PLAY WITH ME

Timothy Kavell-Packard hurried to his father's office like he was being chased. He was actually driven there... Driven by surprise and anger that his father had made such a big decision about their company without telling him first.

Actually, he had been told, but he just didn't think that giving the account to Golden gate promotions was a good idea when there were better Ad agencies to consider, and he couldn't believe that after making it clear that he hadn't made up his mind yet, his father had gone through with it without notifying him.

His father, Jensen Packard was strong willed and determined, but it was still unlike him to make a decision like this without making sure that they were both on the same page. Which was why he was heading to his office to make his displeasure known.

He was greeted by some of the staff as he walked by, and he responded to their greetings with series of nods and handshakes, although he wasn't even really listening to what any of them said. He was so tensed that he didn't knock when he got to his father's office, but he simply grabbed the door knob and pushed the door open.

Jensen Packard sat behind his desk, his head bowed as he wrote on a paper in front of him. That head rose now and there was a frown on his face. Probably pissed at whoever had the guts to open his office in that manner and ready to make sure they didn't do it again. Only his wife would do something like that, and he was sure that she wouldn't unless he had done something to piss her off. He didn't remember doing anything because he was always careful not to. Katherine didn't always get angry, but whenever she did.... Well, Jensen just hated to see her in that mood so he did his best to avoid it.

His features softened when he realized that it was his son, but that didn't stop him from scolding him.

"What is the matter with you? Don't you knock?" he questioned. "I believe I raised you better than that"

Timothy didn't reply, instead he closed the door behind him and stepped into the lavishly designed office. The windows were huge. A sea of royal-blue carpet covered the floor. There was a vast desk at one end and some fascinating etchings framed in gold on the walls. At the other end there was a brown leather buttoned three-piece lounge suite set about a coffee table.

Jensen Packard sure knew how to enjoy life. In his late fifties, Jensen still looked really good and could pass for someone in his late fourties. He was an intriguing looking man, and the patch of Grey hair on the left side of his head mixed well with the dark ones, giving him a 'sugar daddy' kind of vibe. Not only was he a fine physical specimen beneath the faultless tailoring of the navy-blue suit he was wearing, he also had rather remarkable dark eyes. The planes and angles of his face were sculpted finely and his mouth was thin and chiseled. There was a kind of eagle intensity to those dark eyes that gave every intimation of a man who knew what he wanted.... and got it.

Tim was like his father too....Not physically, because Tim was adopted. They both had dark hair, but while Jensen's was straight, Timothy's was curled. Something he had disliked when he was a teenager and had done a lot to straighten. Back then he didn't understand why everyone loved it so much. To him, they looked childish.

Although Tim didn't share facial resemblance with Jensen, he had learnt so much from him... In fact he had learnt everything he knew about business from him. He knew that the company would be his when Jensen retired, and that was why he was so upset that such a decision had been made without him. He felt left out. Maybe it was a good idea to give the account to Golden gate promotions, he wasn't sure, but still he didn't like that his father had gone through with it without checking with him.

So Jensen could look as intimidating as he wanted, but Tim wasn't affected. He knew that beneath all that tough look, was a kind, loving man. He knew because Jensen had raised him... And he knew that if he couldn't get something from his father, all he had to do was persist, and if that didn't work, he could just speak to his mother, and he would get it. He knew how much his father loved his wife, Katherine Kavell-Packard. There was nothing he wouldn't do for her, but Tim tried not to make a habit of rushing to his mother when ever things went wrong.

There was no need to involve his mother in this. He could handle it on his own. He slammed the papers he was holding on the desk in front of Jensen. Papers that Jensen didn't make any effort to look at. There was no need to look, he knew exactly what was in them, and he had expected this exact reaction from his son so he remained calm.

"You should have told me" said Timothy, pacing the room back and forth. "I can't believe that you made a decision without telling me. What the hell dad?"

The expression on Jensen's face immediately turned back into a frown. "Mind your language, Young man" he said sternly, but the frown disappeared from his face almost as quickly as it had appeared. "Now sit down and tell me what's got you all worked up"

Timothy made no move to do as his father said. Instead he stopped pacing only to look his father dead in the eye. "You know damn well why I'm upset. I'm so mad at you dad" he said, gritting his teeth. "You have no idea how...."

"I said sit down" Jensen repeated. "I will pay you no attention if you are just going to stand and stare down at me. Now sit down and tell me what's you are so mad about"

Timothy knew that tone. He knew when his father was serious, so he took a seat, and started speaking right away.

