I’ll Be There (7 page)

“I never said—”

“You didn't have to! It's in your tone, your attitude…every single day!” she cried. “It doesn't matter what I do or how well I do it, you find fault with it. If you think so little of me, why don't you fire me? Why don't you just let me go?”

“Why don't you just quit if you're so damn miserable?” he demanded.

“I asked you first!”

Zach burst out laughing—he couldn't help it. The idea of Gabriella being anything less than a perfectionist was laughable. “You're not incompetent, Gabriella, nor have I ever meant to imply otherwise.”

“Well, you have.” She stood and began to pace. “Let's just look at the last two days. I've been here, trying very hard to get you up to speed on the things you've missed the last several months and making sure you get to keep your position, but are you thankful? No! You have been trying to get rid of me and treating me like I'm some sort of nuisance who needs to go back and sit at a desk answering phones because I'm not needed here!”

“You're not!” he yelled back. “I was handling things just fine before you showed up, and I'll handle things just fine if you work from the office!”

“Oh, really?” she asked sarcastically. “How would I get contracts to you for your signature?”

“There are plenty of things I do regarding the business without you being right there to hold my hand,” he said defensively.

“Could've fooled me,” she mumbled.

Zach raked a hand through his hair in frustration. “What is it you want from me?”

“I want to know…what changed? What did I do that was so wrong I have to keep being punished for it?”

You're a distraction. You said I was nothing to you. I was your boss and nothing more.
“I didn't like the office gossip,” he said belligerently. “We were spending too much time together and I didn't want anyone thinking I was involved with you.” It was the truth. Though only a partial one.

“But…but you and I know the difference, Zach. You didn't need to go to such an…extreme with me. I deserve better than that.”

“I don't see why,” he said blandly. “You're an assistant. You don't deserve any kind of special treatment for doing your job.”

If he had kicked her, it would have hurt less. “I give everything I have to this job. I'm not asking for special treatment, I'm asking for a little kindness. A smile. A thank you that isn't grumbled at me like it's killing you.”

“I don't see it that way. All I need is for you to do your job. It's exhausting trying to praise you as much as you seem to require.” He shrugged. “It's not going to happen. You've seen me around the office, Gabs. I don't go around praising anyone for anything. You're being paid to do a job and that should be enough. So really, the ball's in your court—you can stay and quit bitching to me or you can move on.”

Gabriella could barely breathe. Never could she have imagined Zach saying these things to her. He had been short-tempered and out-and-out rude to her. But this? This was too much. Her throat felt tight and her eyes stung, but this time she would hold on to her composure as much as possible.

“How dare you. I'm not looking for some sort of approval or a pat on the head. I'm talking about simple human decency. It wouldn't kill you to just say thank you once in a while,” she said through clenched teeth. Taking a step closer to him, and then another, she stopped when she was a mere three feet away and bent slightly to make sure she could see his eyes. “I used to have respect for you. I used to admire you. But now? Look at yourself. You're a sad, mean mess. Any praise coming from you right now would be pointless.”

She quickly spun around, collected her files and tablet, and put them in her satchel. Slinging the strap over her shoulder, she turned to face Zach one more time. “You used to be the kind of man men looked up to and women stopped and stared at. I'll even admit I found you attractive at one time. Not anymore. Take a good look in the mirror at the man you've become. It's pretty damn pathetic.”

And then she was gone.

“I quit.”

“Why? What's happened?”

Sitting down opposite William, Gabriella ran a shaky hand over her hair. Like she really needed to explain? It should be obvious to anyone and everyone who'd been around Zach since the accident.

“I thought I could do it. But things between us are too…volatile.” She looked up at William and willed her heartbeat to calm down. “I won't work for him. I deserve better than to be verbally attacked all day long.”

William leaned forward on his desk, his brows furrowed with concern. “Okay, okay,” he said soothingly. “Why don't you tell me what happened?”

Where did she even begin? Taking a moment to compose herself—it had only been thirty minutes since she'd left Zach's—she took a deep breath and let it out slowly. In great detail, she shared with William exactly how the day went and all the things they'd said to one another.

“I'm so ashamed of myself,” she said when she was done. “I know all he's going through and I…I just snapped.”

“I'd say you were well and thoroughly provoked.” He sighed. “I really don't want you to quit, Gabriella, but I don't think going back to Zach's is the right thing to do either.”

She almost sagged with relief. “I'm not usually a quitter, and I hate that I'm being one now.”

“You're not a quitter, my dear. You've put up with Zach more than any of us have. I think you are to be commended.”

A weak smile crossed her face. “It's just… We were making such good progress on his workload. Maybe it
would
be best if Carolyn took him his work in the morning and picked it up in the afternoon. That way he could work on his own. Like he wanted.”

“It may be what he wants, but it isn't what he needs,” William said cautiously as he sat back in his chair. “I honestly didn't think Zach would go this far. It's unacceptable.”

“Please, William…Mr. Montgomery, don't do anything drastic. Zach has his reasons for being angry right now. I was just the convenient punching bag.”

