Chapter Four

The next day Brooke got up early and went about her morning routine. She went for a jog, which was a bit awkward as everyone at the park seemed to be giving her looks and talking about her in hushed tones. She gathered it was bound to happen after the whole 'wedding gone wrong' debacle. She didn’t pay too much attention to the gossip-mongering and focused on herself. When she came back home, she headed for a shower. She had eggs, toast, and fruit for breakfast. The first thing she decided to do was call her friends and family. She called Beth and Steve first, starting with an apology for not opening up the door that day and for being rude. They both forgave him quickly, but Beth threatened him that if Brooke ever did that again, she’d barge in by breaking down the door and kicking her ass. They talked for a while and made a plan to meet up at the cafe sometime soon. Next up, she called his family, assuring her mother that everything was okay and that she was getting better. She promised her father he’d see them soon. Brooke truly felt lucky to have such a loving and caring family and friends around him. 

Initially, Brooke didn’t want to go out of the house. But she was renewed with hope that maybe things would be better one day and she’d stop hurting. So, she got dressed and headed for her office. Donald, her secretary, was sitting at his desk when she entered. The moment she entered, Donald went into panic mode. 

“Ma’am...I...I didn’t know you were coming in today,” Donald said, coming around his desk, clearly taken aback by Brooke’s presence. 

“Why? You didn’t think I had retired, did you?” Brooke teased him, trying to ease the tension. 

Brooke had hired Donald when she'd met the man at Wilson’s office as he was trying to get a job. Brooke had been there to meet Greg and had seen Donald hurriedly exiting the office where the interviews were being held. Intrigued, she had followed him and found him desperately fighting his tears. She had calmed him down and asked her what the problem was. Turned out, he was a PA at the firm, and then eventually the firm had closed down. Faced with sudden unemployment, his parents had asked her to come back and seek a job here in Twin Peaks. Unfortunately, it had been six months and she had yet to get a job. His father was suffering from heart issues and because they were tight on money, they couldn’t afford the medication. He badly needed a job and he’d had no luck so far. Looking at his portfolio, Brooke was impressed, and her previous secretary, Stacy had just gotten married and left the job. Brooke took the opportunity to give him a chance. The next day she called him for an interview and ever since he’d been managing Brooke’s contacts. 

“N-no, nothing of that sort.” Donald hurried to explain.  “It’s just…I’ve been trying to get hold of you…” He trailed off, not knowing how he should let Brookeknow just how much trouble they were in. 

“Donny, calm down. What happened?” 

“Umm...two days after the wedding, I got a call from Morris. They have hired an Austin-based firm and have dropped us as their architects. Then a day later, the Ultra Machine’s executive, Ms. Kennedy called and they canceled their contract with us. Even Carl Gregson called and they said they’re forced to drop us. Madam, we’re only left with two clients now, and I’m really worried they might turn us down, too,” Donald said, her voice trembling. 

Brooke was beyond shocked. Her mouth was dry. She was out of the office just a little over a week and most of his contracts were gone. “Why...why didn’t you say something sooner? Why didn’t you call me?”

“I tried, but your phone was switched off. I even came to your house but no one opened the door. I didn’t know what to do. I’m so sorry.” Donald explain, looking sad as if it was all her fault.

“Hey...it’s alright.” Now more than ever, he was regretting staying at home. “Di...did any of them give us a reason for suddenly terminating their contracts?”

Donald looked up at him. There was something akin to pity in her expression which Brooke couldn’t understand the reason behind, “They said they cannot work with you because...because….”

“Because?”

“Because you canceled the wedding with Mr. Wilson,” Donald whispered, afraid of her reaction. He felt bad for her. She was a good person and a great boss. To see this happening to her was really sad. 

“What?”

“There’s talk in town that Mr. Wilson has asked everyone to cut off any kind of relationship they had with you…” Donald trailed off.

“Say no more.” It dawned on Brooke what was going on. “Thank you, Donald.” She said and headed straight into her office. She was enraged. How dare Greg do that to her? But more than that she was furious with her clients. They’d known her for a long time. Some of them had known him since she was a child. And yet they had bowed down to the pressure. The first thing she did was call Morris. 

“Hey, Charles, this is Brooke. What the hell? How can you terminate the contract with my firm without proper intimation?” Brooke

“Brooke, I’m sorry son. I didn’t want to pull out, but you know Greg. The Wilson’s lent me money so I could afford my son’s higher education. I owe them. They forced me to cancel the deal with you or else face the consequences.”

Brooke gasped at the information. Never in her life would he have thought Greg would be so cruel as to threaten people. But it seemed Brooke never knew the evil Greg that was hidden behind the mask of a supposedly decent, charming, young man. 

“You can’t give in. You know he cheated on me.”

“I know, Brooke. I know. But he says he’s going to make sure you come back to him crying and begging. I’m so sorry, my dear.”

Not in the mood to hear anything else, Brooke hung up. She felt betrayed and enraged. She’d worked so hard to establish this firm and it was going to be over just because she declined to marry Greg! She called Greg, furious with white-hot rage. “You idiot,” Brooke yelled when the call was picked up.

“Hello to you too, honey.” Greg’s voice penetrated his ears and Brooke could tell he was mocking her. 

“How dare you? You cheated on me and now you think you’ll turn my clients away with threats? “

“I don’t think, sugar. I did.”

“You smug bastard, what do you want? Why don’t you leave me alone?”

“Oh sweetie, after the stunt you pulled in front of everyone in town that day, I think you deserve this. And you’ll slowly come to understand that your place is with me, by my side and you’ll come back running to me.”

“Oh my God, how did I ever think that you were a good man? I cannot believe I couldn’t see beyond that mask and found out just how cruel and evil you are.”

“Oh sweetheart, come on. It was just a fling. You forget you are mine. And I’ll see to it that I get you back.”

“In your dreams. You think if you shut down my business I’ll come crawling back to you? You’re wrong. I will close down my firm or sell my business before I would ever come back to you. You think you’re so awesome. Wait till karma catches up with you.” 

Brooke slammed the phone down and paced her office for a while. She knew only two clients were left with him, and if Greg managed to ruin those too, then she was truly screwed. She’d literally have to close down. So before Greg could do anything, she called both her clients and they assured her that they had no connection with Wilson and were going to stand with Brooke. After the two calls, she was able to take a breather. She immediately started working, catching up on her week’s absence. She stayed late in his office, working and calling her contractors, ensuring that her only remaining clients got  A+ quality stuff and they got no chance to complain. 

That night Brooke decided to go to her parent's house. The moment she saw her mother, he broke down, releasing all of his pent-up frustration. Her brother and father were angry at how the Greg had treated her. Her father even offered to go and talk to Greg and straighten some things out, but Neil urged him to calm down and think this through because Greg was probably waiting for that move. The man must have anticipated it already. Her mother was cursing the Wilsons. Amid all the chaos, Brooke once again was thankful that her family loved her enough to take on the most powerful people in town without fearing the consequences. Seeing the fierce love and protectiveness she was enveloped with, Brooke knew she’d cross this bridge too. 

What she didn’t know was that their town was about to be hit by a hurricane named Nathan Bradford and she was going to be the first victim of that hurricane. Whether it was a good thing or a bad one, remained to be seen.