Shadows (25 page)

"Eve, is that you hon?" Shit! I drop my phone
quickly back into my purse and kick it farther underneath my desk
as Bridgette approaches. "Oh, good it is you. I just wanted…Oh my!
What happened to your hand?" She places her hand on her hip and her
mouth falls open. If I didn't know better, I would say she's
putting on an act, but there's no way she knew about my
hand.

"I broke it messing around in the kitchen. I'm
not the world's greatest chef. I did my accounts for today from
home yesterday, so I won't fall behind with my work."

She stares blankly at me, assessing me, trying
to decipher if I'm telling the truth or not. "Yes. I noticed that.
I was just coming over to thank you for making the initiative. I've
been going through your file. You don't have very many errors, and
those you did have were corrected in a timely fashion. Your
attendance is astounding and your work is always finished ahead of
schedule. For those reasons and the respect you receive from your
coworkers, I've decided to promote you to Team Manager. I hope to
have the office repainted and set up for you by the end of the day.
I have a crew in there now. So please forgive me for the delay, but
you will have to continue at your desk for the day."

Boom! I feel like my chair has been pulled out
from under me sending me falling into never ending abyss. The
position of Team Manager only confirms Anne's termination. I do not
want to be the reason she was let go. This looks awful, there's no
way I won't look guilty now. "What about Anne?"

"Sadly, I had to let her go. You are
definitely more qualified and I need to cut our payroll. So I let
her go. I sent her a letter yesterday morning to try and spare her
the grief of coming in just to be sent back home."

"A letter? Kayla never said anything about a
letter. She said Anne received a message through the office work
chat, and believed it was me."

"I will gladly clear that up for you, however,
please note there should be no talk of other employees outside of
work. I will make an exception this once, since you were unaware of
the rule, but it can't happen again."

"Oh." I'm at a loss for words. This is
completely insane. In what world am I more qualified than Anne? I
have a sinking feeling in my stomach, nothing good is going to come
from this.

"Oh, I would like you to schedule us for a
lunch at noon for the two of us. It will be a business meeting of
sorts. Don't worry about clocking out today, your position is now
salary. We can discuss the terms at lunch." Turning on her heel,
she heads back to her office.

There is no way I can accept the position,
knowing I'm the reason she let Anne go. I'm nervously chewing on
the inside of my cheek when, I notice Kayla take a seat in her
cubicle. I debate on whether or not to approach her. Should I wait
for Bridgette to talk to her, or should I talk to her now?
Desperate for advice, I send a text to Theron explaining my
predicament. While I wait for Theron to text me back, I turn around
to face my computer and begin working on tomorrow's logs. Only
being able to use one hand and is definitely creating an obstacle
for me. I definitely owe Theron a huge thanks for helping get
ahead. Taking a deep breath, I roll my shoulders. My level of
stress and craziness is getting close to the max fill line. My
purse starts vibrating under the desk, again. Theron has finally
texted me back.

Babe. I don't know what to say. It
seems off to me. There's something not right about any of this.
Come home. We'll figure this out together. I'm headed to Gram's.
Love you. Xxoo

As enticing as his offer sounds, I can't come
home. I need to figure this out, if not, I at least need to clear
my name. Pulling up my big girl panties, I start to walk over to
Kayla's cubicle.

"She's not at her desk. It seems you're
putting the last nail in everyone's coffin."

Looking over my shoulder, I see Ben sitting
smug at his desk. I’m not taking any of his crap today, so I walk
over to his desk. He turns to face me, and my immediate reaction is
to feel sympathy for the buttons on his shirt. I wonder if today
will be the day his buttons pop off exploding around the room
released from the strain of holding his shirt together. A smirk
forms on my face as I imagine one of the buttons popping off,
hitting him in the eye. Placing both palms flat on his desk, I lean
in close to him. "What are you talking about? You are nothing, but
a smug asshole. If you have any idea what is going on here, you
better tell me every single detail." My voice is laced with hatred
for him. I don't care anymore.

