The CEO's Secret

5: The Strange Guest

May 2009

C H A P T E R F I V E:

T H E S T R A N G E G U E S T

"Shit." Katie muttered under her breath as she tried desperately to carry everything she had in her hands. She stopped for a moment in the lobby of the building on the main floor to catch her breath although she knew she did not have much time to get to the planning committee meeting.

"Do you need some help with that Ms?" Someone from the front desk asked.

"If you wouldn't mind, thank you."

"Where are you taking these?" the woman asked as she took one of the boxes of flowers from Katie.

"The meeting room on the twentieth floor." She replied before the tow made their way into the elevator. "They're for the gala in two weeks." Katie felt the need to say as the woman looked quizzically in the box at all the flowers.

Catherine had changed her mind about the flower arrangement she wanted set out on the tables despite knowing that the gala was such a short time away. That meant that Katie had to get up an hour and a had earlier than usual to get the train over to the other side of the city, pick up the new versions of arrangement Catherine might like and bring them back here in time for the planning meeting.

"Oh, I see." The woman who was helping her nodded and smiled at Katie. Soon enough they were on the twentieth floor and walking into the meeting.

"Thank you so much." Katie beamed at the woman before taking the other box of flowers from her.

"No problem Ms." And like that, she disappeared into the elevator.

Katie took a deep breath before opening the door and entering the room that was already full of the committee.

"You're late." Was all Catherine said. Katie refrained from saying anything although it was difficult to do.

She did not get much sleep at all last night or over the past month because of the gala and all of Catherine's little tasks she needed Katie to do. Most of the time, she had to arrive to work early and leave late which was becoming very strenuous. Because it was coming so close to the gala that would be held in the middle of June, there were so many things to do and most of those things had to be done by Alice or Katie while the rest just made decisions and sat around at meetings.

Catherine did not thank Katie as she struggled to set the boxes of flowers down on the table in front of the older woman. But Katie's patience was beginning to grow thin and so she said a quick "You're welcome." Sarcastically before walking to her seat next to Alice.

Catherine surprisingly said nothing as she sat down, just shot her a glare before the meeting commenced. Just like always, Alice and Katie sat there and said nothing. Katie could not stand sitting there as Catherine and the others looked through all the possible arrangements that did not look that much different to the original ones they chose.

It wasn't until the end of the meeting that Catherine addressed Katie again. She was about to leave but the older woman called her back. She rolled her eyes at Alice who looked a little concerned and then waiting patiently for everyone else to leave the room.

"I'm sure you're used to batting your eyes at Colin upstairs to get your own way but that won't work with me Katie." Catherine was still sitting down, her frame stiff and her words harsh.

"I'm not sure what you mean Catherine-"

"You know exactly what I mean. Don't test me, right now or when we're in a meeting. You do what I say and that's final."

"I wouldn't call it testing you Catherine. I'm aware of the fact that both Alice and I have to run around and do everything you don't want to do yourself and that's okay, that's why I'm here but don't expect me to be happy when you are constantly rude to me. I'm here to do what you say, not bow down to you." Catherine seemed taken aback when she spoke first, it took her a minute to register what Katie had said.

"You listen here Katie," Catherine spoke through her teeth, leaning over her table to stare at the younger woman. "I know you need a good report from me back to Jeffrey in order to keep your job so why don't you stop trying to challenge me and be quiet from now on. You seem to have it easy upstairs, all cosy with Colin but down here you work and don't complain."

Her comments about Colin made Katie's heart sink. She had done nothing wrong? But Catherine seemed to suggest otherwise. It made her feel self-conscious, did others feel that way too? Katie wasn't advancing in any way in her job because of how close she had become to Colin since she started working there, but maybe people didn't see that she worked hard and that was the only reason she was kept on. Things were beginning to look the way they did in her old job, and she didn't want history repeating itself but Catherine shook her to the bone.

"Got it?" Judging by the look on Katie's face, Catherine knew she had won. Katie only nodded and left the meeting room, her mind wandering into dangerous territory.

