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Order
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Chapter 8: Order (Aaron's POV)
"All right, I'm asking for the fifth time here. Do you two want to work as a team?" Davidson sighed.
"No," we answered this time in sync, quickly. "No, no, we do not want to work as a team," Vanessa clarified, shifting in her seat.
He lifted a brow, glancing between us. "It looks like you already are in one way."
I sighed, turning to Vanessa. She looked at me guiltily and then began explaining. "Mr. Davidson, it's actually not uh, it's not what it looks like. At all."
"Oh, is that so?" he asked, clearly amused at our expense.
"That guy—"
"Who? Aaron?"
"No," I said almost immediately. "The other guy."
"There's another guy, Ms. Griffin?"
"Jesus," she exhaled. "The other guy in the video, sir. Behind me, that's um somebody I was avoiding."
"Ah... an ex-boyfriend?"
"Not quite but sure," she mumbled with a small shrug. "He was under the misconception that Aaron and I were—"
"Are," Davidson corrected.
"Are, yes. Together."
"So then you are?"
"Misconception, sir," I huffed. "We are not together."
"But you kissed?"
"To pretend that we are."
"Are what?"
"Together," we groaned in sync. "Mr. Davidson," Vanessa said sharply. "I kissed Aaron and lied to that man by saying that I was seeing Aaron when in reality, I am not seeing Aaron. Am I making sense?"
He smiled. "Yes, my dear, I am not stupid."
Sure. He's not stupid.
She sighed, leaning back in her seat.
"We are not dating, sir. And we have no desire to work on the same team," I clarified, just for good measure.
"That's fine then," he shrugged.
Both of us breathed out in relief.
"But you are dating."
"No," we said in sync. "We're not—"
"You are now."
Vanessa and I paused, waiting for an explanation.
"Let me ask you both something. What makes New Beginnings the grand publishing firm that it is?"
"The employee system," Vanessa answered.
"That's right. The way I have the employees working here, no other firm does. It's because of that competition that our employees have the highest efficiency rate. We're the fastest and best working publishing firm there is on the east coast of America. What does that mean? That means our employees make or break the company, right?"
We both nodded with uncertainty.
"That means our employees are crucial to the company. And you two are the best we've ever had, I hope you know. Now, what can take two amazing competitors to the next level?"
I blinked in realization, my gaze meeting his. "Sir—"
"Combining the two forces, of course."
I shook my head, "Sir, no—"
"You two might want to listen before protesting."
I shut my mouth and glared at the table since I know I can't glare at my boss.
"If the media finds out that our best employees, Vanessa Juliette Griffin and Aaron Sinclair, are in a relationship, New Beginnings will reach another level of fame and experience another level of publicity."
"But—"
He cut Vanessa off, "Questions at the end."
"Okay," she mumbled.
"People will know that you two, the highest-paid employees with the best skills, are now one, a force to reckon with. It will bring so many new authors and opportunities to the firm, plenty of publicity. And by publicity, I don't mean paparazzi and tabloids, we're not celebrities now. But it will help with the talk in our community. Other CEOs, the ones leading other firms, our competition, will think twice before stealing a deal from us, convincing one of our authors to work with them instead. And the authors won't even think about leaving us. Yes, Vanessa, you had a question?"
"But what difference does it make who an employee of the firm dates? I don't think this will help. At all. At the end of the day, we're employees of this firm, our personal lives don't mean a thing to the world."
"That's where you're wrong," he corrected her. "When it comes to the best employees at a firm, they're all we talk about as CEOs. At parties, at lunches, whatever the occasion may be. And my dear... Everybody in our business knows who the two of you are."
She seemed speechless.
"No," I said.
"Yeah... no," Vanessa shook her head. "No, we can't do this."
"Why not?" Davidson asked, his brows pinched together.
"I hate him."
At the same time, I said, "I hate her."
"Ah, that," Davidson nodded. "I'm sure you'll work through it. You did when you had to kiss, didn't you?"
"Mr. Davidson," Vanessa sighed, "please don't turn this into one of your twisted games."
He shrugged. "Everything at my firm is one of my twisted games, my dear. So is this."
"We won't do it," I persisted.
"It's an order," he said more firmly.
"Sir, how can you tell us who to date?"
"Fake date," I corrected her and then turned to him. "This is a ridiculous idea."
