Chapter Thirteen
The moment Amanda walked out of the elevator in the office building on Monday morning, Cara appeared, tablet in hand.
"You have a meeting with the CEO in five."
Amanda already knew that. She had taken time the previous evening to pore over her schedule. That's something she always did, but this time, the motivation behind the habit was different.
It was her first day back to work after a month's absence. More importantly, she was going to meet Lucas at work for the first time. Studying her schedule allowed her to plan in her mind how she would carry through the day as smoothly as possible.
Over and over, she had drummed into her mind that this was just another day at work.
The two walked into Amanda's office, where she placed her bag and coat aside.
Cara handed her a file. "You'll need this."
Amanda perused the report that contained details about the upcoming projects for the company. Her brows pulled together. "Didn't he cover this in all the meetings he had last week?"
"He did. Over and over again. Then asked me to set up a meeting with you as soon as possible."
Amanda grabbed her phone, tablet, and held the file tightly in her hand. "What do you think about him?"
Cara openly stared at her. "What?"
"Is he insufferable? Domineering?"
"He pays a lot of attention to detail," she replied. "After the meetings last week, most people looked as if they were walking out of a battlefield."
Ha! Amanda straightened her back and held her head high. If he was planning on scrutinizing her work, that was fine. But he'd have to think again if he was looking to intimidate her.
"It's a minute to," Cara let her know. "He's also overly punctual."
Amanda walked towards the door. "Say no more."
Another elevator ride two floors up took her where she was headed. Janelle, the new assistant at the CEO's office, welcomed her.
Amanda stopped her mind in its tracks when it tried to bring up the face of the assistant who had worked there before. The woman her fiancé cheated on her with. The one who was his partner in crime in his attempt to scam her into a marriage.
Janelle went ahead of her and opened the door to the CEO's room, letting her in. She closed the door and walked back to her desk when Amanda walked in.
Amanda looked across the room to Lucas, who was sitting behind his desk.
An uncalled for image flitted through her mind.
Her, bent over the desk, with him fúcking her from behind. She internally screamed at her brain for choosing that moment to remind her of the dream she had two nights ago.
When Lucas saw her, he shot to his feet. "Morning, Amanda."
She walked over and took the hand he offered. She stared straight into his eyes. "That's Ms. Lemaiyan to you, Mr. Erikson."
She dropped her hand and took a seat.
She was aware of Lucas staring at her for a few beats before taking his seat too. She pushed the file in her hand across the table. "I've prepared a report on the upcoming projects I'd handed over to the design team."
Lucas didn't reach for it. Instead, he twirled a pen in his hand and pegged her with a firm glance. "That's not what I want us to talk about."
Amanda's brow arched. "No?"
"We have a pressing problem that needs attention."
"What problem?"
And why was he staring her like that? Is that how he stared at everyone, trying to intimidate them? It looked as if he was trying to read her mind through her skin!
"A few stores have decided not to hold our creations for the next quarter."
She frowned. "What?"
He picked a file from his side of the desk and pushed it towards her. "This is the correspondence I received over the last week."
Amanda picked up the file and opened it. There were four letters, each beginning with a sort of apology, then an expression of regret about not being able to take in any merchandise from the company in the time being.
Not once in the three years the company had existed had this happened! What's more, all the stores were main retailers.
Scanning the documents, she failed to find a concrete reason for the withdrawal.
Her eyes lifted to Lucas. "Why?"
"They're concerned that being associated with the company in the light of recent happenings might affect their reputations."
Her frown deepened. "Recent happe--" She paused as it occurred to her what it was all about. She dropped the file on the desk. "That's ridiculous!"
"I know--"
"Are they trying to say customers will steer clear of our outfits just because I cancelled my engagement?"
Lucas leaned back in his chair. "Yes, that's exactly what they're saying."
"I haven't been to work in a month, but I've looked at the numbers and I know the opposite happened."
If her break up had been a publicity stunt, it would have been hugely successful. From the moment the news broke, the company's sales skyrocketed. It was a mixed result of new people discovering their creations after coming across the trending story, and her long-term customers showing support during her rough time.
"I've looked at them too." He sighed. "And none of the reasons the stores gave made sense. But these are some of our main distributors. They have twenty three branches among them. If we lose them, we'll be highly disadvantaged."
In her mind, Amanda was already unraveling the mystery—if you could call it one. This sudden withdrawal from four major retailers had the marks of someone trying to sabotage her. There weren't many people in her life who made an effort at that.
The previous night's conversation with her father and sister floated into her mind. If she looked into those four companies, she would without doubt find a connection between them and Rebecca.
She would look into that later. But first, she was curious how Lucas wanted to handle the situation. "What should we do about it?"
"Let's make them come running back to us."
"How so?"
"A major campaign that will have everyone looking our way. You're the creative art director. I want you to give me a list of people who can be the face of our next collection. I want the best."
"We already have an impressive brand ambassador lineup--"
"I've looked at that. I want someone new. Someone who'll have everyone paying attention. I discussed this with the board last week. Everything is approved."
"Nobody mentioned this to me."
"I have."
She shot to her feet. "If that's all, I'll be leaving."
He gave her a curt nod.
On her ride back down the elevator, Amanda realised that none of the scenarios she had been anxious about happened. The meeting was purely business—with unpleasant surprises she hadn't anticipated.
Nothing awkward.
Maybe it was possible to forget about their dalliance in the mountains and focus on work.
"Let Tom know I'll be down in a minute," she instructed Cara as she walked past her desk. Tom was her driver.
Her next meeting was with her father at his office, some ten blocks away.
Before she could go hunting for the next glamorous celebrity to wear her company's creations, she needed to make sure the chairman was not entertaining Rebecca's opinions about her capability at the company.