"Calm, down. All I know is Ms. Clarks was
waiting for her when she clocked in. She mentioned your name,
something about breaking protocol, and wanted to see her in her
office."

"Shit." None of this is good. I plop back down
at my desk, jiggling my mouse, lighting up my computer screen. It's
eleven thirty, leaving me thirty minutes until my lunch with
Bridgette. Worrying my lips with my teeth, I come to a decision.
None of this matters, I need to remove myself from the
situation.

An alarm starts going off on my phone,
reminding me to schedule an appointment with the doctor. I'm on
hold for about five minutes before I even speak to anyone and at
least ten minutes waiting for a nurse to get back to me. They
schedule me for tomorrow morning at ten. I send Theron a
text.

Babe. Doctor appointment tomorrow
@ 10am. Kayla's in the office with my boss. She's been in there all
morning. What is going on?

Beautiful, I will take you to your
appointment. Please come home.

I can't. I have lunch with my
boss. I've decided to quit. I can't take my friends job. You'll
have to put up with me while I find a new one. I promise I won't be
a leech.

Beautiful, you are not a leech. I
love you. Write a resignation letter and hand it to her. Come
home.

I will. I want to tell her in
person. I see Kayla. Ttyl. Xxoo

I don't wait for his response. Kayla walks by
wiping her nose. Has she been crying?

"Kayla, wait! What is going on?"

"Like you don't know! Thanks for reporting me
to the boss. She said there was a miscommunication between Anne and
her. I don't know. I saw the chat messages. It was your name. I
know what I saw. Then she informed me you told her I violated
protocol by talking about employees outside of work. What the hell,
Eve? Why the fuck would you throw me under the bus like
that?"

"I never said you broke protocol. She said she
left Anne a letter. I told her you never mentioned one." My eyes go
wide. I did throw her under the bus, I should never have mentioned
her name. "Kayla, I'm so sorry. It wasn't intentional. I just. I’m
sorry. I wasn't thinking."

"Well, that's kind of obvious, isn't it?"
Taking a deep breath, she rubs her face with her hands. "Listen, I
love you. We've been friends forever, but you need to get your damn
head out of the clouds. You are so wrapped up with your new
boyfriend and in your new life, you can't even see what's going on
around you."

"What am I missing?"

"Well, for starters you could at least act
like you just lost one of your best friends. It hasn't even been
two weeks yet and you've forgotten him."

"Fuck you, Kayla. You have no idea how hard it
is for me to function. I can barely breathe. All I can do is push
it all away."

"You're doing a fucking great job of it.
Theron must be amazing if he can make you forget a friend's
death."

"Go to hell, Kayla! I need him. He's the only
reason I'm holding my shit together. You have no clue what it's
like to feel your heart ripped out."

"You dumb bitch! You have always had the
perfect little charmed life. Everything has always been so easy and
perfect for you. Someone dies and you lose your shit. You’ve
changed. You’ve become completely self-involved. I don’t even know
who you are anymore. Matt was my friend too, damn it! All three of
us were inseparable, or have you forgotten that too? You, know
what? Don't fucking answer that. I’m done with you.” Her shoulder
slams into mine as she walks away.

"Where are you going?"

"Lunch. I still get a lunch, right? Is that
against protocol? I wouldn't want you to run to the boss and rat me
out again." Flipping me off, she slams the front door to the
office.

My heart is racing. I'm so fucking furious
right now. How could she think I forgot about Matt?

"Well, that was interesting." Bridgette stands
behind me. I know she must have saw everything. This just keeps
getting worse. I stare at the door. I really want to go after
Kayla, but we both need to calm down. I need to get out of here
first.

"Yeah. Interesting. Look, Bridgette, we really
need to talk."

"And we will. I figured you might be put off
by everything today, so I made a reservation at Talmon's. Grab your
things and we'll head out."