She needed to call Emily, she was worried and getting more upset by the minute. Katie was glad that Carrie wasn't in the office when she reached it, she remembered that the older woman said she would be in later that day because of a hospital visit with her husband again. She thought it was the right time to try Emily on her phone although she may not answer unless she was on a break in work.

Katie walked back and forth as she tried to get hold of Emily three times. On the last try, when it finally rung out again, Katie lout of a short sigh but jumped when she heard a knock on her door.

"Hey." Colin grinned at her at first, but then he noticed how pale and shaken she looked. "What's wrong?" he asked, clearly concerned. He took a step forward only for Katie to take a step back.

"Nothing, I'm fine." She smiled but it didn't reach her eyes.

Colin had noticed over the past while how exhausted and deflated she seemed. A worried expression crossed his features as she sat down at her desk and began working. He sat down in front of her.

"How was your meeting?"

"Good." She blatantly lied. Katie decided that after talking to Catherine that she could not discuss her hatred for the planning committee to anyone, especially not Colin, her boss.

"Oh c'mon, I'm sure it's not going as well as you're letting on to be. I know that Catherine one can be a major bitch."

Katie tried her best not to laugh at the unexpectedness of his truthful admission but only scoffed loudly while trying to contain her laughter. He made her smile and that made him feel a little better about her but her lips set into a line again as quickly as they had grinned at him.

"She's okay I suppose." He gave her a quizzical look, knowing she could not possibly be telling the truth.

"Oh c'mon everything's fine and okay and good with you lately. I know there's something wrong." Katie only continued on with her work, it should not be any of his concern if there was something wrong with her or not. "Look at me." He urged gently. Katie put her pen down and sighed before looking at him from across her desk, resting her chin in her hands.

"I'm just really tired, okay?" her voice was gentle and sweet, like music to his ears. She gave him a grim smile but his eyes were focused on her bright ones. They looked droopy and sore.

"Why don't you leave earlier today? Maybe try catch up on some sleep." His suggestion only made her look down again at her work and continue.

"I have a lot of work to do Colin, is there something else you need that's actually important instead of checking up on my well-being?"

"I-I-" he didn't know what to say then. Why did he care so much? He was not sure.

"I'm a big girl. I can take care of myself. As soon as this gala is over, I'll be able to relax." She said as she wrote something else down.

"Ooo, the gala. Aren't you excited about the gala?"

"Do I look excited about the gala?" she looked at him for a second before getting up to get something out of the filing cabinet next to her desk. He only chuckled a little at her sarcasm.

"Of course you do. Everyone's excited about the gala."

"Maybe everyone who isn't planning it is excited but I certainly am not." She flicked away through the files in one of the drawers.

"Oh c'mon, even the planning committee enjoy their night."

"Well I guess I'll be the first to not enjoy the night then." She knew she was being cynical but she was too tired to care. All she wanted was to feel the relief she would get from the gala being over. It was the thing she thought about the most recently which shouldn't be right.

"You get to dress up." Colin's little burst of excitement was almost laughable, if she had not been in such a bad mood.

"Oh great. Another thing I have to do- find a dress."

"And dance."

"I don't-" before she could continue, Colin grabbed her by the waist and began spinning her around. He took one of her hands and twirled her around, making her giggle a little.

"Colin stop." She tried to say but he continued to turn with her in his arms before finally leaning her backward, holding steadily onto her waist. "Colin!" she squealed, he then stood her back up straight. She could feel his chest erupt with laughter.

"Don't you dare say you can't dance after that." He swayed them back and forth, enjoying the closeness as much as Katie but she would never tell.

Katie couldn't help but take in the scent of his expensive cologne and notice the sprinkle of stubble he had around his jaw and chin. She was looking up at him but his mind was somewhere else. It took him a minute to look back into her eyes and when he did she only let out a quite breath of laughter through her nose before a small smile crept up on her lips, making him involuntarily join in.

The room fell silent but not for long. Surprisingly it wasn't Katie that was the one to pull away first, it was Colin but only after he heard a familiar voice.