"It's a fantastic idea. All my ridiculous ideas have brought this firm to where it is today. It's brought you two where you are today, remember that too, Aaron." And this is why nobody wants to be on Pierce Davidson's bad side. Because he gives you a harsh reality check.
"Maybe," I nodded, "but you didn't wave a magic wand, sir. I worked my ass off."
"So did she. Do you want to take her down with you?" He lifted a brow.
I actually liked him as a boss. Up until this very moment.
"But sir—" Vanessa tried again.
"It's an order, Ms. Griffin. Either that or give me something better," he shrugged, "if you have a better idea, something to bring more publicity to our firm, then I'll let you both go. If you never wanted this mess, you shouldn't have made him your fake boyfriend in my office building, Vanessa. I see everything that happens here and things like this I don't let go."
She sighed, pinching the bridge of her nose. I turned to glare at her but she was avoiding my gaze.
"You know, you two remind me an awful lot of another pair of employees I had. The ones right before you, actually."
"The husband and wife?" Vanessa scoffed.
"They weren't always husband and wife," he replied, "they were rivals, like you."
"And you forced them to fake date too?" I deadpanned.
"No, I didn't have to. They fell in love on their own. But you both seem sure that the two of you never will."
"We won't," we confirmed.
"So then, what's the problem? You've known each other what... six years now? From college to now?"
"Five," I corrected.
"Same thing," he shrugged and then thought. "How come? She's two years younger than you."
She took in a breath and answered, "I was in some higher-level classes and Aaron was a student teacher for one of my classes and a tutor for most others."
Yeah, that's what it was. I was starting my third year of college when Vanessa joined. I first met her when she joined one of the classes that I was assisting a professor to teach. Then she joined the tutor groups I was leading. And then she made her way into higher-level classes. As a freshman in college, she was attending the classes of a sophomore. That's how good she was. And I didn't just hate her because she was too smart for her own good, but because she was almost as smart as me back then.
I'm sure we're on the same level, so there's no point in remembering this now.
I actually didn't hate when I first met her. I was teaching her class and she was a good student but I was an ass. Always have been, so I knew that she hated me.
I looked up from the front table I was sitting at as one of the students stood up and made her way over while scanning her paper.
She put it down in front of me. "I'm done, sir."
I glanced at the time. "You finished a two-hour paper in one hour?"
She nodded.
I scanned her answer sheet, skimming over most of the answers. They seemed to be right. "What's your name?"
"Vanessa."
"Do you know who I am?"
"You're the student-professor of this class. Aaron Sinclair, I think," she mumbled the last bit.
I nodded, took her paper in, and handed her the same paper but a blank sheet. "Do it again."
"What?"
A few other students still writing glanced up.
"Without disturbing my class, Ms. Vanessa, do it again."
"The same paper? Why?"
"Because you had to tell me who you were. You didn't write your name on the paper."
She stared at me. "Are you joking? I'll write my name now."
"You should have thought of that before submitting it."
"How can I—"
"You did it in an hour, you have another hour left. Do the same paper again. Or you'll fail this exam."
"You're going to fail me because I didn't write my name on a sheet?"
"Yes, ma'am. Either that or you redo it. Without looking at your previous answers, of course."
She glared at me. I went back to reading the textbook for my own class. "I'm not redoing it," she said and snatched her old paper off the table, running back to her seat. I watched from here in amusement while she scribbled her name onto it at the top and then came back, handing it to me. "Now my name's on it. Can you read it? Vanessa. Juliette. Griffin. Is that okay for you, Professor Sinclair?" She smiled smugly and walked back to her seat before I could answer.
When she joined the same classes as me, she stopped calling me 'Professor Sinclair' and started calling me Aaron. She stopped attending my tutor sessions too because she didn't need them anymore. She was flying through college with aces and flying colors.
"Aaron."
I snapped out of my thoughts, looking at Davidson.
"You both have until the end of the day to decide what you're doing. If you decide to follow orders, consider this a new project."
"Project?" I echoed.
He shrugged. "It will grant you two a raise."
I paused, glancing over at Vanessa. "And if we say no?" I questioned.
He sighed and then leaned back in his seat. "Then I'll cut your salaries by a quarter."
"Are you joking?" Vanessa scoffed.
"No, my dear. I am not. Well, be on your way then. You've got about... six hours left to think this through."
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Chapter 8
Davidson is a DICK but we love him cuz he's the captain of our ship lmao
next chapter: lose