"Surely you have not had clients in this office?" Carter asked.
I shook my head and threw my shirt on. "No, no clients."
"Did you actually bribe Kim?" Hunter asked, looking at me, waiting for my response.
I put my head in my hands. "Kind of," I whispered, running my hands over my face again.
"I don't think I need to tell you how against our policy that is, do I?" Carter barked.
"No, I already know. It was a mistake."
"Are you sleeping with her?" Hunter asked, picking up another container off the floor and throwing it into the garbage.
"What?" I gasped. "Are you serious?" Where the fuck did that thought come from? Who did he think I was, my brother?
"Are you sleeping with your paralegal? Because that is even more against our policies than I care to admit," Carter barked.
"Lord no. Fuck, I made a mistake, but I am not stupid enough to stick my dick into one of our employees."
"Bryce, this is warning number one."
Carter was never one to fuck around. He was always all business, and seriously, I knew better.
"I'm aiming for junior partner here. You actually think I would sleep with my paralegal? I don't fucking believe it." I jumped up off the couch and paced around my office.
"I wouldn't have thought you would bribe an employee either, to be honest," Carter answered.
"Look, I'd had a shitty day. I looked over the documents she had prepared and took shit out on her that had nothing to do with her. She bitched at Josie, who fucking told me, so I gave her the day off, treated her to a spa treatment. I didn't think I did anything wrong. I certainly didn't think she would lodge a fucking complaint," I said, throwing the almost empty bottle of liquor into the bottom drawer of my desk.
"As I said, that is warning number one," Carter repeated.
"Shove your fucking warning, Carter." I took a step toward him, but Hunter stepped between us. "All right, Bryce, calm the fuck down." He placed a firm hand on my chest and looked me in the eyes, reading what was there.
"Carter, how about you go and grab us some coffees and muffins from the bakery downstairs. Let me talk to Bryce for a second," he said, not taking his eyes from mine.
Carter didn't argue. I could tell he was fed up, which he should be. He was the one who started this firm and decided to pull each one of us in. He got up and left my office, shutting the door behind him, not once making eye contact with me. I looked at Hunter, him at me.
"Now you are going to sit down and tell me what is going on?"
"It's nothing."
"Oh no, no way. You think because I get rid of Carter, I'm letting you off the hook? Now sit down and explain yourself."
I was just about to start telling him when Josie knocked on my door. Hunter got up and walked over, pulling the door open. She looked over his shoulder directly at me and shook her head before turning her attention back to Hunter. "Carter called. He said you have an appointment downstairs, Hunter."
"Thanks, Josie."
Josie walked away and Hunter turned to me.
"I already know this has to do with Alyssa and you. I know things aren't good, Bryce. I also understand how hard it is to get your shit together after you've broken it off with someone you were planning to marry. Has she left your condo yet?"
It was like my brother was a mind reader. I leaned back against the couch and let out a breath. "No. I've been staying with Chase, but I am tired of listening to him bang anything with a heartbeat."
Hunter looked at me and chuckled. He glanced around the room and back to me, a look of pity coming to his eyes. "Get your office cleaned up, take the rest of today off, and effective immediately, you are on vacation. Two weeks," he said, pointing to me. "Get your clothes out of here too. Tell Alyssa she has two weeks to move or you will have her legally removed. Go up to the lake house, alone, and sort your shit out. You hear me."
"I can't. I have appointments this afternoon."
"No, you don't, not anymore. I'll have Josie reschedule them. I am doing this for your own good, and if I find out that you don't leave, I will have her change your passwords too so you can't access anything."
I rolled my eyes and watched Hunter leave my office. As irritated as I was, he was right. I needed a break. The last six months had gotten to me. I couldn't say I was sad over my breakup. Just more frustrated at the fact that she was torturing me because I had taken pity on her the night she started to cry when I told her she had to leave. Feeling sorry for her had gotten me to the point I was at.
I started gathering my things and cleaning my office. I didn't waste any time. I packed up all of my clothes, piled the garbage neatly in the bin, grabbed my laptop, and shut the lights off, heading down to the parking lot to my car.
The condo was quiet when I entered.
"Hello?" I called out. Silence was the only thing that greeted me.
I noticed a few boxes sat partially packed up on the dining room table. Thank goodness. That meant Alyssa was packing her shit.
I dropped the mess of clothes I carried in my arms into the laundry hamper and walked over to the couch and flopped down. I leaned my head back against the cushions and pinched the bridge of my nose. The tension of the morning sat firmly planted in my neck and upper back.
