Chapter 5 - Chicago

"Margarita!" Zoey exclaimed as they walked back into the hotel on Friday afternoon. They had visited three potential office locations. Originally they were supposed to be checking out only two, but the over eager real estate agent had managed to find them one more.

Julia could not understand why visiting each potential office was so important for Zoey and Jack. It was just a couple of glass walls and desks, for heaven's sake! she thought annoyed.

"I think I'll have two," she added, following Zoey to the bar.

"I think I will pass." They heard Jack's voice.

Zoey turned to her brother surprised. "You don't look too good, Jackie boy," she instantly concluded, trying to put her hand on his forehead.

"I'm fine, Zoey," Jack said, stepping back. "I'm just tired."

"OK..." Zoey sighed. "Let me know if you need anything."

"You two have a good night," he added and walked towards the elevators.

It for sure will be a good night, now that you're gone, Julia thought to herself.

"Oh my god, Jules, it's written all over your face!" Zoey laughed as they sat at the bar.

"What is?"

"How happy you are that Jack isn't here."

"I have no idea what you are talking about." Julia shrugged. "Now, tell me, why does it take the CEO and the Marketing Senior VP to find an office space?" She changed the subject.

"Let me ask you a question," Zoey answered resolutely. "If your child was moving to a different city, far away from you, wouldn't you like to, as a loving parent, make sure that the child was going to have a comfortable house to live in?" Zoey asked, waving at the bartender.

"Fine..." Julia sighed. "I get your point."

"Of course you do." Zoey grinned, turning to the handsome guy that just approached them. "Two margaritas, please."

"Shouldn't we eat first?" Julia asked as big drinks were placed before them a moment later.

"Nope."

"You're the boss..."

"Ha, ha, very funny," Zoey stuck her tongue out at Julia and then dived into her margarita.

"So, do you already know who's going to lead the Chicago office?"

"Jules, jeez! Can't you talk about anything but work?!" Zoey exclaimed. "No, wait, don't answer that. I know you can't." She took another big sip of her margarita and sighed. "I don't know who's going to lead it. I guess Jack has a candidate or two in mind..."

"And that would be?" Julia sensed she knew the answer, but wanted to hear it from Zoey.

"Probably Peter Wyatt or Josh Marks..." Zoey was clearly avoiding Julia's gaze.

"You gotta be kidding me, Zoey! They are assholes."

"Agreed, but they are very effective and resourceful assholes."

"They are men!" Julia exclaimed, a bit too loud. The bartender and a couple of other guests looked her way. She sent them an apologetic smile. "Zoey, come on!" she continued in a softer tone. "Why are there only men in the top positions in Brand Today?"

This was something Julia had noticed in the first few weeks of her work with Brand Today. Even the head of HR was a guy.

"I'm the head of the Marketing department and last time I checked I was a woman. A lesbian, but definitely a woman..."

"You are the only woman in such a high position, and, forgive me for saying that, but you are in that position because you are the co-founder of the company and Jack's sister..."

"I forgive you, Jules, but please drop it." Zoey interrupted her friend. She was still smiling, but Julia felt the conversation was not to Zoey's liking.

"OK, I'm dropping the subject... for now, but please at least think about it. You have the power to introduce some gender equality in this company..."

"Another margarita, please!" Zoey called out to the waiter, not listening to Julia anymore.

"I knew we should have eaten first..." Julia whispered as she helped Zoey to the couch in her suite. "You are wasted, Zoey!"

"Oh, shush, Debbie Downer! Anyway, I might be wasted, but I'm also happy." She sent Julia a warm drunken smile. "But hey! How come you are not equally wasted? You haven't eaten either!"

"I, my dear, have only had one margarita, not four..."

Even though Julia had felt like having a few more drinks with her friend, she didn't like to get drunk. After the Seattle events, she felt she always had to be on her guard and in control of the situation. She could not do it while being drunk. Zoey must have understood that, as she did not comment.

"Come then, my sober friend, let's watch a movie together," she proposed instead.

Julia agreed and switched on the TV. She started browsing through the movie list.