William vehemently shook his head. “No, I don't accept that. He's a grown man and should know how to control his emotions. We gave him the opportunity to do the right thing, and instead he took that time to be a bully to you. I won't stand for it.” Picking up his phone, William called his brother and asked him to join them.

Dread quickly pooled in Gabriella's belly. She didn't really want to cause Zach any trouble. She'd really just needed to vent.

“Is there a problem?” Robert Montgomery strode into the room and looked between William and Gabriella. “What's happened?”

William relayed the entire story as Robert took a seat beside Gabriella. “Robert, I know he's your son, but what he's done is inexcusable. I won't allow him to behave this way with our employees. We gave him a chance and he blew it. Papers need to be drawn up immediately making Ethan CEO until further notice.”

Robert sighed loudly and cursed under his breath. “I really hoped it wouldn't come to this.”

“Believe me,” William said, “I felt the same way. But we cannot condone this kind of behavior. Gabriella was good enough to go in there and try to help him and he blew it.”

“He has agreed to a new therapist,” Gabriella said, trying to lighten the mood. “His name is Alex and they spent a lot of time together today talking and working on a schedule to keep Zach engaged. Alex seems to think there will be results soon.”

“Well, at least that's something,” Robert said. “Maybe we pushed him too hard. Maybe we shouldn't have made him take on both things. His health should come first. I know Ethan didn't want to step on Zach's toes, and he's already a little overwhelmed with everything we've thrown at him, but he'll just have to stick it out for a little bit longer.”

William nodded. “Do you want to be the one to talk to Zach?” he asked Robert. “I'll handle Ethan and talking to our lawyers to get the papers started.”

Gabriella's heart broke. All she'd wanted to do was help Zach. Damn him for being so hateful! “I…I'm so sorry I let the both of you down. I feel awful.”

Both men looked at her as if she'd lost her mind. “Let us down?” Robert said. “Gabriella, you seem to be the only one who actually made progress with my son. In the two days you were there, you accomplished more than any of us have in two months! I feel like we let you down.”

“How? How is that even possible?”

“We pushed you into going there and rocking the boat. Honestly, we thought it would be a good thing. None of us expected Zach to behave so abhorrently. You never should have had to contend with that,” William said as he shook his head. “I hope you can forgive us.”

“There's nothing to forgive. If you remember correctly, I really wanted to do it after we discussed it a bit. I thought I could help.” She shrugged. “Ultimately I made things worse for him.”

“He did it to himself,” Robert said sadly as he rose from his seat. “If you'll both excuse me, I need to figure out how I'm going to break this to him.”

Gabriella watched as he walked out the door and felt even worse than she had before. Turning back to William, she felt tears form in her eyes. “I did that. It's my fault.”

“Gabriella, you have to stop blaming yourself! Zach pushed you to your limits and he knows better than to treat anyone—especially a woman—like that.”

“But…the look on Robert's face,” she said with a sniffle. “Zach's his son. No matter what, we're still talking about his child. Because of me he has to break this horrible news to Zach.”

William shook his head. “Zach knew the score going in. He needed to do the therapy sessions
and
do the work. It should have been a given that verbally abusing his assistant wasn't going to be acceptable.”

“It has been in the past,” she mumbled.

Reaching across his desk, he held out his hand to her and smiled when she took it. “I don't think any of us knew things had gotten so out of control. If we had known, we would have put a stop to it sooner. I'm sorry. Give me a couple of days and we'll find you another position within the company. Any place you want to go. If you want to leave Portland, we'll pay all of your relocation expenses. You name it, Gabriella, and it's yours.”

It was tempting, so tempting to take him up on his offer. But maybe the better option was to step away from Montgomerys completely—branch off on her own. She'd always wanted a business of her own. She'd always imagined running an agency that found positions for administrative assistants like herself. One where she could train her applicants in every aspect of how to be an executive assistant and share the skills she'd honed over the years. It was a small dream but, if she were pushed, it might not be a bad option.

However, without the backing to start her own firm, if she had to make a decision right now, she'd ask to be moved to the other side of the country so she wouldn't have to see Zach ever again.

But the thought of never seeing him again made her heart ache even more.

“I'll think about it, sir,” she said quietly. “I've enjoyed working here in this office, but I'm sure Ethan is going to want his assistant with him.”

“I'll talk to him about it. Take the next couple of days off to recuperate, if you want. You'll be hearing from me by the end of the week—Monday at the latest.”

“Thank you.” She squeezed his hand and smiled before leaving his office. It was already late in the day so she didn't feel bad about simply going home. She walked over to her desk, pulled out all of her files, and gave them to Carolyn along with instructions on what she needed to follow up on the next day.

And decided to not mention her situation with Zach or her possible reassignment.

“Hey! Are you heading out?” Ethan asked, as he stepped out of his office with a big smile on his face. “I was hoping to get a chance to talk to you.”

So not what she wanted to do, but she asked him to give her a minute to finish up with Carolyn and then she'd join him in his office. Ethan was a good friend and coworker, but he was also Zach's best friend, and right now she wasn't so sure they could have a reasonable conversation. She turned back to Carolyn.

