Chapter Text
Becky knew something was wrong when Charlotte showed up in her office and informed her that Freen wanted to talk to her.
She knew that for her friend to show up as Freen's secretary and not text her like she usually did, something serious was going on.
Even Irin looked at Becky and wished her good luck.
Becky noticed some employees looking at her walking beside Charlotte and felt her body tense even more.
When they got to Freen's floor and Charlotte asked Becky to wait while she talked to Freen, Becky had to take a few deep breaths.
“You may come in.” Charlotte warns as she holds the door to Freen's office for Becky.
As soon as Becky walked past her friend, Charlotte closed the door.
“Did you ask to call me?” Becky speaks and Freen, who was sitting in her chair, looks at the brunette and points to the chair in front of her.
“According to Charlotte, I received an interesting proposal for lunch.” Freen spoke, her CEO tone, which she never addressed to Becky, only used in meetings, was present in her voice. “Araya Hargate called to arrange lunch with me this Thursday.”
“And that's why you called me?” Becky asks confusedly and Freen nods as she leans forward in her chair.
“First I want you to understand that right now, at this very moment, you're not my girlfriend, you're Araya Hargate's daughter, right?” Freen asks and it's Becky's turn to nod. “Okay, when you lived with Araya, what did she say about arranging lunches with people she wrote about?”
“She never called to make any lunch appointments.” Becky answers and Freen sighs. “They usually called her and it was to try to get her to write some article that would benefit or destroy an artist. Araya Hargate doesn't go after people, people go after her.”
“Right.” Freen understands what Becky says. “Now you're my girlfriend again and I need to ask you: do you think this lunch has anything to do with the two of us?”
“I highly doubt it.” Becky promptly responds. “Richie told me mom made sure she didn't send those paparazzi after us at the mall.”
“So I'm being invited to some lunch that I have no idea what it's about.” Freen speaks tiredly, her day had barely started and she already wanted to leave.
Noticing Freen's reaction, Becky rose from her chair and approached the brunette.
“Hey.” Becky calls weakly and Freen looks at her. “You're going to do well at this lunch even though I don't know what it's about, and if you want me to, I'll be here to listen to you. We agreed to remain friends, right?” She asks and Freen nods. “Friends listen to each other when they need to vent.”
Freen just nodded once more and felt Becky placing a kiss on her cheek before leaving the room.
She felt like she would need to be strong for whatever Araya wanted to talk to her about.
…
As Thursday rolled around Freen began to wonder how professionally bad she would sound if she called Charlotte and told her she was sick.
But, before leaving the house, she received a good morning message from Becky, wishing her a peaceful day, and she couldn't help but smile at the brunette's message.
Half an hour before lunch was due, Freen was already in the back of her car. She had opted to use the chauffeur that day because she knew she wouldn't have the head to drive once she was done talking to Araya.
“Thanks David.” Freen thanks him when the man opens the car door for her. “Your table is reserved in your name.” Warn before entering the restaurant.
Freen didn't know how long the conversation with Araya would last, but she wasn't going to let her driver go hungry, so, like every time she went out on a business lunch, she had Charlotte reserve a table for David.
It wasn't difficult to see Araya, because the woman is tall and was already looking at the door when Freen entered.
Taking a deep breath, Freen walked over to the blonde.
“Hello Araya.” Freen speaks as she approaches the table and Araya stands up to greet her with a handshake. “I must say, I never expected to be proposed to you for lunch.” She speaks, this time already sitting in front of the woman.
“Believe me, I wouldn't call if I didn't think it was extremely important to talk to you.” Araya is serious.
Seeming to feel that the tension between the two could be cut with a knife, Becky sent Freen a message, this time being a picture of her at her desk, and next to her computer was a picture of Freen with Dylan while they were in Hawaii.
“Was that your girlfriend?” Araya asks, seeing Freen's smile and immediately the businesswoman drops her cell phone with the screen face down on the table and looks at her.