"So, what do you want to watch?" she asked, turning to Zoey, but did not get an answer, as Zoey was already fast asleep. "OK... I guess this means I get to choose the movie," she whispered to herself and picked her favourite rom com The Ugly Truth.

Just when the character portrayed by Katherine Heigel was about to meet Gerard Butler's character, Zoey's phone, which was laying on the table, started vibrating. Julia could not help but read the message that popped up. It was from Jack.

Zoey, please come, I feel really bad, the message read.

Julia was about to ignore it, but then she remembered that Jack had really looked sick a couple of hours earlier.

"Zoey..." she gently shook her friend's arm, "Jack needs you."

No reaction. Zoey was fast asleep.

"Shit! Why did you read the message, Julia!?" she scolded herself. "It's not that you are a freaking good Samaritan!"

She played the movie again, but could not focus on it anymore, glancing at Zoey's phone.

I do despise the asshole, she reasoned in her head, But what if he is so sick he dies... Zoey would be devastated.

"Fine," she sighed, switching off the TV and getting up.

"Jack?"

Julia opened the door to the presidential suite. The light in the room was dim, so she couldn't see much at first.

"Jack, are you here?"

"Zoey..." She heard a weak voice coming from the sofa.

Julia walked over there and almost stumbled over Jack who was lying on the floor next to the sofa. He was covered with a blanket, but was clearly shivering.

"What are you doing lying on the floor, Deschanel!?" Julia exclaimed, crouching next to him.

"Where is Zoey?" he asked, realizing that she was not his sister.

"Zoey had one margarita too many,' Julia whispered. "Come, let me take you to your bed." Touching his arm, she instantly felt how warm he was. Too warm.

"I'm fine where I am..." Jack protested in a hoarse voice.

"Jack, don't be a baby! You seem to have a fever, so the floor is definitely not a place for you right now."

She helped him up, or rather held his arm as Jack got up himself. He was too heavy for her to lift. Once on his feet he started blinking. He looked dizzy and like he was about to fall down, so Julia wrapped her hand around his waist and led him to the bedroom as quickly as his slow pace allowed. She forced herself to ignore his proximity; they'd never been that close before. She also had to tell herself not to think of the muscles that she could feel flexing under his shirt. The man is sick, for heaven's sake! And you hate him!

It felt really awkward to be in Jack's bedroom. She could see his open suitcase near the bed and sweat pants lying on the armchair. Julia tried ignoring the private items and focused on the bed. She helped Jack to it and covered him with the sheets and a blanket.

Then she immediately grabbed the phone and called the front desk.

"Hi, I need a doctor for the presidential suite. Mister Deschanel is very sick."

"Yes, ma'am. Right away." The young man on the other side of the line seemed very concerned. "Shouldn't we call an ambulance, maybe, ma'am?"

"Ambulance?" Julia considered for a moment looking at the figure of Jack under the sheets.

"No ambulance..." Jack whispered. ""I'm ok."

"Ambulance will not be needed," Julia informed the hotel employee. She was not a doctor, but she felt like Jack had a cold, maybe a serious one, but still just a cold. "Just please have a doctor come up here soon."

"Of course, ma'am, anything else?"

"Let's maybe have some warm tea with honey in the meantime as well?"

"Coming right up."

Julia hung up the phone and stood by the bed, unsure what to do next. She switched on the bed lamp and leaned over to have a closer look at Jack. He was breathing kind of hard and minor chills were still running through his body. She touched his forehead; it was burning more than just a few moments ago.

"I'm fine..." Jack whispered annoyed.

"Of course you are."

Julia remembered that he still had his shoes on, so she took them off.

"I know that you've always dreamt of taking my clothes off, Stiles, but that's as far as I'm going to let you," Jack whispered from under the sheets. Julia could hear mockery in his voice.

"Shut up, Deschanel."

She sighed relieved, hearing a knock on the door.

"That will be your tea..."

Glad to be out of Jack's bedroom, Julia moved quickly to the door. She opened it and let in a girl carrying a platter with a steaming teapot and two cups.

