The Hardest Part (13 page)

"
Um." Isabel hesitated as she stood in the doorway. "It's Lexi Alexander. She wants to talk about the event."

She was probably calling to tell Sharon the event was off. After the call, Sharon would come back in here and fire me. I might not be the only one getting fired, though. I looked across the table at Christine again.

Sharon stood up and then stared down at the two us. She looked like she was about to have a coronary.
"You two, try not to kill each other. We will finish this when I get back."

Isabel and Sharon left the room, leaving the two of us alone.

"
I know you don't believe me, but I didn't mean for all of this to happen." Christine glanced up and looked me in the eye. "Really. I knew I made a mistake right after I told them."

"
Why did you do it in the first place? What did I do that made you hate me so much?" I couldn't control the anger in my voice.

She sighed and sank down farther into her chair.
"I don't hate you." She paused. "It's never been about that. Well, not exactly. It's just that you got this job so easily. I've been here for three years. I have a degree and I still had to start in the receptionist position. I worked my ass off to move up. But you came in, and boom, you're taking over half my office, you're getting accounts that should've gone to me, and you hardly have any experience." She huffed and shook her head.

My shoulders fell. I allowed the built-up tension to flow out of them. As mad as I was, I could see her point. Kind of. I did get this job pretty easily. I actually wondered myself why Sharon had given me a chance.

"
I didn't know you felt that way, and I didn't know you worked so hard to get where you are."

Her face softened.
"Listen, I know I've been a complete bitch to you and I'm sorry. I'm not usually like this. I guess… I guess I was just jealous of you."

I wanted to laugh. I wanted to tell her she had no reason to be jealous of me. My life was so messed up no one should envy it.

"
I'm not going to apologize for getting this job, but I would like us to work together," I said. "It's not very fun hating and being hated by your office partner."

"
Yeah, it's exhausting." She rolled her eyes and then a tiny smile appeared on her lips.

I shook my head, but on the inside I was relieved. It seemed like something good was going to come out of this mess. Hopefully, Christine and I could finally work together, if we still had jobs.

Finally, Sharon came back in the room, saying nothing as she sat down. She looked a little more relaxed.
"Well," she began, "Lexi would like to follow through with the Black and White event."

The buildup of anxiety in my chest eased a bit. Lexi had seemed so unsure about it last night. Maybe she was even stronger than I thought.

"
That's really good news," Christine said, nodding. She looked a little more relieved as well.

Sharon glanced over at Christine, her stressed and bitter face returning.
"This isn't over for you. I'm going to have to simmer and think about what to do about the situation you put Emily and the company in. I won't allow the employees here to feel bullied or betrayed by their co-workers. What you did to Emily, it was inexcusable."

Christine cowered down in her chair more and more. I swore if Sharon kept talking, she would be under the table soon.

"
I'm so sorry, Sharon. It won't happen again. I don't know what I was thinking. I've already apologized to Emily over and over."

Sharon turned toward me.
"She did." I nodded.

"
Well, right now, we need to continue with the Black and White event. We only have a few weeks, so we'll need to work double time. Everything else, including this mess, will just have to wait. I'm going to talk to the press and answer all of their questions. Hopefully, they'll get the information they're looking for and leave."

With that, Sharon stood up and we all exited the conference room. Christine and I were halfway back to our office when I turned around and headed toward Sharon's office. There was something I had to do.

Sharon was already sitting at her desk, looking over some paperwork. I knocked lightly on her door and her head shot up. She looked at me over the glasses that sat on the edge of her nose.

"
What is it, Emily?"

"
Can I talk to you for a minute?"

She nodded and then I hurriedly shut the door.

Before I could say anything, she began.
"I'm really sorry about what Christine did. She's a great coordinator and I really can't afford to lose her right now." She shook her head. "I knew she had a bad attitude, but I never thought she would do something like that."

"
It's okay. I get it. Kind of. I mean, I know why she did it and it's actually what I wanted to talk to you about. Christine's better at all of this than me." I paused and took a deep breath. "I think she's the better choice to run this event. She'll do a better job."

Sharon cocked her head, confused.
"You're giving this event up to Christine? This could be a great opportunity for you."

I swallowed hard, wishing I could explain it to her but knowing I couldn't. For now, I would just do my best to tell her the truth without telling her the whole truth. I just couldn't handle the press and all of the attention the event brought right now.
"It's not that I don't want the challenge. I really do, but I also want the best for Lexi, and I think Christine is the best in this situation."

She narrowed her eyes and sat back, assessing me. I felt like she was trying to read between the lines. It was like she knew there was more to my story than what I was telling.

"
I'm not sure I can do that. What Christine did… it's not something I take lightly." She continued to stare at me. Maybe she was waiting for me to take it back or something. "I'm not sure how Lexi and Reed will feel about this. They specifically wanted you."

