#irene&cristina: 001

[maryjanewatsonparkers]

"Well then, I'll be sure to invite you to happy hour some time soon. I'm eager to see what your skit would be," Irene said mischievously. Irene knew it was delusional to think that she was important to this company. She may own it, but she never ran it nor did she even know the first thing about running it. It had only come up during the divorce when they were combing through their assets that the company popped up. Still, it was exciting for Irene having all the bells and whistles of being a CEO. "Perfect," she said eagerly and clapped her hands. Thanking the driver when he opened the door for her, Irene got inside and waited for Cristina to join her. "I do have a question though," she started and placed her hand on her lap. "When is the next team meeting?" she asked. "I noticed earlier that you were meeting with the team, I would like to have a team meeting to introduce myself to the people I'll be working with," she stated, pulling out her phone and going through her texts. "Oh! I'm going to need a company phone and secretary or an assistant to manage my day to day," Irene listed off acting as if she were some busy person. She then waved it off. "I'll just use my assistant now. Can I get a desk for her and a company laptop? Make it a fancy macbook or an iMac. Like the ones you see on TV," she said, treating Cristina as if she were her assistant and not the woman who was running her company for her. "You know what, I want an iMac too. Do I need approval for that or can I just buy my own? I want it in purple." Irene then gasped and looked over at Cristina with a grin. "Do you want a purple one? Or a blue one?" she asked. "We could be matching. CEO and CFO... what's your title again?"

Irene was a fascinating woman. Cristina had always thought her boss to be rather fascinating, but that was more in a judgmental outside viewpoint sort of way. To meet her in person like this, it was different. The grandeur that she possessed was more grand than Cristina had anticipated, but in a more endearing way. Which the thought alone surprised her. She was a lot. And working this close with her was going to be a lot. Luckily for the two of them, Cristina was not only good at her job, but she also loved this job. So she would do whatever it took to make sure that this company did their job to the best of their ability. Beyond so, even. That included dealing with her out of touch boss who, out of nowhere, decided to finally be a part of a company she owned. Arching an eyebrow when Irene asked her if she had made a joke, Cristina chuckled lowly and glanced away. “It’s known to happen from time to time. Get a couple of martinis in me and I might do some stand up,” she said, watching as Irene paid for the bill without even acknowledging the cost. Must be nice to have that sort of money, Cristina thought. When the waiter returned with Irene’s card, Cristina stood up to get ready to leave, following Irene’s lead basically. “Uh, yeah. The office that I had previously showed you before we left. That’ll be yours. It does have an extension because it had been previously known, so me and the rest of the staff know it. I’ll make sure to have it written down for you in case you need to give it out. I’ll make sure our receptionist has all the details ready for you,” she explained as they began to walk out of the restaurant. “Any questions you have, you can ask any one of us. Most of us have been working there since the beginning, so we all know the company well.”

[maryjanewatsonparkers]

Irene waved Cristina off. "Semantics," she murmured. "I'm CEO of something and from what I can see, it doesn't seem to be bust so I'm clearly doing something right." Irene ignored the fact that the something right she was doing was by not being involved. It wasn't as if she was making all the hard decisions nor was she running anything. Irene was only CEO in name only. She was sure that it was Cristina that was running the ship considering everyone answered to her. "Though I guess this was a little bit unearned considering my ex-husband started this company and appointed me as CEO. So I guess I got it by sleeping with the boss," she joked. Smiling and nodding her head, Irene exhaled and wondered if she would even be included in these events or decisions. The charity had been running just fine without her ever since her ex-husband created it, so she wondered if they would even include her. "Well, you'll have to let me know when the next meeting is. I would love to be sitting in a meeting and feel a corporate girlie," she joked. Irene was well aware that many people depended on this charity. There were so many not only employed, but many disenfranchised people that depended on this charity to function so she knew that she needed to take this seriously. Irene perked up at the mention of a fundraiser being created. "Oh? What day are you planning? I'm all hands on deck if you need my expertise. I'm very good at planning events."