“Yes, your daughter knows I'm here.” Freen speaks and Araya opens her mouth in surprise.
Freen found the woman's gesture strange, but didn't have time to question it because the waiter appeared handing them the restaurant menu.
Seeing that Araya was still gaping and still staring at her, Freen made the choice between the two and ordered the chef's special.
“She…” Araya seems to find words to speak to Freen. “Becky mentioned me to you?”
“Yes.” Freen is direct in the answer. “She's the one who told me you don't book to meet anyone, the people who come after you.”
“When?” Araya asked, still in shock. “When did she tell you that she's my daughter?”
“In our third week of dating.” Freen answers and is almost worried about the blonde in front of her holding her breath. “In our first week of dating, she told me you kicked her out of your house.”
Araya closed her eyes tightly and lowered her head, then shook her head as if she wanted to push some thought from her mind.
“We didn't come here to talk about Becky.” Araya finally faces Freen.
“I figured, since you haven't spoken in a good few years.” Freen teases and she could have sworn Araya would snarl at her.
“Look, Freen.”Araya says, the tone of anger was evident in her voice. “This lunch isn't about Becky, and if you bring up my daughter during this conversation, I'll get up and leave.”
Freen took a moment to nod at the blonde.
She never imagined that Araya would be an overprotective mother, but here was the owner of the biggest gossip site in the world ready to fly on her neck just for the mention of Becky's name.
“Very good.” Freen says and the waiter appears with their entrée. “What do you want to talk to me about?”
Caroline took a deep breath. If this conversation was being difficult for Freen, it was certainly being more difficult for her.
“What do you know about Thomas Moore?” Araya asks.
“Good music producer.” Freen replies, taking the first mouthful of her entrance. “I've heard talk that he's very picky about who he works with, but the result is generally good and he's already gotten a few Grammys for my company.”
“And what would you say if I told you he harasses young artists?” Araya speaks and Freen even stops breathing to face her. “That, in addition to sexually harassing young artists, whatever that artist may be, he still morally harasses his assistants?”
“Araya, I need you to be sure what you're talking about.” Freen asks. “Because I certainly need to fire this son of a bitch.”
“Two singers and a music writer came to see me a few months ago.” Araya speaks patiently. “Of course I listened carefully and even asked permission to record what I was being told. A week ago, his former assistant came to see me in tears because she wanted to end his career, even though white men rarely pay for their crimes.”
“And why are you talking to me about this?” Freen asks, really confused. Araya had enough material on hand to link her to a stalker.
“Because those same four people told me that there are people within your company who are covering for Thomas.” Freen's eyes widened at Araya. “None of your family.” Freen lets out a breath she didn't even know she was holding. “So, my proposal to you is simple, I know a detective and we could launch an operation with the help of selected agents to take down not only Thomas, but everyone who is covering for him.”
Freen looked seriously at Araya.
There were two reasons for her to accept the woman's proposal.
The first is that she always believes in the victim, including, every month, she makes anonymous donations to organizations that support women victims of some type of violence.
The second is that, as much as she hated Araya's stories about her, none of them were lies. True, Araya posted the first article that started all hell in her life that made investors ask Freen at every meeting if she was already dating, but even that article had a kernel of truth, after all, the Chankimhas always cherish for the family.
And of course, there was a reason for her not to accept the proposal: Araya was the motherfucker who kicked Becky out of the house when she was only 18 years old.
But there, Freen wasn't like Becky's girlfriend. She was there as a CEO and, more importantly, a woman.
“I need to gather a group of trusted people from my company.” Freen says and Araya smiles at her. “I appreciate that you reached out to me before launching a story that could make all of this a huge mess, but still, even with law enforcement officers involved, I need to have people I trust knowing what's going on.”
“Yes, I understand.” Caroline nodded. “We can work out a few more things and then set up a meeting with the victims and come up with a plan.”
