You weren't a workaholic, you kept telling yourself. But it felt good getting back to work after your honeymoon. The trip was amazing and you never felt as loved in your entire life. If you had a choice, you'd have stayed on that island with Matt. But let's be real, how could you afford another expensive holiday if you neglected your jobs?
And you missed your desk at the office, and even though your colleagues weren't all angels, you were sure some of them missed you. When you came back, they would rush into your arms and say-
"The proposal you sent was crap"
Everyone looked at you as you tried to figure out what was going on. You heard that anyone who worked with Rachel Daniel's had nothing but bad things to say. She was terrible to people, she wasn't afraid of anyone and she wouldn't take crap from anyone in the company. This was the first time you met her and now you understood why people stayed away.
"It was what the client-"
"Enough with the excuses!" Rachel scoffed. "You people have one job, to negotiate with the clients to make it easier for us, the ones who actually have to do the job and handle journalists"
You almost apologised for something that wasn't your fault, hoping to put an end to the tension. Chloe showed up just in time to back you up. She gave Rachel a dirty look, pulling you to the side.
"Go harass someone else, Rachel"
"Molly is on maternity leave" Rachel said, laughing. "Who else would I blame? You?"
Molly was in charge of Client Enquiries, your department. Unlike Rachel, she was the nicest and would never talk down on staff members. While watching Chloe and Rachel argue, you wished Molly would appear and make everything better.
"Mr Cole will take over Molly's responsibilities until she gets back" Chloe said, putting her hands on her hips. "So maybe you should tell him how crap you think the proposal is? He'll be in his office tomorrow"
You almost forgot. There was someone in the company that Rachel was afraid of.
"Feels good to be teachers pet, huh?" Rachel whispered to you before turning back to Chloe. "If I don't get a better proposal tomorrow, set me an appointment with Mr Cole. He needs to fire his favourite employee"
As Rachel stormed away, Chloe turned to you, looking extremely pissed off. It couldn't be more obvious that she loathed that woman as much as anyone here; however, your tolerance of such rude behaviors was the main reason she was fuming with rage.
"You shouldn't have met her talk to you like that"
"She was trying to do her job" you mumbled, shrugging. "I mean..it's probably difficult to do with the media"
"It's the client who pays you money to deal with the media. Trust me, if the client wants the moon, you give them the moon!" Chloe slammed her hand down on the table, knocking your coffee cup. "Rachel puts herself first. But don't worry, Jason will defend you"
That was what made you worry. Jason would defend you, or at least try to fix your mistake. After all, you weren't just an employee, you were his friend. The best solution was to give Rachel what she wanted. Not because you were afraid of her, but because you didn't want Jason's reputation ruined for helping you again.
~
"Screw. Me!"
"I'm washing dishes!"
"Funny" you shot your husband a glare as he turned to look at your reaction. He expected you to laugh, like you always did. But now, you just sighed and carried on with your work on your laptop. You hadn't stopped working since you came home, you only stopped to eat dinner.
"Maybe.." Matt started, drying his hands and heading towards you. "Maybe we can Netflix and Chill tonight?"
You laughed when his breath tickled your neck and he laid a kiss on your bare shoulder. Matt was just trying to distract you from work and you let him. When you turned to him, your lips met and he kneeled down by your side.
"Come on" he mumbled, smiling. One of his hands were on your hip and the other hand was on the back of the chair. "Play with me and I'll let you go"
"Play with you?" You laughed, cupping his face. "Is that why you let Lilly and Nate watch Milo?"
"That the kind of parent you think I am?" Matt fake gasped and you laughed. "Actually, Lilly's at dinner and her stepmom is allergic to dogs, so.."
"So you let her use our son for revenge?"
"Are you calling me a bad parent?"
"Matt! No!" You laughed, when Matt held your wrists in one hand and tickled you with the other. You fought to get away, accidentally slipping right off your chair and collapsing right on top of him. Now the table had turned, you blocked his arms and executed the tickle torture until he laughed so hard he couldn't breathe.
"I surrender!"
"You can't surrender after what you did to me, babe. That's not the rule" you knew he could've stopped you, but he let you win. You let him suffer for a while before raising your hands to call a truce. Matt ran his hand through his hair and smiled.
