coltens are our
enemies
, Matt. What are you doing fraternizing with the Colten son?"
The Colten family had built Zocore Financial from the ground up and had become such a strong force in the years leading to her father's death that they threatened the Harraway family business. And Zocore Financial wasn't even the only pot the Coltens had dipped their fingers into. Elaina knew that Henry Colten, the patriarch of the family, was heavily invested in the crude oil industry. The family was richer than she could conceive, likely worth billions of dollars.
"You know, part of learning to chill out and be fun is learning not to bite everyone's heads off when they're trying to help you," Matt said plainly. "Just because his dad's got a good thing going with Zocore doesn't mean that all Coltens are evil. That's like saying that because dad was so smart and successful and all Harraways are going to be just like that, and I don't see myself starting a Fortune 500 any time soon."
Somehow Elaina doubted that a man like Henry Colten would let any son of his amount to as little as Matt aspired to, but she bit her tongue.
"Tell me how you met him," she said sternly.
"It was at dad's funeral. Remember how the Coltens came to pay their respects and you were beside yourself with how terrible it was that the man killing our father's company was attending his funeral? Well, while you threw your priss fit, I went to thank them for showing up and met Caleb. And he invited me out a few times, so we chilled. And that's it."
Undoubtedly they were trying to get company secrets out of Matt, but luckily he knew as much about business as he did about attempted sabotage. But if Elaina gave Caleb a call and did arrange a 'session' with him, perhaps she could use the same tactics. Any information she could dig out of a Colten was information that could be used to strengthen her father's company. She had to try.
"I'll give him a call," she said simply, saving the number and slipping the phone back into her pants pocket. "Now explain to me why it was you slipped past security and traveled all the way up to the boardroom to speak with me?"
Matt rolled his eyes.
"I wanted to see if you'd grab a coffee with me since I was in the area, but you're being such a bitch today I'm thinking maybe I should have just used the spotless exec bathrooms and then slipped out again, unnoticed.
The palm of Elaina's hand met her eyes, and she shook her head. Her brother was incorrigible.
"Yeah. Yeah, let's go grab a coffee and I'll work on
chilling
," she said with finality. "But I've got ten minutes and it's going to be my only break today."
"Whatever you say, sis," Matt said with a shrug.
They left the boardroom together. For as much as they bickered and contrasted one against the other, Elaina couldn't pass up a chance to grab a coffee. Often times it was the most excitement she got in a day.
Those days would be short lived if Caleb Colten had anything to say about it.
Now that her executives were putting in longer hours, Elaina respected the same schedule and arrived earlier and stayed later. It was well after eight when she returned to her downtown apartment, and nine o'clock had been broached by the time she drew her cellphone from her pocket and considered Caleb's number.
Nude, slender form wrapped tight in a pristine white bathrobe, a green mint julep mask drying upon her face, Elaina selected the number and hit the dial button. She settled upon the couch as the phone rang, and by the time she'd grown comfortable the call connected.
"Caleb Colten," Caleb said. "To whom am I speaking?"
Elaina let a beat pass, making sure she answered at her leisure. Maintaining control was important in all interactions, but especially so with a Colten.
"This is Elaina Harraway, Matt Harraway's si—"
"Lainey the painey," Caleb cut in without waiting for her to finish her sentence. "I've heard a lot about you. What is it that has you calling?"
Elaina took a long moment to cool down, and when she did reply her tone was even and masked.
"Matt told me that I should call you to see if you could get me to... Loosen up. He says that I'm too caught up in work, and that I don't understand fun, and that you could help me be more relatable."
Caleb laughed. It was a charming noise, and although Elaina felt annoyed that Matt had shared unsavory details about her to a man she considered the enemy, she couldn't help but be a little taken by it.
"Yeah, I can help you with that. You're going to meet me on Friday night at midnight down at the pier by Chez Pierre, wearing all black. You're going to bring three hundred in cash, which I will accept as payment. Don't bring a bag. Don't bring any ID apart from your driver's license, which you'll keep in your back right pocket. Wear comfortable clothing. And if you are driving, make sure you park your car somewhere you can leave it overnight. If not, have your valet arrange to pick you up at eleven the next morning."