That was the longest lunch Freen had ever had in her life.
…
Becky was impatient in her apartment.
While Richie played with Dylan on the living room rug, Becky checked her cell phone every two minutes waiting for some sign of Freen.
Since Freen left for lunch with Araya she hadn't written back to Becky yet.
Then there was a knock on her apartment door and Becky immediately glanced at her brother, who got up to open the door.
“Hello sister-in-law.” Richie says jokingly to Freen, he didn't know about Freen's lunch with Araya. “Tough day at work? You look tired.” He says, finally making room for Freen to enter.
Becky felt her whole body tense when she saw Freen's tired and sad expression.
“Something like that.” Freeb forces a smile for Richie and, looking at Becky, lets her shoulders slump, like she wants to vent and doesn't know how.
“Hey Freeney.” Dylan draws the manager's attention to him. “Uncle Richie picked me up from swim class today.”
“And how was your day today?” Freen asks, really interested in the boy's conversation as she sits next to Becky on the couch.
Richie watched as, in no time, Becky's worried gaze didn't leave Freen.
“Hey buddy.” Richie calls his nephew's attention while Dylan tells about the afternoon he had with his uncle. “Why don't you sleep over and we'll have pizza night at my apartment tomorrow?” He looks at Freen. “You are invited too.”
Freen just nodded and Becky got up to help her son with what he would need to take to his uncle's house since he had school the next day.
As Becky and Dylan walked through Becky's bedroom door, the brunette saw Freen massaging her temples before walking into the bathroom with Becky's nightwear to change into.
“Hey.” Becky says when she feels Freen sitting next to her on the sofa. “Do you want to talk about the lunch you had with my mother today?”
“Not yet.” Freen confesses. “Technically lunch ended an hour ago, but I had to stop by the company.”
Without saying another word, Becky got up and pulled Freen by the hand as they walked into the kitchen.
Since Freen didn't have the right mind for cooking and Becky didn't feel like cooking anything, Becky grabbed a ready-made lasagna from the freezer and put it in the microwave so she and Freen could share.
As soon as Becky pressed the microwave button to turn it on, Freen, who was sitting at the counter, pulled Becky by the hand and, when the brunette was facing her, hugged Becky tight, resting her head on her breasts and taking a deep breath.
Surprised by Freen's attitude, Becky just hugged her back and started playing with Freen's hair.
“Do you think I'm a bad boss?” Freen asks, still in the middle of the hug.
“No.” Becky is sincere. “I never thought you were a bad boss, you're just a bit of a bitch sometimes.” She says and Freen lets out a weak laugh. “But now that we're on this deal, I see that you're only stressed after meetings with investors because they demand too much from you because you're a woman.”
Freen then squeezed Becky tighter into the hug they shared.
Carefully, and still letting Freen hug her, Becky pulled away a little and held Freen's face, brushing away some strands that fell on her face.
“I don't know what happened at that lunch to make it last all afternoon, let alone what my mother said to you.” Becky speaks tenderly. “But you're not a bad boss, in fact, even before you joined the company I already knew you'd be a good boss.”
“Because I'm the big boss's daughter?” Freen jokes and Becky ends up laughing.
“No Freen.” Becky continues to run her fingers over Freen's face. “Because even before you were officially introduced to the company, you showed up there just to meet the employees and even created a box of suggestions for improving the company.” Freen hung on Becky's every word. “By the way, thank you for creating the company playground.”
“Did you come up with the idea?” Freen asks in shock and Becky just nodded as she smiled.
“I was never able to take Dylan because shortly after the playground was finished I found out he has asthma.” Becky sighs. “And it's not like people there know I have a kid.”
“You don't like to tell others that you have a son because you had him early in your life?” Freen asks knowing that was too personal a question for her to ask Becky.
“I don't like to tell because the first question I'm asked is where is the father, and when I say there is no father, they judge me as if I were a whore who had sex with every guy who looked at her before I was 18 years.” Becky grumbles.