"Colin?" the voice called. "Co- of hey man, why aren't you in your office?"

Katie took a step away from her boss once a man entered the office, standing tall in a dark navy suit. His suit looked expensive, just like Colin's and he almost dripped of confidence. His black hair was cut tight and slicked back neatly. Katie didn't know where to look once he grinned widely at her, baring his pearly teeth.

She was puzzled by Colin's behaviour after that. He did not introduce the two of them to each other like he had with David and almost looked flustered upon discovering this man unexpectedly showing up at work. Colin nearly stood in front of Katie, as if protecting her from the man, although she did not pick up on this.

"Vinny, what are you doing here? Come inside to my office." He rushed out the door with the man, looking around the corridor as he left Katie's office as if Colin was doing something he should not be doing.

Vinny wasn't in Colin's office for long, and took off very quickly. After that, Colin seemed a little on edge but Katie knew better than to ask what was wrong. It was not her business, she just continued on with her work- feeling a little better after talking to Colin for a while earlier on. But still, she wondered who this strange friend of Colin's called Vinny was?

Carrie arrived into work soon enough and distracted Katie from her wandering thoughts about Catherine and Colin. Katie noticed how sad and tired Carrie looked when she arrived into the office. Her wrinkles appeared more noticeable on her face and her eyes were glassy and a delicate shade of pink.

"Hi." Katie said, her tone hopeful yet hesitant.

"Hi dear. Is Colin around? I need to talk to him about something."

"Yes, sure. He's in his office. Is something wrong Carrie?" She wasn't sure whether she should ask, but it was strange to see the older woman this way. She was usually chirpy, upbeat and would have said something sarcastic about Colin's lack of work by now if everything was okay.

"We- we've just gotten some bad news back from the hospital this morning. I need to discuss some things with Colin and Jeffrey the next time he's here."

"I hope you're okay. Is there anything I can do for you? Do you want a coffee or anything?" Although Katie knew a coffee wouldn't fix Carrie's broken look on her face, she did not know what else to say.

"No, I'm fine really. I just need a bit of time to process everything. The only reason I came in is because I need to send out those reports for Jeffrey by tomorrow."

"I can do it for you if you like?"

"Oh no, don't worry about it Katie. I'll do it once I've talked to Colin." Although she was becoming visibly more upset by the minute, Carrie still managed to smile at Katie.

She spent some time in with Colin, Katie was quite surprised when Carrie returned to the office, almost fully composed then. She sat down with Katie for a while to explain what happened at the hospital and at the end of it all, there was nothing Katie could think of saying that would make the situation any better.

Carrie's husband had another check up at the hospital that morning when the doctors discovered that things were not going as good as they had initially expected. Her husband would have to undergo an operation as soon as possible, leaving Carrie to look after him. Carrie knew she had nothing to worry about when she told Jeffrey, she had been working there for years and he knew her husband quite well. He was always very understanding when it came to family matters.

Carrie being gone for a few months meant that Katie would have to take over her job, she would have a lot more work to do but she was only concerned about Carrie at that time. Katie could tell how much Carrie was trying to keep it together. She had always been an optimistic woman, and knew that her husband would be fine, especially with her by his side to help him along with his recovery.

Colin was cooped up in his office for the entire morning. Katie didn't speak to him until an hour or two after lunch when he knocked on the door of her office. Carrie looked up at him for a moment but soon realised he was not looking for her.

"Katie." He said aloud.

"Hmm?" she said, still writing. Carrie noticed how nonchalant Katie was with this man then, it only made her stifle a giggle as inspected Colin's expectant face awaiting the younger woman's full attention.

"Um-" he hesitated, not quite sure then why he urgently needed to talk to her. "I need you to review those Jefferson reports for me before next Friday."

"Sure, I'll get right to it." Katie continued on with that she was doing, so engrossed in her work that she still hadn't looked at Colin although that was all he wanted her to do right then. Carrie sensed his wish and was only given solid evidence of it when he clearly looked a little deflated after her sentence.

