The CEO (14 page)

Tears welled in my eyes as I stared into his. Truth be told, I still felt like complete shit for ignoring his calls. He could have died and I would’ve felt like an ever bigger jackass if he went missing and never returned.

It was extremely difficult for him to speak, which I knew must have been one of the effects from the brain damage the doctor told us about.

“Sheila, he’ll have a long road to recovery, but at least he’s awake and is still with us,” Dad said from behind me.

“I know, but—”

“Stop. It’s not your fault.”

I turned around and looked at my father. His brown eyes bore into mine and I tried my best to listen to what he said, but it didn’t stop the fact that I was still beating myself up on the inside.

The doctor came in to speak with us and told us that they wanted to run a few more tests on Kieran. Now that he was awake, they needed to assess the damage again. “We’ll take good care of him,” she said as a team of nurses came in after her. They brought in a smaller gurney to transport my brother on.

“Dad, I’m gonna go. Please keep me updated.”

“I will, sweetheart.”

As I prepared for the day’s interviews, I knew I had to put Kieran in the back of my mind and stay focused. I didn’t need that distraction. I couldn’t let Quinn National go down in flames over the remorse and regret I felt deep down inside.

“Ms. Quinn, your ten o’clock is here to see you,” Karen said over the intercom.

“Thank you, Karen. Send him in.”

I had forgotten to pull out my sheet of questions that I normally asked people out of the bottom drawer of my desk. They were unique and slightly disturbing questions that I asked people who applied for a higher position in the company. It kept them guessing and on their toes.

I opened the drawer and found the paper as the gentleman walked into my office. “Just give me a sec.”

After I fished it out of my desk and was about to make eye contact, a familiar voice spoke my name. “Sheila?”

I quickly returned my gaze to the doorway and John was standing in it.

You have got to be shitting me.

“Have a seat, John. Let’s not make this weird, let’s just keep this professional. A high paying position is on the line.”

He sat down in front of me in his crisp all black suit and nodded in agreement.

“Name?” I asked.

“Jonathan Keegan.”

“Why do you want to work here, John?”

“Honestly, because I feel I have something new and exciting to offer Quinn National.”

“Such as?” I retorted, intrigued.

“Well for instance, I know there is no marketing director here. I have extensive business knowledge and a background in programming.”

“Okay, and what does that mean?”

“It means I can help develop apps for your company. I know you’ve recently acquired a natural gas division and I believe I can effectively market it for you. I can create an app that will allow users with any smart phone to view their usage, compare potential usage with other companies, and compare previous usage before the conversion. It will also be able to track new sign ups and send us an instant feed when someone requests more information.”

I honestly hadn’t pegged him as a tech nerd and I also hadn’t thought he’d come in here ready to offer something that would be so useful to the company. I figured this was going to be a breeze but it was not, and he’d definitely gotten my attention. I did need serious help with my Nat-Co department and this might be a step in the right direction.

“Next question. If for some reason I was at an inspection site and a drilling crane fell down on my head, instantly killing me, how would you deal with your new responsibility in the company? Also, how would you prevent that from happening in the first place?”

“Well for starters, you would not be allowed to be that close to the equipment. If for some reason you were in a freak accident, I’d assume leadership by hiring an assistant to handle the marketing while I would bring fresh ideas and market revenue to your company by keeping up with the latest trends and developing my own. I would also keep in touch with your family for advice before I’d make any company changes.”

He knew how important my family was to me, even though he didn’t know much about them. Those were things I needed to hear. I’d also done a thorough background check on him: he was a valued employee at his previous employer, but budget cuts did not allow him to progress any further.

“Okay, well thank you for your time. We will be in touch if we decide to proceed with hiring you for this company,” I said with a stern look on my face as I shook his hand.

“Sheila, wait,” he said with a genuine look of concern on his face.

“What?”

“I had no idea that you worked here. I hope you believe that.”

“Okay, you can leave my office now, John. I have several more of these today.”

As John exited the room, Ryan stepped in. “He looks like your type. Did you hire him?”

“And what exactly is my ‘type’, Ryan?”

“Attractive, smart, you know, the basics?”

“Haha very funny. He does have potential though, I won’t deny that.”

“Good, we need more men around this place anyway.”

After sitting through five long and boring interviews, it was finally time to go home. I was only interested in two potential hires, John and another guy named Frank Dugan. Everyone else was either boring or lacking the real enthusiasm and creativity we needed. I needed new and fresh, not old and boring.

I pulled up in front of my condo and went straight into the bathroom upon entering. I threw some soaking salts into the tub before running the hot water and lit some vanilla scented candles to help me relax. I headed into the kitchen to see what wine selections I had left to enjoy with my bath.

After the tub was full, I stripped down and slid my foot into the water first to make sure it wasn’t too hot. I placed my phone down beside the tub and poured a glass of pink Moscato before fully submerging myself into the water.

I could feel the stress of the day leaving my body as I sank further into the soapy water, but my mind started racing a mile a minute.

Last night, I slept with John. Today, I interviewed Jonathan Keegan for the vacant Vice President position at my job
. My life had been like one huge rollercoaster, and I had my hands high in the sky without a care in the fucking world.

I felt warmth grow between my legs just thinking about John and rubbed my hand against my throbbing clit, trying to relive the tender moment we’d shared the previous night: his toned body on top of mine, our hips grinding together as we both came to climax. I was still a tad sore from the experience, but I knew I had to have more of him.

Rose and Karen entered my office in the morning, asking me about the interviews from the day before. They wanted to know if any of them would be hired. I told them that unfortunately, I had to run my top picks by Roger before I could make a final decision, which I dreaded.

“Hey Roger, could you come into my office please? We need to have a discussion,” I said over his intercom.

“I’ll be right in, Sheila.”

Roger was in his late fifties with a clean-shaven head, a gray and black beard, and dark freckles across his cheeks. He was very tall and husky built with olive skin.

“Close the door and have a seat. We need to discuss the potential hires I interviewed yesterday.”

After hours of deliberating and providing him with valid points, we finally came to a decision. We decided to hire them both.

I let Roger call them both and deliver the news. I needed to get back to the hospital to check on my brother.

I grabbed two coffees from the hospital lobby and headed up to my brother’s room. As I rounded the corner, I saw the staff rushing a body on a gurney down the hall and my heart fell into the pit of my stomach.

I saw Dr. Lazario and my world started to shatter. I rushed into the room to find an empty bed and my dad kneeling in front of it, praying. “Dad, please talk to me.”

I dropped the coffee on the floor and ran over to him, trying to bring him to his feet. “Dad?”

“Your brother had a grand mal seizure, Sheila. There’s a slim chance he might not make it.”

My eyes erupted with tears. They stung my face as they slid down my cheeks. I punched the bed in frustration.
No! You’ve got to pull it together, Sheila. He will be okay, have faith!

I quickly wiped the tears away from my face and sat down on the bed.
Have faith.

Dad and I stayed at the hospital all night, waiting for someone to come back with an answer. Finally at six a.m. we received some news.

“Mr. Quinn, we were able to stabilize Kieran, but he did lose a lot of oxygen. I’m afraid there may have been further damage to his brain.”

I stared at the doctor blankly, trying to make sense of everything. He was only twenty-five years old, he didn’t deserve this. He didn’t deserve to fight for his life so suddenly. He wasn’t an awful person, he just got mixed up with the wrong group of assholes.

“Why isn’t Shannon here, Dad?”

“Because you know your sister isn’t as strong as us. She’d be in here causing a serious commotion. Once he’s fully stable, I’ll inform her.”