“You'll need to make the bulk of these calls today before you leave to get the ball in motion,” Gabriella said to her assistant. “All of the numbers are right here in these files.” With a smile and a word of thanks, Gabriella picked up her purse and satchel and walked over to Ethan's office.

“Come on in,” he said when she knocked. “Sit down, sit down. Tell me how things are going over at the lair.”

“The lair?” she repeated with a chuckle.

“You know, it's like he's living in a cave or something, and now he has the face to go with it. Soon we'll have to make sure he still knows how to eat with utensils.” He laughed out loud at his own joke.

Gabriella tried to laugh along with him, but it fell flat.

Ethan instantly sobered. “Uh-oh. Talk to me. What's going on?”

She was really getting tired of talking about it, and each time she did, she felt even guiltier about her parting words to Zach—no matter how much they were deserved. “So now William wants me to take a couple of days off and decide where I want to go and…” She hesitated. “And I think Robert is going to deal with Zach.” She put a hand to her mouth. “I probably shouldn't even be talking to you about this because it affects you too.”

Ethan waved her off. “Please, I knew this was going to happen. Zach has to hit rock bottom before he can make a comeback. I just seriously thought he'd hit it already.” He sighed. “Obviously I was wrong.”

“Not possible. You're too handsome to be wrong.”

They both turned around to see Ethan's fiancé, Summer Montgomery, walk into the room. There was a big smile on her face and a little bounce in her step, and Gabriella watched as Summer's eyes lit up the moment she looked at Ethan. If she didn't like the two of them so much, she'd hate them right now.

Ethan tugged Summer onto his lap, kissed her soundly, and gave her a quick recap of what they were talking about. “Gabriella's hit her limit and even she only lasted two days with him.”

“Oh God. I'm so sorry, Gabriella,” Summer said to her friend.

“Me too,” said Ethan. “I don't know what we're supposed to do.”

“Oh, I just realized,” Summer said. “Does this mean we can't go to North Carolina this weekend?”

“Guys,” Gabriella interrupted, “you are still going to be able to do everything you wanted to do. We'll just delegate a little more. I know William told me to take a couple of days off, but if my being here will help the two of you finally go out of town with a little less stress, I'll be here.”

“No, it sounds like you need the break more than we do, Gabs,” Summer said. “Zach's my brother, and remember I had to leave town to get a break from him too. I totally know what you're feeling.”

Gabriella remembered. When Summer had first arrived at Montgomerys, Zach had given her a really hard time and they had fought on a daily basis.

“I wouldn't mind a mental health day,” Gabriella conceded, “but I can be here Thursday and Friday to help make sure everything is covered.” She looked at Ethan. “I'll work with Carolyn and your assistant Dawn. It might be the perfect time for me to give her a little hands-on training on being the assistant to the CEO.”

“What? Why?” Summer asked.

With a dramatic sigh, Gabriella looked at her friend. “Summer, we all know Ethan is going to take the helm here—at least temporarily—and that means he'll need Dawn with him. There are some things I've handled that she never has. I'm just saying I'll work with her and hopefully it will make the transition easier.”

“Well, actually…” Summer started, and then looked back to Ethan.

Turning to Gabriella, Ethan smiled. “Well, you see…Summer and I ran through pretty much every possible scenario about how this situation could go. As much as I don't want to see Robert and William strip Zach of his title, I think he needs that in order to get his head out of his ass and rejoin the land of the living.”

Beside him, Summer barely restrained a chuckle.

“Anyway, we talked about it and decided if it came to this, Dawn would stay on with Summer and you'd stay on with me. That is…if you wanted to.”

Gabriella was speechless. She stared at the two of them in disbelief.

“Say something, Gabs,” Summer whispered.

“I…I don't know what to say. I never thought it would come to this.”

“You and Zach have worked together for a really long time. If you thought he was willing to work from home with you—and play nice—I'd totally step aside and there'd be no hard feelings. I know Dawn would work with me and we have Carolyn and I'm sure we'd be able to get someone else up here without any issues. I don't want you to feel any pressure. Just…think about it, okay?” Ethan asked.

“I will, and…thank you,” Gabriella said. “I need to go. It's been a long day.” She hurriedly said good-bye to the both of them and made her way out of the office and to the elevator. It wasn't until she was inside that she finally let herself relax.

And let the first tear fall.

* * *

“We can always do rock, paper, scissors,” Ethan suggested with a smile—which he instantly regretted when Robert scowled at him. “Or not.”

“This isn't a game, Ethan. We're going to have to go in there and take our own share of verbal abuse after we tell Zach what we've done.”

“Technically, we haven't
done
anything yet. The papers aren't drawn up or signed, and there's still a hope—”

“No. I'm mortified at the way he treated Gabriella. I have no doubt he was equally abusive to all of those home health aides and physical therapists. He's my son and I love him, but I cannot abide this. I can't let him go on treating people like this and I'm afraid if I don't do something drastic, this is going to be who he is for the rest of his life.”