Saving Each Other (BWWM Romance) (27 page)

“That is unless there are certain circumstances, ma’am.” The cop looked at me as he placed his fingers through his belt loops and tried to be intimidating. It may have worked in other circumstances but at this point I was so upset that I couldn’t even see straight.

“Special circumstances means that someone was doing something else illegal, not that the person who hit the other person was famous and the cop that showed up was a fan.”

“She’s something huh?” The cop looked at me and cocked his head to the left hand side as he regarded me slowly. “Were you hurt, ma’am?”

“No, sir. But my car was.”

“Yes, I see that. Do you have insurance?”

“Yes, I do.”

“How is your record?”

“Why is that relevant? I'm the one who was hit! Why aren’t you asking him those things?” I already knew the answer and could have repeated it before he said it out loud.

“Well he’s friggin’ David Smith. I know he has good insurance and his record is online for everyone to view. Now as I see that you hesitated I can’t really say that the accident is anyone’s fault. I will give you a slip for your insurance but there is no need to do a report is there? No one was hurt anyway.”

“Really? Fine. But can you please give me your card with the slip?”

“Why sure, ma’am, is there something else I can help you with?”

I let the smile curl on my lips in a devilish way. “Oh no. I just wanted your contact information if anything came up when I spoke to the precinct about the way I was being treated here.”

“Let me pay for the damage and then everything will be okay. Don’t get this man in trouble for doing his job. Come on now,” David Smith said.

“You think that you can flash some money around and everything will be okay? Well sometimes it’s not, buddy.” I took the yellow slip of paper from the cop and made my way back to my car. I quickly snapped pictures of both cars and the location of the accident with my phone before tucking it safely back inside my purse.

I wasn’t born yesterday. I would make the man pay not only for my car but with his license as well. I slid back into my car. I was beyond pissed. Another pompous windbag to deal with. I could feel my face burn with the rage I felt. I knew that if I was a cartoon then I would have steam coming from my ears like some of them did. I was to that point. I looked over to see both men had completely ignored me. They stood together on the side of the road laughing and talking. They hadn’t even noticed I left. I turned my car back onto the highway to head back in the direction I had been going. I needed to get to work.

I had been at Michell’s Advertising for over six years now and I was good at what I did. I was the executive responsible for all billing related matters and finances, almost like a controller. I took control of all the money coming in and all the money going out. Therefore I knew if the new boss bought this business then he was definitely loaded big time. I was going to be late as I applied my foot to the brake again at another yellow light.

Most people said that yellow meant go faster to get through the light but I learned my lesson back in high school. My next door neighbor’s daughter was two years older than me. She had been driving when I was first starting. It was one night that she was coming home when a drunk driver had thought that very thing. Running through the red light, he had T-boned her car instantly and she was seriously hurt. She had been in an induced coma for four months because of the swelling in her brain. When she woke, she wasn’t the same person anymore. Instead of the sweet and docile girl she had been, she was bitter and mean.

That one “rule of the road” had changed her life forever. The biggest thing I could remember was what they had done to her hair. She had long dark hair that reached to her waist. Because of her injuries they had to cut it off. Her hair wasn’t even longer than her ears when she woke from the coma.

I thought about her until I finally saw the huge building I was headed for. I quickly pulled up outside the front doors and found a napkin in the glove compartment to wipe as much mud as I could from my shoes before hopping out.  I didn’t usually go for the valet. It was too expensive. Why did I need someone to park my car? I could do that myself. This time however it was worth the money as I smiled and threw my keys to Jose, the young man sitting behind the kiosk.

“Can you park her for me today? Running really late.” I hurried around the car.

“Anything for you, Trina.” His eyes were dreamy as he looked at me. I didn’t understand it but I chose to ignore it as I ran as fast as my stilettos would carry me inside. My eyes were instantly drawn to Jeanine behind the desk.

“Are they here?”

Her eyes were sad as she looked at me. She pointed to the elevator. “You just missed them. They’re on their way to your office now. Hurry. If you take the staff elevator you might just make it.”

“You are so smart. Have I told you that lately?”

“Not lately but it’s ok. I know I am. Now go, hurry.” She was shooing me with her hands and I ran to the end of the hall and slid the badge on my shirt through the card reader. The doors opened instantly. Sliding into the opening I began pushing the door close button at the same time I pushed the button for the 12
^th
floor. I practically fell from the elevator. I rounded the corner and made my way into my office. Sitting, I turned on the computer and acted like I had been there as I tried to catch my breath.

Chapter 2

“Ah, Trina, you’re here. I didn’t see your car this morning.” Earl made his way into my office. I was glad I was finally able to control my breathing. As I looked up, the air left my lungs completely. “I want you to meet the man you will be working with. This is Mr. David Smith, our new owner. Mr. Smith, this is Trina. The one I was talking about a minute ago.”

“You have got to be kidding me,” I said under my breath.

The man smiled at me. He actually just stood there and just smiled at me. The worst part was I felt myself becoming excited and I was dazzled for a second by his smile. “Well it’s good to finally put a name to the face. You left so quickly.”

“I told you I had somewhere to be. And you didn’t need to know my name before.”

“No but I wanted to.”

“Earl, you’re gonna have to find someone else. I don’t think I can work with him.” I cringed when I heard my boss’s gasp of breath as he stared at me in shock. I don’t think I had ever seen his eyes so big before.

