Page 87 of Whatever You Need

I staredout the windows overlooking the city. I’ve spent weeks preparing for this meeting, making sure all the numbers matched, going over every single detail for the presentation. This was too important for me not to give it my all.

I walked down to the conference room, reviewing the notes on my iPad. Lisa, the head of my marketing team, rose from her cubical. “Everything is all set. I’m just waiting for Griffith in IT to make a few minor adjustments,” she said as I led us down the hallway to the set of glass doors. She followed me inside and went straight to the coffee cart set up in the back of the room.

Owen was the first person to see me walk in. He barely acknowledged me as he fiddled with something on his phone. He either hasn’t noticed that I haven’t been around or he just didn’t care.

I extended my hand to the head of our legal counsel, Neil Buchanan. “Good morning, Neil.” He gave my hand a brisk handshake and then went back to going over his notes.

My grandfather rose from his chair. “Amelia.” He kissed the top of my forehead. “It’s great to have you back. I hope everything is okay?”

I patted his arm. “I’m sorry I haven’t returned your calls. I’ll explain everything shortly.”

He wrinkled his forehead in confusion, but I was grateful when he didn’t press further.

Edward Eastan breezed through the door with his signature navy suit and white satin handkerchief peeking out from the breast pocket. “Let’s get down to business, shall we?”

Everyone found a seat while I walked around to the front of the room. “Thank you all for being here. After months of preparation and a great deal of planning, I would like to show you the latest cutting-edge design for hotel suites this generation has ever seen.”

For the next hour, I went through each slide and answered every question thrown my way. By the time I was finished, I knew without a shadow of a doubt that I nailed it. Not only would we be upgrading all the guest rooms that would cater to the millennials, but our suites were specifically designed to please our most loyal business travelers. Our sales team has already signed an agreement with a major airline carrier, as well as a government contract that would push our sales results through the roof.

Owen gave a big toothy smile to a few people who congratulated him. Of course, he was trying to steal as much credit as he could. Anyone in this room with half a brain knew he didn’t do anything to earn it.

“Great Job, Amelia. Truly.” My grandfather’s eyes sparkled with pride from across the table. This was going to suck, but it had to be done.

“Thank you.” My heart sped up with nerves. “While I have everyone here, there is one more matter of business I’d like to attend to.” I looked across the table and tried to keep my expression flat, not wanting to give anything away. My head was telling me this was the right decision, even though my heart wasn’t all the way there yet. That was okay though, it would get there eventually. “Effective today, I am handing in my resignation.”

My eyes met Owen’s from across the table. He looked ready to jump out of his seat. “What?” he asked in disbelief.

Heads spun from every direction, their faces were a mixture of shock and confusion. “I have no idea what is going on here,” he stood up, trying to act like he was in charge, “but if you will excuse me, I need a word with my fiancée.”

I held my hand up, letting him know that I wasn’t done. “Oh, that’s another thing. The engagement is off.”

He leaned into the table. “Amelia. A word now!”

My smile was tight. I tried to appear confident when inside I was more nervous than I cared to admit. “We can talk privately later. I don’t want to waste anymore of the company’s time.”

Edward leaned back in his chair and narrowed his eyes. “I don’t know what’s going on, but everyone out. Now!”

Every single person in the room jumped up, grabbed their notebooks, pens and laptops, and dashed out of the room. Neil started packing up his stuff when Edward ordered him to stay.

“I apologize that my decision has caught you off guard, but these past few days have been very hard on me personally.” I lowered my head, feeling my palms sweat. “When I first agreed to help Owen run the company, I wasn’t seeing anyone at the time.”

Owen stood up and braced his hands on the table. “Is this about that fucker who showed up at the engagement party?”

I met his glare, not giving him any reaction whatsoever. “He is someone very important to me, so please show some respect.”

“I will do no such fucking thing. We had a deal.” His eyes went hard. “You are wearing my ring.”

“Actually,” I held my hand up, “I stopped by your office before this meeting and left the ring on your desk.”

His mouth dropped open and he snapped it shut. “You cold-hearted, fucking bitch.”

“Hey now,” my grandfather bellowed. “You, young man,” he pointed to Owen, “will not speak to my granddaughter like that. I don’t care how upset you are.”

“Listen, I don’t want to fight. I’m just here to hand in my resignation. I understand that this complicates things, but I have to follow my heart. As much as I love this company, I love him more. Words cannot express how sorry I am for letting you all down.”

My gaze landed on my grandfather. He looked crushed. Somehow my life had taken a drastic turn, and I never filled him in on it. Somewhere along the way, my loyalties shifted. Maybe it was when I finally realized the extremes he went to in order to seal this deal. The sacrifices I made to get to this point, the things I had to give up just weren’t worth it anymore.

“Amelia, is there anything we can say to make you reconsider?” His voice was filled with concern, but it was lacking the surprise that I expected to hear.

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