Bad Press

At 6 am in the morning, I went for a 10 mile run. I needed the regularity of exercise to keep my mind off things. The mindlessness of physical exercise number stress. My housekeeper Stella delivered my dress and breakfast to the hospital. I freshened up in the bathroom in Josh's room. I took a warm bath to wash away the exhaustion of the night before and had some breakfast at the hospital cafeteria. By this time, the doctors and nurses had become used to the sight of me lingering around the hospital at odd hours. They knew I was Ethan's girlfriend. They greeted me warmly. The receptionist Lexie chatted me up and kept me company till it was time to leave for work.

I had a feeling that Ethan had asked them to help me through this. I smiled. My guardian angel. Always looking after me.

I left Josh to Beth's care after kissing him goodbye.

Time for some big decisions today.

I wore a grey suit today pairing it with classic black heels. The grey reflected my somber mood.

____________

The moment I stepped out of the car in front of Aslan-Lemaire, my breath was knocked out of me. I was surrounded on all sides with hundreds of news reporters shouting at me at the top of their voice. My driver quickly tried to shield me but it was nearly impossible to get near me through the sea of people.

Camera lenses flashed and blinded my eyes. Jesús!

I put my hand in front of my eyes to protect myself from the glares and started navigating my way into the building.

"Miss Bianchi, did you swindle funds out of the company? Was that why you were fired?"

"Jules Bianchi issued a statement that the change was necessary. Can you comment on that?"

"Is your son dying?"

I nearly punched the reporter for that one.

"Did you have a fallout with Jules Bianchi?"

"Did you.... "

"How many...."

"What...."

The voices mixed with each other and formed an overwhelming crescendo that defeaned me. A sense of clawing claustrophobia gripped me in the crowd a d hundreds of bodies tried to thrust me back into the crowd.

My breathing quickened. No panic. No panic. I repeated to my heart. I just had to walk a few steps more.

But I couldn't reach the other side.

Then, suddenly the reporters stilled at a cold clear voice. Emir Aslan stood at the revolving doors. His jacket had been abandoned and his tie was loosened. He had come down in a haste.

"That is enough!", he said, his voice chilly in command. " Let the lady come in."

The crowd parted. I breathed in a sigh of relief. I didn't break down or show fear.

I merely wore a mask of cold unfeeling clarity just like him.

"The decision to leave Boss Lady was entirely mutual. For ten years, I was heading the company, as one of the longest running female CEO's in the business circuit. It was the right time for a new adventure. Anyone who reports otherwise or spread malicious lies may be ready to have a defamation lawsuit filed against them. Thank you for your time."

"Ms.Bianchi is a new member of our team at Aslan-Lemaire. She will be joining us as the Head of Marketing and Strategy as of today.", Emir replied casually.

I nodded as if I already knew all of this. In reality, I was wheeling from this dramatic turn of events. The crowds dispersed after the guards came out to clear the area.

I followed Emir into the building.

"Miss Bianchi, my office. Now.", he said and strode away.

Lola came forward in concern. My breathing was still shallow, my cheeks flushed.

" You alright?"

"Yeah, completely. I am all fine and dandy.", I whispered shaking a bit.

She squeezed my hand tightly and gave me a hug. The other employees gave us odd stares but Lola paid no attention.

" I am sorry, you had to face that. We were trying to get the people out of here but they wouldn't listen. Not until Emir came down.", she apologized.

"No problema, querida. Besides,your boss has called me into his den. Let's see what that is about. ", I said and winked. She shouldn't be worried.

____________

"Am I joining as the Head of Marketing Strategy?", I questioned Emir the moment I stepped into the room.

"Good morning to you too.", he replied.

" Answer the question, Mr. Aslan. I have no time for your games.", I said taking a seat at the opposite end of the table.

He looked away.

"It seems.....that I might have....uh.....misjudged your capabilities......uh......yesterday. It was.....not.....", he broke off. If he stuttered any more, I would have thought he might have had a speech defect.

"You can keep your insincere apology to yourself, Mr. Aslan. I can tell you don't practice saying sorry. ", I said looking at him straight in the eyes. His grey eyes flared. No mortal being had probably spoken to him this way.

Good for me, I was Nemesis.

" I take it Jamal called you yesterday to give you a piece of his mind."

He toyed with his fountain pen probably wanting to stab me with it. But, then he kept it aside with grace and folded his fingers together with masculine laziness.

He sized me up again.

"I will be honest with you then. Yes, Jamal did call me last night. But, that has nothing to do with you being here. ", he paused at my glare. " Nobody can make ne do anything. I am entirely against your employment here but as you have proven yesterday, that you are up to the task for a position in management. So, I will give you a chance. One mistake and we are done."

Bastard. He spun the story in a way that made him seem like the one in power here.

So, I smirked. To startle him.

"Well, then, I hope you give me some difficult tasks. Cause if they are this easy, I will be around a lot longer."

He didn't take the bait.

"Oh, and that little story about me being....competent", I showed it in air quotes, " You are as much a bullshitter as I am. You don't have people qualified enough to handle the job. It's a tug of war between you and Clementine. Don't think I wouldn't notice that your employees don't go to that side of the floor."

