Falling for My Old High School Bully (Complete)

Chapter 9 - Meeting the Team

She nodded and said, "Yeah. You're right. Maybe we can both help each other get what we want ....... that is, if we don't kill each other first."

He laughed and said, "Why don't we both make a promise, no more pranks and no more revenge. We're starting with a fresh slate like we just met. Deal?" he asked holding out his hand. 

She thought about it for a minute. She wasn't completely convinced she could trust him but as much as she hated it, if she wanted to make partner she needed him and his company. 

She slipped her hand into his and shook it saying, "Deal," reluctantly. 

A smile came across his face, like he was really satisfied with himself and she felt nervous, hoping that this wasn't going to backfire. 

"I think you and your firm are exactly what we need, but you'll have to convince my colleagues and be warned, they can be pretty tough critics. I'm sure they'll be joining us in a few minutes. They're usually right on time," he said with an easy going smile, leaning back and slipping his hands into his pockets. "I prefer to be early myself."

"I like to be early too," she said, exhaling and feeling the awkward tension in the the room grow as they sat there silently. 

"Emma," he said, getting her attention and she turned to look at him. "Let's just keep everything that happened between us in high school a secret. I think that'll make starting over with a fresh slate easier. Agreed?" he asked. 

She nodded and said, "Agreed."

He stood up and passed by her to fill a cup with water and she got a whiff of his masculine cologne again and she noticed her heart was beating a little faster and she felt flushed from being alone in this room with him. 

She was surprised that he still had this effect on her after all these years even though she wasn't the shy little virgin any more. Now she was a sexy bad ass boss bitch that had dated a male model and a pro baseball player, but being in Axel's presence again took her right back to high school and stripped away all the confidence she usually had with men now. 

When she thought about it, the fact that she had the biggest crush on him back in high school even though he had tortured her and made her life completely miserable made absolutely no sense. Looking back she realized what a naive, pathetic, love sick girl she had been back then and it was embarrassing. 

Just then his three colleagues walked in breaking her out of her thoughts. They were talking loudly, smiling and laughing. There were two men and a woman. The woman was young and pretty, wearing a form fitting white lacy tank top that showed a little cleavage under a tan business jacket and white slacks. She had slick straight, long blonde hair and blue eyes and Emma noticed right away she seemed to carry herself with an arrogant confidence, swinging her hips as she walked. 

Out of the two men, one was in his fifties and the other one looked to be around 30, both handsome and dressed in very nice suits.

Emma stood up and shook each of their hands and introduced herself. She found out the woman's name was Victoria Chase and she was Axel's personal assistant. The young man's name was Tyler Richardson and he was in charge of Social Media branding. The older man's name was Jerry and he was the Chief Financial Officer and was in charge of the budget for this marketing project. 

Emma motioned for them to take a seat. They all sat around the long boardroom table and started getting out their tablets and notebooks to take notes.

Emma took a seat at the head of the table as Axel took a seat to her right, next to Victoria Chase. She noticed Victoria's eyes lingered on Axel for a few seconds before she looked down at her notebook but Axel seemed completely unaware of it as he checked his phone.