Chapter 41 - Pushy Valerie Starr(1)

Valerie was seated in the conference room, having small talk with a client, trying to stall them while she waited for Andrew to arrive to do his pitch. It wasn't like she couldn't do it, she knew the general gist of the concept which Andrew wanted to sell to the client. He, however, texted her that he was on his way. She'd wait another five minutes, if he didn't arrive by then she'd take over. She hated to be the bad guy in this scenario, especially since Andrew was her friend, but she had to make him face the consequences if he did miss this meeting.

"That place actually sells the best pancakes of the city?" The marketing manager asked her, "We're grabbing lunch after this meeting, we might as well check it out."

Valerie smiled, "Trust me, it's thick and fluffy. When you're eating it it's like eating a cloud filled with deliciousness." Her smile widened when the woman shared a laugh with her assistants, at least they were in a good mood, "If you're still not convinced, let me tell you, Ryan Parker swears by them."

"Ryan Parker?" The woman asked, leaning forward out of curiosity.

Valerie nodded, "The man would clear his schedule if you invite him over for pancakes at this place." She lowered her voice, "But you didn't hear that from me."

The woman leaned back in her chair, tossing her auburn hair to the side while a little mischievous smile played on her lips. Valerie knew that look well, it was the look of a woman who appreciated a handsome male and was willing to make a move. It wasn't like Ryan was seeing anyone at the moment. The auburn haired woman was a beautiful woman, also a woman in power so his money or position was the last thing which she'd be after.

"Thanks for the tip."

Valerie played the innocent card, "What tip exactly?" She asked.

The auburn haired woman laughed, "Right."

Valerie glanced at the door when Andrew burst through it, flashing them all an apologizing look. He looked disheveled, his usual put together look was falling apart these days. She didn't like seeing Andrew like that, some matter in his personal life was messing with his head. She'd talk to him after this meeting, things couldn't continue like this. She didn't want him to fall apart, as his friend she owed it to him to take her time and listen to his concerns. If he didn't want to talk she had to let him know she'd be there for him no matter what.

"Andrew, there you are." She beamed at him, "Please, go right ahead." She gestured to her laptop which she had set aside, "I set everything up already so the floor is yours."

Andrew took on the role without hesitation. He spoke in a clear voice while explaining the benefits and costs of his concept. He charmed the auburn haired woman, landing the account without much effort. Valerie got to her feet and saw the woman out, glancing over her shoulder to meet Andrew's gaze.

"I'm going to see Miss Carter out, please stay for a minute." She told him, a small reassuring smile spread across her face in hopes that he wouldn't look too much into it. She then left the conference room to walk the marketing manager and her team to the elevator, staying as friendly as possible.

"We're going to check those pancakes out which you've been raving about." The auburn haired woman told her as they waited for the elevator to arrive.

"They won't disappoint." Valerie assured her.

"All communication will go through Andrew?" Miss Carter clarified.

When the elevator arrived her team stepped in first and held the elevator while Valerie and Miss Carter wrapped things up.

"Yes, but you can always contact me if you have any questions. You have my card."

The woman smiled at her, "It was nice meeting you Mrs. Starr."

Valerie smile dropped for a second as the woman referred to her as Mrs. Starr. She was indeed Mrs. Starr but she was so used to being called Miss King by their clients. Her getting married changing everything hit her right then and there. Her name on her office door didn't change to Valerie Starr nor did her name on her business card. When Valerie introduced herself she called herself Valerie King, yet the woman didn't use her maiden name. The mocking tone she used didn't go unnoticed by Valerie either. The tight feeling in her chest got worse.

"I assume most people in our world knows who you are." The woman explained, obviously she had noticed the change in behavior. Her tone still as mocking as ever while her eyes were gleaming with amusement.

"That might be true."

"Anyway, I'm looking forward to our collaboration." The woman pressed on, "Have a nice day, Mrs. Starr."

Valerie's smile was now forced as she faced the woman who kept insisting on using her last name as a way to taunt her, "Have a nice day, Miss Carter." She forced out and watched as the woman stepped into the elevator and disappeared behind closed doors. The last thing Valerie saw was her mocking smile. She was so not letting that woman get away with chasing after Ryan Parker. It was the principle of things.

Inhaling deeply she let out all the tension she felt and stalked to the conference room where Andrew awaited her. She had to face another problem head on. After this she'd go out for lunch to sip tea somewhere so she could clear her head. Pushing through the door of the conference room she met Andrew's confused look.

