Chapter 11

Fiona rolled her eyes, “Mother, stop with the melodrama. I replied to your texts. You knew I was fine. And yes. I’ve sorted myself out. I’m pretty clear about that. That’s not the problem.”

“Oh?!” Jacinta leaned back, “What’s the problem?”

Fiona closed her eyes and made a quick decision. Her mother would be a formidable ally in helping with ‘operation breadcrumbs.’ No pain, no gain. “The problem is Marlo. She might not feel the same way.”

“Are you saying what I think you’re saying?” Jacinta couldn’t hide the glee in her voice.

Fiona felt like a teenager, seeing the eager look in her mother’s eyes. She sighed with resignation, “Yes… and please don’t flap, mom. John’s going to come back any moment.”

Jacinta straightened her back, “I do NOT flap. Now that you’ve figured out your feelings for Marlo, I don’t get what the problem is.”

Fiona tried not to be annoyed, “Uh, the problem is the fact that she doesn’t do relationships? She might go into anaphylaxis shock if I broach the topic… and that’s not even the biggest problem. The biggest problem is her total disinterest in me.”

“No. Wrong. It’s not a problem,” Jacinta’s words were stumbling over themselves she was so eager to get them out, “She told me she’s been in love with you since, oh, forever ago. See? No problem.”

Fiona was stunned, “WHAT? You’ve known this and you didn’t tell me?”

Jacinta squinted her eyes, “I encouraged Marlo to talk to you, but that ended up being a complete disaster. And then you left and wouldn’t return my calls.”

“Okay, okay! Holy sh–” Fiona couldn’t fight the smile off her face, “Now what?”

“Eat quickly. Very quickly. Then go find Marlo. Tell John you’re tired from jetlag or something.”

Just as quickly as the euphoria spread, reality started sinking in. Fiona closed her eyes; she needed everything to stop for just a moment. “Mom, this isn’t going to go over well with the PR folks.”

Jacinta’s eyes turned steely, “Then we have the wrong PR folks.”

“We’re going to lose a ton of business in parts of the world that don’t look favorably on stuff like this.”

Jacinta said nothing, but there was little doubt how she felt.

“Not to mention losing business across a broad swath of the US. And the press is going to go nuts.”

“I bet we gain more supporters than we lose. And the tabloids have been circling around this for years, so this isn’t going to be new.”

“We haven’t signed with Gilchrist yet – he might not like any of this…” Fiona started to panic. There was a reason I decided to keep things simple! The ripple effects of this are going to be insane…

“Fiona.” Jacinta knew exactly what was going through her daughter’s mind. She knew that all the downside scenarios and all the negative outcomes were rumbling through Fiona’s brain at breakneck speed.

“Mom, this isn’t good. This isn’t going to be good.”

“Honey, don’t conflate your fear of being in a relationship with anything else. Do not let the ‘what ifs’ be your excuse for not figuring this out with Marlo. I’ll talk to John. And then we can figure it all out as we go. Just because the world has deep pockets of hate doesn’t mean you should give up on Marlo without even trying.”

Fiona’s mind was a blur of thoughts. John Gilchrist returned to the table, and the three of them managed to have a perfectly amiable dinner. Fiona was grateful for her mother’s masterful dinner hosting skills. John Gilchrist was none the wiser to the emotional turmoil Fiona was wrestling with.

Just over an hour later, Fiona politely declined dessert and feigned fatigue. She promised to spend more time with John over the course of the next several months as the strategic partnership got underway. Jacinta all but pushed Fiona out of the restaurant and Fiona practically ran back to her suite. She was terrified, in about ten different ways.

Fiona dialed the one person she knew who could talk her off the ledge.

“I hope you’re calling me to report having had some mind-blowing sex with Marlo,” came Mona’s playful voice.

“I’m freaking out, Mona,” Fiona replied.

“Oh, honey, what happened?”

“Nothing. I mean, it’s definitely, probably, for sure that we’re really into each other and we’ve been idiots. But I’m actually freaking out about the fact that getting together with Marlo might be really, really bad news for my family and the firm that my family’s built up over the past six decades.”

“You are the largest privately held company in the world. There’re no shareholders to contend with. You can lose all of the deals in your pipeline and still be okay.”