"Talmon's? How is that even possible? They are
booked months in advance."

"I used to date the head chef, I pulled some
strings. Get your things, I'll drive."

Ignoring the last part about her driving, I
grab my purse and log out of my computer. Taking a quick look
around my desk, I grab the picture of Robert and me at the beach,
the books I have tucked around my desk, and I take a couple stacks
of sticky notes. Who doesn't need sticky notes? Making sure I have
everything, I head to the parking lot with my keys in my hand.
Bridgette is waiting by a sporty looking silver BMW.

"Is this yours?"

"No it's…well, let's just call him a friend
for now. Are you not coming with?" She nods to the keys in my
hand.

"No, I need to stop at the pharmacy, so I'm
going to drive separate." She smiles sweetly at me, but I swear I
see her left eye twitch.

I pull up to Talmon's and park the car myself.
Bridgette pulls up to the valet, but I want to be able to leave
quickly if I need to. I feel my phone vibrate in my purse as I
sling it over my shoulder. It's Theron. I don’t read his message,
but I send him a text.

Can't talk. With my boss now. I'll
text you if I need saving. Love you. Xxoo

Come home now. Please.

Can't babe. Ttyl

Dropping my phone back into my purse, I walk
into the restaurant. I have never actually eaten here before. It is
way out of my price range and from my understanding the salads are
made from dandelions. I have no reason to eat that crap. I prefer
burgers and fries. The hostess seats me at our table directly
across from Bridgette, who's already enjoying a glass of red wine.
Isn't it a little early for that?

"Ms. Clarks, I would like to clear the air
about somethings."

"Eve, just because it's a business lunch
doesn't mean we have to be all formal. Please, call me
Bridgette."

I sigh. She is not making this easy.
"Bridgette, I'm sorry, but I can't accept the position. I'm afraid
this is my notice. I already collected my things, and I won't be
coming back to the office today. This is rather unprofessional and
I realize this, but it's my final decision."

Setting her glass of wine down, Bridgette
straightens the silverware placed in front of her. "I'm rather
shocked. I never imagined you backing down from a raise or
management experience. However, as off putting at this conversation
is, I would still like us to be friends. I admire your loyalty to
your friends. I wish I had people who do the same for me." A tear
falls down her cheek and she wipes it away.

"I'm sorry, I didn't mean to upset
you."

"Oh, it's not you honey. Will you stay for
lunch? I could really use some girl advice, and I don't have anyone
else to turn to."

Not wanting to upset her or leave her feeling
like this, I nod my head in agreement.

"Thank you so much. Now if you'll just excuse
me for a minute, I need to pull myself together."

While Bridgette's in the bathroom, I decide to
check my phone. I have four messages from Theron, each one
increasingly getting angrier. The last one is in all
caps.

WHERE THE HELL ARE YOU? COME.
HOME. NOW. LEAVE. NOW

Not wanting to anger him any further, I send
him a text.

I'm at Talmon's. I just told my
boss I quit. She took it rather well.

Beautiful, please leave now. Grab
your luggage and go.

It's not luggage. It's my purse.
Thank you for your concern. I'll be leaving shortly.

Please do.

I will. Bridgette is in the
bathroom. As soon as she's back, ok?

Bridgette? WHO THE FUCK IS
BRIDGETTE?

Bridgette Clarks is my
boss.

You need to listen to me right
now. Don't say another word to her, leave now.

Ok. But she’s coming back to the
table now.

Fuck It. I'm coming to get
you.

I roll my eyes. What am I supposed to do while
I wait for him? Bridgette sits down and I can tell she's been
crying, her eyes are red and puffy. "Everything okay?"

"As good as it can be. I started seeing this
new guy. We were supposed to go out last night, but he never
showed. Now I find out my ex-fiancé is dating some rotten spoiled
brat. She's absolutely horrid and taking complete advantage of him.
His family can't stand her either. I don't know what he's sees in
her. She's a complete selfish bitch."