All Chapters of Stay the Night: Chapter 21 - Chapter 30

138 Chapters

Cuts

BLAKE“Yes Dad. I sent those numbers over earlier this morning.” It was only eight and a Saturday, but my father never rested.Looking into his tired eyes through the laptop screen, I decided to point out to him that he probably should rest a little. “This isn’t urgent, why don’t you go back home, get in bed and get some sleep?”He scoffed, shaking his head. “Are you saying I need my beauty sleep? Heads up, son. I’m not tired, I’m getting old.”Chuckling, he rifled through some papers on his desk. “You’re not old, Dad, but we all need sleep sometimes.”“You’re not sleeping,” he said, without looking up from the paperwork. “While I’ve got you, I wanted to talk to you about Danny’s social media campaign.”I bristled, remembering the staff’s reaction to the announcement. “What about it?”“I know you’re not invested in the idea, but I need you to get on board.” He gazed at the screen imploringly. “This is a big move for us, Blake. Your brother thinks it will take the business to the next

Last Updated : 2023-12-13

Waiting For You

BlakeResigned to the reality that this was happening despite anything I said, I did something I hardly ever did. I conceded the battle to win the war that was coming. “Fine, I’ll play ball but for the record, I don’t think this is going to help us.”“Duly noted,” he said, then made a concession of his own. “No cuts have been made yet, you can rest assured I will evaluate where they will be made very carefully. I’m not going into this blindly. I won’t fire anyone unnecessarily. Our people will be taken care of with good severance packages and references. I would never leave anyone high and dry.”Grudgingly, I had to admit that he sounded like himself again. It wasn’t only Danny’s influence, he really did believe this was necessary and for the best. The way he was talking, I had to respect him again. He hated having to do this, but he also thought he was acting in the best interest of the company.“Okay, we’ll talk when the time comes to start assessing who is staying and who is going.

Last Updated : 2023-12-13

Something Proper

ASTONSaturday dragged on and on after Blake left the hotel. I kept an eye out for him, but by the time my shift ended I hadn’t seen him again. I’d spent the afternoon struggling to concentrate on work. After only one evening with the guy, I was giddy with excitement to see him again tomorrow night.I’d never been so tempted to abuse my position and skip out on work as I had been when he asked me earlier what I was doing tomorrow, right after telling me had to get away tonight. He didn’t exactly invite me to go with him wherever it was he was going, but if he had I didn’t know that I would have said no.It was a good thing he didn’t though, work had to come first. My real work, not entertaining a guest. Only the one guest in particular, that was.I was in my office finishing up for the day when Tiffany knocked on my open door. “Knock-knock. Are you ready to get out of here yet? We finally get to go home.”Shutting down my computer, I picked up my purse. “Ready if you are.”After makin

Last Updated : 2023-12-13

The Perfect Dress

AstonWe wound our way past the trash cans, fake plants and other last minute shoppers until we got back to Tiffany’s car. She paused as she was getting in. “We’re not giving up yet, you know.”I nearly started crying in frustration. “Every place is closed Tiff, come on. Please, let’s just go.”“We’re going all right, but you’re not going home. We’ll find something for you to wear at my place. I have some killer dresses.”“Okay.” I groaned. Going to her house beat wandering around in malls. Besides, I wasn’t going to change her mind. I would be home and crawling into bed much earlier if I played along. And honestly, I really did want to look nice tomorrow, despite all my protests about finding something to wear. I thought I looked good in the clothes I wore to work and happened to think the dress I wore to our first dinner was a knock out, but now Tiffany had the idea of wowing him stuck in my head. Nothing I owned was exactly ‘wow’ material.Going through Tiffany’s closet would be a

Last Updated : 2023-12-13

Memories of Mom

BLAKEWaiting for Aston in the lobby, my palms were slightly sweaty and my heart was beating too fast. It surprised me that I was nervous. I didn’t get nervous. Not anymore. I certainly hadn’t been nervous before a date since high school.Still, I wasn’t even sure that this was a date. I kept telling myself that I was getting to know Aston because that’s what I’d promised Dad I would do. But deep inside, I knew asking her out again had nothing to do with my promise to my father.I asked her out again because I wanted to spend more time with her, but I didn’t know what that meant. I was determined not to worry about it tonight. I was leaving it at two people who enjoyed spending time together.Exactly at 7, Aston walked into the lobby. I’d thought my heart was beating fast before I saw her, but that was nothing compared to what happened when she finally appeared.She was wearing a dress that seemed like it must have been designed to test the strength of my heart and the control I had o