Fiona took a deep breath, “And now I’m going to be that gay CEO. No matter what else I do, I’m going to be the lesbian CEO. That’s going to be my epitaph.”

“Don’t knock it until you’ve tried it,” Mona said quietly.

Fiona flinched, “I didn’t mean to say it was a bad thing – I just mean that it’s going to be the knee-jerk, one dimensional thing that people are going to think about me.”

“That may be true for the first couple of years, but Fiona, that’s not the headline anymore when people write about me as CEO of Win-B. At some point, the novelty will wear off. I promise,” Mona’s tone was no-nonsense, “And honestly, I think people would welcome this news. After all, we’ve had more than our share of asshole CEOs and sexual predator CEOs dominating our headlines. You and Marlo publicly declaring your love for one another might break social media… in a good way.”

Fiona chuckled, “You always know how to pull me back from the precipice… Thanks.”

“I’ll always be here for you. But I’m booting you off this call because you need to find a way to get into Marlo’s pants ASAP!”

Fiona laughed, “Okay… but if this things turns into hell on wheels, you’re going to have to help me pick up the pieces – and no charging me those crazy Win-B fees!”

“Deal. Go tell your best friend you’re madly in love with her.”

Fiona hung up, a big grin on her face. Maybe this isn’t going to turn into a shit show.

Another deep breath later, Fiona dialed Marlo’s number as adrenaline thumped through her.

“Fiona?” Marlo was moping around in her dad’s hotel room.

“Marlo.” Fiona’s voice quivered with excitement, “I need to see you. Can you meet me in my suite in half an hour?”

“You’re done with dinner already? I thought…”

“No, I ducked out early. Not to worry, Gilchrist is still on board… or he should be… my mother’s still with him.”

Marlo chucked nervously, “Fingers crossed!”

“Have a little faith in me, Dr. Wright, I know what I’m doing.” Fiona put a little defensive edge to her tone.

“Oh! I know that Fiona, I guess I didn’t expect you to call, you know, after…” Marlo fumbled with her words.

Fiona smiled, enjoying the fact that she was continuing to wrong-foot her friend, “I said we’d catch up later, didn’t I? I still haven’t got an answer to my original question, by the way.”

“Huh?” Marlo tried to rewind the past minute of conversation. Gideon Wright looked up at his daughter’s confused face and raised an eyebrow. Marlo tried to focus on what Fiona was asking, “What question?”

Fiona let out a breath, “I said I need to see you. Can you come to my room in, say, about half an hour?”

“Okay… of course. Why?”

With her most imperious voice, Fiona answered, “You picked a fight with me and walked out without talking to me about it. And, technically, I’m your boss. Do I need to give a reason?”

Marlo’s mouth hung open. Oh shit. She’s pissed at me. She’s so pissed at me she pulled rank. Which she’s never done before. Shit. I’m toast. Burnt fricking toast. “Uh, no, of course not. I’ll be there in half an hour.”

Marlo hung up the phone and sighed.

Her dad looked up briefly from the deal documents on his lap, “What was that about?”

“Fiona’s done with the Gilchrist dinner early. Seems a bit odd, right?” Marlo tapped the phone against the side of her head.

Gideon Wright turned a page nonchalantly, “Shorter meetings are better meetings, what’s odd about that?”

“She wants to see me. In thirty minutes… in her room…”

“She’s been hot and cold with me all day.”

“Then go fix it,” Marlo’s father replied. He looked at his daughter over the top of his glasses, “And for the love of god, please tell her how you feel. Jacinta and I are ready to tell her ourselves if you don’t come out with it soon.”

“Wha-?” Marlo’s eyes widened, “No. No, no, no, no, no. That’s not on the table. No. I’ve pissed her off enough as it is. This is going to freak her out, like I’ve been some creepy stalker fan and… NO. I’m not going there.”

Gideon took his reading glasses off, “You’re underestimating her. Stop being a wimp. Tell her the real reason why you freaked out on her last week. It’ll be better. For the both of you. At least it’ll be out in the open.”

Marlo stared at her father for a couple beats, “I can’t, dad.”

“She’s your oldest and closest friend,” Gideon said as he put his glasses back on, “She deserves the truth. Otherwise, you’re not much of a friend, are you?”