Cristina looked at Irene curiously as she went on about her expectations out of this job. It was evident to her that the other woman had absolutely no idea how any of this worked. It seemed like most of her knowledge was coming from television and even, she was wrong. “Well, yes, you are CEO. But, not to burst your bubble, a charity organization isn’t exactly the same thing as a huge media corporation, but I can see where you’re coming from. We’ll be dealing with sponsors and organizing events and looking into various charities and organizing fundraisers. Things like that.” She cleared her throat. “But I can assure you, it’s just as exciting. At least, I find it so.” Cristina wasn’t sure what Irene’s end goal here was, but if this company depended on her interest in it, she had no problems trying to meet these expectations of hers. Or at the very least, try to come somewhat close to it. Hearing about how Irene and her husband had completely forgotten about the charity organization ever since buying it, Cristina wasn’t entirely surprised. She’d never even seen them since she’d gotten the job. At first, she thought that maybe they just trusted her enough to run the place all on her own without needing them. But when some emails had gone unanswered, she started to figure out what was really going on. It had annoyed her at the beginning until she grew to only depend on herself for the sake of the company. She liked to think she was doing just fine without any input from them. “Right now, we’re focusing on contributing to climate change. There’s a charity we’ve set our sights on and I’ve been talking to them these past couple months. So we were focusing on creating a fundraiser for them.” Cristina was talking like she was pitching this idea to Irene.

[maryjanewatsonparkers]

Irene's head was swimming with all the things she could do for the fundraising now that there wasn't a budget. Okay, there was a budget, but the budget was higher and at Cristina's discretion. Now all she needed to do was convince Cristina to allow more extravagant things into the fundraiser. When she talked about where to host it, Irene tapped her chin and thought about it for a moment. "I have some ideas, but I'll have to make some calls. They're usually booked well over a year in advance but all I have to do is bribe the right people and the venue is ours," she said nonchalantly. Irene then grinned and leaned forward. "Did you just joke? Did I just make you joke?" she asked, her eyes dancing with amusement. She then waved at the waiter, indicating that she wanted the bill and handing him her card without even getting the bill. "Now, shall we head to the office?" she asked, pulling out her phone and letting the driver know that they were about to leave. "We have lots to do and I want to decorate my office." Irene clapped her hands excitedly at the thought of her office. "I've never head an office before," she admitted, getting up from her seat and exiting the restaurant. "Oh, do I have my own phone line? Does everyone know what my phone line or extension is? What if they need to reach me? I need work to do." It felt... rather nice being needed again. Ever since her ex-husband's company blew up, Irene was no longer needed. Even childcare was mostly taken over by nannies.

As she’s worked at this organization, with all the meetings and fundraisers, Cristina had met with her fair share of rich people. Not all were as rich as Irene, of course. Though, considering the amount of money her boss had, there weren’t exactly very many people who were that rich. Regardless, she’d met plenty of rich folks, so she was more than aware of out of touch they were when it came to every day living expenses for normal people. Hell, they were rather out of touch with anything that didn’t involve their little circles. But to hear Irene speak so nonchalantly like this about money still took her aback. What must it be like to live like that? Not that Cristina was struggling for money. She was well off given her job, but she knew she would never even come close to the wealth that Irene had. Hiding her amused grin by holding her hand against her mouth, Cris glanced down at the table as her boss when on about the costs of Birkins as if she didn’t already know. “Well, you certainly live a luxurious life, that much I can say.” She raised an eyebrow then once Irene began to spit ball her ideas for the gala. She chose to keep her mouth shut for now and allow her boss to have her fun thinking of all these way too extravagant plans. “How about we first focus on figuring out where to host it. Then we’ll see about… Cirque du Soleil,” she brought up, chuckling lightly despite herself when Irene kept joking about the cocaine. Cristina hummed softly to herself and stared at the other woman, giving her a small doubtful (yet amused) stare. “Don’t expect me not to pat you down just in case.”

[maryjanewatsonparkers]

Irene understood how ridiculous she sounded thinking that thirty thousand was nothing because it wasn't as if she grew up rich. In fact, before her ex-husband started the company, they were dirt poor. She was the one taking care of their children and working while he sat in their garage working on his business. When the money started flowing in through, they became rich and money just meant nothing to Irene. The gap between thirty dollars and thirty thousand got smaller and smaller. "Like thirty dollars," she admitted. "I mean, I once bought the entire stock of Birkin bags and used them as little be my bridesmaids at mine and my ex's renewal," she explained and waved it off as if it was nothing. "A Birkin bag, like the cheapest could easily cost thirty thousand," she explained in case Cristina didn't know how much a Birkin costed. Irene perked up and immediately started clapping with glee when Cristina conceded and agreed to let her fund the gala. "Amazing! Maybe we can get the Cirque du Soleil to be the main show or something," she said, thinking up all the things they could do now that she was given an unlimited budget. "Oh we could serve caviar!" Irene tapped her finger against her chin as she thought about what else they could do to make the night an eventful and memorable one. "Now that you'll let me plan without a budget, I promise not to bring the cocaine."

