Page 66 of Corporate Escapades

“And stop jabbing each other every chance you get,” added Chase. “If you can’t work together, the board will demote you again. Do you want that to happen?”

Paris felt as if she was being scolded by her father. “Fine. I’ll watch my back, but I’m not talking to him unless I have to,” she replied. Even she realized her response was juvenile. Her face reddened with embarrassment.

“Come on. What happened?” asked Mya. “Why are you at each other’s throats? If this has to do with our weekend away, figure itout and deal with it. You’re two major cogs in the ADG machine. If you can’t work together, it could mean the downfall of ADG.”

Nodding, Chase said, “I agree one-hundred percent. This is no time to fall apart.”

Vic nodded as well. He knew Mya and Chase were right, but Paris had become oddly quiet. She shut down at some point during Mya’s speech. What had happened? He had shown his interest. He knew they were playing with fire by getting into bed together, but he hadn’t expected this outcome. Looking at her, he still felt drawn, despite his anger and resentment at how she was acting. Conceding, he said, “Paris, please. I know we’re going through something, but please. We need to be careful. We need to back each other. Mya and Chase are right.”

“I’m sorry,” replied Paris. “I have to go. I can’t do this right now.” She felt deflated. She turned and exited the room. She couldn’t stand to stay another moment under their scrutiny. She needed to walk away from the anger and embarrassment.

“Paris!” called Mya. Paris turned to look at her. She practically ran to keep up. “I haven’t given you the keys to your new condo,” she said, holding them out. “Your parents decided to put you in the Lotus building. Twelfth floor, unit 1. New condos.”

“Where’s Vic located?”

“He’ll be in unit 3 at the opposite end and corner of the floor. I have even more exciting news. The board, as a bonus for Chase and me, moved us to the same floor. I’ll be in unit 2 and Chase in unit 4. I know you’re upset right now, but I think this will be a good thing. At least they put him in the farthest unit, away from you. Hopefully, that’ll give you a little comfort.”

“I’d be happier if he was on a different floor or in a separate building, but on a positive note, I’m excited to see the new units,” she replied, grabbing the keys from Mya’s outstretched hand.

Grinning, Mya said, “Let’s go check them out!”

Mya knew Paris was going through a rough patch. She hoped her friend would figure things out sooner than later. For the moment, she’d let their conversation mellow. She knew her friend was at her threshold, and she didn’t want to push her too far, too fast. It took a lot of strength for her to not ask Paris about whatever she had witnessed at the cabin. She didn’t want to talk about Cristo, so she wouldn’t press Paris about Vic.

The walk to the Lotus building was short. It was located two buildings over from corporate, compared to several blocks to her previous residence. Her old condo, from prior to the demotion, was located in the building between Lotus and corporate.

“Here we are,” said Mya. “Are you ready?”

“I think so,” replied Paris. She stepped forward and unlocked the door. Swinging it open, she paused, her jaw dropping. The unit was filled with her own furniture. It was also quite a bit larger than her old place, with a sprawling balcony.

Stepping onto the balcony, she saw a beautiful new wicker all-weather cushioned patio set arranged in an L around a table with lava rocks in the center. Jumping up and down, she pointed at the lava rocks. She’d always wanted a tabletop fireplace. Across from the patio set sat a large hot tub. The view she had was of the park below. She could smell the flowers on the warm evening breeze. She knew this was her mother’s little touch.

“Your parents have been planning this move for quite some time. Do you love it?” asked Mya.

“It's perfect. Let’s see the rest.” Walking back inside, she inspected the living room, which was open to the kitchen and breakfast bar. Her kitchen now held a wine fridge and beautiful frosted glass front cabinets. It had bright, cheery white wood, black stainless-steel appliances, and black granite countertops,with a black, white, and steel backsplash. The black and white looked stunning together. The island in the center had four steel-looking bar stools on the far side and a gas cooktop on the inner. Paris ran her fingers over the granite countertop. She’d always wanted a black and white color scheme in her kitchen. Her parents had actually listened to her random ramblings from three years earlier.

Looking out over the living room, she had her beautiful white settee and a large black faux fur rug, which was new, along with her other furniture from her old place. There were new pillows on all the furniture, which brought a little color into the room. They were in shades of blue-green, grey, and black. Just a pop of color, as her mother would say.

“Let’s look at the bathroom,” said Mya. She was already halfway across the room. Paris followed her. Peering inside, they saw a white marble vanity, the usual stool, and a waterfall shower with dark gray marble tile, which also matched the floor. The walls were a light grey and decorated with a couple of large tropical flower prints, which Paris recognized immediately. Looking closer, she saw Brody’s signature in the bottom right corner. Thick, black, ornate frames surrounded the photos. The rugs and towels were all blue-green, which looked great with the flower prints she knew Cristo had gifted. Paris couldn’t stop smiling.

“I love it,” said Mya. “You can really tell they went out of their way to make you feel at home.”

“Yeah. I didn’t think my parents were listening when I spoke of my dream condo.”

“I didn’t either,” she laughed. “I guess we were both wrong.”

Moving on to her new master suite, she found the room to be spacious. The entire condo, except for the bathrooms, had grey wood floors. Her new bedroom had a large white faux fur area rug. The bed had a beautiful down comforter with a pink duvetemblazoned with the Eiffel tower and other French-inspired images. The bed also contained four feather pillows. Two of which had shams matching her new bedspread.

Across the room, Paris threw open two slatted doors to reveal a large walk-in closet, which contained all her clothing and accessories, including built-in racks to show off her many pairs of shoes, and drawers to house her jewelry, watches, sunglasses, and any other item she needed to stow. Everything was hung neatly and easy to access. The closet's center held a large round bench with a purple plush tufted seat, which opened up to reveal several cozy blankets in blue-green, purple, and white and ranged from down to cashmere. Paris was thrilled. She loved her blankets.

Exiting the closet, she moved on to a second white-slatted door, which upon opening, revealed a large beautiful private bath with her own waterfall therapy shower and an oversized whirlpool tub with a window overlooking the park. The vanity was white and grey marble and held two sinks. The cabinet below the vanity was a beautiful grey wood, reminiscent of driftwood. The mirror above the vanity matched the cabinet. Paris immediately fell in love. There was even a built-in closet with plenty of shelves to hold towels and whatever else she wanted to store.

Exiting the bathroom, there was a second bedroom next door. This particular bedroom was decorated in Navy and white and had a large oak desk with a brand-new laptop and printer. There were even photos of her family, including Alli, hanging on the wall. “Wow, I didn’t expect any of this.”

“It’s quite exceptional,” said Mya. Looking over at Paris, she saw tears streaking her face.

“It’s so perfect,” she whispered.

Reaching for her friend, Mya pulled her into a hug. “You have made so much progress, and you are a huge asset to thecompany. You deserve this. Your parents want you to know that this is yours as long as you keep up the good work. This is their way of saying they believe in you. I believe in you too.”

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