Marlo stood stock still, her father’s words sunk in – fast and deep. Gideon turned back to his paper; he’d said what he’d been wanting to say for a while. The rest was up to Marlo.

“I better go – I shouldn’t keep her waiting,” Marlo muttered.

Gideon smirked, “Didn’t she say she wanted you to get there in thirty?”

“Oh… right.” Marlo sank into a club chair opposite her dad. The clock in room mocked her as it steadily… slowly… ticked and tocked through the seconds.

Marlo didn’t know what to expect. Fiona had left so abruptly… and now had summoned her so unexpectedly. After the longest wait of her life, Marlo strode through the hotel corridors and quietly knocked on Fiona’s door.

There was no answer.

Marlo knocked again. Nothing. She tried the door and found it unlocked. She opened the door and stepped into the room.

Fiona emerged from the bathroom, “Marlo. Thanks for coming. Well timed, too; I just finished my shower.” Fiona belted her robe.

Marlo stayed by the door, unsure of Fiona’s intentions, “I’m sorry it’s been awkward since we fought-“

Fiona held up her hand, “Hold that thought. Could you please lock the door?”

“Huh?” Marlo’s brain was tumbling around, there was a look on Fiona’s face that was new. Marlo didn’t dare name it.

“The door behind you. Please lock it.”

Marlo’s heart accelerated. She reached behind her and twisted the latch with a definitive click.

“I mean it. I’m sorry we fought,” Marlo started again, “I’m sorry I said all those things. I was picking a fight with you and it wasn’t fair.”

“It was…” Fiona leaned against the arm of the sofa, “… surprising, to say the least. I couldn’t figure out what got you so mad about me going to New York. I mean, why was it such a big deal?”

Tell her the truth! A voice screamed inside Marlo’s head.

Fiona tilted her head and continued, “… Especially since you had that beautiful brunette running around with you that day… it didn’t add up.”

“She… uh, she didn’t stay. She left.”

Fiona lifted her eyebrows, “Oh? She didn’t fall under your spell, Dr. Wright?”

Marlo shrugged, “I… uh… she and I are just friends. There’s nothing going on between us beyond that.”

Fiona’s heart leapt, rejoicing at the information. She couldn’t resist a little dig, “That’s unusual.”

Marlo shrugged again, “There was someone else I wanted.”

“Ah. That’s the Marlo I know,” Fiona chided, “and who, pray, did you want?”

Marlo took a deep breath and took the plunge, “Uh… it was someone I picked a fight with… and uh, that someone flew off to New York for a bit.”

The two women stared at each other. Each of them gazing at the other with an intensity that made words unnecessary.

Fiona’s eyes glimmered with happy tears.

Marlo rushed to explain, “I got jealous. I… I overheard your conversation with Mona. About Rowan. And you made plans to go see her. I lashed out. I couldn’t bear the idea that you chose her-“

“Stop.” Fiona’s voice was sharp. She swept a finger under each eye and straightened her back, “Stop. I don’t want to talk about our fight.”

“Why-?” Marlo was disoriented. She thought she’d get some sort of reaction from her confession. But instead, Fiona was acting like she hadn’t heard it at all. Also, there was something different about Fiona’s tone of voice, about the way Fiona was looking at her. It was the high-octane version of Fiona that Marlo had fantasized about for years: One part regal, two parts ravenous, all parts sexy. Nothing was making sense. Marlo shook her head in confusion, “I don’t understand.”

“Your Queen is commanding you to stop.” Fiona stated again. She punctuated it with a subtle wink.

Oh my god that’s the sexiest thing I’ve ever experienced. “Yes, er, okay.” Marlo whispered.

Fiona walked right up to Marlo, “Don’t… move… a muscle. Can you do that for me?”

“Yes,” Marlo barely moved her lips. Marlo’s blue eyes locked onto Fiona’s brown ones for a beat before Fiona reached out and placed her hands on Marlo’s chest and started to slowly unbutton Marlo’s shirt. Marlo couldn’t help but flinch with arousal with every brush of Fiona’s fingers against her body.

“Stay still, Marlo,” Fiona whispered as swept her hands under Marlo’s shirt and lifted the shirt up and off Marlo’s body, “I think it’s high time this happened…”