"I can't believe that you would decide to give the account to Golden gate promotions and you didn't tell me about it "

Jensen relaxed in his chair. "I did tell you about it" he said simply, tapping his fingertips on the arm rest of the chair.

"Yes, you did, but I told you that I was still thinking about it. We agreed that we wouldn't go into this hastily since we had other agencies to consider. I hadn't decided and you signed the papers already."

"Hmmm" Jensen said, almost absent mindedly and stopped tapping his fingers. "I decided that there was no need to hesitate. It is the best option for us. We also have a lot to gain from them. Why wait?"

Timothy wasn't satisfied with that explanation at all. He honestly couldn't understand why his father was acting this way because he never behaved like this before. This was the first time that Jensen had done something like this since Timothy had become an active partner in their company, and from the look on his face, he could tell that his father had something else that he wasn't telling him, but what ever it was, he didn't appreciate being exempted from the decision making process for any reason at all.

"It doesn't matter" Timothy said, leaning forward in his chair. "You should have at least given me a heads up! That is not how partners behave"

The frown immediately returned to Jensen face. "It's my company. I run it and I don't have to run every decision by you first before I go ahead with them. I'm allowed to make one or two decisions without you. And you better stop taking that tone with me."

"Our company, dad" Timothy corrected, as he stood angrily from his chair, unable to sit any longer. "I have contributed greatly to the success of this company and you cannot deny that fact. I am a part of this company just as much as you are and I am not happy with this... One bit. I just want you to know that. The deal isn't complete without my signature on it, and you can be sure as hell that I'm not going to sign anything until I am sure that we are making the right decision. I do not care what you think, because you have proved to me that you do not care about my opinion either" and with that, he stormed out of the office.

--------------

Chloe Gilbert drove her car into Packard enterprises premises and parked in the driveway but she didn't get out. She sat in her car and took several deep breaths, as if doing that would give her the confidence she desperately needed for the day. It had been a while since she had been in this town, she thought. It had been years in fact.

Once upon a time, she had loved the town... although the love for the town hadn't come immediately. At first, she hated it. Hated the fact that her family had to move. Hated her parents for making her leave all her friends and start a new life. It had taken her a while to get used to her new environment. But then she met Timothy Kavell, her best friend and high school sweetheart, and things had taken a new turn.

That happiness didn't last very long. Her parents divorced in her senior year of high school, and Chloe did not handle the change in her family well... No one handled that kind of change well. So after they graduated, she couldn't find a reason to stay, not even for Timothy. She believed that there was nothing left for her there... Nothing but the sad, horrible memories of her family splitting up. And despite Timothy's pleas for her to stay, she refused. She wanted a new life away from the small town in which they lived, and living in the house she used to live in with her parents before their divorce didn't sound like something to look forward to.

Tim wanted to stay, and he did return even after college. He loved the town and he was the kind of guy who always wanted to be around his family, but Chloe decided that although it was nice, maybe that kind of life just wasn't for her.

Timothy went from being sad about her leaving to being so angry to the extent that he wanted nothing to do with her. He shut her out completely and refused to speak to her whenever she tried to reach out to him. She couldn't blame him though, because she knew that their break up and falling out had all been her fault, so after a while she just stopped trying and they both moved on. She had lived her life. They both had. Her parents still weren't on good terms even years after their messy divorce, and she was tired of the constant fighting between them whenever they saw each other, so she just avoided situations like that and preferred to visit them separately....anything for peace to reign...Or at least be away from the chaos.

She had a great job and she was doing well at it. Her boss, Evan Reese liked and trusted her. In the four years that she had worked for him, he had become more than her boss. He was her friend, and that was precisely why he had chosen her to do this for him.

Evan wanted this account with Packard Enterprises badly. Their agency was small and they needed the money and the exposure. An account with a big company like Packard Enterprises would be great for their agency. So when he found out that Chloe knew Jensen Packard personally, even if was a long time ago, he insisted that she come with him to the meeting, and like he had guessed, her presence and of course her pitch at the meeting had helped greatly in convincing Jensen that this was a good offer, but Evan was convinced that Chloe's presence alone had a lot to do with Jensen accepting their offer, judging by how happy he was to see her.

A few days ago, Jensen Packard had called to say that he was having a hard time convincing his son that this was the right decision for their company, and he wanted a representative who could. And of course Evan had sent her, believing that if anyone could, it would be her.

Now, as she sat in her car, she tried to remind herself that there was absolutely no need to feel so nervous. It was ridiculous in fact. She was good at her job. Why else would Evan trust her to do this if she wasn't? If she could convince Jensen, then she could certainly do the same with Timothy. All she needed was to be professional. Whatever happened between them happened years ago and there was no way Timothy would still be upset about it. She just needed to do her job, convince Timothy and get the hell out.

