Chapter Six

Marie's POV

There was nothing worse than waking up late on a Monday morning, than waking up with a hangover.

I wasn't one to drown my problems in alcohol. But after the pretty eventful weekend I'd had, it was only fair that I had something to comfort me last night before I began the week. And I sought this comfort in over four bottles of cheap wine.

My head was banging. The alarm on my phone that lay somewhere in my room was still blaring out loud. I wanted nothing more than to slide my duvet over my head, close my eyes and go back to sleep. But first, I'd need to turn off the alarm, which meant I still had to get out of bed either way.

When I couldn't bear the ringing anymore, I got out and begun searching for my phone. I finally found the noisy thing under my shoe rack. I have a penchant for keeping my phone far away from me whenever I drink. I never want to wake up from a drunk fit and find out I'd sent a message to someone I shouldn't be texting or posted some video on the internet that should be in my recycle bin.

Exhaling, I was just about to toss the phone onto the bed when it beeped in my hand. I ran a hand over my frizzy hair as I unlocked it. It was a message on a group chat with my colleagues from work.

Good morning, team members.

Please be reminded of our meeting with the management this morning by 10a.m.

Late coming will not be tolerated. The rumors are true. There's a new sheriff in town. Let's try to make a good first impression.

Cheers,

Marcus Creek

Team Lead.

My eyes blinked slowly, sliding to the left corner of my phone. And then they suddenly grew as wide as saucers as I saw the time.

"Shit!" I exclaimed, flying into my bathroom.

It was 9:14 and if I didn't move like flash, there was no way I'd make it to work before 10a.m. How had I forgotten about this meeting?

That question was easy to answer. But answering it would mean sparing another thought to someone I was trying to forget.

In less than thirty minutes, I was out of my bathroom, trying to dry my hair and pick out an outfit from my closet at the same time. My hair wasn't even completely dry when I marched out of the house to my car, ready to speed through the morning rush to work.

Before I began the drive, I shot a quick message to him.

Dinner tonight? I'll make your favorite.

Our weekend had been shitty, courtesy of Andrea. And if we were going to get past this, we needed to start working on building our relationship again.

Usually, Mark replied my messages to him in minutes. So when I pulled up in the parking lot of Crestlife Insurance and checked my phone to see he hadn't replied yet, I felt a slight tug on my heart.

I had arrived by 9:47a.m. Thankfully, that was enough time to grab a coffee from the break room. Because there was no way I could power through this meeting without something to wake me up.

"Good morning," I greeted the doorman as I walked into the building.

"Look who finally made it," Sarah, my colleague and work bestie, greeted me as I came into the break room.

"I'll talk to you after my coffee," I sighed, running to the machine.

"You mean, after the meeting. Marcus made sure to remind us to not be late so I have to run now."

She was already walking to the door.

"You're not even going to pretend you'd wait for me?"

"Sorry, honey. I'm eager to make a good first impression," she laughed. "Hurry up and come though. You really do not want to piss Marcus off this morning. He's been moving about with a chip on his shoulder since he got to work. For some reason, I think he's pretty worked up about the new addition to management."

"Thanks for the heads up."

Why were we even having an addition to management? I wondered. It's not like the company was doing so great right now to take on more hands.

Coffee in hand, I headed to the elevator to ride to the eight floor where the conference room was located.

"It's out of service. There are some repairs going on," the doorman told me after I'd pressed the buttons more than twice without the doors sliding open.

"What?" I screamed. "Now?"

"You're going to have to use the stairs."

Marcus was going to kill me if anything Sarah said was true. It was now 9:52. I would never make it to that conference room before 10. Unless I ran.

And that's what I did.

I took the stairs two at a time, walking quickly and breaking into a run once I got to the landing. By the time I got to the eighth floor, my coffee was cold and I was out of breath. But I was still not close to the conference room and it was way past 10 now.

Breaking into a final run and trying not to bump into anyone in the hallway, I hurried, promising myself to never drink alcohol on a Sunday night ever again.

I could see the conference room now and relief was flooding my body when I noticed the doors weren't closed yet. Just a few more seconds before...

"Woahhhhhhhh!" I exclaimed in shock before my bag and my cup of coffee went flying out of my hands into the air.

The heel of my shoe had chosen this auspicious moment to break, causing me to trip. I clung on to someone who was walking past for support, breaking my fall.

Collective gasps erupted from around me, causing me more embarrassment than relief. And for a minute, as I tried to catch my breath and steady myself, I wondered what had fallen out of my bag to make them all shocked.

"I'm fine, guys," I announced, standing upright.

"Marie Anderson!" Marcus' voice echoed in anger from behind me.

I was freaking late and I know it. I turned around to explain to him that I'd been in the building before ten.

But my words got lost in my throat as I finally beheld the reason everyone was gasping.

Standing just in front of the door of the conference room, was a man wearing a white shirt with brown liquid splashed all over it like the artwork of a little child. He was looking down at the shirt, holding it like he was trying to peel it off his body. At his feet lay my now empty coffee cup and my black bag.

My colleagues and supervisor who were inside the conference room had come out, obviously to see what all the ruckus was about. Judging from the sheer look of horror everyone had on their faces, it was clear that the man I'd just spilled coffee on was the new member of management that we were meeting with.

"I'm so sorry..." I began, moving closer.

Just then, he raised his head to look at me and I felt all the air leave my lungs.

"What the hell?" I muttered, stopping in my tracks.

"We're sorry about this, Mr. Forrester. We'll have your shirt professionally dry cleaned and..." Marcus was saying.

But Mr. Forrester wasn't paying him any attention. Instead,. he had his gaze locked on me, his lips upturned in a frown.

"Don't just stand there, you!" Marcus scolded me. "You just emptied your coffee on our new CEO. Show some damn remorse."

"New CEO?"

"Yes, Miss..." Andrea began.

"Anderson. Marie Anderson," Marcus cut in eagerly.

If only he knew that he didn't need to tell his new CEO my name.

"I have to change before we can commence with the meeting," Andrea said, finally addressing Marcus.

"Of course, Sir. We'll be waiting patiently for you."

"Apologize to the team on my behalf. I really didn't plan to waste much of your time this morning."

"Oh, that's no bother, Sir," Marcus smiled.

"Order some refreshments for the staff who were already inside the conference room."

Andrea turned to face me again, his lips tilted in a mischievous smirk.

"And send Miss Anderson up to my office," he added, before turning to walk away.

I would be quaking in my pants over being sent to the CEO's office. But there was something else I was more worried about. Which was the fact that I was about to be alone with Andrea.