"Where should I put it, ma'am?" the girl asked, looking around the dark room.

"I'll take it." Julia offered, taking over the platter.

"Very well."

When the girl left, Julia stood in the middle of the living room, again unsure of what to do.

Am I seriously serving Jack Deschanel tea? For a moment she considered just leaving the platter on the table and going back to her room. The doctor is on his way after all...

She thought of Zoey though and how she cared about her brother. I'll at least wait till the doctor is here... she decided, moving to the bedroom.

As she entered the room however she stopped in her tracks, forcing her jaw not to drop. Jack must have used the time she was away, as he was now wearing the sweatpants she'd seen earlier on the armchair. The moment Julia walked in he was pulling a t-shirt over his head. Boy, did she get a glimpse of his chest. His six pack was definitely a sight.

She stood in the door, with the platter in her hands, and felt glued to the floor. She couldn't help but stare at his muscles flexing as Jack pulled the t-shirt down.

When their eyes met, Julia cleared her throat embarrassed.

"The tea should warm you up a bit," she said, not looking at Jack anymore. She poured the liquid into the cup and handed it over to him.

He took a few sips, but Julia could see that he had troubles swallowing; probably due to a sore throat. She took the cup back from him and put it on the night table.

"OK, mister CEO. Go to sleep," she ordered in a soft tone. "I will wake you up when the doctor's here."

She made sure Jack was tucked up and switched off the light.

"Thank you, Julia." She heard his voice as she was leaving the room. "I really appreciate you doing this, despite..."

"You are welcome, Jack." She cut him off, not wanting to hear whatever he had to say about their strange relationship. "Call me if you need anything. I'll be just outside," she said, leaving the door ajar.

She must have dozed off. It seemed as if something had woken her up. Julia looked at her watch confused. It was after midnight. Where the hell is the damn doctor?! I called for him like over an hour ago...

A quiet knock pulled her attention to the door. Hearing it, Julia realized that was the sound that had woken her up.

She got up quickly, trying to put her hair and clothes in order, walking to the door at the same time.

"Hi, I'm doctor MacKenzie." Julia heard when she opened the door.

She was rather expecting an elderly man, but a young red haired guy stood before her.

"Please come in, doc. I'm Julia Stiles. I called for you."

"And who is our patient?"

"Thirty year old male with fever, chills, sore throat... That's all I've observed till now."

"That's a very good description, Miss Stiles," the doctor smiled at her, showing his dimples. "One could think you are a doctor."

"Thanks. I did watch quite a lot of Gray's Anatomy back in the day." Seeing that the good doctor was not catching on her joke, Julia turned to the bedroom. "Let me wake him up."

Julia hesitated for a brief moment before she went into the dark room.

"Jack?"

She could hear him breathing. At least the bastard is still alive! The breathing seemed steady, so he was still asleep. Julia walked closely to the bed and switched on the bed lamp.

"Jack... The doctor is here..." She touched his arm gently.

Suddenly Jack opened his eyes and looked at her surprised. He was watching her, clearly trying to remember what she was doing in his hotel bedroom. Her words must have downed on him a moment later, as he quickly scanned the room. His gaze rested on the doc, standing in the door.

"Mister Deschanel, I'm doctor MacKanzie," the doc introduced himself, taking a few steps into the room. "I hear you are not feeling well today?"

"Hi, doc." Jack said, trying to sit up on the bed. Julia helped him up. Putting the pillows behind his back, so that he could sit comfortably. She couldn't help but laugh at herself internally. You should be suffocating him with that pillow! Well, well, looks like you are the good Samaritan afterall...

"I'll leave you two to it," she turned to the doctor. "I'll be just outside, if you need me."

***

"No! I don't want to do it... No, please, don't ask me!"

The scream woke Jack up. He felt disoriented for a moment, but then recalled that he was in a hotel in Chicago and sick. It seemed however that whatever the doc had given him started working, because the headache was gone, the chills had lessened...

"No, please..." he heard a panicked cry next to him in bed and turned to the sound confused. The confusion turned to shock when he realized Julia Stiles was in his bed and she was the one screaming.