Cristina should have expected this sort of reaction from Irene when it came to the budget. She was sure that that kind of money was basically pocket change for someone like her, but that’s the budge they’ve always worked with. In fact, it got lower and lower as the years went by. Running a charity organization was tough, but it was especially difficult when the people who founded the place hardly took any interest in it. “I’m sorry, how much do you think thirty thousand is, exactly?” She asked with a raised eyebrow. Sure it was probably not what the rich woman was used to, but to a normal person, it wasn’t chump change. It was doable if you knew what you were doing. And Cristina happened to very well know what she was doing. That’s why she was amazing at her job. Dropping her head down to hide the small hint of a smile that was forming on her lips, she tried to not think about how ridiculous her boss was. She was so out of touch, it was almost comical. Letting out a small breath, she looked back at Irene and shrugged. “You know what, fine. I mean, it is your organization. And, well, not to be crass, but you certainly do have the funds for a more expensive party. If that’s something you want to do, I clearly can’t stop you. All I’m saying, is that there is a budget for a reason.” Cris paused briefly as she looked over at Irene who looked like an upset child. “If you insist on going big, we can at least work on it together so I can make sure it’s not too big.”

[maryjanewatsonparkers]

Irene waved Cristina off after the brunette reminded her that she needed to be on her best behaviour. Despite use of the word 'we' Irene knew that it was the royal we and it was directed at her. Her fun party nature was clearly not lost on Cristina, not that she could blame Cristina for warning her to be good. It was a widely known fact that Irene was someone who was always down to party. Irene pouted and rolled her eyes. Cristina seemed like a stick in the mud. At the mention of the budget being not even a hundred thousand, Irene's eyes widened. She almost didn't want to plan the gala anymore. "I'm sorry, thirty thousand?" she asked in an appalled manner and shook her head. "You do understand thirty thousand is like just for catering right? What do you plan to feed them exactly? McDonalds?" Irene shook her head and crossed her arms. "Okay, but if I give you the bill of thirty thousand, don't be so shocked if there's a hidden bill somewhere paid for by me. I don't even know how to just spend thirty thousand," she admitted and pouted like some sort of child. "This doesn't seem fun anymore. Thirty thousand, that's like the cost of this lunch right now," she stated, kicking her feet. Was this really how much functions costed? She couldn't believe it. She was having a hard time wrapping her head around how she was even going to budget such a little amount for a gala of all things.

“Okay, maybe, but, again this is a party for a charity. So, I think we should try to be on our best behavior.” And by ‘we’, Cristina obviously meant Irene. But she was trying to be nice right now, especially considering how much the other woman just dropped on donations. Still, they did need to be on their best behavior. All eyes were on them with Irene now on their team. With how much she’d been in the headlines ever since the cheating scandal and then the divorce announcements and all her little activities after that, everyone would want to see what her next move would be. That next move happened to be this charity organization. They were barely getting by as it was. Any bad press directed at the organization would be bad news for all of them. Well, maybe not Irene. Cris was sure she’d survive more bad press. “But, yes. You’re free to host and plan the party to your heart’s content. Go crazy. But not too crazy!” Cristina whipped out her phone and began to send out emails and texts and trying to communicate with everyone about how they’ve reached their goals and she was basically already planning out what they needed to do next proceeding all of this before she stopped and glanced over at Irene from over her phone. Some of the things that came out of that woman’s mouth was at times too ridiculous to even be comical. “Try more like 30,000. Even that is stretching it.”