"I'm done playing with you. Can I go now?"
When you patted his chest, attempting to move, Matt sat up and held your thighs to keep you still. He knew you could brush him away and stand up, but you stayed there. "I'm not done playing"
"Babe, I'm serious" you sighed, stroking his hair. "I have to get this done before the morning"
"You always work overtime and now you're working at home?" He asked with a frown. "I feel like no one but Jason acknowledges your effort"
"Thank you! I mean, I love my job, but I gotta admit, most people in PR are assholes" Matt couldn't hold back his smile when you turned serious and started counting with your fingers. "Take ten people at my office, four of them hate me, the next four don't care about me but they love the drama, then two people are left. Jason and Chloe"
Matt kissed your cheek and laughed. "Positively speaking, your two supporters are your boss and his assistant. You still win"
"I'm only working this hard because we need money for our future family. So when we finally get rich, it's over for them. I might quit the job and we can go on honeymoon every weekend"
Matt stayed on the floor when you stood up and went back to your laptop. "Feels good to imagine" you said, in a sing song voice. Matt knew there was truth behind the joke, that everything could be much better if they were wealthy people, that you could have the life he promised and no more extra hours.
The opportunity was right on the table, all he needed was to swallow his pride and seize it. And because of you, he might actually consider working with his dad.
The next morning, Matt could barely pay attention to anything else. He sat in his office, staring at an email to his dad, trying to decide if he should send it. He just wanted an appointment with him, but then what? What was he going to say? Maybe he should call you and ask for your opinion. Even though you'd been onboard with it from the beginning, he didn't think he should make the decision on his own. But on second thought, he should wait until he saw you at home.
There was a knock on the door. Matt closed the laptop and told the person to come in. Nicole came in, smiling.
"I got you coffee!" She exclaimed and put the cup down.
"Thanks?" Matt questioned, raising his eyebrow. "What's the occasion?"
"Yesterday was my birthday, so I thought coffee for everyone"
As soon as she said it, Matt felt guilty. He pinched the bridge of his nose. "Shit..I'm sorry, Nicole. I forgot"
"It's okay" she shook her head. It didn't take an expert to see she was in a better mood than usual. "I had the best birthday"
Matt recognised her big smile. "Okay, who is he?"
"He?" Nicole raised her eyebrow
"The guy who made your birthday so special"
"There's something I want you to know"
"Okay" Matt nodded, leaning in more. "Is he a drug dealer?"
"No! God, no!" Another giggle escaped her lips. "It's Jason, but-"
"I knew it!" Matt shouted and slammed his fists down on the desk. Then he started laughing as she blushed. "I saw you two dancing at my wedding"
"Okay..calm down" she said, rolling her eyes. "It's not about Jason. Well it's kind of related to him, but mostly you and your Dad"
"My Dad? Are they in business together?"
"Kind of.." Nicole started, messing with the pencils in front of her. It was like she was struggling to break the news. "Your Dad is selling his company to the Cole's"
"You're kidding?" Matt's eyes widened and his jaw dropped. He was hoping she would start laughing and say she was joking, but she was too serious.
"Jason told me last night. I just assumed after what happened, your Dad wouldn't talk to you in advance"
"We don't talk" Matt sighed, tapping his desk. While Nicole was trying to come up with something and Matt started at the email he was about to send. There was another knock on the door, a co worker telling Nicole that someone needed to speak with her.
"I gotta go" she said, standing up fast. "Talk to you later, Matt"
~
"Y/N! There you are!"
Chloe grabbed you the minute you stepped into the office. You weren't even late, but from the way people were staring at you, you guessed you missed a whole day already.
"Tell Rachel I'm going to send her the proposal right away" you mumbled, attempting to walk away, but Chloe pulled you back.
"Didn't you hear?"
You shook your head. You rarely saw Chloe this excited at work, and now she was smiling like she won the lottery.
"Jason fired the bitch this morning"
"What?" Your eyes widened. "If it because of me?"
"No" she laughed, rolling her eyes. "From what I heard..she's been selling our business ideas"
"Really?"