He then remembered that she was also the one who had helped him last night. She actually turned out not to be such a bitch after all.

But what is she doing in my bed? Surely she wouldn't have laid here voluntarily...

Gently he grabbed her hand.

"Julia, wake up. You are having a bad dream."

When she continued to dwell in the nightmare, he squeezed her hand harder.

"Julia."

She opened her eyes. Jack could see fear in them. Julia was breathing hard and looking around the room, panicked. Then her eyes met his and she stopped breathing.

"Breath, Stiles. You are ok."

She slowly sat on the bed. Jack could see how she was trying to remember why she was sleeping with him in one bed. He was eager to know that too. Not that he really minded, but the situation was bizarre.

"Now that you are fully awake, can you explain to me what you are doing in my bed?" And what are those nightmares about? Jack had a feeling that whatever horrors were haunting Julia at night had to do with her Seattle life, but he did not feel confident enough to ask her about it. So he focused on the current situation, raising his brow. He knew this would be enough to annoy her. He wasn't wrong.

"I see you are feeling better, Deschanel, as you are back to being the usual prick." Julia got off the bed. "I liked you better sick and weak."

"Sorry to disappoint." He grinned. "But if it makes you feel better, I still have a sore throat..."

"Oh, poor you." Julia wasn't looking at him anymore, instead she started searching for something around the room. It was always so much fun watching her when she was annoyed. "And to answer your question, I was in your bed as the good doctor was not fully convinced whether whatever was going on with you was a flu or a cold. He seemed to be especially concerned with your respiratory problems, so he asked me to watch over you. I must have dozed off while listening to your snoring..." Julia trailed off, finally locating her phone. She started reading something on it and her face lit up. "As I thought," she turned to Jack, satisfied. "The good doc informs me that the blood results are back and you do not have the flu. It's just a cold, Deschanel. So I think you can handle yourself from now on."

"I guess I can." Jack leaned against the bedrest with a smirk. "But I must confess, having you serve me tea and tuck me in was so much fun!"

"I'll see you later, Jack," Julia said, sending him a death stare, which he really enjoyed. She turned around to leave.

"But seriously, Julia, thank you," he added as her back was turned to him. "I really appreciate what you did."

"Yeah, yeah," she waved him off and left the bedroom.

Jack chuckled, but stopped immediately, feeling the headache returning. Groaning, he laid back down and closed his eyes. Take it easy, Deschanel.

He was about to fall back asleep, but heard voices by the door.

"Julia? What are you doing here?" That was Zoey.

"Don't keep your hopes up, Zoey..." That was Julia in her annoyed tone. "The Princess was sick and someone had to call the doctor for him." Ouch!

"God, Jules, thanks so much! I freaked out seeing his message on my phone and how long ago it was sent. I was afraid I'd find him dead..."

"Wishful thinking..." He thought he heard Julia whisper. That witch! "He's ok, Zoey. He just needs some rest."

That I do... Jack closed his eyes again.

***

Finally! Julia thought as the jet took off from the Chicago airport on Sunday morning. She did not get the chance to enjoy the city as she was mostly running after Zoey, visiting the potential office locations. Or tending to the asshole CEO!

Saturday was no less of a disappointment. The annoyingly active real estate agent had found them two, not one, but two more properties to visit. Julia had had a desire to strangle the smiling bastard.

Jack, still not very well, had decided to stay in bed, so to make it more fun Julia had been running around the properties with Zoey's cell phone as she and Jack had been discussing everything over a video call.

The only plus she had found in that was that she hadn't had to look at Jack, but being his 'eyes' was no less annoying.

"Julia, put the phone closer to the walls." Or "Julia, take a few steps back, I need to see the whole room."

"I swear, Deschanel, if you ask me to check out the men's room, I will disconnect the call!" she exclaimed and was sure he gave her a chuckle in response.

The siblings were now sitting next to each other on the jet, trying to decide on the final office location. Julia did not feel like participating or even listening in to the conversation, so she turned to the small window. If I do not get to see the city from close up, I can at least take a look from above.