[maryjanewatsonparkers]

Maybe it was a bad idea revealing that the default email that her and her ex would give was an email neither one of them really answered and gave to be polite. She could have said nothing, but Irene tended to overshare, which was a very bad habit of hers. Writing down her email as well, Irene then grinned at Cristina. "I promise, I will answer your emails," she teased. "I'll even give you my cell phone. One of anyways," she muttered and wrote down her number with her email. Irene noticed the surprised and shocked look on Cristina's face when she handed the check. Just like that, Irene made sure that their organization met their goal. This was nothing but chump change for Irene. She barely blinked giving away that kind of money. Laughing when she said that the cocaine wasn't necessary, Irene shrugged. "Alright, but let me know if you need it, okay? I like to keep a supply." She watched with an amused expression as Cristina continued to look at the check she just handed her. It was almost as if she couldn't believe that their goal was met."Imagine if that check bounced, how embarrassing would that be?" she couldn't help but joke, trying to get Cristina to come to terms with the fact that she just gave her money. When Cristina said she could be as involved as possible, Irene's eyes lit up with excitement. "Does that mean I can bring the cocaine?" she asked jokingly before holding her hands up as if showing her she was only joking. "It's a good thing I know how to throw a good party. You leave the planning to me," she said excitedly, already thinking of the kinds of things she could do for the gala.

Cristina narrowed her eyes a little when Irene began to talk about sending the emails to the incorrect email. Honestly, this shouldn’t have be surprising to her and it really wasn’t. It all made so much more sense now that she thought about it. It wasn’t surprising, but this new revelation did make her a bit angry. She had to look away from the other woman as she inhaled deeply to calm that anger. It would do her no good right now. “Right. Of course. I would greatly appreciate the actual email, then.” She said, giving Irene a polite smile and chuckle, doing her best to ignore her talking about how she had an obscene amount of unanswered emails. Unanswered emails that she, without a doubt, would join as well. Placing her hands on her lap, she continued to look over at Irene as she suddenly grabbed her purse and took out a check book. She didn’t realize people still carried those around. Those she supposed maybe it was just a rich person thing now, handing out checks with a crazy amount of money printed on their. Furrowing her eyebrows once Irene slid the check her way, she lightly cleared her throat before reaching over to pick it up. Written on there was the exact amount that the operation needed to fund everything. Cris was a little taken a back by how easy that was. How easy it was for someone to just write a check and their goal was met. All this time of struggling, and it was the own CEO who finally chipped in to help. Between her hands, she held the check delicately. It was such a relief to have this money. All this time, she was worried sick they wouldn’t meet the deadline, but this check that Irene so nonchalantly wrote out helped more than the other woman could ever know. “Thank you. Though, the cocaine won’t be necessary,” she said, unsure of how serious Irene was. “After donating this much money, you can be as involved in the gala as you’d like. I mean, aside from also you being the boss and all. Besides, you’re involvement will undoubtedly give this organization and the fundraiser the much needed press it needs. You’re a walking press magnet.”

[maryjanewatsonparkers]

Irene had a smug look on her face as Cristina tried to defend herself and state that she wasn't trying to keep tabs on her that way. It was amusing and almost easy to get under Cristina's skin. Irene vowed to make Cristina relax a little more as she seemed like there was a stick too far up her ass. Irene laughed and shrugged. "The reason we weren't answering emails is probably because you don't even have the right email," she joked. "We have spam emails and emails that we just give people and then we have actual business email," she explained. "I'll text it to you now that we're working together, though I make no promises to actually answer in a timely manner. I have like four hundred unanswered texts. The only text I respond to immediately is my daughter's." Irene hummed as Cristina told her about how much was needed for the fundraiser. She was rather surprised how little it actually cost. Twenty thousand was basically what she would spend in one meal sometimes. Going through her purse, she pulled out her cheque and started to write the amount that was needed. Once she was done, Irene slid the cheque across the table to Cristina. "Is that enough for it to be fully funded? It would be embarrassing if my own organization failed to launch. Do you need more for whatever else?" she asked. "I want to involved in the gala. I love a good party. I know a great dealer that can get us premium cocaine," Irene teased, but she also wasn't joking.

Cristina was in the middle of drinking her water when she noticed Irene getting a little closer to her. She set the glass down and her eyebrows shot up at how close the other woman had gotten to her. Her question made her blink before she shook her head. “What? No. No, that’s not—I mean, not exactly.” She cleared her throat and leaned back against the sit a bit, creating distance between the two of them. She didn’t know why she felt a little nervous all of a sudden. That wasn’t necessary something she’d describe herself as - being the nervous type. She shook herself out of it and cleared her throat. “What I mean is, I was just checking up on you in my own way. The only source of contact I had was your email and your ex-husbands. But neither of you were very good at answering any emails…” she muttered. “Regardless, I just wanted to know what was going on, I guess. So I did some reading.” Truth was, given how directly she could have been impacted by this divorce, Cris had read just about any and every article she could get her hands on that talked about Irene and her divorce. It was the only way she could get any information. Giving the other woman an appreciative smile, she thanked Irene. “The fundraiser needs twenty thousand to be fully funded. We don’t close it until the end of the month. Which is only about a couple weeks. We wanted to throw a gala for it right before to try to get the remainder of the funds. But even getting that achieved hasn’t been an easy ride.”

