The Phoenix and the Ice Queen Pt. 01

"Oh, I'm sorry," Brandon said instantly feeling bad for her, "that sucks." Then he smiled.

Mel must have seen his grin because she said, "Ok, I know that grin, what are you up to?"

"Nothing, it's just I realized you don't actually have to spend the rest of today alone."

"Oh, and why's that?"

"Because I'm taking you out tonight for your birthday, any restaurant you want."

"How did I know you would say that?" Mel grumbled to herself, "Brandon you do not have to do that. Really. I'll be fine."

"Yes, I do."

"No, you don't Brandon!" She said interrupting him before he could add something else, "I'm not some charity case you cheer up whenever you're feeling sorry for me. I know you're only doing this because you feel bad."

"I know you're not a charity case."

"Good," Mel said nodding her head, "then please go about your day as planned I don't need your pity dinner."

"It's not a pity dinner Mel, I'm taking my good friend Mel out for her birthday. I'm not sure if you know this, but it's kind of what friends do Mel. Or at least good ones do, especially if their friend is feeling down." Then after a pause he added, "And before you ask, yes, I absolutely consider you a close friend Mel. I don't usually discuss some of the things we discuss on these road trips with people that are just co-workers. Besides, you clearly consider me some kind of friend because you just called me 'your closest work friend.' So, we're going Mel, end of discussion."

"Wow, ok." Mel said clearly, a little taken aback, "In that case thank you, and I'm sorry I misjudged you. I'm not great with relationships as you can probably tell, but I consider you a friend too." Then after a pause she asked, "When is your birthday Brandon?"

"March 22^nd, why?"

"Well, I just figured if we're friends, we should both know each other's birthday, now you know mine is December 30^th, and I know yours is March 22^nd. This way there are no surprises because we did not know."

"Very true, good thinking. Now, where do you want to go tonight?"

After much deliberation they settled on a casual steak restaurant, mostly because Mel kind of wanted steak, and she did not really feel like a fancy place after being in a car all day. She did want to change first since she had spilled coffee on herself in the car on the way home, so he let her off at her place and waited in the car outside.

After a surprisingly long wait Mel finally emerged, but she was not alone, as he had expected. Behind her were two women that looked to be in their 40s if he had to guess, but he was bad with ages. One had red hair like Mel's, except for a few streaks of grey. The other had black hair that was cut extremely short, kind of like how Mel wore it. Having a good idea who the two women were, Brandon got out of the car in order to allow for a proper greeting.

Upon seeing him get out of the car the woman with red hair immediately held out her hand, "You must be Brandon, so sorry we kept you waiting out here," she shot a glare at Mel that made Brandon sure he knew who she was, before she finished introducing herself. Only a mother disappointed in her child could deliver that kind of glare. "I'm Kelly Murphy, Mel's mother," she finished confirming his suspicions.

The other woman then introduced herself as Andi, shaking his hand in a very businesslike manner. Brandon would have suspected nothing less from Mel's famous mentor.

"Well, I'm glad to have met you both. After all I've heard a lot about you both from Mel, it's good to put faces with names. It was so nice of you to fly in. Since I assume you ladies would like to spend the evening with the birthday girl alone, I'll head home." Then looking at Mel, "Mel, happy birthday, and enjoy the rest of your day." With that he went to get back in the car, but Kelly stopped him.

"Oh, sorry Brandon we didn't mean to imply..." she said fumbling for words.

"If you're not busy, we'd like you to come with," Andi said finishing Kelly's thought.

"Yes, it was very sweet what you did, and we've heard a bit about you as well. Please, do come."

Brandon noticed his normally vocal partner and friend was unusually silent, so he replied, "I'd love to, as long, as its ok with the birthday girl, that is." Mel nodded and smiled at him.

"Good. Since I'm guessing none of you have a car, and mine's literally right here, why don't I drive us."

They agreed and once everyone was loaded up, he set off. They had not gone very far when Andi said she had made a reservation for an upscale seafood restaurant, if that was ok with everyone. To Brandon's surprise, Mel agreed despite expressing she wanted anything but fish or lobster in the car earlier. However, not wanting to intrude too much, he just made a note of it, and corrected course.

