Page 34 of Sex, Lust & Lingerie

CHAPTER 21

Gloria

The air in our headquarters was so thick with tension a saw couldn’t cut through it. Glum-looking employees avoided eye contact with me as I passed through the halls to my office. I held my head high and greeted them with casual hellos as if it were just another normal day at work.

To my surprise, Vivien was already at her desk. She never came in before me. Never. When I asked her once, “What time do you aim for?,” Miss Bitchy and Entitled replied, “You’re lucky I even show up.” She had no appreciation for the first-hand executive training I was giving her. Absolutely none.

Even more surprising, Vivien seemed to be in an unusally cheerful mood. A bright toothy smile slid across her face when I bid her “good morning.”

“Can I get you a coffee?” she asked sweetly.

My brows jumped up. That was a first. I always had to ask her several times to fetch me a coffee, and when she finally acquiesced, it was always accompanied by a resentful pout. Most of the time, it was just easier to get the coffee myself.

“Thanks,” I replied. “I’d really appreciate that.”

She stood up from her desk and surprise again. Instead of one of the inappropriate body-hugging mini-dresses she usually wore, she was dressed for success in a chic little black suit rather similar to mine. Along with sheer black stockings, black suede pumps, and a red velvet headband that held back her inky mane.

“I’ll be right back.” Her feline eyes twinkled.

As she stepped away, I marveled at this all new and improved Vivien. Had she finally turned a corner?

I strode into my office and, once seated at my desk, turned on my computer. My stomach churned. Just as I’d expected, there was a slew of inquiring emails in my inbox—seven hundred and fifty-three new messages to be exact. My heart pounded. I felt anxious and overwhelmed. I took a long, deep breath to steel myself. On the exhale, I shouted, “Fuck it!” I wasn’t going to open or respond to any of them…except Kevin’s confirming the company-wide meeting in the theater at eleven.

Five minutes later, Vivien sauntered into my office with my coffee. She placed the steaming mug on a coaster on my desk. A quick peek told me she’d prepared it just the way I liked it with a lot of cream.

I took a sip. The aromatic brew wafted up my nose as the hot velvety liquid traveled down my throat. I thanked Vivien again and took another sip.

“Gloria, I just want to apologize for my behavior lately.”

I almost spit out my coffee. An apology? This was not the Vivien I knew and despised.

She continued, her raspy voice soft and sincere. “I know you’ve been under a lot of stress, and I should have been more sensitive to it.”

Skeptically, I met her eyes. “Yes, that’s true.”

“I know you’re super busy today with the stock crisis and all, but I was wondering if you could meet me for a drink at The Ivy right after work. I’d like to have a conversation with you about my future here and bettering our relationship.”

I lowered my mug to my desk and mulled over her words. I was perplexed by her sudden change in both attitude and attire. One thing I was sure about—if I chose not to meet with her, Daddy would know about it. I just didn’t need more of Victor Holden in my life.

“Please. It would mean a lot to me, Gloria.”

As her imploring eyes stayed on me, another thought crossed my mind. Maybe she could tell me why her father had been among the first to sell off a boatload of shares. He still hadn’t responded to my email and he wasn’t answering my calls.

“Sure,” I finally said. “Why don’t we say at six thirty?”

Vivien smiled. “That would be perfect.” As she pivoted toward the door, she added, “Just let me know if you need anything else, especially for the big meeting at eleven.”

I twitched a half-smile. “Thanks. I will.”

As she strutted out the door, my lips returned to my coffee mug. Sipping the tasty brew, I found it a little odd that Vivien had chosen a restaurant bar close to the hotel where Jaime Zander was staying. It was probably just a coincidence. To the best of my knowledge, neither she nor her father knew that Jaime was in town. And the truth was, The Ivy’s charming Caribbean-inspired bar was a favorite watering hole for many of our employees, from top executives right on down to ambitious assistants. It was a place to chill and seek hook-ups. I let it go and focused on what I was going to tell my anxious employees at the eleven o’clock meeting.

It took me a half hour at my computer to come up with the words I wanted to share. After a lot of cuts, pastes, and deletes, my speech ended up being short and to the point. I just needed to communicate to my hard-working employees that they had nothing to worry about. No one was getting fired and I was going nowhere. As I read it over, memorizing the words, Kevin, clad in black leather jeans and a tight T-shirt, came running into my office. Holding a large Gloria’s Secret pink shopping bag in his hand, he was breathless and wide-eyed. “Glorious, you’ve got to see this!”

My pulse spiked and my muscles tensed. There must be a shitload of newspapers inside the bag reporting on the stock crisis and my demise.

Kevin dug inside the bag and my eyes widened. He proudly held up our newest addition to the Gloria’s Secret product line—the prototype vibrator for the line of sex toys we were launching in the summer.

“Oh my God, Kev! Let me see it.”

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