Her Forbidden Millionaire

“You.”

Phoebe woke up in her bed with Lincoln lying next to her, ready to get up for work. The months had flown by and their relationship had progressed to a point where she finally felt comfortable telling Lincoln that she loved him. It wasn’t romantic when she did it the first time. It was simple. It was quiet. It was as they sat in each other’s arms watching TV where she said it randomly. She remembered him laughing, saying, “I already know. I love you, too.” It was just like that. It was no big deal, but here they were still keeping their relationship a secret. Pam knew and Phoebe had thoughts that Bobby knew, but since he liked her at the company and as a friend he never mentioned it. She wondered when the right time would come where they could actually go out together and be seen. She hated having to show up wherever they wanted to go and then have him come in a few moments later, or through a back door. Shaking the ideas from her head, she got herself ready for work and left to go meet Pam for their morning cup of coffee.

Phoebe could sense something was up when she finally arrived to work that morning. Bobby was waiting for her by the elevator as usual but he had a peculiar look on his face. “Okay, spill it!” She laughed.

Bobby sighed. “You’re losing two clients today.”

“What the hell?! Are you fu*king kidding me? Who?! Why didn’t they tell me? Who is it?!” Phoebe fired off angrily. She thought she’d built a rapport with her clients that they could tell her face to face when they were leaving or switching advisors. The morning was not starting in any way that she was going to be looking forward to the rest of the day.

Bobby gave her a soft pat on the shoulder as he turned, leaving her to talk with her client on her own. “They’re in your office now.”

Phoebe’s head sunk as she stepped inside to see Mrs. Aimsley sitting there with a bouquet of flowers. She understood. “Good morning, Mrs. Aimsley. What are you doing here so early?”

The old woman smiled as she rose from her chair to hug Phoebe. “Well, I came here to tell you that I’m leaving. Mr. Aimsley was the only reason I came to Crimson anyway and now that he’s gone, I don’t think I can stay here much longer on my own. I just wanted to say thank you for being so sweet and understanding. These flowers are for you, to brighten up this place since I won’t be coming in here and to let you know that I’ll always be thinking about you, dear.”

“Aww, thank you, Mrs. Aimsley. Will you be all right? Where are you going to go?” Phoebe asked the woman.

She simply smiled. “Oh, I’m going to move down to Texas. My daughters and grandbabies are down there and I know that I’ll be closer to family. Now you take care of yourself, and tell the young man who’s been putting a smile on your face to keep up the good work. Love looks good on you, honey.”

Phoebe smiled as she blushed wondering how she knew. But the old woman simply winked at her as she took her time leaving the office. Phoebe smiled as she watched her walk toward the elevator a bit sad that she wouldn’t see her again. She began to settle into work when she remembered Bobby said she’d be losing two clients that day. One she was expecting, but the second she had no idea. She couldn’t think of who would be firing her as their adviser. She didn’t want to think about it as she put the thought out of her head and focused on the tasks she had for the day. It was close to lunch when her curiosity began to eat at her. She marched to Bobby’s office and knocked frantically.

“Okay, you have to tell me who the other client is! Another one didn’t die on me, did they?” Phoebe said worriedly.

“Take it easy, Grissom.” Bobby smiled. “Just go to lunch. They’ll be there to tell you when you come back.”

Phoebe huffed as she stormed out of Bobby’s office. Her mood was irritable to say the least when she sat down to lunch with Pam, and Pam noticed. “What’s got you all hot and bothered?”

“Bobby’s being super annoying!” She sucked her teeth.

“Bobby, huh? That’s your boss, right? The cute one? Is he single?” Pam asked.

Phoebe’s frustration toward him shifted into curiosity about a budding love between her boss and her best friend. It could go wrong, but what if it went spectacularly right?

“You should come up and ask him yourself,” Phoebe replied coyly. Pam snickered and put up a fight at first but eventually, she let Phoebe convince her to come up to the office with her for a minute or two. At least with love in the air, the thought of losing another client wouldn’t be so bad.

Phoebe was proud of herself as she led Pam up to her floor, talking about all things Bobby. But when the elevator doors opened, she was speechless. The lights were dimmed as a trail of rose petals made a path from the elevator bay toward her office. Pam had already stepped away and stood next to Bobby. They high fived each other as Phoebe stared at them, shaking her head.

Phoebe swallowed hard as she took her time walking toward her office where it was filled wall to wall with white, yellow, and pink roses. Lincoln spun around in her chair with the largest bouquet of them all. He came around from behind the desk as tears fell from Phoebe’s eyes. She could feel her hands trembling as he took them into his own and got down on one knee.

Lincoln Gold was in a navy blue suit, surrounded by a sea of flowers as he pulled the small ring box from his pocket. “Phoebe Grissom, you have been so stubborn and vigilant in giving me my life back. I’ve never had someone fight for me like you did. And I would like nothing more than to spend the rest of my life fighting for our love. I want the world to know how I feel about you, so Phoebe Grissom of Warner Waters Financial Consultants you, my love, are fired as my financial advisor.”

She laughed as she wiped her tears away. “Okay.”

Lincoln continued, “Phoebe Grissom, will you do me the honor and blessing of becoming my wife?”

“Yes,” Phoebe cried joyously. “Yes, I will.”

The end.