[maryjanewatsonparkers]

Despite the cheating, her and her husband divorced somewhat amicably and she knew it was because of the love they shared for their daughter. With their daughter now a teenager and having easy access to the media, they knew that they had to be careful of what was coming out. It already hurt their daughter knowing that her father had an affair, he didn't want to drag it out and basically gave Irene everything she asked in the divorce. A part of her had a feeling it was because Mark was afraid that Irene would start talking badly about him to their daughter. Though Irene had done everything she could to shield Melanie from it and even gone as far as saying she knew about the affair and that they hadn't really been together in years. Irene looked over at Cristina and leaned in. "So you admit you've been tracking me?" she asked with a teasing smirk, wanting to see how Cristina would react. Glancing at the shocked look Cristina was making when Irene made an offer to fulfill the fundraiser goal, Irene just looked at her plainly before slowly nodding her head. "What part of I make more than I can spend do you not get?" she wondered curiously, cocking her head to the side. "How much is it to complete the fundraiser?" she asked again. "I don't want the fundraiser to fail. It would look bad on future fundraisers. Like we aren't wanted or something. Has there been any press for this?"

When the news broke out about Irene’s divorce, one of the first thing Cristina did was read all about it, mostly so that she knew what that meant for the foundation. Considering that Irene and her husband were more or less not really involved with the foundation’s work, Cris worried that it meant the foundation would be shut down in wake of the divorce. Little did she know back then that it meant a whole lot would be thrown on her plate when it came to the foundation. At the very least, she still had a job at a place she genuinely cared a lot for. But with reading up on as much as she could on the divorce, she essentially knew just about all there was to know about the divorce and that included just how much Irene got in the settlement. And it was a hell of a lot of money. It was so much money that Cristina didn’t even realize a single person could have that much money. Then it was all over on the news just how careless Irene had been with all that money. Though she figured that all that careless spending probably didn’t even make a single dent in all that Irene had. “Yeah, that’s what the news has said… About your spending, I mean. I swear they track everything you buy down to your groceries.” Cris let out a scoff. She couldn’t imagine being under that kind of microscope. After she then went on to explain all about the lack of fundraising they’ve gotten due to lack of sponsors, Cristina’s eyes widened when Irene suddenly whipped out her check book. “Uh, what?” She stammered, in complete disbelief. “Wait, are you serious?” She asked before stuttering her way through explaining how much the foundation needed for the fundraiser.

[maryjanewatsonparkers]

Irene wasn't stupid enough to think she had done anything for this organization. She didn't even know it existed up until last month when she urged her lawyers to look at every single thing that was under her name. It was fun though trying to get under Cristina's skin. Irene was curious to see how far she could go until Cristina snapped. because from what she had been told, Irene could get pretty annoying. It wasn't like she sought to be annoying, it just happened because of how oblivious Irene was when it came to money or anything else. The funny part was the fact that they didn't even come from money. Her and her ex-husband were middle class people trying to make ends. She remembered the time that she was working two jobs and taking care of the kids while her husband was working his his breakthrough Ai that now made them incredibly rich. Irene scoffed and shook her head. "Oh honey, he didn't just give me this organization. He was going to give me everything after all the dirt I had on him," she muttered and shrugged. "But whatever, this was his baby and I didn't care. So long as I had primary custody of our daughter, I didn't care about anything else. Besides, I make money faster than I can spend it, and trust me, I have tried." Even just taking half of her ex-husband's fortune, Irene had more money than she knew exactly what to do with. Furrowing her brows at the explanation that the fundraiser has been lacking, she pulled out her bag and pulled out a chequebook. "Well, how much do you need?" she asked, as if dropping massive amounts of money wasn't a big deal. "I can't let my fundraiser fail, can I?"