"Yeah, that's why she got fed up and asked for a detailed proposal"
"So..I stayed up all night for nothing" your face scrunched up in annoyance, but you were ignored when Jason stepped out of his office and spotted you speaking to Chloe.
"Mrs Sturniolo?" He raised his voice, causing everyone to stare at you. As he said it again, Chloe nudged you to remind you that he was calling your name. Your face turned red from the excessive attention.
"Five minutes" Jason said, before shutting his door.
"You're the last person he'd fire, don't worry" Chloe whispered, but you were shaking. Rachel worked here for nine years and Jason made the decision to fire her in a minute.
You swallowed and headed for his office, ignoring the stares.
Taking a deep breath, you opened the door slowly. The creaking sound caught Jason's attention and he stood up and urged you to hurry up.
"Okay, before you fire me, you need to hear me out" you said, as soon as you closed the door. "I have nothing to do with this"
"With what?"
"So I'm not in trouble?"
Jason couldn't keep a straight face anymore. He shook his head and laughed. "No, why would you be in trouble?"
"I don't know. Why am I here?"
"I need to discuss our new game plan with the head of Client Enquiries" He said, confusing you even more. "You're promoted by the way"
You were frozen.
"Y/N?"
You pinched your arm when he called your name.
Definitely not dreaming.
"I have a question.."
"Sure, go ahead" Jason smiled at the way you fiddled with your fingers and bit your lip.
"Why?"
You were very grateful that Jason was patient with you. But his calmness was driving you insane. You were sweating when he sat back down on his chair. "Since Rachel will no longer be here, Molly will be the head of Media, leaving her spot empty. I think you're a good choice for it"
"Are you sure it's a good idea?" Jason raised his eyebrow, not saying a word, so you explained. "Everyone here said I get special treatment because..uh.."
"Because I had feelings for you?"
You nodded quickly and looked around the room, avoiding his gaze.
"They weren't wrong" he said, crossing his arms. Those words were all it took for you to look back at him.
"I did have feelings for you, I always thought you were great. This isn't high school, Y/N, I don't make decisions like this based on feelings. If you can do the job, you get the job. If not, then you have five minutes to pack and leave"
"But people-"
"You shouldn't care what people think of you" Jason said, smiling back at you. "Are we good?"
You nodded.
"Great. Now bring your laptop in here, there's a lot of work for you."
Once again, your answer was a single nod as you hurriedly reached for the door handle. But right before you exited the room, Jason stopped you quickly.
"I almost forgot," he said with a soft smile. "Welcome back, Mrs. Sturniolo."
~
"Babe, I'm home!"
Matt laughed when you jumped into his arms the minute you walked through the door. You held him so tight, squeezing the air out of him.
"I have great news!"
"So do I!" He smiled from ear to ear. "You go first"
"I got promoted!"
Those words pierced right through his ears like a bullet. Speechless, he let you drag him into another hug but this time all that he could show was a half-broken smile. You instantly felt his reluctance and drew back to look him in the eyes. Your grin fell as fast as his when you noticed something wrong.
"You're not happy for me?"
"I am. I just-" He paused. what could he say? That he had lunch with his Dad and agreed to take over his company in San Francisco? That he did it for you but now you got promoted and would most likely not be willing to quit and move with him? He couldn't tell you any of that.
"Sorry, I'm just shocked. Wow, babe, this is great!" He laughed, squeezing her hands. "I'm so proud of you"
You leaned in and kissed his lips.
"So" you pulled back, holding his face. "What's your good news?"
Matt widened his eyes, but kept his cool. "Uh..Nicole bought everyone free coffee today"
"That's it?" You gave him a funny look, but there was no sign of you suspecting anything.
"Yeah. Now that I think about it, it's not as exciting as your good news"
"We need to celebrate!" You declared, bouncing up and down like a child on Christmas morning. "I'm gonna cook a big meal for both of us and we're gonna get so drunk tonight!"
Matt held his breath as he watched the woman he loved dance your way into the kitchen. He was blaming himself, still a part of him justified his impulsive decision by saying he'd been given no other choice. He was blaming himself, still a part of him justified his impulsive decision by saying he'd been given no other choice.