Chapter 20: A Turning Point

Avery’s point of view

The atmosphere was rather tense after that for a while, I stood there straining my ears to hear the fading sound of David’s footsteps receding down the hall.

A small and juvenile part of me rejoiced at the angry interchange and wanted to challenge him further while the little girl within me was still shivering from the encounter.

I had spoken my sides and would it change anything between us or would it merely cause the war that had started the day I joined the company to intensify?

I stopped for a while to ponder the reality of the basics I’ve just come to know. The first feeling about being in this place had turned into adrenaline and now slowly disappeared, leaving its place to reason. I was convinced that I had made the correct decision. It wasn’t a confrontation and this was no awakening. It also showed that I could not be a mere curtain figure in David’s life, while I was not ready to bend to his power because of his rank. 

This new battle was now imbued in me and was focused on earning the right to be who I wanted to be, so I’d be damned if he got to stop me again or anyone else who dared.

Deciding to refuse to let what happened to bring me down, I decided to redouble my efforts in my work. Sitting comfortably at my desk I wrote random ideas for projects and proposals that I had always strongly believed could transform the company. It was about time to unleash what I am made of to Liaison and more so David.

The days quickly turned into weeks and I dedicated as much energy to the projects as possible. I shared my vision with the team of what we wanted to achieve, with a much more audacious image. Sure enough, David was always standing leaning against the wall, folding his arms, and giving me the stare. Once in a while, the cigarette lightened up the incubus of doubt in his eyes, of how he asked me questions to test my worth but I was too stubborn to care. Instead, I welcomed it.

I realized that every time I managed to change something in our dynamics I noticed positive changes in energy in interactions. Stingy remarks and insults lost their place and gave way to a more civil tone of the relationship regardless of the chaos around. The man of vision was not a CEO now; he was a teacher, an opponent, a partner in this drama of lust and ego. 

They interested everybody in the room one day in the afternoon when we were having a very good brainstorming session and after that David again summoned me to his office. That’s why my pulse quickens at what he wanted to tell me. Had I pushed too far? Has there ever been a line that I had crossed?

“Avery,” he said after a few moments, his voice low, “I found that presentation you led with your team last week promising.” As the team leader, you have a talent for getting the best from the team to feed into the project. 

Joy filled me to the brim as I countered his gaze with my own. “Thank you. I just think that one should leave the ego aside and achieve something wonderful when we are colonizing. I too hesitated for a minute, looking for a reaction, “And I thank you for letting that happen.”

Instead, he said nothing, merely looked at me for a few moments, enough time for him to take off the mask of the head of the company and reveal the man behind it. I thank you for the fact that I’ve seen nobody contest me in such a manner for quite a long period. I believe that we will go a long way in the improvement of our study for Avery.

I felt a flip inside hearing him say it and I gently reminded myself of my mission. This he said was business not foes and he treated her as such. “I’m all in, David. I am willing to make this work for the company and myself.”

He nodded, and I grabbed his hand because there was a change that happened between us; a silent swap of roles that seemed grossly significant in some way. The barriers that existed between us at first were breaking down; we could have a real collaboration together. ‘Why do we have to organize an interdepartmental meeting next week?’ “I want you to lead it again,” he said without questioning it. 

“Sure,” I said to myself, and the confidence within me pumped up as well.

Getting up from his office, several emotions ran through my veins. This was not the same as working any job anymore; this was about getting a chance to rewrite history, to create a new me in this industry and the world thereafter. Each time there was a successful bit implemented and every time I embarked on a partnership, I felt like I possessed a weapon that I could use to fight these issues out on my own.

Weeks evolved into months. What we had as a working relation s first was a rivalry but with time the relationship developed into that of working together as a team. I learned that not only did he have the fighting spirit that would easily defeat an opponent but he was also an amazing teammate. To him, I was ambitious and overbearing, goading him into new perspectives and extending my abilities to their furthest.

However, despite the increasingly high growth rate, the latent conflicts have not disappeared yet. Every time he looked at me across the room, there was a moment of something more than simple attraction. Could it be a residual effect? Or was it some kind of recognition of other’s trials and achievements?

And thus on one evening which happened to be the evening of an even more successful launch party, we were on the balcony all alone and the city lamps were our company. Gentling glasses of prideful laughter and dulcet melodies eased the air around us to a level of privacy.

“I never imagined to like working with you as much as this,” David said, a guilty smile on his face as he leaned against the railing. “You’ve surprised me, Avery. I could not tell who had such a drive in you.”