His eyes hardened.

"It seems that we have a difference of opinion on that.", he replied coldly.

" We are going to have a lot of differences in opinion. I can tell.", I said equally frosty.

We engaged in a battle of wills. He broke first and looked back into the file.

"Oh, and by the way....as compensation for your asshole-ish behavior yesterday, I am keeping Lola as my personal assistant."

I swore his grip tightened on the paperweight. He probably would have flung it at me had I not been holding an equally heavy bag in my arm, to aim at him.

"Let us talk about what happened at the reception today.", he said conversationally. The man was unbelievable!

" It was a one-time thing, Mr. Aslan. I can guarantee you that the press will not cause any more nuisance.", I assured him.

"This causes bad PR for the house. It is better to have a press conference and put out a statement. We are not taking another hit. You are already a liability.'', he replied.

That was when my real anger courses through me. I clamped my teeth together lest I call him something worse to his face.

"Well, then, let's hope I am worth the price.", I said and stood.

"You are to oversee the PR side of all this. How to best spin the theme this year at the New York Fashion Week. I want an rough sketch of the event by the end of the week.", he said.

I nodded.

"I have Chior modelling agency on the line. I can get a meeting with their manager.", I informed.

"Good, get it for tomorrow. You are dismissed.", he said.

I was about to walk out when he said.

"On your way down, you can ask my ex-assistant to assign me a temp as long as she is working for you."

Always with the goddamned orders.

_____________

My phone rang while I was while I was co-ordinating ny schedule with Lola.

It was an unknown number.

"Hey.", came a voice at the other end of the line.

I closed my eyes. There was so much said and unsaid in that one word that my fingers clenched into a fist.

"Hey, yourself.", I answered.

Ethan stayed silent for a minute and all I could hear was static cracking.

"I just got to the base camp an hour ago. There's no cellphone reception here. I am calling you from headquarters.", he said.

"I wasn't worried or anything.", I lied.

"Yeah, I know.", he replied sarcastically. He knew exactly how worried I had been.

"How're you?", he asked.

" Fine. Busy, I guess. Started the new job. Boss is a bastard. Same old. Same old.", I said.

"How're you?", he asked gently again.

I sighed. He could see through the armor and straight into my soul.

"I am hanging in there.", I replied.

"Me too. Coming into a war zone brings back ugly memories.", he said his voice hushed.

"Call me when it gets hard. I will always be here.", I replied.

"Mierda! I have been gone for three days and it already feels too long without you. How am I going to last three months?! ", he said his voice breaking in despair.

" You will get through it. So will I. We'll blink together and you will be home in my arms.", I said fiercely.

"Everything will change when I'm back. We might not love the person we've become. ", he said.

It was a truth. We would not be the same people again.

" Then our hearts will find each other again in the crowd. This thread that binds us Ethan, it won't cut off so easily.", I whispered. I wished I could reach out to the other side and hold his hand.

"I hope you find me.", he said.

" I will.", I promised. "I will always love you. Even if we're together, or with someone else, I will always love you. I will always be here to listen."

He sighed.

"Thanks, I needed to hear that."

"Oh, by the way, I have a huge favor to ask. I get that you don't like to talk about your family but you mentioned that your dad was really big in the golf circuit?", I asked.

He sighed.

"My dad was an Olympic champion.", he told me.

" Wow! Umm......it's just I don't know that much about your family. It's a shock."

"We are not close.", he told me.

"Well.....if someone...uh....wants to get a membership to the Royal and Ancient Golf Society, what should he do?", I asked.

"It's a recommendation based membership.", he said.

" I realize that but what am I supposed to do?", I asked. "I really need this. "

"I haven't talked to my dad in a while. But, if you need it, I will do it. He will know someone who may be able to get a membership.", he promised.

"I am sorry, you are being forced into this."

"For you, anything, mi amor.", he said dryly. " Even if it is the most unpleasant task in the world."

We talked some more, simply wishing to prolong the moment.

"Now, go and save some lives. Be a hero. Shoo! I have got to work, oak tree. ", I told him when I realized he had no intention of cutting the call. He would have probably glued himself to the phone for the next three months.

" You make this so hard.", he fake sympathised.

"Ethan hang up.", I said sternly.

" No, you hang up.", he said.

"Goddammit, we're like teenagers.", I said sighing.

"Oh, I stole your XXL hoodie. I am wearing it to sleep.'', he said.

I melted on the floor like ice-cream.

" I really want to kiss you.", I said. "But, I have to work."

"Time zones suck. It's night here.", he said.

"Ok, we'll stop time. Now, bye. I love you. One hundred million billion thousand hundred. Bye. Bye. Bye.", I said and hung up to his laughter.

Clutching the phone to my chest, I let myself breathe through the tidal wave of sadness that broke on me.

I kissed my fingers and presses it on the screen, imagining him on the other side.

I remembered Thomas Hardy's lines,

I said to Love,

"Thou art not young, thou art not fair,

No faery darts, no cherub air,

Nor swan, nor dove

Are thine; but features pitiless,

And iron daggers of distress,"

I said to Love.

___________