Last Updated : 2023-12-13

Tacos Forever

BlakeAston beamed up at me. “I adore this place. It’s so cute. I can’t believe I didn’t even know it was here. You were right, I haven’t been here before.”The waiter showed us to a small, round table near the only window in the place. “Please, have a seat. I’ll be right back to take your order for drinks.”He placed two square menus down on the table, then left to fetch the complimentary plate of nachos they put on the table. “You like it?”Aston nodded, her eyes darting around as she took it all in. “It’s adorable. I love it. How did you know it was here?”“I told you, I used to come here with my mom.”“So she told you about it?”I nodded. “She found it one night while she was taking a walk. We never ate tacos anywhere else if we were in California.”“Where is your mom now? Does she live around here?” It made sense that only someone who lived in the area would find a place like this, but my mom had been lucky enough to see people leaving when she walked past.I wondered if that kin

Last Updated : 2023-12-13

I'm An Idiot

ASTON“Tell me everything about last night.” Tiffany demanded at lunch time. She carried a paper bag with the logo of a Chinese place nearby on the front. “I brought food, so you don’t have excuses to get out of taking our entire hour to give me every detail.”I smiled coyly, winding a lock of hair around my finger. “Details about what? I have no idea what you’re talking about.”Throwing me a mocking glare, she heaved into a chair. “You already forgot I loaned you that smoking hot red dress for your big date?”I rolled my eyes. “It wasn’t a big date. It was just a date.”“You didn’t seal the deal with Blake?” She pouted, disappointment shining in her eyes.Remembering how much I wanted to ‘seal the deal’ with him was slightly embarrassing. “Seal the deal? Do you people still use that?”“I’m taking that as a no.” She cracked her chopsticks apart and picked up a carton of food from the bag. “You wouldn’t be so grouchy if you had done the deed.”Her eyes widened. “Unless—unless it was a

Last Updated : 2023-12-13

Saying Goodbye

AstonTiffany glanced at the clock on my wall and jumped up. “Look at you, overthinking it again, right? Next time, just take the opportunity when it presents itself. Okay?”“Okay,” I said, determined that on our next date I would find out once and for all if he did want to kiss me back. “Are you walking back to the lobby now?”She nodded, sighing deeply. “Sadly, I have to get back to work.”“I’ll walk with you. I need to check up on a few guests before I go to my meeting with the IT department.”“The IT department?” Tiffany asked, looking confused. “We have one of those?”I gave her a sidelong look. “Calling it a department may be a stretch. We do have two IT guys who work in the office behind the business lounge. You honestly didn’t know?”She shook her head. “That feels like something I should have known. Do you know how many times I’ve taken my cell phone to the shop for them to help me? If I’d known we had our own nerd herd, I never would have done that.”My reply died on my tong

Last Updated : 2023-12-13

Ruining Everything

BLAKEMotherfucker. I was going to ring my damn brother’s neck the second this plane touched down. Fuck being mature or professional. I was knocking him on his ass before the sun set on Florida today. He was crossing a line he shouldn’t have crossed at this time.When I woke up this morning, I was actually happy for the first time in a long fucking time. And then I checked my emails. The fucker knew I was in California, but I wasn’t letting him get away with what he was proposing now.My rage kept simmering until I reached my father’s office. I knew he and Danny were in a meeting, but I didn’t give a fuck what I was interrupting. I burst through the doors like a hell hound on fire.“What the fuck are you thinking?” I asked, as I stepped into my father’s office. My gaze zeroed in on Danny’s. While he looked surprised to see me, he didn’t look surprised by the hostility of my question.“I’m thinking about what’s best for this company. What are you even doing here?” Danny had the nerve t

Last Updated : 2023-12-13

Let the Games Begin

Blake“Oh, I’m going to destroy it?” Danny yelled. “If there’s anyone who’s going to be responsible for the company’s downfall, it’s your lying ass. We’re going to get sued for millions the way you’re running your mouth about good people stealing from us.”“Let Dustin try to sue us. I know I’m right. Soon enough, you’ll know it too. Mark my words. If anyone is going to lose us millions, it’s you for proposing to cut a branch that’s doing well and costing us good people who can help us make more money unless you fire them for no good reason.”“It’s for a great fucking reason. Our expansion is the best reason to get rid of people. It’s us or them, Blake. What don’t you understand about business? You stay ahead of the curve, or you’re out.”“Yeah,” I snorted. “I get that, but we’re already ahead of the curve. If you start treating employees like chess pieces instead of people, you’re in trouble. Callously cutting people from a branch where they’re still needed? That will get us in real t

Last Updated : 2023-12-13

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