11. Grayson

CHAPTER 11

GRAYSON

J ade shifts, the white sheets cascading down her back, showing off the curve of her spine. Her hair fans out around her on the pillow, shining with the morning light streaming through the sheers.

I can't remember the last time I woke up in a bed next to her.

It's been a long time since I woke up with any woman next to me.

Maybe it would be good to start every morning like this.

As quickly as the thought comes, I push it away, my gaze shifting to the wide windows that overlook the city.

Jade's apartment might not be a penthouse in the heart of Manhattan, but it's close.

I don't know why I ever thought she wasn't going to get far in life. She's built more in the years that we've been apart than I have.

Even though I've gone up through the ranks of Dad's company, I still don't have as much to show for it.

Jade yawns and rolls onto her back, dark lashes brushing against her cheeks as she blinks against the light. "What time is it?"

"Too early for you to be awake." I glance at the time on the clock on the bedside table. It's barely past seven a.m., and thankfully there's not much to do on a Sunday morning.

She yawns and rolls back onto her stomach, clutching her pillow to her chest. "All right."

Chuckling, I get out of bed and find my boxer briefs on the floor, yanking them on before making my way out into the living room.

I grab my phone from the brass coffee table where I left it last night, checking the couple notifications I have before disappearing into the cream-colored kitchen.

Sunlight streams through the floor-to-ceiling windows that line an entire side of the apartment.

I get coffee brewing, filling a mug before heading out onto the balcony and looking down at the city below.

Cars are already honking at each other as people rush down the sidewalks.

Life never seems to stop here, which is one of the things I've always loved about the city.

I sit on one of the loungers, enjoying the warmth of the sun battling against the cool breeze.

As soon as my coffee is done, I head back inside, pulling out everything I need to make waffles for breakfast. I put some soft music on as I get to work whipping up the ingredients and setting up the waffle maker.

Jade comes out of the bedroom a few minutes after the first waffle is poured. She sniffs the air, tying her hair back into a messy bun, the hem of my shirt hitting a couple inches past the tops of her thighs.

She's as beautiful as she's always been.

I grab some of the strawberries out of the fridge and start slicing them into thin pieces. "You didn't have to get up yet. I was going to come wake you when it was ready."

Jade rounds the counter and goes to the coffee pot, pouring herself a large mug and drinking it black. "I know. Couldn't sleep, though. Paloma is coming over later today so we can tweak the website more."

Nodding, I take the first waffle out, putting it on a cooling rack I found in one of the cupboards.

I pour another, closing the waffle maker. My stomach rumbles as I return to slicing the berries. "I'm meeting Mac at the office in a couple hours."

"How's he doing? I know he has his own marketing firm now, but I haven't seen him in years." She leans against the counter, clutching the mug in her hands.

"Pretty good. I was going to bring him on to see what kind of ads he thinks we would be able to place online to get more people heading to the website once it's been redesigned."

"Good plan." Jade reaches forward and plucks one of the strawberries from the bowl, popping it into her mouth. "You mind if I go work on a couple things for Write Now while you finish making breakfast?"

"Go for it."

She heads over to the faux concrete dining table and starts clearing away all the projects we spent the weekend working on.

Then she settles down with her laptop, tucking one foot up on the seat and holding her knee to her chest. Tendrils of hair frame her face as she leans forward to read something on the screen.

For a moment, all I do is stare at her, wondering what the hell we're doing.

This feels like we're crossing the line of professionalism and casual sex, but I don't want to deal with that right now.

I'm going to enjoy the morning with her while I can.

Mac sits across from me, looking through the glass wall at Jade's office. "Seems like she's getting pretty comfortable here. Is she going to be in the running for CEO after all?"

"I don't know what her plan is." I power on my laptop and open a file to look through the notes he sent me this morning. "She keeps saying that she has no interest in it, but I don't believe that."

"Why not?"

I shrug, skimming through the document. "Some of the things she says and does make me think that she's really just going to angle for the CEO position when the time is right."

"Like?" Mac pulls his tablet out of his computer bag, pulling out his copy of the document.

"She went behind my back with one of the meetings last week. Arranged it for when she knew I would be busy. Didn't bother to tell me it was happening either."

"Well, you do have a history of trying to get in her way. Is it possible she was just trying to prevent that?"

"That's what she says." I scowl and nod to him. "Enough about that, though. We have things in the works that I need to deal with. We've spent most of the weekend working on the layout for the paper, trying to figure out how we will incorporate the cartoons back into it."