Cristina paused and arched an eyebrow at her and resisted the urge to scoff and roll her eyes. The last thing she needed right now was to get on Irene’s bad side somehow. What if she decided to axe Cristina and fire her? She loved this place and she really didn’t want to have to find a new job. It’s why she was playing nice as much as she could, even if some of the things Irene was saying was rather questionable. She mentally exhaled deeply and forced a smile. “Yep. Doing an amazing job, really,” she agreed despite feeling the opposite. Cristina knew that she was the one putting in all the work. But Irene talking about how she earned the CEO position by technically sleeping with the boss did make her let out a genuine laugh. It surprised even her. “That’s one way of looking at it,” she commented. “Though, I guess, after everything, him giving you the company was the least that he could do. So cheers to you for winning that one.” She tipped her head towards the other woman. Though she still felt highly sympathetic for Irene, she did have to say that she came out on top in the divorce on a technical level. She wasn’t sure if Irene necessarily felt that way, but now she was one of the richest women in the world. “The goal date was next month. The fundraising has been… lacking, so to speak. We’ve been really hoping we can get this all together. But getting sponsors for the fundraiser hasn’t been the easiest.”

[maryjanewatsonparkers]

Irene was every interested in Cristina. The woman was beautiful, there was no denying that and it would be easy for Cristina to have an easy life. Irene was sure that there were many rich men that would have killed to have her on their arm, yet she chose the hard route and decided to dedicate her life to helping the poor and disenfranchised. It was a noble. "Well, I mean my dream is more to be a boss bitch but if that means being CEO then it means being CEO," she joked. Irene then paused when she realized she was in fact already CEO after Cristina pointed out that she was CEO of her own charity. "Shit, I am CEO already, huh?" she asked, laughing a little. "I mean, I always wanted to attend meetings, make big decisions, you know things you see in shows like Succession. I wanna talk about mergers and offshore companies." Maybe Irene sounded a little ridiculous wanting a life that was like Succession, but whatever, Irene had given up so much of her life to make her husband's dreams come true, was it ridiculous of her to want something more now that she was given a chance to live outside of her husband? "To be honest," Irene started and put down her drink. "My husband started it and we never really kept up with it. It was mostly managed by one of his accountants. It wasn't until the divorce and I asked for everything under my name that I realized that the charity was still running." Grinning when Cristina joined her in toasting, the brunette pushed back some of her hair behind her ear. "What are your new projects for the charity?"

Cristina stood up straighter, surprised when Irene began to open up a little as well. She didn’t really take the other woman as a serious person. Maybe first impressions are harsh, but given the way she presented herself in front of the media and press, it was hard to take Irene as a serious person. In that moment, however, when she brought up her ex-husband and she talked about having had given up her dreams for the sake of his, Cris looked at her with an expression of sympathy. Even though she couldn’t imagine what that must have felt like - what Irene was going through. Especially now that she’s learned that she basically had to give up a part of herself for his stuff, only for him to betray her in the worst way possible in the end. That must be some kind of pain. So perhaps Cris could understand Irene being… a little irresponsible. She just wished she’d be irresponsible in private where her public image didn’t effect all the hard work she was doing at the company. “So you’re dream was to be a CEO?” She asked, curiously if that was it or if she had some other dreams as well. “No offense, but when your ex-husband made you the CEO of our company, I always thought it was more of a—“ Cristina’s voice trailed off as she thought carefully how to talk about this without actually offending Irene. “Well, I just thought of it all as some sort of publicity stunt. And I mean, in my defense, the two of you never - or rarely ever - came down here.” She cleared her throat. “But it’s nice that you’re here now,” she added in an effort to not come off as rude for saying what she was saying. Thankful for Irene calling the waiter over for mimosas, she thanked the other woman and picked up her own glass. “A toast, then,” Cris said, chuckling when Irene called them a beautiful partnership. “To moving forward.” She tipped her glass against Irene’s before taking a sip.

[maryjanewatsonparkers]