"O-okay." He nodded before giving a small smile to Carrie before leaving the room.

"Katie..." Carrie let out a small chuckle once Colin was out of ear shot.

"What?" Katie was confused, and took the time then to look up.

"I just find it funny."

"Find what funny?" Katie asked in complete bewilderment.

"You have no clue at all do you dear?" Carrie sighed as she shook her head, a sly smile grew on her lips.

"I guess not." It was the younger woman's turn to laugh then.

"He secretly adores you, or he's on the way to it anyway. And you- you just don't give him the time of day sometimes." The pair burst out into laughter.

For a moment, Carrie had forgotten about the struggles she and her husband were facing and was focused on the fresh romance that would soon enough sprout from these two young people. Although neither knew it yet, Carrie was sure something would end up happening between them- although it may not be ideal, considering they both worked together.

"Sure, whatever." Katie snorted and rolled her eyes before going back to work. She brushed off any trace of Carrie's words that may stick in her mind to make her more concerned about what Catherine had said earlier that morning.

Katie decided to stay late again at work that evening. She had to sort out her appointments and times she needed to be free at for all of the wonderful and completely unnecessary things Catherine would make her do for the upcoming Gala in just two weeks.

Time seemed to fly for Katie when she had so many things to do. She looked at the clock and realised how late it was getting. In her mind, she had thought she only said goodbye to Carrie a couple of minutes ago, but it had actually been almost three hours ago. She grabbed her things and readied herself for the trip home.

She walked into the elevator and pressed the ground floor button only to realised Colin was running to catch the closing doors. Katie pressed the button again to open the doors but it didn't seem to be working for a moment. The doors closed but then after a moment, opened back up to let Colin enter the elevator.

"You know, for a moment there I thought you were trying to avoid me." Colin smirked at her.

"I was, how did you know?" Katie said sarcastically. "Wait, why are you still here, isn't it a little late for you to be working?" She looked at him with a confused expression on her face.

"I needed to look into that Jefferson report. My dad wants me to take care of the investment completely on my own so I had to stay late. Why are you so surprised-"

"You literally can't even ask me that question. You already know the answer." She was trying to keep in her laughter then.

"I don't."

"Maybe it's because you're barely ever on time and you take sometimes over two hours for lunch and- oh wait, you leave earlier than everyone else in the office too. You very rarely stay for a full day in work, never mind staying three hours late." There was a silence in the small space for a moment, Colin was the one to break it.

"Oh yes, you're right." The two began to laugh with each other after he spoke but Katie stopped immediately once the doors opened on a floor that was not the one she had pressed and her eyes met Catherine's beady ones.

"Katie." The older woman nodded at her, keeping her tone very formal yet snooty. Katie nodded back, not saying anything. "Hello sir." Catherine also added.

Colin noticed how Katie seemed to immediately take a step away from him once she caught sight of Catherine. It made him wonder a lot of things. Her presence in the elevator was not wanted at all, for some reason it had made him stop laughing then too- as if the pair would be punished if they continued with their playfulness together.

The ride to the ground floor seemed like it was ten minutes long, although Katie knew it could only have been ten seconds or less. Catherine was the first to exit and they both walked slowly to the front door so that she was gone before them.

Colin stopped outside the door of the building to turn to Katie.

"You want a ride home?"

"No, I'm good. Thank you though." She hesitated, knowing she had to draw the line somewhere.

"Are you sure?"

"Yeah, I don't think that would be- appropriate." Katie didn't want to say it, but she did anyway. Seeing Catherine had brought on those worries again about her closeness with her boss and she did not want to come across a certain way to others in work.

"But it's getting late." Colin tried not to sound worried about her getting home but he knew he was failing miserably.

"I'll be fine Colin. I can take care of myself you know." She scoffed humorously before giving him a shy yet bright smile. "Thanks anyway. Goodnight."

Her soft voice mesmerised him for a moment, he could not even remember her turning to walk away, leaving him standing alone on the street as thoughts of her fluttered around in his mind.