How hard could that be? And maybe luck would be on her side and Timothy Kavell wouldn't need much convincing.

Chloe hurried into the impressive building and headed straight for the blond receptionist who was sitting behind her desk.

"Hello," she said.

The young lady lifted her head and smiled cheerfully at her. "Hello," she said sweetly. "Good morning ma'am. How may I help you?"

"Ermm, I'm here to see Mr Packard. I have an appointment with him. I'm sure he's expecting me right now" said Chloe.

"Which Mr Packard would like to see ma'am?" asked the receptionist. When she saw the look on Chloe's face, she added. "You see both Mr Packard and his son are here. I just wanted to know which of the two you have an appointment with."

Chloe felt excitement and panic at the same time at the thought of seeing Timothy... and hated it. If she was going to do this and do it right, she shouldn't be feeling that way. At this point, she wished there could have been a way to do this without involving Timothy. She knew that was impossible, but hey, a girl could wish a little, right?

She wondered what Timothy would look like now...couldn't stop wondering what kind of person he had become. Of course she had seen pictures of him. How could she not when he was part owner of an amazing company like Packard Enterprises, but seeing a picture of someone and meeting them in person were two different things.

"What's your name please?" the receptionist added when Chloe didn't reply.

"Chloe.... Chloe Gilbert" said Chloe, shaking her head as if that would get rid of her thoughts. "And although I'm supposed to see Timothy Packard too, my appointment is with Mr Packard himself, I mean Jensen Packard, not his son"

The receptionist checked her list and smiled at Chloe when she raised her head. "I see that you do have an appointment," she said. "I'm sure he must be expecting you. Let me just let him know that you are here"

Chloe watched her punch a button and after a while say, "Yes sir, I have Miss Gilbert here for you" There was a pause, then she added. "Alright then, I will send her up"

She hung up and returned her attention to Chloe. "Please come with me. I will show you to his office." She stood and Chloe followed her into the elevator. A few seconds later after they left the elevator, Chloe found herself walking down a hallway and soon, she was standing in front of a door with Jensen Packard's name on it.

"Here you go," said the Lady.

"Thank you very much," replied Chloe. The Lady responded with a smile and a nod before she turned and walked away.

Chloe lifted her hand and tapped lightly on the door before she grabbed the door knob and softly pushed it open.

-------------

Timothy Packard stood in his father's office, waiting to see who this representative from Golden Gate promotions was, and why his father was so sure that he had made the right decision. He couldn't just wait to prove his father wrong, and he was very sure that he would be unimpressed with this so-called pitch.

Jensen on the other hand, sat idly in his chair and watched the expression on his son's face. "Come on, I know you are mad at me, but can you just relax and have a seat, Tim? '' he said casually. "There's no need to be like this. Believe me, I'm sure you will thank me for this... Maybe not today but someday, I'm sure you will"

Timothy frowned and kept his eyes on the door. "It's Timothy not Tim, dad. I already told you that several times" he said, "And I highly doubt that I would ever thank you for this. There are many things I'm grateful to you for, but being cut off is not one of them"

Jensen said nothing but chuckled slightly as the frown in Timothy's face became even more pronounced. The chuckle annoyed Timothy even more. As far as he was concerned, there was nothing funny about this situation, but he ignored his father.

There was a knock on the door that instant. Father and son looked at each other and then back at the door, but neither of them said anything.

The door opened softly and a lady walked in.

-------

Timothy had somehow known that something was up from the day he confronted his father about this issue, but he had never thought... Never could have guessed that it could be this.... That it could be her.

Timothy had not seen Chloe Gilbert in years, but he recognized her immediately. Hell, there was no way he could ever forget her face. He didn't think that he would ever see her again... Not after the silly way things had ended between them. He didn't even let himself think about it. He had put it behind him, but that wasn't the point. The point was that she was standing right in front of him after such a long time, and he couldn't seem to get himself to move an inch.

Vibrant. Vivacious. So fucking beautiful.... Timothy couldn't think of a word to describe her because she was all of it.

Dressed in a light green floaty top and skin tight black leather trousers, she was a magnificent vision, powerful enough to slacken his jaw before he caught himself and pressed his lips into appropriately neutral, downright unfriendly lines. Her curvy hips and endless legs were balanced on sky-high heels matching her trousers and, with that combined with her bouncy curls and flawless make-up, Timothy felt his breathing fracture into useless silent hiccups as he stared.