“People are stupid.” Freen speaks and returns to rest her head on Becky's chest.
“Yes they are.” Becky sighs.
Neither of them would admit it anytime soon, but they enjoyed that hug more than they should have.
…
“Are you going to stop by my place or shall I get ready at yours on Friday?” Becky asks Freen.
They were inside Freen's car after dropping Dylan off at school that Monday morning.
“What are you talking about?” Freen asked, confused as she drove.
“For Charlotte's birthday.” Becky says it like it's obvious.
“Becky, what makes you think I would go to Charlotte's birthday?” Freen asks, really amused by what Becky said.
“And why not go?” Becky asks and Freen glances at her quickly, finally realizing that Becky was serious with her.
“Becky, Charlotte is getting a birthday present from me.” Freen speaks, finally entering the garage of the company building. “There's no reason for me to go on this birthday.”
“Don't tell me you think you're superior enough not to go to Charlotte's birthday just because she's your secretary.” Becky speaks indignantly with Freen's disregard for the secretary's birthday.
“Becky, I think you want to make this bigger than it really is.” Freen says as she parks the car. “It's simple, I'm not going to Charlotte's birthday and you're going to enjoy a night out with your girlfriends.”
Becky bit her bottom lip to keep from saying what she wanted to.
It didn't cost Freen to get off the jump and go to Charlotte's birthday.
Without saying anything else, Becky just got out of the car and slammed the door, making Freen sigh tiredly.
“Great way to start a work week.” Freen mutters to herself before getting out of the car.
…
Becky was sitting with Irin while the two were having lunch when Charlotte sat down with her friends in a weary sigh.
“Did something happen to you and your girlfriend today?” Charlotte asks Becky, who just rolls her eyes and continues eating. “Because she didn't even ask me for coffee today and she always orders coffee when she has projects to go over.”
“Nothing happened.” Becky says.
“Becky, I know the boss that I have.” Charlotte speaks calmly. “It's been two years working for Freen, I know when she's having a bad day, and since you two started dating she hasn't had a bad day at work.”
“She said she's not going to your birthday party.” Becky speaks at last. “She said there's no reason for her to go to your birthday.”
“Becky, why would Freen go to a birthday she wasn't even invited to?” Charlotte asked, she was almost laughing at Becky's reaction.
“You didn’t invite her?” Becky asks in shock, her voice rising a little.
“Becky, she may be your girlfriend but she's still the boss.” Charlotte speaks. “Bosses don't go to their employees' birthday parties.”
Irin had already given up eating and looked from one friend to the other, knowing full well that at some point she would have to intervene in the fight that was starting.
“I'm sorry if I thought you were going to invite Freen to your birthday because when it's just the four of us, you really treat each other like friends.” Becky speaks ironically.
Charlotte looked at Becky not really believing what she was hearing.
Of course, when Freen was with her, Becky and Irin she didn't act like a boss, but even so, the party guests would be other company employees and both Charlotte and Freen knew they wouldn't enjoy the party if the boss was there.
“Becky, just because you're dating your boss doesn't mean other people have to live with Freen outside of working hours.” Charlotte is serious this time. “I don't remember you complaining about my other birthdays where Freen didn't go.”
“This time is different.” Becky speaks.
“It's not because you're having sex with the boss that things are different for others!” Charlotte almost screams and even Irin stares at her friend in disbelief.
“May I know what's going on here?” Freen appears at the two o'clock table.
Only then did Charlotte and Becky realize that everyone in the cafeteria was staring at them.
“My office, now!” Freen is serious and neither one answers, already getting up to do what Freen said.
Freen walked further ahead of her friends, you could tell she was irritated with the two just by the way she walked.
As soon as they arrived in Freen's room, Charlotte and Becky knew they would have to sit in the chairs in front of Freen's desk and so they did.