Before they even got to the restaurant though, Kelly began peppering Brandon with questions, something that continued throughout the evening, before turning her inquiries to Mel's personal life. Andi, on the other hand, asked both about their work, and wanted details on the extension they had just accepted.

It became clear to Brandon that neither woman approved of the extension. The first clue to this came when Brandon went to the men's room and found, to his utter shock, Andi standing at the mirror waiting for him.

"Ma'am, you are aware this is the men's room?"

"Yes, I am, so I'll make this brief. I have no idea who you think you are little boy, but I have plans for my protégé, and they do not involve whatever little slow ass seduction game you've got going. I will not stand by and watch her throw her career away for a man, even if he just claims to be a friend. You may have Kelly drooling all over you, but I am not impressed. That young woman you've been working with this past year is going places, and I for one will do whatever it takes to make sure she gets there. Don't mess with me or my student or you'll regret it." With that she turned to leave.

"Even if it's not what she wants?"

"What?"

"I said even if..."

"I know what you said, I just don't get your meaning."

Brandon smiled, "I mean what if what she wants out of her life, isn't what you want for her? Seems to me you're the one that needs to back off ma'am, it's her life not yours, she can do with it what she wants."

"She doesn't know what she wants."

"And you do? Look I might not know much, but I know this, the real Mel, the one I know, you can't make her do anything she doesn't want. So, either you don't know her that well, or you are vastly underestimating her." He then headed back to the table amazed at Andi's gall.

After that, the dinner continued rather uneventfully the rest of the evening, as it went on though Brandon noticed that Andi had been right about one thing. Kelly definitely had designs for him and Mel. It was clear she was angling for a future son-in-law in Brandon. He dropped all three ladies off and found, for once, he was glad to part company with Mel, since she had not been herself the entire evening. He found this surprising and wondered if Kelly was on to something about him and Mel, or whether it was just wishful thinking on her part. Time would tell he supposed, he knew one thing for sure though, the Mel he had just had dinner with was very different from the one he was used to seeing, and he did not like that Mel at all. Like date Mel, this one had been far too fake.

Chapter 5

Mel's shift in behavior was not limited just to her birthday dinner though it seemed, as while she returned to her normal assertive self in the days that followed, Brandon noticed a shift in her routine. Suddenly Mel seemed dissatisfied with her work, and the constant chiming from her phone told Brandon she was dissatisfied with her personal life too. He also noticed she seemed to distance herself from him as well, clearly looking to rebuild some of those ice walls she was infamous for.

Brandon bore it figuring it would pass. However, when Mel lost her cool at one of the new trainees and sent them home crying, Brandon had had enough. He walked into the office Mel was using and gently closed the door.

"What do you want?" Mel asked shortly as Brandon sat down in one of the chairs.

"Oh, I think you know." Mel glared at him in response then sighed.

"Ok, fine, perhaps I overreacted I'll call and apologize, ok? Now can you leave me alone? I have things to do, and you have stuff to install."

"Yes, you do owe Claire an apology, but that's not what I meant." Mel looked at him puzzled so he continued, "I'm talking about the fact that since your birthday you've been super pissed off about something, and the fact that you're back on that dating app I know you absolutely hate and swore you'd never ever use again. Something happened while your mom and Andi were here that you have not told me about, and it's got you all wound up for some reason. What did they say to you after I left that has you all pissed off at the world?"

"What makes you think it was them?"

Brandon smiled, "There is the fact that my normally assertive and outspoken coworker shrank into herself and barely spoke a word against them all night, but mostly I would say it was Andi confronting me in the Men's room."

"Wow! She did that?" Mel said amazed, then apparently still in disbelief she added, "Seriously?" Then after a brief pause asked, "What did she say?"

"She said she had plans for you, and that I was not to get in your way."

"What did you say?" Mel wondered, seemingly less shocked at Andi's behavior by the minute.

"We'll get to my reply in a minute, more importantly what did they say to you?"

Mel glared at him, but seeing he would not relent, sighed and said, "Something similar, Andi said I was a fool to take the extension, she said I should have demanded the department head position I was promised a year ago, she said I was letting men get the best of me.