"Take a seat." She told him.

He didn't look like he wanted to sit down, suspecting the worst, but he did it anyway. She took a seat across him, taking a minute to figure out what she wanted to say.

"Something is the matter and it's effecting your work." Valerie told him, not going around in circles and getting right into it to get it over with, "Do you want to talk about what's wrong? If you're not up for a talk then do you feel like taking some time off to deal with whatever is going on with you right now?" She inhaled deeply again, trying to get rid of the tension which had been building in her stomach, "It can't go on like this, so you need to decide what you're going to do to fix this."

Andrew narrowed his eyes on her, "Are you scolding me right now?"

"You can see it that way."

There was no humor seen in his eyes, usually Andrew could brush something like this off. There was definitely something going on in his life and he didn't want to share that with her either. She couldn't help him if he didn't want to talk though.

"Valerie, there is no way around it. You're scolding me." He let out a tired sigh, "I've been off my game." He agreed, not looking too pleased about that which was understandable. Andrew was a man who was just as competitive as everyone else in her team. But he was the most charming one out of everyone which made it seem like he wasn't going to have a meltdown when someone did better than him, "There are a few things going on in my personal life right now, but I don't feel like talking about it because I need to wrap my head around it first."

"Okay." She quietly continued, "Then consider taking some time off to focus on you."

"I might do that." He trailed off.

Valerie glanced at her phone, noticing she just received an email from her husband. As she read the subject title she knew it was a work thing and not a personal matter he wanted to discuss. She scanned through the email, scolding under her breath.

"Tea has to wait." She muttered, "Let me know what you decide to do, Andrew. We need you on top of your game. It's okay to have an off day, but this is has been going on for a while now. We can't afford to lose clients at a time like this. We just got over the financial scandal."

"I understand, I'll let you know soon."

She smiled at him and then retrieved her phone, getting to her feet, "I need to run, the big bosses summoned me upstairs."

Andrew looked intrigued now, "Valerie King might be in trouble with the big bosses?" He asked amused.

Hearing him refer to her as Valerie King, rather than Valerie Starr might her smile genuinely. She knew it was Miss Carter trying to get on her nerves by being subtly mean. It was a thing women usually did and usually she could move past it. She wouldn't let Miss Carter get away with it though. She'd send Ryan Parker an email while she took the elevator up to Hunter and Starr's offices.

"I don't know what they want, but I need to run." She moved out of the conference room and headed to the elevator, quickly typing up an email which she send to Ryan Parker.

Holding her phone in her hand she took the elevator up to Hunter and Starr's floor. Arriving at their floor she made her way to Gabriel's office without hesitation. Quiet tea time was awaiting her, maybe some cheesecake or apple pie to go with it. She felt like she deserved a treat after the morning she had. Pushing through her husband's office door, she closed it behind her, noticing that Ethan was present as well for this sudden meeting.

"Am I actually in trouble?" She asked as she approached her husband's desk, taking a seat in the one-seat beside Ethan.

"No, of course not." Gabriel told her, "I want to clarify some things to the both of you."

Gabriel kept his gaze on Ethan she figured her husband chose today to settle things with Ethan. She never would have thought he'd want her to be present. It was kind of awkward, she could feel Ethan shooting her a glare every once in a while. He was definitely not over their last meeting yet. She had been pissed too, but she didn't have it in her to glare at him like that.

"Then could you hurry it up, I do have a late lunch meeting." Ethan reminded him, sounding annoyed.

"I'll be quick about it." Gabriel assured him, "I know you two aren't meeting eye to eye right now. So let me clear things up for everyone involved so we can move on."

"Yes, let's clear this up." Ethan agreed, shifting his gaze to her again, "Why were you meeting up with Ryan Parker and why were you holding hands with him?"

She tried hard to refrain from rolling her eyes at Ethan. She knew he was behaving this way, because he was concerned about his friend, but it was tiring to deal with his stubbornness. It also hurt knowing Ethan didn't trust her at all. He was supposed to be on her side as well.

"Ethan." Gabriel warned him, "There is nothing going on between Ryan and Valerie-"

Her phone vibrated, letting her know she received a message. When she glanced at her phone she realized Ryan answered her back, curious as to why she was set on him declining to meet with a certain marketing manager.

