The fork fell down from Summer's grip to the ground with a loud rattle.
"You did what now?"
Gabe bent down and picked the fork up.
"Don't give me that, since when were you against blind dates?"
Summer suppressed the urge to pull on her hair! "I had never been on one! You already know that!"
It was one thing to do this with Carol, but even speaking about a blind date with Gabe gave Summer the chills.
"It's because I know how you're like that I've arranged it for you,"
"Really? And how am I like?!"
"You're outgoing and open minded,"
Summer threw a sharp look at the smooth talker. 'If I don't do the blind date then I'm close minded now is that it?'
Knowing his sister all too well, Gabe could already sense his victory, she only needed just a small amount of persuasion still, "Go out with the guy, if you hated it, just make up any excuse and cut it short, I did it a couple of times when the chemistry between the girl and I was just wrong, nothing strange about leaving in the middle of a date that sucks," he shrugged.
Summer felt horrible for the girls her brother was going out with, "Just because your skin is THAT thick, doesn't mean that mine is!" She argued. "And it's not cool to leave someone in the middle of a date, Gabe,"
Gabe ignored her comment, "I already gave him my word, consider it a favor for me then, hm?" he said between two bites of the pancakes she fixed for him first thing in the morning, "Summer," he stuffed his mouth with another bite, "This is so good," he pointed to his plate with his fork and knife.
Summer smiled at the compliment, her brothers had always enjoyed her food, "Chew before you swallow… and don't change the subject," she frowned.
He shook his head as he made an incomprehensible noise then took a gulp of the milk that she warmed up for him, it was just the temperature he liked.
"Honestly, you're amazing," he said.
Summer was back to smiling, "That's just the pancake speaking," she winked at him.
Gabe was eating as if he was preparing to go to a battle, he was so frustrated that his amazing sister who didn't lack for a thing was walking on pins and needles now racing to find a guy for her just because she was superstitious. He would never let anybody use her.
"Hell no," he muttered to himself.
Summer who became full after one pancake only had an elbow over the table and a hand under her chin, seeing Gabe eat with such a healthy appetite was heartwarming, there weren't that many years between them but as a little girl, having a baby brother was a lot like having a living toy she could play with and take care of, she always considered herself a deputy mother when it came to him, and because of that, it was even stranger that he'd come up with such a suggestion. 'It's not like him to do something so out of the ordinary'.
"…And the reason why this date is a blind one is that he asked you not to disclose anything about his identity until I met him?"
Gabe stared at her for a long moment, he wondered how his sister who was an MBA holder didn't arrive at the correct conclusion just yet, anyone in her place would've guessed the identity of the so called blind date by now. He tilted his head to the right and narrowed his eyes at her, wondering if she was feigning ignorance or playing some sort of a game on him.
Summer didn't like the look on his face, "No answer huh… Fine…I'll guess I'll think about it and then get back to you, don't give him an answer for now, okay?"
He was about to open his mouth to say that everything was set already but the sharp look she gave him changed his mind, he had better chances of her accepting the whole thing if he didn't press the subject any further, otherwise, her stubbornness would kick in and come in the way of his arrangements.
"If you're done, let's head out," she said when she saw his hand hesitating as it hovered over another pancake on the serving plate. At this point, Summer was worried about him eating more than what he could digest.
Gabe was torn between eating another pancake or not, it wasn't hunger or anything, they just tasted so good inside his mouth. He placed his fork on his plate with a great sense of remorse and then pouted dramatically.
"You're so past the age of making this expression, I'll pack the rest up for you so let's go now, I have an important meeting with the executive department today,"
The siblings were out of the apartment two minutes after that with the leftovers tucked securely under Gabe's arms. He grinned while Summer wore a stoic face as she considered her brother's offer.
***
Summer sat with the same expressionless face from morning; every team leader was present in the meeting hall for their monthly check-in with one of the executives from the upper management of Hosek Holding.
Since upper management and middle management had a huge case of air sandwich going on for them, none addressed the issue of withholding information about the ever changing upper management representative who led these meetings each month. To make things worse, the unidentified manager who was supposed to lead the meeting today was either running late or being a no-show altogether.
At first, the atmosphere was cheerful. Though the team leaders who were sitting around the table were rivals, it didn't mean that they were on bad terms with each other, they exchanged inside jokes and laughed at each other's expense, today in particular, the lack of bad jokes that Andrew usually cracked then threw Summer's way was an interesting and an unusual occurrence. Not that she minded him, it was only a bit unsettling.
Summer, in general, was someone who didn't feel comfortable accepting change immediately once it happened even if it was a change for the better, she found herself wondering if Andrew had a change of heart somehow and finally decided to grow up, or… Something far more serious than that. 'I hope Carol and her big mouth are not the reason behind all of this'. She stared at Andrew who never once made eye contact with her today.
Fifteen minutes afterward, the atmosphere had changed drastically and became one that was charged with negative vibes that the team leaders emitted, it was extremely degrading for whomever it was leading the meeting today to waste their time like this. A couple of the people present kept glancing at their wristwatches while others began to sigh and shift uncomfortably in their chairs.
