Chapter 49

Pearl emailed Jason at Epic and they set the meeting for Friday. Three days of planning was hardly enough time but Pearl knew it was an opportunity they couldn't afford to pass up. After getting the guys on board, she took her lunch break and worked on regaining her focus at work. Her life was a bit insane right now and definitely not what she had been used to.

"Good morning." A voice said from behind her. David looked amazing. He was in a tailored suit and he had let his hair grow out a little. He was looking less Robert Redford and more Brad Pitt these days. He was really beautiful.

"Good morning." Pearl replied, trying to keep it professional.

"Are we still on for later tonight?" David asked. "Yes." Pearl began and figured she would let him know about Friday "I'm going to need to take Friday off. I have a meeting in New York with a record producer. I fly out early Friday morning and won't be back until Sunday. Ashley will cover everything for me."

"Oh, wow. That's...that's really fantastic, Pearl. Congratulations." David said. Although she knew he was being genuine, there was a kind of defeat in his eyes. She felt compelled to say something, anything, to make him feel better. "I promise I won't let anything interfere with my job here. I love what I do, and this company."

He smiled, a little relieved. "That makes me happy to hear. I actually wanted to talk to you about that. Can you come to my office in an hour?"

"Sure." Pearl replied.

She arrived early, and noticed David wasn't alone. Maggie, from the Seattle office was there and so was one of the upper managers from HR . "Hey, still want to meet?" She asked, shyly, peeking into his office.

"Yes! Come in. You remember Maggie? And this is Paul from corporate HR."

"Yes, hello Maggie, great to see you again. And nice to meet you Paul."

"Pearl, we wanted to meet with you today to discuss an opportunity in our company. You've done amazing work here and we would like to offer you the regional director of business development position."

Pearl was in shock. "What exactly does that mean? What I mean is, how does that differ from what I'm doing now? Will David still be my boss?"

"No. David will be more like an equal. You will be the David of business development while he is the regional director of public relations. It's an important part of the growth of this company. A new position and new department we are creating for you. Eventually these two departments will merge into one, nationally, and you and David will be heading it up together. It's a large pay jump as well. We really think you deserve it, Pearl."

Pearl couldn't conceal the smile she knew was taking up her entire face. "I. I don't know what to say. Thank you so much."

"We will get all the details to you. Pay, benefits, job description. Think about it and review it all and let us know. We are very happy about making this happen." Paul said.

"I look forward to hearing more from you." Pearl said and shook their hands as they took their leave.

She looked at David. "Did you do this? I mean, did us...being us...have anything to do with this?"

"Not at all." David replied. "Maggie loved you the moment she met you. She thought you had a lot of courage taking that from my father and your presentation was really good at the meeting in Seattle. She was impressed. They came to me last week, blindsided me. I guess my father and his partner aren't aware of this. They want to get this well established before the merger. That way we will have a strong development and marketing plan already in place. I was very proud and happy when they brought this to me." David looked proud. "But then you have this music thing going on and I don't want to complicate things for you even more. I hope it's not too much. You've been through a lot these past few years. I want to make sure you're ok. You can say no. Just know I will support whatever you decide." David said, half professionally, half with personal care.

"Thank you, David. See you tonight."

Pearl couldn't believe it. She had earned this promotion. This would most likely put her in a place of financial stability and career security. It wasn't some favor from a famous person she was fucking. It was an earned win for her. And she was damn proud of herself.

She had a lot on her plate and she knew decisions would have to be made. Not just in her professional life but personal as well, this triangle between these men that she cared about. This all couldn't continue forever. Could it?