"As for my mother, well she was just upset I was no closer to finding a husband. No closer to grandkids for her, more like. She renewed my subscription to that loathsome app as one of my presents and made me promise to use it." She finished before after a pause asking, "but enough about them, how did you answer Andi?"

"I told her that I didn't make you do anything, and that the fact she thought I could shows how little she knows the real you, because the Mel I know could not be pushed into doing anything she didn't want to do. I suppose though she showed me because she has you marching to her drum, whether you like it or not."

"They're different," Mel said quietly.

"How so?"

"I owe Andi everything, if she hadn't helped me, helped us, when we needed her who knows where we'd have ended up. As for mom, well she's my mother, I can't stand letting her down. She's already had one person she loved do that, I can't do that to her too."

Brandon shook his head, "You know Mel, for an ice queen, you have a big heart. Mel, she's your mom, its simply not possible for you to let her down, the only way you do that is to not be yourself. She just wants to see you be happy, like all moms do. In her mind that means a husband and kids for you, just let her know you are happy with your life, and things will be better. She's going to worry about you because that's what a good mom does, she worries about her kids, but just let her know things are going ok for you, and mean it, and things will be better." Then after a pause to let that sink in, he continued.

"Which brings me to Andi. Mel, I know you owe her a lot, but you don't owe her the rest of your life. I think at the core of it, she just wants to see you succeed, no matter the cost. So, succeed, but do it on your terms, not hers. You don't have to follow her playbook word for word. The fact is, you and I both know if you stormed into Fred's office asking for the position you were promised last year, you'd get pigeonholed somewhere unimportant and you'd be far worse off than you are now. This is a detour, but it's a tactical one. Fred will be able to recommend you for a much better position come summer than he can now, and you know it. Besides, even with the delay, they're going to make you a department head and you're like 26, just 2 years out of school. I've only run into one or two people that have risen that high under 30 in my career, and I work in IT, where you have CEOs under 30. You are doing just fine for yourself Mel, stop worrying about what Andi thinks, and keep focused on your own goals."

Mel thought for a moment then said, "Well you maybe, right about my mom, but with all due respect she's not going to back off. As for my career, you said it there are CEOs under 30 out there, that's what I want to be."

"Yes, but those are mostly tech nerds who had a billion-dollar idea in their early 20s and built a company around it. As for your mom, be honest with her and give her a chance, if she still drives you crazy, well at least you know she cares. Not everyone has a mom that cares that much. I guess the real question is do you legit enjoy your life or not, if so, then keep it up, because you've got it better than a lot of people our age." Mel had a distant look in her eye like she had just gotten an idea, "Mel?" Brandon asked seeing it, "Something I said?"

"Kind of," Mel said snapping out of her trance, "I didn't catch that last part, sorry."

Brandon sighed, "Basically, do what you want with your life Mel, it's yours not theirs. Decide what you want to do with it and tell them to butt out if they don't like it. As long as you're happy, if they're really in your corner, they'll be happy for you."

That was the last they spoke on the matter of Mel's life for a while, and in the coming week Brandon heard Mel have a few heated discussions over the phone. The result of these were that once again Mel was off the dating app, and she suddenly stopped grumbling about being stuck on the road. Things continued like that until just after Easter.

Brandon was surprised when the Monday after Easter they were taken out of the field, despite a list of locations that needed opening.

Brandon found himself in a conference room with Mel and across from them sat Fred, some guys from IT, and a few men and women in suits Brandon did not recognize.

Fred greeted them, "Mel, Brandon, good to see you again. Sorry for the short notice, but we've had a bit of a development last night and it's kind of been a crazy few hours. We're just waiting on Mr. King before we start."

Mel and Brandon exchanged a surprised look, the aforementioned Mr. King was Michael King, the owner and CEO of Proud Stone. If he was coming to meet them personally, something huge must have happened. A few minutes later a tall man in his mid-forties walked in, leaving an assistant on the phone just outside the conference room. He shook hands with Fred before sitting at the head of the table.