Summer on the other hand, had a polite smile on her face while a vein on her forehead popped out menacingly, once she was totally fed up with it, she stood up, having every intention of saying something to the higher ups about this on behalf of her colleagues, The company was somewhat upright about decency and so she hoped that no one would be excused for behaving that rudely regardless of their title. She felt she had every right to speak up about it. 'Who does he think he is!!!', Summer, as a businesswoman, believed in something: every higher up had a higher up to answer to. Plain and simple.
The door opened at that very second when her decision to complain was born.
It was short lived.
No one was excused for behaving this rudely and every higher up had a higher up, EXCEPT for the CEO of Hosek Holding. Summer tried to swallow but her mouth and throat were too dry, if only she could've been mistaken about it, but while the CEO had a very plain face that never stood out on the few occasions Summer saw him on, the man was always ALWAYS the tallest person in the room. Yet, unlike anything of that extreme nature, his unusual height didn't look strange at all because of his perfectly proportioned body.
The man of the hour himself was making his way with sure CEO steps to the head of the table without making eye contact with anyone around him. And the silence was overwhelming.
"S-S-Sssummer!" The guy on Summer's right stuttered as he whisper shouted her name at her, everybody was shocked, but she was the only one shocked while standing on her two feet, she was so shocked that she couldn't get her body to sit down.
The CEO of Hosek Holding pulled the chair out but paused instead of sitting down, "After you, Ms. Taylor," he said gesturing with his chin for her to take a seat. With her eyes stopping on his chin and not daring to climb up to make eye contact, she sat down unceremoniously.
Summer was breaking into a cold sweat while she listened with suddenly super sensitive ears to the subtle noises the chair made when the big boss took a seat. She found the pen and empty paper placed in front of her extremely interesting as she stared hard at them with a frown and then decided to hold the pen ready for any notes the CEO was about to give. Her brain was all over the place and she felt like an elementary school girl who was caught doing something embarrassing by the teacher.
She was wishing she was transparent when her eyes flickered in the direction of the man clearing his throat right across from her. Andrew seemed like he was about to welcome the big boss. 'Thank goodness for that,' It was the first time Summer felt appreciative of the devil's thick scales that must be hidden beneath his suit, his aggressive nature that she disapproved of and recoiled away from was just what all the team leaders needed right now.
"Welcome Mr. Hosek, thank you for joining this meeting, we had no idea you were coming otherwise we would have prepared better… Summer was just saying that she was having issues with her back, it must've been strange for you to come in when she stood up to change the posture,"
Fighting the urge to throw the pen in Andrew's face, Summer squeezed it hard and looked at him with 'drop dead' eyes. She didn't appreciate the attempt to cover up for her, it was already embarrassing enough as is to get caught standing up frozen in a room full of sitting people, but he didn't need to go as far as coming up with such a ridiculous lie. She did have back issues, but her back was totally fine today!
"Do you have a bad back, Ms. Taylor?"
Summer peeled her eyes painfully away from the devil's face and locked eyes with the man asking, "It's minor but I try to be careful, Mr. Hosek," she went with honesty trying and succeeding to sound confident in front of the big boss whose big dark brown eyes were almost too noticeable under the exact same shade of brown hair.
'Wasn't he supposed to have a plain face?!'
"…Many of you didn't get to talk to me up this close before, but I sincerely hope that after this meeting, you'll be comfortable around me," his fingers tapped on the table rhythmically when no one said anything back to him. He leaned back in his chair and his thumb brushed over his lower lip, "There's a rumor going around in the upper floors about the marketing department, everyone else seems to think that your ideas can become much more exciting if you… loosen up a bit."
Summer's eyes that were looking everywhere except the CEO's face almost bulged out, 'was he late to this meeting on purpose?'
"…I suspected that at least one of my team leaders would go out and make a fuss, rightfully so…but since none of you have, I guess I have a bone to pick with the upper floors on your behalf,"
Neither Summer nor the other team leaders had any idea whether Mr. Hosek was complimenting them or dissing their performance. Summer peeked from under long eyelashes at the CEO.
Not only was she seeing the man up close for the first time like he said, but also, she was first handedly witnessing his sharpness and smooth yet obscure attitude that everyone spoke so highly of. The big boss of Hosek Holding was truly remarkable.
When Summer finished taking the first note on her paper, her face heated up under an unwavering gaze on her that was followed by the gaze of everybody else in the room. Everything became ominously quiet.
"…What did you write there with so much passion," the big boss asked, breaking the silence.
With a new wave of confidence, Summer decided to go with honesty again, and she really wanted to make an impression on him, even sounding strange was okay at this point "…I took a note to loosen up, Mr. Hosek,"
She made a show out of picking up the paper with a smile and showing it to him.
Two very long seconds ticked by as the CEO brushed a thumb over his lips again, every eye in the room watched as the corners of his lips quirked up when he removed his thumb.
"Fair enough, Ms. Taylor, then from now on, please, call me Valentine,"
Summer steeled herself and gave him a professional smile back, "I will do my best," she said vaguely, for the second time in less than five minutes, she couldn't tell if the man was being serious or sarcastic. She slightly slumped down when he fixed his gaze elsewhere to start the meeting. But Summer's head had left the meeting just now, there was no way she could focus, 'VALENTINE HOSEK!'
Summer didn't need anyone's help to understand that the universe was giving her yet another signal. She was desperate to hurry up before Valentine's Day marks the end of her life!