The Deal

Saying goodnight she went right to her room, tomorrow was going to be the biggest day of her life, it would determine her future. Too hyped up she couldn't sleep, so getting up goes down to the kitchen for something to drink. Austin was there, sitting at the table with a glass of milk and some homemade chocolate chip cookies that his housekeeper made.

He looks up at her. "Can't sleep?"

"No, I'm anxious about tomorrow. Can I have a couple of those?" she asks, pointing to the plate of cookies.

"Help yourself," he said, pushing the plate away from him, towards her.

Grabbing a glass from the cupboard she poured herself a glass of milk. "Thank you," she said, sitting down and picking one up. "You know my boss is going to want to meet you, to make sure you're real."

"I know," he said, wiping his mouth he stands up. "Just let me know when in advance so that I can clear my schedule. Night."

She watched him walk away, he was shirtless and even from the back he looked so hot and she felt her core starting to throb. If only he would give in and let her into his bed, but she also knew that sooner or later she would be.

She had just walked into her office when Rachel came running up behind her, scaring her and making her jump.

"Blair, Mr. Ritter is in his office and he wants to see you before the board meeting. Now, remember, don't let on that you know he's selling the company or we'll both be in deep shit."

"Don't worry, I won't."

"OK, you better go, he's waiting."

"Mr. Ritter, you wanted to see me."

"Yes, come in Blair and take a seat."

"Welcome back sir, but we weren't expecting you for another week or so."

"The wife and I decided to cut the trip short," he said, sitting behind his desk. "I wanted to see you before the meeting. I hear congratulations are in order. I must say it came as a big surprise to hear you got married. I didn't even know you were seeing anyone."

"I met an old boyfriend from high school a while ago and we started dating. We kept it a secret from everyone, we wanted to see if we still loved each other and turned out we did. Meeting after all these years we knew we were meant to spend the rest of our lives together."

"Who is the lucky man?"

"Austin Cooke, he's a lawyer."

"So should I start calling you Mrs. Cooke?"

"No sir, I'm keeping my maiden name."

"Well I'm very happy for you, but now we have to get to the meeting. I have a very important announcement to make."

She sat through the meeting, stealing glances at Rachel. Everyone was in shock and also worried about their jobs. Mr. Ritter assured them that whoever bought the company would keep everyone on. When the meeting was over she asked if she could have a private word with him and followed him into his office.

"Mr. Ritter, you know how much I love this company and how hard I've worked. I would really like it if you would sell it to me. I will run it the way you have, our values will stay the same and I won't disappoint you."

"Blair, you're a young woman and newly married, you should be spending your time with your husband. Running a company will take up so much of your time, you don't want to jeopardize your marriage."

"Mr. Ritter, when you started out your wife worked, you even had children and you made it work. I know I can too and Austin is very supportive, it won't cause problems for us, it will only make us a stronger couple. I really want this, I've dreamed of owning my own company and I have a passion for this job."

He sat back, rubbing his chin. "I have no doubt that you'll do an excellent job, you do have passion and have great ideas that I know will make this company a bigger success than it already is. I will have to meet your husband before I make a decision."

"Yes, whenever you want," she said, her heart soaring as her face lit up.

"My wife and I are going to a play Friday night, perhaps we could drop by on our way to it, say around seven."

"Perfect, thank you."

After chatting for a while she left to get some work done. She was excited and hoped that Austin would be alright with her boss and wife popping in. She was worried for nothing when she called him he told her that would be alright, he would even stop and pick up some wine, seeing that they were running low.

They hardly saw each other all week, both were busy with work and he had one of the biggest cases he ever had coming up so all his time was devoted to preparing for it. But he promised he would be there for her on Friday.

Friday night rolled around and the Ritter's were due any moment and Austin still wasn't home. She tried phoning him but it went straight to his voice mail. If he didn't show up it wouldn't look good and she would never forgive him. The doorbell rang and she jumped up, knowing the Ritter's were here. Taking a deep breath she opened the door, praying that Austin would show up soon.

After greeting them she shows them into the living room. "Can I get you something to drink?" she asked, looking at her watch.

"A glass of wine would be lovely dear," Mrs. Ritter answered.

"Where is your husband? I thought he was going to be here? Mr. Ritter asked, accepting the drink from her.

"He's running a little late, he should be here shortly."

It was at that moment they turned their heads when someone walked into the room. She let out a sigh of relief when she saw Austin walking in, carrying a bottle of wine and a bouquet of roses.

