Page 13 of Lesbian CEO

Jessica is saved from having to respond because Piper Prince walks into the room. Her long blonde hair falls in waves over her shoulders. She looks too young to be here – maybe early 30s. Is she even old enough to know what a PR crisis is – much less how to save us from one? Jessica seems to be thinking the same thing I am because her eyes widen for just a moment. Then she presents a neutral face: one I’m very familiar with.

This is her war face.

“Ladies. Thank you for meeting with me.”

We both mumble replies that are completely inappropriate for company leaders. We’re better than this. Jessica has been dealing with shrewd businessmen for years. She’s always been tough and strong. She’s never even thought twice about shying away from adversity or from someone being in a bad mood, so I’m not completely sure why she isn’t saying so much right now.

“I understand you’re having a bit of a crisis. Let’s start with the facts. First things, first: I’m familiar with both of your companies and to a certain extent, your relationship.” Piper turns to me. “My brother, Patrick, works for Jessica.”

I appreciate her telling me this. I get the feeling that she doesn’t want me to be left in the dark. She seems like the kind of person who likes to keep things out in the open. I’m good with that.

“Oh,” I manage to say. She nods and continues.

“I wanted to make sure we were all on the same page. Now.” Piper shuffles the papers in her hands. “Let’s talk about options.”

“We could start with having Toni’s team stop spreading malicious rumors,” Jessica offers. “I think that might help.”

“It wasn’t my team.” Why does she keep saying that? Does Jessica really feel like denying that it was her? She’s never been dumb, but her insistence that it was me is starting to feel like she actually believes this, rather than something she’s just saying.

Could there be someone else trying to cause problems between us?

And if yes, who?

“It doesn’t matter,” Piper says. “What matters is how we move forward. First things first, did either of you actually start this rumor? We have a Tweet that was posted yesterday morning that reads, What’s worse than a shady bitch? A shady bitch who wants to destroy someone else’s company.” Piper looks up. “The name on the account is Miss Trust. Obviously, this is a fake account. The only Tweets throughout the Twitter profile are about your two companies.”

“It wasn’t me,” I say.

“Wasn’t me,” Jessica says. She looks at me, suddenly, and for the first time, I wonder if there’s any chance she’s going to actually believe me here. I want her to. I really, really want for her to look at me and have this realization that I wouldn’t be so petty. I never have been.

I loved her, once upon a time. Part of me still does.

“Good. Then, just an FYI, you have some sort of mole or rat or enemy within your corporations. This message is very personal, and while I’m not someone who gets to the bottom of messes – I just solve them – I’d recommend you look into that at a later date. For now, let’s talk about options.”

“Options are good,” Jessica says. “I think Toni’s team should issue a public apology. That should keep my board members calm and at bay.” As she stands and walks to the corner of the room where there’s a coffee bar set up, I realize she’s nervous.

Oh.

She actually thinks this is going to impact her bottom line.

She thinks I’m trying to hurt her company and that the way I do that is through brute force, apparently.

Well, brute force and lies.

Jessica pours herself a cup of coffee. She’s quiet as she adds cream and a dash of honey, but her stillness speaks volumes. She’s starting to feel anxious and lost. She isn’t sure what to do.

For a woman like Jessica, there aren’t many moments where she feels lost. For me, I felt the most lost the day my parents died. It was like a trainwreck that tore through my heart, and then I lost Jessica, too. I know perfectly well that I handled that entire period of my life poorly. I was trying to juggle multiple problems and instead of giving Jessica a chance to help me, I pulled away.

Now, as I watch her turn and walk quietly back to the table, I wish I could reach out and help her, too. It’s not a good time, I know. She still doesn’t trust me. She believes that she can handle this alone, and she might be right.

I turn back to Piper, who is watching me.

No, she’s waiting for me.

“Since my company – to my knowledge – didn’t put out this Tweet, that might backfire,” I suggest.

“Correct,” Piper nods. “If you take credit for something you didn’t do, what are you going to do when this person Tweets again? They have some sort of vendetta against you both. Well, it seems as though they’re very against Jessica, to begin with.”

“Why?” Jessica sighs. She raises her cup of coffee to her mouth, and I’m caught off guard – not for the first time – with how damn pretty she is. Her lipstick is perfectly applied. How many nights did she brush those lips against my cheeks? How many nights did I lie in bed while she kissed lower and lower?