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"Six months from now, I’ll be vacating my position as head of the company," he says, and that anxiousness creeps upon the face of the board members once more. With my father stepping down, who the hell is going to take the helm of the company? Earl was the one pegged to be his successor, but with him out of the picture… Unless…
Oh.
Can it be?
"During these six months, my daughter will be acting as interim CEO. After that, she’ll take the reigns of this company," he gives everyone a moment to allow what he said to sink in, and then he places one hand on my shoulder. "Despite being the leader of my family, I never realized the kind of man Earl was. If Connor and Clarise hadn’t stopped him, this company would've ended up becoming a ruin. As such, it’s time I step down and give my daughter what she deserves. I propose we move to a vote."
"Very well," Sullivan says, leaning back against his chair and grinning. "I vote yes," he continues, raising one hand up in the air. "I just don’t understand what took you so long, Jonathan. Clarise has been doing a tremendous job ever since she started assisting this board, and I can’t think of anyone else to follow after you."
"Seconded," Richard says, nodding solemnly and raising his hand up in the air. One after the other, all members of the board raise their hands. I watch it happen with my jaw hanging open, barely believing what’s happening right in front of my eyes. Is this a dream?
To have my Connor by my side would suffice to make this the greatest day of my life, but now this… Seriously, can someone die of happiness? Because I’m afraid that might happen right now.
"I don’t even know what to say…" I start, going up to my feet and addressing the board.
"If I were you," my father says, "I’d keep Connor as your senior adviser." He smiles at me, and then gives me a heartfelt wink.
"That’s an excellent idea. If Connor still wants the position, of course," I say, looking at him hopefully. He just smiles back at me and nods, no words needed for him to reply.
"With that done, then… I want to announce that I intend to follow my father’s philosophy. The company will slowly transition into new markets. We’ll start with merchant banking and shipping, and we’ll go from there. Our focus will be on building a legacy, not on turning profit at all cost. I believe that if we focus on legacy, the money will follow. No need to sacrifice our integrity to stuff our bank accounts."
"Now that’s quite a speech for a CEO," Sullivan says with a grin, and then he leads a round of applause. I just stand there, looking at the scene in front of me and barely believing it.
This is the best day of my life.
Connor
"Oh my God, I still can’t believe it," Clarise squeals, jumping into my arms. We’re in her father’s office again, and now we’re behind a locked door. "Me, CEO? What the hell just happened in there?" she continues, her eyes shining with joy.
"Are you really that surprised"? I laugh, holding her hands and making her spin around the room. "Because I’m not." I pull her into me again, my lips finding her fast. "You deserve it, Clarise… It was only a matter of time until your father would see it."
"Yeah, my father…" she says, lowering her gaze. I can see her becoming lost in her own thoughts, and so I place two fingers under her chin and force her to look up at me.
"Hey, don’t worry about your father. He’s still a bit shaken up, and that’s understandable. After all, it was a lot to take in. But he’s right; he’s not exactly in the best frame of mind to lead the company. You’re the one to do it."
"Well… Me and you," she tells me, finally cracking a smile. "After all, I want you by my side every single hour of the day, Mr. Senior Adviser."
"I live to serve, my esteemed Chief Executive Officer," I tease her, a whole future with her by my side playing behind my eyes. And to think that a few months ago I believed I’d never share my life with a woman; who would’ve said that, by now, I’d be head over heels with someone like Clarise?
"Oh, you better serve me right too," she teases me right back. "Because I’m a very, very, demanding lady…"
"How demanding?"
"The kind of demanding that keeps you awake at night," she says, lowering her voice into a whisper and then biting down on her lower lip.
"That’s disappointing; only at night? I thought that someone like you would be demanding 24/7, not just during the night," I continue to tease her, sliding one hand down the side of her body and grabbing her ass firmly.
"Don’t tempt me. You might get more than you bargained for." Running her fingers down the length of my tie, she pulls me into her and we kiss again, our tongues finding each other for a long, wet, dance. As we kiss, I start pushing her back, and I only stop when her ass is pressed against the edge of the desk.
"I’d like to see that, Clarise… I really would."
"Haven’t seen enough?" she laughs, slowly loosening the knot on my tie. "We’ve already done a lot, you know?"
"But now we have so much time … I think we can do more. So much more," I tell her, resting one hand on her knee and sliding it up to the hemline of her dress. I stop right before I slide my hand underneath it, enjoying the way her eyes seem to narrow in anticipation. She’ll be a hungry woman for life, there’s no doubt about that. And you know what? That’s exactly the kind of woman I need her to be. After so many years of celibacy, I have a lot of catching up to do.
"What do you say we get out of here?" she tells me suddenly, pursing her lips and looking into my eyes. "I want to show you my bedroom…"
"That’s funny… I don’t think I’ve ever shown you my bedroom either."
