22 Friday's Meeting

Meredith had thought long and hard over the week about Brayden's so-called-proposal. Losing her job would be catastrophic in her mind. Not only did she love what she did but living in Chicago wasn't cheap and she had doubts that she could even barely pay her bills let alone eat on a clerks salary.

She had found a cozy little apartment in Uptown and really enjoyed her quaint home. It was an old building that had been renovated over the years to accommodate the changing times but it still had much of the original features. She had a claw foot tub, wall sconces that lit up her little space brilliantly and where there once was an icebox there was now shelving creating a makeshift pantry of sorts. Even her doors and door handles were original.

Her location was a little further from work than she wanted to be but she was near the lake and had quick access to the L train on one side of her and to regular bus routes on the other side. There were several restaurants and shops within a block of her apartment building and a large grocery store three blocks away. In her mind it was a perfect little spot.

She didn't want to have to move and if she did she wasn't sure where she would go. Also she had signed a lease and leaving would mean breaking that lease and paying two months rent to get out of it. She had the money in savings but she would need it if she lost her job. Her parents had moved to a small townhouse in the suburbs so there really would be no room for her to move back in with them.

She thought about working abroad as a designer. She wasn't sure how far Brayden's reach stretched. She was very good with conversational French well enough to get by. She googled what she might need to work abroad and what kind of graphic design jobs there would be available. She didn't really want to move to France. She would love to visit and go sightseeing but to live there so far away from her family would be isolating.

Meredith sighed looking over all the possibilities. Every angle she tried to look at it the best option was to get married for six years and bite the bullet. She would have to live with a stranger and pretend to be his wife. She wasn't keen on that she felt as though she were an extravagant call girl. Like those escorts she had heard about. What would she be expected to do? Brayden was by far the hottest man she had ever laid eyes on but that didn't mean she wanted to sign her life away and jump into bed with him for six years.

Besides the idea of being pimped out to a billionaire, living in his world would definitely have it's advantages. She wouldn't need to pay for any bills and could save up that money to buy a home closer to work. She could even create a little nest egg for annual traveling which she had dreamed about. And she would get to eat amazing food like the dinner she had the previous week with Brayden.

She kept thinking about how Brayden had threatened her. Did she really want to live with someone like that. Everyday for six years being in the presence of a bully. She also thought about what her uncle had advised her to do.

As much as she thought about it, she also tried very hard to not think about it as much as possible, which was nearly impossible to do. Everyday the moment she stopped doing something the thoughts kept popping back into her head. She tried very hard to keep busy and stayed even later at work than usual. Lunches were a little bit difficult but she focused on Taylor's stories and tried not to think too much if the David Fan Club was mentioned.

Meredith had ran out of things to clean at home and had seen every movie that was playing in theaters. Origami wasn't helping either. It was too quiet and although relaxing it gave way to too many opportunities to think. Her closet was organized by color and length and she had polished the two pair of pumps she owned until she could see her reflection in them. She went to a Group Meet event and even found a kickboxing class to try out. She was running out of ways to distract herself and she knew she was going to have to face the issue and come up with a plan of what she would do.

Finally Thursday she stopped hiding from her thoughts and addressed them head on. She made a decision and started going over all her affairs accordingly. She didn't know how this would all work out but she was preparing herself mentally and emotionally for whatever was going to happen. She committed to her decision and worked out everything she would have to do. She wrote an outline of what to tell her parents and Taylor.

She had to get her house in order. No matter what happened her apartment was gone. She sighed and looked around the space for a moment, taking it all in and then began to pack starting with her clothes. She wasn't sure when Brayden Maxwell would call on her but she was sure he would before the next day was over. She wanted to be prepared mentally for that call.

Meredith worked late into the night preparing and planning. It was three in the morning when she had finally exhausted herself. She had managed to pack an overnight bag which she would need initially and she made sure all her clothes were cleaned and ready to go. Her shoes were boxed up except for one pair, a pair of flats that would do for work as well as for casual wear. She boxed up her mismatched dishes and most of her kitchen and she boxed up all of her linens except the throw on her loveseat.

Meredith curled up under the throw on the loveseat. She was ready for her life to change. The moment she had walked onto that elevator and met Brayden Charles Maxwell was the day her life had changed. There was no going back, he had made sure of it. Dino hopped up onto the loveseat and curled up by Meredith's feet and soon they were both fast asleep.

She got to work early and got her desk set up to work on her next project whatever it might be. She would find out when she opened her email. Mr. Hubert walked by and told her he had a quick meeting with the team at 9:05 and then she was needed in Mr. Brayden Maxwell's office on the thirty-seventh floor and would be excused for the rest of the day to prepare for whatever project Brayden had for her.