"I'm so sorry I'm late, there was an accident on the road that held up traffic," he said as he went over, kissing her. "These are for you darling, for being so understanding about all the late hours I've been putting in."

She was taken away by his kiss and his show of affection in front of the others. "Thank you, they're beautiful. Why don't you pour us all another drink while I take these into the kitchen and put them in a vase."

When she returned he and Mr. Ritter were laughing and talking as if they were old friends, Austin was charming the couple which made her happy. Sitting down he came and sat next to her, putting his arm around her shoulder.

"I must say your husband is quite charming."

"That he is Mr. Ritter."

"So tell me Austin, when was it you realized you were in love with Blair?" Mrs. Ritter asked. She was a sucker for romance.

Everyone's eyes were glued on Austin when he started speaking.

"It happened back in high school, I was two years ahead of Blair. It was the first day of school, I was standing by my locker when I saw her enter. Her hair was long, she wore a pair of jeans and a pink cotton blouse. Her locker was next to mine and I couldn't take my eyes off her, she was the most beautiful girl in the whole school. When she looked at me and said hi I was hooked, I knew right then that I was in love and that someday she would be my wife." He looked at her, stroking her cheek with his thumb. "We were inseparable from that day on. I carried her books, walked her home after school was out. I went to see her at cheerleading practice and went to all the games just to watch her."

"That's so sweet," Mrs. Ritter said, melting.

"Sadly we had to part ways when I graduated and went away to further my education. Leaving her was the hardest thing I've ever had to do. I was so in love with her that being away left a hole in my heart. Finally, after having drifted apart and finding her again I knew that this time I wasn't going to let her get away." He then leaned over, giving her a long kiss.

"Oh my," Mrs. Ritter said, sniffling. "That is so beautiful, I'm so happy you found each other again."

All Blair could do was stare at him as he spoke, he sounded so sincere it tore at her heartstrings to hear how he felt about her. What was more amazing was that he remembered exactly what she was wearing on that first day of school.

Mr. Ritter stood up and looked at his watch. "This has been nice and I'm glad we met Mr. Cooke."

"Please, call me Austin."

"OK Austin, we must leave now if we want to make the play. I'd really like to get to know you better."

"Darling," his wife said, turning to him. "Why don't we invite them up to the resort to spend the weekend with us. With all the work these two have been doing and not having a honeymoon I think this would be a nice getaway for them. We could get to know each other better and they could have some alone time together."

"That's a great idea," he looks over at Austin and Blair. "How about it? I will book you a room and we can meet you up there."

"Oh, I don't think we can, Austin is really busy right now, with his new case and all."

He put his arm around her waist, drawing her in close to him. "I can spare one weekend off to be with my new bride. We'll be there, just let me know where."

After Mr. Ritter wrote down the information and handed it to Austin he turned to Blair. "We'll discuss the sale of my company next week." Then he and his wife left, leaving Blair dumbfounded.

"I think I'll head up to bed and finish reading my papers in bed."

"Are you hungry? I could heat up some leftovers," she said, smiling at him.

"No, I grabbed a bite at work, goodnight."

"Austin."

"Yes," he said, turning back around to look at her.

She walks up to him, standing so close she could smell his breath on her face. "I didn't know you felt that way about me, back in school."

"How could you not have known I was in love with you? I did whatever you wanted. I even left flowers in your locker on your birthday."

"You were the one? But you never said anything to me, I thought they were from Jack. I even thanked him and kissed him. Why didn't he tell me they weren't from him?"

"I don't know but when I saw the flowers in your hands and you were kissing him it broke my heart. I loved you but I wasn't good enough for you, you used me. I even heard you making fun of me with your girlfriends. You were such a spoiled, cruel brat that used everyone to get what you wanted."

"That was years ago, I was a kid."

"Yes you were, but you haven't changed, you're still using me."

"Austin, I'm so sorry. If you feel this way about me why did you agree to the deal? You could have said no and walked away. Is it because you're still in love with me?"

He rolled his eyes at her. "Oh please, get over yourself. I got over you a long time ago, I moved on."

"Yes, I know, you got married but divorced after only a few months. Why is that Austin, did it have anything to do with me?"

"You really are a piece of work, thinking everything is about you. Well get this straight lady, I'm over you, have been for years," he said, snapping at her he walked away, leaving the room.