"I need to answer this." She told the awaiting guys, "It's urgent."

"Something came up?" Ethan asked, the hostility fading.

She typed away, giving Ryan the full story. She was so focused on her story that she didn't realize Ethan closing in on her. A gasp left her lips when her phone slipped through her fingers and Ethan accusingly held it up.

"Right now you're actually texting with Ryan while we're having a serious conversation!"

Valerie shifted her gaze to Gabriel, noticing surprise flash through his eyes. She stood up and took her phone back from the smirking Ethan. He was a pain in the bum, the urge to smack the smirk off his face was painfully intense. She balled her fist at the side, trying hard to keep her anger in.

"Boundaries." She told Ethan, "I get that you're looking out for Gabriel, but you need to know when to mind your own fucking business. Also reading through my personal messages is way out of line. I don't appreciate it." She told him in a firm voice, "For the record, now I'm not even going to ignore the fact that you behaved like an ass that day. We're not on speaking terms until you apologize."

"What are you discussing with Ryan?" Gabriel asked her.

"I'm letting him know a calculating woman is after him and I disapprove."

Gabriel's lips curled up, "Preventing him from making a mistake?"

"That and I seriously don't like that woman so I don't want her to hang around Ryan." She glanced at the time on her phone, "I didn't have lunch yet so I'm heading out." She flashed a glare at Ethan. Not saying anything, merely letting her look speak for her.

He looked taken back for a second, but he didn't speak up either. He let her leave like that, not even bothering to apologize even though she demanded that of him. This was going to be hard on Gabriel, she was aware of that. But she needed Ethan to behave civil again, she wouldn't allow him to accuse her of cheating every single time she had a pleasant conversation with another man. Her heart wasn't fickle and she was definitely not another Tiffany. She needed him to realize that, she wouldn't speak to him until he did.

***

Valerie was preparing dinner together with Gabriel, while she cut up the veggies for their stir fry, he was cooking up the chicken and tossed in the veggies afterwards. She had fun, joking around with him, forgetting about the tiring day she had. Grabbing a piece of bell pepper she nibbled on it, watching her husband toss the chicken and veggies around and then adding the noodles.

"It smells so good." She told him.

"It does." He agreed, glancing at her, "I never thought I'd be using my kitchen myself."

She laughed, "You've used your kitchen before."

"Yes, but not to actually prepare a proper meal."

She couldn't disagree with that, Gabriel always had been busy with other things. Actually taking the time to prepare a proper meal was the last thing he was worried about back then. Things were changing, the fact that she was no longer Valerie King was one of those changes. Letting out a sigh, she leaned against the counter while Gabriel patiently waited for her to speak up.

"I think it's time we change things to Valerie Starr now."

She could tell he was trying to keep his face void of any emotion as he responded, "Thought you got upset with that marketing lady today because she was teasing you."

She pointed at him, anger boiling up in her again, "It's not because she was taunting me with my new last name, it's the way she said it. It felt like she didn't respect me because of my last name. She probably thought I got the job because I married you."

"She won't be the only one who'll think that." He warned her, "It's up to you how to deal with people like that."

She nodded, "Well, I stayed polite but made sure she wouldn't be able to get her claws into Ryan."

Gabriel let out a strangled noise, "Please don't mention that man to me right now. Ethan has been nagging at me because of your new friendship with Parker."

She narrowed her eyes on him, "Don't tell me you don't trust me either."

He turned off the heat, putting the wooden spoon aside. Dinner was ready, but neither one of them moved because of the heavy subject they were discussing. The great smell was causing her to fidget around, she couldn't wait to dig in.

"I trust you." He told her.

"You sure Ethan isn't getting to you?"

He shook his head, "No, he's not getting to me. I told him he should apologize to you."

She reached for him, wrapping her arms around his waist while she rested her head against his chest. She never would have dared to imagine she'd find happiness with the curious man she met in that lounge when she spilled all her concerns. Back then she might have regretted spilling everything to him, now she was glad she couldn't keep her mouth shut after having a drink or two.

"Thank you." She murmured, "Now, can we eat?"

He chuckled, pressing a kiss to her hair, "Yeah, let's eat."

Gabriel served them both a plate, they settled in the living room watching one of her favorite shows while eating a home cooked meal they prepared together. The day might have been exhausting and made her wish she could head home and crawl into bed, now that she was having some down time with Gabriel it wasn't so bad anymore.