"Sunday morning cartoons are coming back?" His eyebrows climb. "How did she get the board to agree to that? Last I heard, licensing for that kind of thing was expensive."

"You're right about that." I make a note beside one of the companies he named in the document. "I don't know if we want to connect with the local news station. Won't they see an issue with promoting their competition?"

"You're not really their competition though, are you?" Mac puts his tablet down on the desk. "They only cover the local news, whereas you look at stories all over the world."

"We've had to severely cut back on that over the last few years." I make a note about sending more reporters overseas again. If we're supposed to be reporting on the global news, then we have to keep finding ways to send people abroad to get the best stories.

I'll have to talk to Dad about it, but I doubt that he's going to like the idea of sending more journalists to other countries when we're already deep in the hole.

Although, I didn't think he would go for the app either, and he proved me wrong on that front.

Mac hums and pulls up another file on his tablet, turning it around and showing it to me. "I think these are going to be the most likely people to advertise for you, but you also need to start appearing more on social media."

"How much are you going to charge me to get your firm to handle the social media and then train someone to do it when I eventually hire them?"

Mac sighs, leaning back in his chair and crossing one leg over the other. "More than you can afford, honestly. But I could give you one of my interns. Tobias is smart, and he's already secured a position with my company once he's finished with school."

"Okay, how much are you going to charge me for Tobias for the next two months?"

"Ten thousand. He'll take care of up to five social media platforms, posting two to four times a day on each. He'll check analytics and put together weekly reports on both the statistics and the trends for you."

I groan, running a hand over my jaw. "I don't suppose there's any way you could come down another thousand. Four figures will sound a lot better to the board than five figures."

Mac presses his lips together before nodding. Nine thousand for two months, but after that, if you still need my help, the rates are going to have to go up."

"Of course. Thank you, I know you're already doing me a huge favor with all of this. I don't think this would be possible without you."

"I think you underestimate Jade." He nods to the office through the wall. "Her space looks like the first thing she did was come in here and try to start updating things, while yours looks like it's from the nineties. You need to lean on her and her connections more."

"I know."

The corner of his mouth twitches. "But those aren't the words you wanted to hear. You were hoping that I was going to tell you everything would be fine."

"I can dream, can't I?" I look down at the list of people who might be willing to advertise for us. "All right, who do I talk to and where do I start?"

Mac spends the next hour going through the people on the list and what they're like. He gives me insider information I wouldn't have gotten on my own — like the right people to ask for in the advertising departments.

By the time he leaves, I have a list of tasks I need to get done first thing Monday morning.

Dad walks into my office as Mac is walking out, giving him a slight nod as they pass each other.

He looks down at my desk, eyes widening slightly when he sees all the papers laid out there. "What's all of this?"

"We're going to advertise with some of the companies listed here. Mac was telling me how to charm them into taking less than their going rate for ad placements. With a couple of them, we might be able to exchange ads to offset the cost."

Dad sits down in the chair Mac just vacated and grabs one of the sketches I have on a scrap sheet of paper. "Is this a mock-up for the ad?"

"Yes. At least for some of the print and digital. When it comes to the television ads, Mac is going to work on something. I just have to get our designs to Paloma and see if she can make them look good enough to run."

He hands the sketch back to me. "I'm impressed."

His words knock the air from my lungs.

"You are?"

"Yes, I am." Dad gestures to the work spread in front of me. "You're in here and working on a Sunday. You're putting in the extra hours. You clearly care about this company more than I thought you did."

I bite my tongue, not wanting to rock the boat by reminding him that I've always worked hard for the company.

It wouldn't do any good to remind him of the countless long nights and jobs I've done for him over the years.

As I gather the papers in front of me, there's a small voice in the back of my mind that asks if this is all still worth it.

It is.

Dad gets up and heads to the door, pausing to look back at me. "Once we get back in the black, I'm going to be stepping down fully and looking to appoint a new CEO. There are a few different people in the running."

He leaves without saying another word.

I groan, dropping my head to my desk.

After everything I've done, he still doesn't think that I have what it takes to run the company when he steps down.

The only reason he's impressed with me now is because Jade is driving the machine, and I'm just the cog making this part work.

I'm never going to be good enough for him. Not while she's around and carrying the weight of the project.

If I don't start working harder and proving that I'm a better fit than her, I'm going to lose everything I've been working for.

I can't lose to her a second time.