“May I know what went through both of yours minds to make you think it would be a good idea to fight in front of my entire company?” Freen starts to ask.
“I just wanted to know why you were having a bad day.” Charlotte says embarrassed.
“And I didn't like it when Charlotte said she wouldn't invite you because you are the boss.” Becky speaks in the same tone as Charlotte.
Freen stopped in front of the two, her business owner air so strong that neither of them could look away from her.
And then Freen started lecturing them both, but Becky would lie if she said she was paying attention.
Freen was at the height of her CEO power and pissed off, but Becky could only think how hot the woman was when she was pissed off.
When Freen turned her back as she started to pace the room as she claimed them, Charlotte looked confused when she realized that Becky had crossed her legs and had to bite her bottom lip to keep from laughing at her friend.
Charlotte knew Becky had a soft spot for people ordering her around.
“Are we clear?” Freen stops facing them again.
“Yes we are.” Charlotte speaks and Becky is silent, just watching Freen.
Charlotte stood up and Becky only looked away from Freen when she saw her friend reaching out to help her up.
“I'm sorry about the way I spoke to you in the cafeteria.” Charlotte says when Becky was already on her feet.
Another important fact: Charlotte knew that Freen and Becky had reached an agreement to maintain a friends with benefits thing, but that they still hadn't done anything because of their work routine and they hadn't even determined the limits of this agreement.
“But if you want” Charlotte says and steps forward, her tone changing slightly to a more sensual one and Becky glares at her in confusion. Charlotte squeezed Becky's hand, a sign they got when they went out to join in on each other's pranks. “We can sort ourselves out like we always do.”
Freen narrowed her eyes when she saw Becky let out a weak laugh.
“I would love that.” Becky answers her friend. “And I'm sorry for wanting to determine who you invite to your party and who you don't.” Becky says.
“Believe me, you'll apologize in another way later.” Charlotte says and places a kiss on the corner of Josie's mouth. “Boss, I still have ten minutes for lunch, can I go?” She turns to Freen, her tone quickly changing to speak to the brunette.
Freen just nodded and her friends started walking towards the door.
“Not you, Becky.” Freen is serious and Becky stops walking.
Charlotte looked at Becky and winked at her friend before she walked out of the room and left the two of them alone.
Becky walked back in front of Freen, a calm expression on her face.
“I thought we agreed that we weren't going to cheat on each other.” Freen says and Becky looks confused at her.
“I have no idea what you're talking about.” Becky pretends not to understand.
In one swift movement, Freen grabbed Becky around the waist and spun them both around, pinning Becky against her desk.
“I'm not an idiot, Becky.” Freen speaks in a serious tone, bringing a hand to Becky's face. “I realized what you and Charlotte were talking about.”
“Oh, that?” Becky is amazed at how strong she is in appearing indifferent to the way Freen clutches her waist. “We've been friends for a while and we know how to apologize to each other when we fight.”
Surprising her, Freen kissed Becky hard.
It wasn't a calm kiss, it was an angry and almost desperate kiss.
Becky felt her legs go numb as Freen squeezed her waist and, in one swift movement, Freen had her sitting on the table, the two of them never breaking their kiss.
“I think we need to talk about our agreement.” Freen says when breaking their kiss. “I've been stressing out a lot at work lately and people say that sex is a great stress reliever.”
Freene's words hit right between Becky's legs.
“But right now you need to get back to work.” Freen pulls away as if they hadn't shared an intense kiss moments ago. “I don't want people to have the wrong thoughts about why you're taking so long to get back to your job.”
Freen walked to the living room door and opened it for Becky to step through.
Becky never thought she would have to make the effort to walk like she was doing at that moment as she walked out of Freen's office.
Freen even had the audacity to stop Becky when she got to the door and wiped her lipstick off Becky's lips.
If Freen was going to act like Satan himself while taunting her, Becky couldn't wait to go to hell with her.