Mr. Hubert seemed very pleased that another Maxwell was calling on her for a project. He was excited about what that would mean for the department's budget. As far as he was concerned she was his employee of the year. Meredith was not looking forward to the meeting with Brayden but steeled her nerves and nodded to her boss.

The Graphic Design Apparel team gathered in their small designated meeting room. There were ten of them in total including their intern Greg. Meredith and Karen sat next to each other. They weren't particularly close friends but had worked on the last project together and expected that part of this meeting would pertain to them. So they made it easier for the rest of the team by grouping together and Greg was beside them.

There were five other designers and a department secretary who primarily worked with Mr. Hubert. She also directed visitors or calls accordingly. They all filed in and chatted slightly saying their good mornings and how was the weekend briefly as they entered the room.

The team took their seats and waited patiently as Mr. Hubert combed through his mustache. He looked each of them in the eye pointedly, which pretty much confused and creeped out those that weren't already confused or creeped out. They shuddered and prayed for a short meeting.

"Good morning, team." He finally said and not waiting for a response he began the meeting. " I called you here to discuss two things one being the project that Edward Maxwell's office sent to us a few weeks ago. As most of you may know Meredith, Karen, and our intern Greg worked on that project. Not only was it selected to present to the prospective client but the client chose it as their ad campaign and will be working with Maxwell Sharpe Marketing Inc. exclusively with a three year contract."

Meredith and Karen gasped as did most of the other members, some whispered a few things but Mr. Hubert took no notice as he went on. "What does that mean for us as a team? What does that mean for you as a designer? As a team our budget will increase, we will have three new positions open. There will be a position for a runner who will serve as a fulltime gopher of sorts to all designers for whatever you need. This is in addition to the intern we currently have and we will continue our intern program. We will also be opening up two new design positions.

The project for Edward's office was an automobile ad campaign which is not what we normally handle in Apparel. Edward Maxwell wanted to step outside of the box and his risk paid off in the long run. As a result we will be expected to take on projects other than Apparel. Our work load will increase, hence the extra positions. You as designers will be expected to think outside of your comfort zones that you are used to in Apparel and keep coming up with designs that get us recognition from the top." He took a moment to pause and comb through his mustache again. "Also with this win comes raises. Obviously those responsible for the project itself will be compensated but our budget will increase so that there will be room to increase our raise margins with upcoming projects. If you have any design friends who are looking for a team to join let Dorothy know and she can get you the referral information. Are there any questions?"

"You said there were two things you were going to discuss. Does that count as both or do you still have another topic?" One of the designers asked. He had short cropped orange hair and wide brimmed glasses and wore a simple black tie with a white button up shirt. Meredith had worked with him on several apparel campaigns. He was pretty much a to-the-book sort of guy.

"That was the first topic. If there are no questions on that…? The second topic is as a celebration for our department winning this important client, I am giving you all the day off. We have no current deadlines that should interfere with this. Be here first thing Monday to start kicking it into gear and making sure Mr. Maxwell is proud to have chosen us and will continue to do so in the future."

"Is this a day off with pay?" One of the vet designers, Kimberly, asked with a bit of skepticism.

"Yes, Kim. It is a day off with pay. Enjoy your weekend everyone." Mr. Hubert added a little loudly as the room quickly cleared out. "And Meredith, don't forget you're wanted upstairs." She hadn't forgotten. She had tried to forget for an entire week but no matter how hard she tried she couldn't get it off her mind.

Brayden Maxwell was a very good looking man. He was in the David Club, of course he wasn't just good looking he was god-like. Women swooned over him from all over the globe. He was well known as one of the richest bachelors in the world and everyone knew he showed up to events alone. He never spoke about private affairs and of the three brothers seemed to have the best fashion taste, classic and exquisite. Most media pegged him as gay and were constantly trying to find out everything there was to know about this man of mystery.

Meredith didn't care. She didn't care that he was filthy rich, she didn't care that he was divinely gorgeous, she didn't care that he claimed to not be gay and wanted to marry her. What she did care about was that she wasn't given a choice and how it would affect her life. She would have to change nearly everything about her way of living for six years. The silver lining was that it was only six years and in that time she could save up whatever she made in salary, which was now increased due to her project bonus and raise.

Meredith had cleaned up her desk for the weekend before heading up to the thirty-seventh floor as she thought about what she did and didn't care about. Ready or not, she was on her way to give Brayden Maxwell her decision.