It was nice knowing that Irene managed to get Cristina to open up a little more. Sure, the other woman still held her at arm's length, but she was far more willing now to divulge in her personal life than before. There was a long pause as Cristina tried to find the right words explain where her mindset is since her break up with her fiancee. The brunette sighed and pursed her lips a little. "I mean, if you really love what you do and you really believe in what you do, the right person would understand." Irene paused herself, thinking of how to relate to Cristina. "I believed in my husband a lot. It was why I took on most of the responsibilities at home while taking care of our kid and working two jobs. Though I will admit, in trying to help my ex-husband achieve his dreams, I kind of forgot my own dreams," she admitted and played with her bottle of water. Irene then plastered on a smile. "But here I am now, working in an office, getting to be a badass corporate girlie just as I had hoped I would be one day." Even though it was Irene's company and her charity, she was well aware that the real boss was Cristina. Since becoming richer than God, Irene never really had any responsibilities and she understood that this charity affected a lot of people. She wasn't about to overstep just because she had dreams of being some sort of CEO. "Oh the boss definitely doesn't mind." Waving down the waiter, she then asked for the mimosas to keep on coming. Once the waiter did come back with their first glass, she held it out. "How about a toast?" she suggested. "A toast to new beginnings and a beautiful partnership! I expect us to do great things with this charity. With your brains and my money, we could do a lot!"

maryjanewatsonparkers​:

Raising a brow as she began to reveal who her ex-fiancee was, Irene couldn’t help but try to wrack her brains as to who the woman was, but frankly, the only person Irene knew who was on her paycheck was her personal assistant and her chef. Oh and her driver but that was about it. Irene didn’t deal with paying for anyone else. That was mostly her assistant and her accountant…. she thinks. Irene made a mental note to ask her assistant to pull up the employee database from around the time that Irene worked four years ago. She was curious and she wanted to put a name to the story. Despite knowing such intimate things about Cristina, Irene felt awkward asking about her ex’s name because then that would be obvious that she was going to search the woman up. As hard as it was, Irene kept her mouth shut and nodded along. “And you’ve never moved on ever since? What about your fiancee? Has she moved on?” she couldn’t help but ask. “Maybe I should get her that Jeep then. Though, if she had it her way, she would probably ask for a used Jeep. All the money in the world and she wants to live modestly. I don’t know where I went wrong,” she joked. Irene didn’t even bother looking at what she wanted as she already knew. She was basically a regular here that she memorized every single on the menu. “Well, that depends, do you have any dietary restrictions?” she asked. “Because their Spanish Tapas are really good. I usually get their fish and chips. You can never go wrong with a good ole’ fashion fish and chips. We’re getting mimosa’s. Don’t worry, I won’t tell the boss you’re drinking during company hours,” she teased and winked at the other woman. When the waiter came and asked for what they wanted to drink, Irene nodded her head and smiled. “We’ll get two bottles of Evian and two mimosas please,” she stated and watched as he left. “The mimosas here are fantastic.”

When Irene just went out and talked about how she hadn’t moved on since, Cris froze for a moment, not knowing whether or not she should be offended by that.  But she played it off with a soft chuckle. “Oh, I wouldn’t really say that. It’s not that I didn’t necessarily move on, it’s just…” Cristina’s voice trailed off for a moment, unsure of how to properly phrase what was in her head. She knew that there was more to it than her being heartbroken over her ex. She could move on if she wanted to, she was sure of it. Enough time had passed by now that if she decided to go find love again, she could. The problem was, she didn’t want to. Cristina didn’t want to go through something like that again. The heartbreak was too much. That’s what she wasn’t ready for - the possibility of getting hurt that badly again. Because Cris knew she hadn’t changed one bit since her ex had left her. If anything, her addiction to her work had only gotten worse. It had to be that way otherwise she’d find herself with too much alone time and she couldn’t stand that. So if someone couldn’t love her enough to be able to put up with her back then, there was no way that she’d find someone who could put up with her now. She wasn’t sure if she could ever find someone who could change her ways, so instead of going through that headache, she decided that being alone was much better. “It’s just that I’ve come to realize that maybe she was right and there hasn’t really been anyone right enough for me to step down from all my responsibilities.” She paused again. “As far as whether or not she’s moved on.” Cris looked off to the side for a moment because this was still a sore subject. “Yes,” was all she said. “Anyway, there’s not much more to say beyond that, so.” She cleared her throat and threw Irene a quick smile. “No dietary restrictions. I can’t handle anything too spicy, but that’s it really.” Cris wasn’t really one to have venture out too much when it came to food. She usually ordered delivery from the same place most nights. It was easier that way so she didn’t waste time trying to figure out what to order. “As long as the boss doesn’t mind, I do love a good mimosa,” she said, hoping to keep this more friendly banter. If Irene really was going to be working at the foundation more, Cristina needed to be on her good side, especially if she wanted to make sure that certain projects and funding went through with her approval. “Thank you, again, for this. It’s very kind of you.”