"Mr. Metcalf, and Miss Murphy, it is nice to finally meet you two. I have been hearing great things from Fred about you. I'd love to stay and chat a bit, but as Fred has probably told you there is a lot going on, that said I wanted to come down myself to thank our heroes, as well as share with you two a little good news for you both." He turned to Fred, "How much do they know Fred?"

"Not much sir, they just got here, and I was waiting for you. I was not sure how much you wanted them to know."

"I see." He then looked toward the IT and security section of the table, "can one of you fill them in then? You have a better grasp of the details of last night than I do."

A member of the security team Brandon didn't recognize cleared his throat and said, "Last night at approximately 3 am our firewall detected an attempted breach. It seems someone tried to hack our customer databases using the back-door Brandon found a few months ago. Obviously thanks to the precautions we put in, the attempt failed, and we immediately alerted the appropriate government cyber enforcement agencies to the attack in case we weren't the only target."

"Were we?" Brandon asked.

"Unfortunately, no," an unknown woman in a suit said, before identifying herself with the FBI. "It turns out the vendor that supplied the flawed software did so for many other small financial service firms like this one. It was a coordinated attack, and unfortunately most of those other companies weren't aware of the back door."

"Oh god," Brandon said, "How bad? Did they get any of the big firms?"

"I see you can realize the full extent of the issue, and its bad, but nowhere near as bad as it could have been."

"In part thanks to Mr. Metcalf I believe, is that correct Agent Hill?"

"Yes," the agent said clearly annoyed at King's interruption. "As was pointed out, the team here at Proud Stone alerted us which gave us time to warn the bigger firms of the attack, which allowed them to shore up their defenses and prevent massive damage." Agent Hill answered a few more questions, before excusing herself, saying she'd be in touch with Brandon with some questions for their investigation into who was responsible.

Once she had left Mr. King's secretary came in and handed him a note, then left. "Sorry everyone, you'll have to excuse me, looks like another matter needs my attention, and unfortunately, I have to go," he said rising. Before he left, he walked over to Brandon and Mel, and shook each of their hands, "Good work both of you, nice to finally meet you. Fred will have to give you the good news in my place, again sorry I could not stay to deliver it myself." With that he shook a few other hands and left.

After a beat, the attention shifted back to Fred who smiled and began, "Well as Michael said before leaving, we have some good news for both of you. The first thing is we're taking you off the openings at the end of the week, because by then we hope to have more suitable projects for you. It seems we are nearing the acquisition of an asset that will need new executive leadership, exactly the opportunity you've been looking for Mel, as well as help equip to upgrade our network security."

"What about my ban?" Brandon asked, addressing the elephant in the room.

"Mr. Metcalf," the remaining unknown woman at the table began, "I've been reviewing your case and I think we may have a way out of it. Though I think Fred, Michael, and John here have a more direct approach."

"Yes, we do," said another suit, who must have been John. "Fred said we were looking to acquire a new division. Well, that new division, as he put it, is Genotech. They have the software resources we need and have been tanking hard ever since last year, and their stock will plummet once the media figures out it was they who had a hand in last night's attack."

"We can do that? Seriously?"

Fred smiled, "Trust me Brandon, if John says we can do it, we can, he's one of our best market analysts."

"And I'm very good." John said with a smile.

"Why all this now, we talked about this project earlier?" Brandon asked confused.

"Honestly last night changed a lot, as John said it further weakened Genotech which will make this a very feasible move, but mostly it highlighted your value to people like Michael King," Fred said.

"Frankly, you saved our asses last night and it's going to make a bunch of us a ton of money in the coming weeks. We like to reward that kind of thing." John added.

"So, helping you is beneficial to you and us," Fred added.

Brandon then remembered Agent Hill's last words, "Am I in trouble with the FBI? I mean I worked there, and I stopped an attack that originated from a fault in their software? I'm no detective but that looks fishy."

"You let me worry about Agent Hill, they have no case against you," the woman who Brandon assumed was a lawyer said, "I'll be with you when you go to answer questions, I'll keep you out of trouble."

Fred wrapped up saying there would be more news in the next week or so, meanwhile they should finish the next opening and they would hear more soon. They thanked Fred and left.