“Do you two know each other?” It was the first time Earl had said anything since my lengthy tirade had begun. And I wasn’t done by a long shot as I glared at Mr. Smith.

“Yes. He rear ended me on my way here.”

“Yes, which made her very late. You see, she was just sitting at a perfectly good green light and letting it waste away.”

“I was not. It had just turned green. You were in such a big hurry you weren’t paying attention.”

“I wasn’t the only one in a hurry.”

“I got here on time.”

“Oh yeah, by what 30 seconds.”

“No, longer.”

“Then why does your screen still not have you signed in? Realistically, that would be the first thing you do in the morning.”

“Not always. There are other things to do before I turn on my computer.”

“Yeah like what?”

“Like mail and stuff.”

“Yeah too bad you don’t have any here. That’s fine. I will come back in a little bit. Hopefully you will be ready for me then.”

I felt my head spin in anger as I watched him walk away. I tried to steady my breathing. I could feel the anger boiling in my stomach. Did he really just walk away from me like I was a nobody? Did he really think he was that important? Apparently he did. I needed to calm myself as I watched him walk with Earl. My boss turned to give me a look. I knew what that look meant. I was in deep shit. My body felt hot from the anger.

It was just an hour later when Earl made his way back to my office. He looked at me calmly. I knew that my ass was about to be handed to me. It was like the calm before the storm.

“What is wrong with you? You do know that he could have fired you on the spot, right? He bought the company Trina. Maybe I should let you go after your little performance.”

“I know.” I was suddenly hot again but I didn’t feel the anger anymore. He was right. I should apologize but I wanted to punch something too. I wanted nothing more than to shove the cocky son of a bitch off a cliff but that didn’t mean it was the right thing to do. I sighed as I looked at him. “I will apologize right away.”

“No. I think it’s best if you take the rest of the day off and then start again tomorrow morning. I told him that you have been feeling under the weather and that you were extremely nervous he was coming. I told him that you would do whatever you needed to in order to make his visit successful.”

“Really?” I regarded him with a wide look.

“Look, Trina. You are the best team member I have. You are my top employee and I cannot afford to lose you. Please don’t make me do anything that could put both our jobs in jeopardy. I don’t know why he’s here. I just know that something is going on. Something big, and he’s here to find out exactly what it is. Please don’t make matters worse with your stubbornness.”

“Fine, Earl. I'll just leave for the day and come back in tomorrow.”

“Thank you. Enjoy the night. You know, have some wine and a nice dinner and relax in front of the television. I know you're always so focused and drive yourself so hard. You need a break every once in a while too, Trina.”

“I take breaks.”

“Yeah? When was your last one?”

I really had to think about that for a minute.

“Couldn’t think of one could you? You see you've worked here for 6 years and 7 months and you have never taken a vacation. You have taken a day here and a day there for doctors and such, but you have never taken more than one day off at a time. And most of the time, you don’t even take the whole day off. I can only imagine the vacation time that you have accrued with the company.”

“I don’t know.”

“Well I have decided. After Mr. Smith leaves, I’m going to demand that you take a week off to enjoy yourself. Go somewhere or something. You will not be able to come to work. If I have to, I will terminate your staff card for that week.”

“You wouldn’t!”

“I would. So just go on home and plan out what you’re going to be doing for that week.”

“Fine.” I knew Earl meant well. It was just hard for me. Vacation wasn’t in my vocabulary. I wasn’t one to want to travel the world. I had everything I needed right there. Besides that, I didn’t have anyone to go with. How boring was that? Vacation wasn’t fun unless you had someone to go with you. I sighed as I lifted my large purse and grabbed my laptop bag.

Chapter 3

I stopped by the store on my way home, the discount beverage store to be exact, and grabbed a bottle of wine and headed home. Later I would order some pasta from my favorite little Italian place down the street. I really couldn’t tell you if it was my favorite place because the food was actually really good or if it was because it delivered and it was conveniently located right down from my apartment. I’m sure I should own stock in both that and the Chinese restaurant on my block. Either way I was good for the night.

That day, I enjoyed a relaxing day by the television. I sat on the couch munching on chips and suddenly I woke up some time later. I looked at the clock and was shocked that I had slept for 3 hours in the middle of the day. I had never taken a nap like that, not even when I was sick. I rose and made my way to the kitchen to grab the bottle of wine that was chilling in the refrigerator. Pouring a glass I picked up my cell phone and flash dialed the Italian restaurant. I was sitting with my food enjoying a huge bowl of fettuccini Alfredo and watching some movie about a guy who drove a black car when my phone rang. Not recognizing the number I quickly pushed the green button.

“Hello?”

“Ah you answered. So glad to hear your voice again, feisty.”

“Mr. Smith. So nice to hear from you. How can I help you?”

“I can see that you must have had a nap and woke up on the right side of the bed this time.” I bit my lip to keep from telling him off.

“Yes. I did have a nap actually and I feel quite refreshed now. I will be glad to get back to work tomorrow though.”

“Yes, that is what I am calling about.” My heart fell. Was he going to fire me now? Did he go home and think about it and decide that maybe I shouldn’t work for the company anymore? I couldn’t bear that. I had worked way too hard to get up the ladder to where I was in the company and I knew I was a damn good employee.