"This is an outrage!" I shouted out furiously. "This is my damn company and whatever I say goes!"
I'd lost my temper, but I didn't care. Kayla had been gone for three nights now, and I'd hardly slept at all in the last 72 hours. The bed was too empty without her and the house was, too. I needed her back home with me, so I called a board meeting in order to make it happen.
"You can't just expect me to change our whole advertising campaign on a whim," Keith, my head of marketing, said. I wanted to fire the son-of-bitch right on the spot.
"We understand your feelings for Kayla are strong, but you can't let it interfere with your business decisions. Throwing out all the work Keith has done so far would be incredibly expensive, and buying out a model's contract from a different company is a huge waste of company resources." My CFO, Steve, had the nerve to back him up. Now that was two assholes I had to fire.
"I've shown you plenty of other models that will work for a much cheaper rate and have the availability we need. Just pick one of them and let's move on," Keith said with a tired sigh.
"I don't want another girl. I only want Kayla." I knew I sounded like a pouting child, but I didn't care. She was the love of my life, and if she wanted a big paying modeling career, then that's what I was going to give her.
"Kayla is a sweet girl, but you're letting her make you irrational." Angela just had to put in her two cents worth, too. Fuck. Had everybody in this damn company turned against me? Putting her hand on mine from across the conference table, she said to me softly, "This isn't like you. What do your business instincts tell you?"
I pressed my hands to my eyes, trying to clear my head. My staff was filled with intelligent people whose opinions I'd always been able to rely on. If they were all telling me I needed to gain some perspective on this situation, maybe they were right; but how could I? Try as I might, I couldn't separate the feelings of my heart from the thoughts in my mind.
Slamming my palms against the table, I said adamantly, "This is the right decision. I know you all think it's just because I love her and I want her back, but that's not it.
“Kayla is a damn good model and beautiful as hell. The issue of Speed Magazine with her on the cover was the biggest selling month to-date, and the All-American has brought in better sales numbers for the short time it's been on the market than any other bike we've released.
“That's not because I love her and it has nothing to do with our break-up and the fact that I want her back. That's a testament to her as a high-end model. She is professional, hardworking, and has that ‘it factor’ that gives her massive appeal among the public.
“We'd be fools not to hire her as the face of our company, even if it means paying huge amounts of money to buy out her contract at R.E.B. Whatever it takes to make her happy is what we're going to do."
"So you want everyone here to turn this company upside down to make your ex-girlfriend a star just so you can win her back?" Keith sounded annoyed, and it took all my effort not to punch him out.
"No, I expect my hired employees to follow the directives given to them by me as the CEO and owner of this company, and that directive is to do whatever it takes to secure the model of my choosing as the center of a new advertising campaign. We've launched plenty of them in the past, and this one is no different. So, make it happen."
"Only this time, we're not talking about some ingénue we can hire for cheap. You want me to find your missing girlfriend and coerce her with bribes of money and fame until she finally accepts the job in hopes that she'll come back to you."
"No. Okay, yes. There is a part of me that hopes that I can win back her love if she is working for this company, but that's not all of it. I really do want her to be the face of our ad campaign.
“I think she'll do the best job of any model I've seen, and if securing her to take the job means you have to promise her that she'll have absolutely no contact with me, then that's a sacrifice I'm willing to make. I want her for the job weather she ever talks to me again or not."
"Really? So, if she says she'll only take the job if you are outside the building anytime she's around, then you still want me to make the offer?" Keith asked, looking flabbergasted.
"Yes. I'd rather she got the job of her dreams and was happy, then to have her come back to me and be miserable," I said honestly.
Angela blinked in surprise. "You really do love her, don't you?"
"You know I do. You saw me when I was drunk off my ass the last time we were broke up. In fact, you were the one who encouraged me to commit to her," I shot back at her.
"I know, but I thought you were in love with her the way men usually love a woman: selfishly with their own agenda first on their mind. I figured you liked having her around because she made you feel good; I didn't realize you loved her enough to want her to be happy even if it meant you had to sacrifice your own selfish desires."
"Well, when you put it that way, neither did I," I said, and a little smile of chagrin curled the corners of my mouth.
"Look, I don't know about any of that psychobabble. All I know is I love Kayla and I want her to be happy. She wants to be an international modeling star, and that's what I'm going to make sure she gets.
“If she comes back to me, all the better. I'll treat her right and never let her go again. If she never wants to see me again, then I guess I've gotten what I deserve. As long as she gets what she deserves, and that's being a modeling star."
"Well then, there's only thing left to do," Keith said with a grin. "I've got to secure that modeling deal."
Steve was smiling, too, as he said, "Angela, get hold of Miss Brandt on the phone. Tell her we want to meet in a public location of her choosing without Mr. Colson in attendance. Do whatever it takes to get her there."
"Yes, sir." Angela smiled and gave me a little wink. "Don't worry, Ethan,
true love conquers all. We'll get her for you."
It felt good to hear that, but it was a promise she couldn't keep. Days went by and no one was able to locate Kayla. Her agent hadn't seen her, nor had her lawyer, nor even the people at R.E.B. It was like she had completely disappeared off the face of the earth.