Chapter 5 5

"Good morning Mr.Cole. I hope you had a pleasant trip" I greet him as I enter his office.

"Yes thank you, Emily. Where is my son?" he asks looking behind me just as I shut the door.

"Uh, he should be on his way" I say though I have no idea how long he will be.

I take a seat in one of the small grey chairs in front of his large oak desk and hand him the documents he requested to be looked over.

"They've been cleared and are now ready to be signed by Mr Brown," I tell him as he flicks over the pages, licking his index fingers as he does so.

"Hmm" he mumbles to himself before putting the papers on the desk, "how about some coffee while we wait for my son?"

"That would be lovely" I smile even though I hate coffee. I never liked it really, the smell makes me feel slightly sick but I don't want to be rude and refuse his offer.

"Lucia," he says into the speaker of his office phone, "could I please have a flat white and a..."

"Oh, I'll have the same" I answer as he looks up at me, waiting for my request.

"Make that two flat whites" he continues holding down the button that allows him to connect with the reception.

"Right away sir" Lucia says from the other side of the line.

Lucia's a nice girl though I was a bit shocked when she walked out of Shawn's room early one morning, obviously wearing her clothes from the night before. She was embarrassed when she had to do the walk of shame in front of me. I remember sarcastically smiling at her and calling out "See you at work" just as she walked out the front door.

"So I was talking to your mother this morning" he says and I'm immediately baffled by this statement.

Why would he be talking to my mother of all people? oh god, am I being fired?

"She's a very polite woman isn't she" he continues.

"Yes, very" I agree still confused as to why he would be talking to her.

"She said that you have always wanted to go overseas?" He asks and I begin to panic even more at the thought of them talking about me. I pray she didn't tell him anything embarrassing.

"I've always wanted to see what life is like outside of New York," I say truthfully.

I was born in Australia though I was raised in New York and had never left the States since we moved over. My family and I were planning on going to France for a holiday but only days before we left, my brother was admitted to hospital and we soon found out he had leukaemia. 6 months later he passed away. He was 12.

"It's always good to experience other cultures, especially when you're young" he smiles.

Just as I'm about to ask him why he was talking to my mother he picks up his desk phone.

"Well then, let's find out where Shawn is shell we?" he says and I stop him immediately.

"Oh no, Mr Cole it's fine. I'll find him for you" I stand from my chair and he hangs up his phone.

"Uh ok, thank you Emily" he says a little confused by my gesture.

I know if Mr.Cole found out that Shawn was making us wait because he was with some girl he would be extremely mad. Mr.Cole knows what Shawn is like and doesn't really mind but when it comes to him calling meetings he expects Shawn to be there. He always says 'The day you find a great woman is the day I will accept you standing me up' to which Shawn of course scoffed at his comment.

I grab my phone out from my handbag once I shut Mr Cole's office door and walk down the hall to the main top-floor lobby.

I dial Shawn's number and it only takes a couple of rings before he picks up.

"Where are you?" I whisper harshly into the phone as there are a few men in business suits milling about.

"I'm here," he says at the exact moment the elevator 'dings', indicating it has reached the top floor.

The doors open and I see Shawn holding the phone to his ear whilst smirking down at blonde little Lucia who stands next to him holding our coffee.

I hang up the phone and strut straight over to them as they stare deeply into each other's eyes.

"Thank you, Lucia" I interrupt, their flirtatious gazes at one another holding strong as I take the coffee out of her hands, though neither of them looks at me.

The elevator doors begin to shut and I have to put my hand out to stop them from closing completely.

"Shawn your dad's waiting for you," I say turning away now.

"I'll see you around Lucia" I hear Shawn mutter and she lets out a small giggle which makes me roll my eyes as I walk towards the hallway.

Shawn finally catches up to me and walks by my side though I don't look up at him as I know he will be smirking.

"Have a nice morning?" I say looking straight forward down the long passage that has multiple small offices branching off.

"You mean breakfast with you?" He says in a serious tone but I can see him cheekily smiling in the corner of my eye.

"No," I say bluntly.

I know he knows what I'm talking about.

"Ohhh right you mean my second breakfast" he says giving his fingers one short sharp click and I look up at him in disgust as he refers to his Tiana as his 'second breakfast'.

"Yeah, she was delicious. I mean IT was delicious" he grins and I shake my head in disapproval of his sick humour.

We walk back into Mr. Cole's office and I hand him his coffee before sitting back down in the grey chair with mine in my hand.

"Alas, my son finally joins us," he says sarcastically as Shawn takes a seat next to me.

"Sorry, Dad. I got... held up" he says making himself a little more comfortable and Mr.Cole gives him a thoughtful glare, making Shawn grin from ear to ear.

"Well then we're just waiting on Max" Mr Cole says as he swivels his chair away from us, taking a look over the busy rush that is New York.

"I thought you didn't like coffee" Shawn whispers leaning over to me, looking down at the warm cup between my hands.

"I don't" I say quietly so Mr.Cole doesn't hear, "but I didn't want to be rude".

Shawn rolls his eyes at my politeness and gestures for me to hand him the cup.

I hand it to him and he immediately starts gulping back.

"Here" he whispers, handing me back a much lighter cup, "at least now it'll look like you drank it".

"Thank you" I mouth and he gives a small smile, his dimple almost reaching the surface.

A small knocking is heard from the door making all three of us turn to look.

Max walks in, awkwardly readjusting his red tie as he takes the seat on my left.

