Chapter 2: Too much Harrison for one morning

An elevator was out of the question at the moment.

I darted for the stairs, dialing Darcy while tripping on almost every step.

"Darcy, what the hell?" I yelled.

"I meant to tell you last night, but you rushed off. And you weren't answering me after that."

"Well why is he here so early?" I was practically out of breath now, and my heels felt like hell on my feet.

"I don't know, Garret never told anyone."

"Well hold on, I'll be there in a moment."

I hung up and climbed another flight of stairs before reaching the top floor.

When I made it to the reception area, Darcy was waiting for me. She looked nervous, as if I would punish her for her small mistake, which wouldn't be the case. In a sense, this is Garret's fault. What kind of boss wouldn't inform us about someone as "important" as Sebastian coming to visit?

Darcy handed me a cup of black coffee, two sugars, the kind I get every morning, but I pushed it away.

"Is Garret in his office?" I asked as we made it into my own. I sat down at my computer and waited for it to power on, kicking off my pain inducing heels.

"Yes, ma'am. He hasn't ringed you in, however,” I stopped typing my password in and glared at her. I was assuming she had forgotten if he told her, but by the look on her face she was telling the truth.

I stood up and put my heels back on.

"Check my emails for anything involving the situation. I'll be back,” Darcy nodded and took a seat at my desk. I exited my office and walked to the secretary's desk.

"Is Mr. Harrison busy at the moment, Paul?" I asked.

Paul looked up from his computer he was frantically typing away at. Paul has been the Secretary up here for a couple of months, but we have grown pretty close. His boyfriend, Max, works in the Public Relations department.

"No, Les. But with all the Sebastian commotion going on I'm surprised he isn't,” He put the person on the phone on hold before speaking to me. "The phone has been ringing off the hook, and everyone here is going crazy. We had to put everyone on hold because Harrison hasn't given us any 411!" I took a look around the floor, and sure enough the few other secretaries and a couple of recognizable Executive Officers were acting like beheaded chickens. Who knew the arrival of one person could cause so much commotion.

Paul stared at me a while longer and raised an eyebrow.

"Girl, what happened?" He asked.

"What do you mean?'

"Your hair."

I patted my hair and felt fly aways in every direction.

"Shit,” I whispered to myself. Paul reached into the desk drawer and handed me a mirror while resuming his conversation on the phone.

Looking at myself in the mirror, I looked a terrible mess. My face had a sheen of sweat from my recent run up the stairs, and I obviously looked exhausted. I took out my bun and reconstructed it, happy with the results. Once I handed the mirror back to Paul he put the phone caller on hold again.

"Something happened, and I want to know what it is!" He wore a smile a mile wide, oblivious to the chaos happening around him and only focusing on why I looked a sweaty mess.

"I'll tell you later, right now I have to focus on not losing my job."

Paul's jaw dropped, but I walked down the hall towards Garret's office before he could pester me with questions. I knew he was going to pile them on later though.

I reached Garret's office and knocked softly on the giant door. Once he heard me knocking he told me to come in.

Oddly enough, Garret and his son shared a very strong resemblance. Same piercing colored eyes, same towering height, but Garret was far older than Sebastian, and his hair was completely grey.

"Ah, Leslie. Come in, come in,” I walked in his office and stood in front of his desk, waiting for him to explain what was going on.

"Sir, I'm sorry to interrupt, but I would like to know-"

"Yes, yes, why there's a group of paparazzi, and my son. I'm sorry I didn't tell you ahead of time instead of last night. I figured you wouldn't have gotten my email since you were at the meeting."

He walked towards the door and gestured for me to follow him. Without hesitation I tailed him out of the door and through the hallway.

"As you know, I'm getting up to a certain age where I'm ready to...to retire. I just don't feel like I'm what I used to be. Young, energized, full of ideas."

We walked past the Secretary's desk, and Paul gave me a quizzical look. I shrugged at him then continued following Garret to the elevator.

Once we were inside, Garret started speaking again.

"So, I need someone to take over the company for me. However, in my son's...current state he isn't fit. Who would want to invest or work or even pledge to this company, when a reckless drunkard is in the big seat?"

"Sir, you-you wish to retire...when?"

"Sometime this year,” He answered. I felt my jaw drop at his response.

"But sir," I started, "we have so many interviews scheduled-"

"Sebastian can take care of all of that, once we get him in top shape,” He replied. Once the elevator doors opened to the lobby, two well-built men in black suits walked with us towards a small conference room that was isolated from the other bigger sized ones in the other direction.

"Sir, this still isn't making any sense...,” I said.

"It will soon, Leslie,” He answered. When one of the men opened the door, the room was filled with about a hundred people. I recognized a few faces and knew that some of the people in there were department heads; I saw Caleb sitting in the front, next to the only four empty seats in that area.

Fuck.

Many of the Chiefs where there also. Like the Chief Information Officer, the Chief Operations Officer and so on. The Board was there as well.

When Garret walked in, everyone stood up and halted their conversations. I quickly sat next to Caleb, who was now staring endlessly at me. I wasn't concerned about his stare, though. I was more concerned at my job. If Sebastian was the new boss, he could fire me on the spot for what happened in the elevator.

My hands started trembling uncontrollably.

Once Garret got onto the stand, everyone sat down. He cleared his throat before speaking into the microphone.

"Good morning, everyone. Department Heads, Chiefs, Board of Directors. I'm aware that you all are very busy, but frankly so am I. I have called you in here to clear the air of some things that I have been asked a lot via phone and email. As you know, there are media surrounding the front entrance. Just know that they aren't here for you."

Everyone laughed, softening the tense mood in the room.

Suddenly, the door opened, and everyone's attention went in that direction, even Garret's. I felt my heart sink in my chest, and my face grow hot with embarrassment. Sebastian stood there, with the woman from the elevator and another man at his side. The entire room went quiet with disbelief. Sebastian didn't look at his father, or at any of the Board members, he looked straight at me, and a devious smile spread across his face. He knew he had me.

Once this meeting was over, my job would be dangling off of a cliff, with Sebastian being the only one to pull it to safety.