Unconsciously though her eyes moved back to Jack. He was still pale and looked tired, but he was definitely getting better. I guess there's no chance he would take a couple of days off, so that I wouldn't have to look at him in the office, Julia thought, telling herself that she was disappointed by that and pretending not to see how alike they were in that aspect.

Julia didn't notice that Jack was staring back at her until he gave her a wink. She turned back to the window, ignoring Deschanel and considering whether she would be able to take a nap in his presence.

But then pieces of Jack's and Zoey's conversation started getting to her and Julia knew sleep was out of the question.

"You are seriously thinking of Peter for the Chicago director?" Zoey asked, discontent clear in her voice.

"I do, Zoey," Jack answered right away. "He is driven, ambitious, and he has potential. I really don't get what's your problem with Peter Wyatt."

"That's called unconscious gender bias," Julia couldn't help, but speak up.

"Excuse me?" Jack sent her a killer look.

"You heard me, Deschanel! You are gender biased. You have so many talented women in your company, women who work their ass off, yet you continue to overlook them, picking men for the top positions."

"I do no such thing!" Jack objected, which earned him a snort from his sister. He ignored that and continued, "The people we promote fully deserve to take on these positions. We look at results, not gender."

"Really?" Julia was trying hard not to laugh in his face. "So the fact that every account manager and every director in your company is a man, is a coincidence? Or maybe in your opinion only men in your company deserve the promotions as only men show results?"

"This is nonsense, Julia! Zoey is the marketing director and..."

"Zoey does not count, Jack!" Julia interrupted him in a serious tone. She wasn't angry anymore, rather shocked that he was not seeing the real situation. Was he living in some CEO bubble? "Zoey is the marketing director because she is the co-founder of the company and your sister. She is wonderful at her job and I cannot imagine anyone else for it, but if she would quit you would replace her with a man right away! And don't try to deny it, I know you would."

Jack seemed speechless after Julia's outburst, so she decided to use it.

"It seems to me, Jack, that you feel that men are maybe a bit more capable and competent than women? And judging by your admiration for Wyatt, I think you hold lower performance standards for men in your company, than for women..."

"That's enough, Julia!" Jack interrupted her in a tone that could freeze the ocean. He was clenching his fists so hard that his knuckles turned white. "Every decision I make is with the benefit of my company and its employees in mind. If we have more men in leadership positions than women, then that's just a coincidence..."

"There's no such thing as coincidence when it comes to gender inequality in the workplace, Jack," Julia interrupted him, but this time she said it in a friendly tone. "For heaven's sake, Deschanel, even your HR manager is a man! You are the CEO, you set the tone for the culture and behaviours in Brand Today. You do not have to listen to me... Hell, I know you will not, but at least check how your gender statistics look like, see for yourself how many talented women you have in your company. I can think of at least two that would be a great fit for the Chicago job..." Julia trailed off, not sure if Jack was even listening to her anymore. "Zoey, won't you back me up in this?" she asked hopefully.

"I'm one hundred percent with you on this one, Julia," Zoey answered with a warm smile, which earned her a surprised look from her brother, "But if you want to get to my brother, you need to give him facts and figures. This is how he operates."

"I'm not a robot, Zoey, for god's sake!" Jack was clearly fed up with the conversation. "And I can obtain the facts and figures on my own. Thank you very much."

"Let me then give you one last figure, Jack," Julia decided to add, before ending the conversation. She started to have enough of it too, seeing how strong headed Jack was about the topic. "Research shows that if women were properly promoted to the top level positions, the company profits could be fifty percent higher. Fifty percent! Now, that's a nice figure, don't you think?"

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The information on gender equality in the workplace that Julia gave Jack are based on real articles from the following websites:

https://www.mckinsey.com/featured-insights/diversity-and-inclusion/women-in-the-workplace

https://www.cnbc.com/2020/03/05/why-women-are-locked-out-of-top-jobs-despite-having-high-ambition.html

https://www.catalyst.org/research/women-in-management/