It would be hard to tell Lexi, but out of all people, she would understand. Reed, I wasn’t so sure about, yet after this morning, I really didn't care what he thought.
"Lexi will understand. She's leaving town for a few days to get away from the press, but I'll tell her when she gets back."

She sat there, contemplating what I’d just said to her.
"Okay. If you're sure about this, I'll give it to Christine, but I still want you involved. I still think it's a great learning opportunity for you."

"
Of course. I want to be involved." And that was the truth. I still wanted to make sure this event was perfect for Reed and Lexi.

"
I'm headed out to talk to the press in a few minutes. I'll tell them Christine is lead coordinator and all questions will be directed towards her from now on. Are you sure this is what you want?"

"
I'm sure." I nodded.

"
Well, okay, but I think you should tell Christine. Right now, I'm still so mad at that girl I could…" She pursed her lips as her voice trailed off.

"
I'll tell her." I stood up and took a few steps toward the door.

On the way back to my office, I stopped by Isabel's desk. She was flipping through a magazine.

"
Hey, Emily, look. Here you are." She turned the magazine toward me. It was the pictures of me from last night. "Well, it's kind of you. You can't really tell."

My racing heart began to slow down. There were no clear shots of my face. My hands or Reed's hands were in the way of the shots… every single one of them.

Isabel took the magazine back.
"It would be kind of cool to have a picture with Reed Alexander, especially one with his arms around you. At least, I know I would love it. Too bad, huh?"

"
Yeah, too bad."

A smile of relief spread across my face.

"W
HY ARE
you working so late?" Christine asked me.

I glanced over at her and shrugged.

"
Are you still nervous about the reporters and paparazzi? Sharon said they scattered after she talked to them."

Yeah, but what if they were lurking outside, waiting to get a photo of me? I couldn't take that chance. After last night, I felt like I’d caught a break.

"
Weren’t you wearing that coat yesterday?" Christine asked, causing my previous thought to dissolve.

I glanced back, examining the trench coat hanging on the back of my chair.
"Yes."

"
Here, let's switch. Give me your coat, sunglasses, and scarf. Our hair color is similar. If they’re out there, it may just throw them off for a while. I'll go out the front door and lead them down the street. You can go out back and hopefully you won't have to deal with them again.”

I sat there and contemplated her plan. I wondered if she was just being nice to me because I told her she was now the lead coordinator for the Black and White event, or maybe she really did feel bad for giving me away to the reporters last night. She had apologized to me all day, annoyingly so.

I unwrapped my scarf and handed her my jacket and sunglasses. She put them on and surprisingly, she did kind of look like me, but I always thought we looked similar. I just didn’t know it would come in handy. She could at least maybe fool the reporters for a while anyway, if there were any of them out there. She handed me her bright-red pea coat and sunglasses.

"
This should all blow over by Monday. You'll be old news once something crazier happens this weekend." She gave me a wry smile.

Great. So worst case, I just had to spend the weekend holed up in my apartment?

We shut down our computers and then Christine headed toward the front door while I headed toward the back.

"
Thanks," I said as we parted ways.

"
Sure." She smiled.

Christine's plan worked well. I was able to get home and up to my apartment without any issues. As far as I could tell, there weren't any reporters or paparazzi lingering out in front of my apartment, but just to be safe, I had planned to stay in it for the most part, not wanting to take any risks.

I
T WAS
now Sunday afternoon. I thought my eyes would leap out of my head if I watched one more minute of TV, so when my phone rang, I ran to answer it, not even caring who was on the other end of the line.

It was Lexi. I wondered if she was back from her trip early. Maybe she would want to meet for some coffee. I was eager to get out for some fresh air.

"
Hi, Emily."

"
Hey, Lexi, how's everything going?"

"
It's okay." The concern in her voice was clear.

"
Are you sure?"

"
Um, yeah. I just wanted to call and check on you. I heard about the reporters at your office. I'm so sorry."

"
Don't worry about it." I pulled back the curtains and looked down at the sidewalk. No reporters in sight. "I think I'm old news already."

"
That's good." She sounded strange, different. Usually, Lexi’s voice was upbeat and joyful, or it had been so for the past couple of months, since her and Brandon had been dating.

"
Hey, are you sure you're all right?" I asked.

"
There is something bothering me, but I don't want to worry you or get you involved."

"
It's okay. You can tell me."

She hesitated for a moment.
"I haven't heard from Reed. He won't answer my calls. Have you heard from him?"

"
Um, no, not since a couple days ago."
Not since I left his place, angry.
My heart pounded just thinking about it… or maybe it was because I was thinking of him.

She was silent for a moment and then she let out a long breath.
"I've been trying to call him, but his phone goes straight to voice mail. His office said he took Friday off work, and Robbins is acting really weird. He won't tell me anything."