"I'm so sorry Mr.Cole. There was an emergency with the Graysons project that I had to quickly attend to" he says looking a little flustered.

"Yes, Sam just called me. Is everything OK?" He asks, not looking at all worried.

Max is one of the main supervisors within the company and also one of Mr. Cole's most trustworthy advisors. He's a very hard-working young man whom Mr.Cole highly respects.

"Yes sir" he replies with a small smile before turning to Shawn and me, giving us a small hello which we kindly return.

"So, I have called the three of you here as I have some important news to announce," he says bringing his hands together and leaning forward on the desk.

"During my latest business trip, I had multiple meetings with the board that is currently running the company in France and we have come to the decision that we would like to extend our business opportunities and transfer our main office to England" he announces.

"Wow" Max says though both me and Shawn remain quiet.

Shawn because he is probably wondering why he is even here for this news and me because I'm beginning to think this is his way of firing us.

"So basically the three of you are in here because I wanted you to be the first to know as I would like you to come with me" he says and I almost immediately feel my mouth drop open.

England! He wants us to go to England!? So this is why he was talking about travel before. I don't know whether to jump for joy or cry.

"I don't know what to say" Max says sounding extremely chuffed.

"Say yes" Mr.Cole suggests.

"Well, I'm in" Shawn raises his hand before dropping it back down on his lap.

Even though he's being a little quiet I know he's excited to go back and see his friends. Both he and his dad have been going back during Christmas to visit Mr Cole's family ever since they moved over here 5 years ago. Shawn always said he wanted to go back after he finished his degree which ends this year.

"Uhh," I say raising my eyebrows, unable to form words as Mr Cole looks at me for a response.

"You don't need to rush your decision but you three are the only ones I am wishing to take over from the New York branch. You're my most valuable employees" he says with a grin, "and son" he adds looking at Shawn who lazily shrugs.

"So, I'll give you some time to think it over but get back to me as soon as you can. I'm hoping to leave in a couple of weeks he says and all three of us stand from our chairs.

A couple of weeks!?

"Thank you Mr.Cole" Max and I both say in unison making Max turn to me and smile brightly.

We all walk towards the door and just as I'm about to open it, Max opens it for me, holding the glass back for me to walk through.

"Thank you" I smile politely looking into his warm brown eyes.

"You're welcome" he smiles back and I hear Shawn let out a small laugh as he follows me through to the hallway.

"Max can I talk to you for a moment" Mr.Cole calls after him.

"Ah yeah sure" he replies and walks back into the office while Shawn and I make our way down the hallway.

"Oh that's funny" Shawn starts chuckling to himself.

"What?"

"He wants you so bad" he continues, pushing his hair back away from his face.

"What? Who?" I ask looking into Shawn's seemingly amused face.

"Max. He was drooling all over you like a lost puppy."

"No, he wasn't" I frown at his accusation.

"Ahh yes, he was. I could see it all over his face when he was looking at you in the office and when he held the door open" he chuckles again.

"I don't think so Shawn" I say pushing the elevator button to go down.

"He was. He has been ever since the day you started working for my dad. I see him staring all the time".

"You're so full of it" I sigh not believing a word he says.

He's just making it up to try to annoy me as per usual. I've known Max for the entire three years I've been working here and he's been nothing but nice to me.

"Whatever. I know what I saw. You're just too oblivious to notice" he says as we finally step into the elevator.

Just as the doors are about to close someone calls out 'Wait!' so I quickly stick my hand out, making the doors retract to their original place.

"Thanks" Max smiles stepping into the elevator.

"Couldn't wait for the next one?" Shawn smiles but I know he's teasing him, referring to the fact that I'm in here.

I step on Shawn's foot hard as Max turns away from us and pushes his floor level, Shawn's smile growing larger from my reaction.

"Oh um... I was just wondering if you wanted to go out sometime" he says nervously towards me as Shawn stares at him from my side, "to discuss the whole England thing and all" he finishes.

"Do I get to come?" Shawn teases again and Max looks at him a little surprised.

Just before he answers Shawn with what I'm sure will be a polite yes I quickly answer.

"Of course. Just message me through the details whenever" I say politely and thankfully we reach his floor.

"Uh ok cool" he says looking between Shawn and me. Still unsure if Shawn was being serious or not.

"Bye Max" Shawn says as he steps out into another small reception area.

"Cya" Max smiles nervously at the two of us right before the doors close, leaving Shawn and me alone in the elevator.

"Now tell me that wasn't pretty much asking you out on a date" Shawn says, putting his hands deep in his pockets and leaning against the wall with a smug look on his face.

"It's to discuss England" I say though the excuse doesn't seem that valid.

"Why wasn't I invited then?" He asks and I can tell by his self-righteous facial expressions that he's only trying to prove a point.

"Would you like to come?" I ask sarcastically looking at him sympathetically.

"Aww, thanks Emily. But I don't think Max will appreciate me messing up his game plan" he smiles sweetly.

"Oh, how considerate of you" I smile back.

We finally reached the bottom floor and I couldn't escape the small space any faster. We both walk out into the main lobby where Lucia sits well-reserved behind the large hollow circle desk that 3 other receptionists also occupy.

As soon as she sees Shawn her statue-like features soon change once she sees him. She beams a huge smile in his direction in which he gives her a wink back, making her gush even more.

"I'll see you later Emily. Have fun with your mums" he quickly says before walking over to the platinum blonde, leaving me to walk back out of the building alone.