I only sat for a few minutes before getting up and going down to the bedroom. I pulled my suitcase from the closet and quickly packed two weeks worth of clothes, then booked myself a late-afternoon flight. I went into my office and pulled a sheet of paper off one of my legal pads and quickly wrote: Alyssa, you have two weeks to get out. I'm done.
I dropped the sheet of paper on the table by her boxes, grabbed my bags, and locked the door.
Chapter 3
Mia
I sat behind my desk dreaming of the ocean as I hit print on my computer. I had spent the last two weeks preparing for today. It was so close I could taste it. I could already feel the heat from the sun on my skin, if I thought about it hard enough. I was anxious and excited, and I seriously couldn't wait until tonight. Not only was I going on vacation, but I got to spend the whole week with Don.
After five long years together and doing our best to make the long-distance relationship work between us, I was sure that this trip would be the one. He was going to pop the question; I just knew it. I could feel it. Sure, we had been having problems with the distance thing, as anyone would, and he had kept asking me to move down with him, but I kept putting him off.
One night, Don expressed his feelings about the issues we had been having. He felt neglected, so we began planning this trip and working on us. We hoped it would help our relationship, and so six months ago I had put in for this time off. It had been fifteen years since my last vacation, and I seriously didn't think it would get approved. Mark, my boss, never allowed me time off. Don had told me that I should just take it to him, so that was what I did. He finally granted it—begrudgingly, of course.
The printer rang out the telltale beeps that it was finally finished printing the documents, and I grabbed the reports for Mark. I bundled them together, securing them with a clip, and carried them down the hall to his office, stopping outside to take a breath. With the pending merger, I was petrified that at any given moment, he would take back the approval on my vacation.
I knocked and pushed the door open, entering the room. He was seated behind his desk, typing away.
"Here you go. Just what you asked for." I set the stack of data on his desk.
He picked them up and flipped through them, nodding his head. "Yes...yes, these look so much better, Mia. See, I told you a few simple tweaks would be all it would take, not to mention it would make all the difference."
"Uh huh," I gritted out. I hated being bullied into doing something that was wrong. Last night when Mark called me at home, after I had already given him all the data, he told me I would need to make things “look better,” so he asked me to make a few adjustments. The conversation had ended with the threat of, “You don'
t want to lose your job, do you?” So to avoid a huge argument, I had just done what he had asked instead.
"Yes, this is exactly what I am talking about. See, you even put the company back in the black. This couldn't be more perfect, Mia."
"Uh huh, that is what you essentially wanted, wasn't it?"
Mark looked up from the reports and studied me.
"Mia, is there a problem?"
"No, nothing at all. Let me know if you need anything else before I leave," I answered, turning on my heel and walking out of his office.
While on my way back to my office, I stopped in the staff room and grabbed a cup of coffee, and my empty lunch bag from the fridge. I just wanted to be able to grab everything and go once 5:00 p.m. hit.
"Looking forward to vacation, Mia?" Janet asked.
"I am. I can't wait. I can't wait to sit under palm trees, put my feet in the hot sand, and drink margaritas."
"You deserve it, putting up with Mark and his demanding ways every day for the past five years. I'm surprised you have lasted this long. The girl before you only made it six months, and the one before her only three."
I smiled and added a little sugar to my coffee. I was overworked. A company this size should have had eight people in my department. Instead everything fell onto my shoulders.
"I'll see you later, Janet. I got to get some things finished before I leave." I didn't want to hear from someone else how much of a sucker I was. I already knew.
I took my coffee and made my way to my office, shutting the door behind me. I sat down and stuck the USB drive into my computer and began copying all the original files I had handed to Mark — the ones that were showing the negative returns, the ones that he demanded be altered. Bottom line was the company was in major trouble and this pending merger would be the only thing to save it, so it had everyone in a tizzy.
I had put in a ton of overtime hours in the last few weeks, which I already knew I wouldn't get paid for, just like all the other overtime hours. I seriously couldn't wait to get out of here.
I sipped on my coffee and then hit the print button, printing out all the original files I had done as well. I didn't want to solely rely on a digital copy.
My cell phone rang, and a smile came to my lips when I saw Don's name on the screen. "Hey, babe," I answered.
"You sure you are going to be on that flight?"
"Yes, why wouldn't I be? I’m just tying up a few things here at the office, and as soon as I am done, I’m running to grab my bags and getting on that plane. I'll see you at the airport at ten."
"Yeah, uh huh. You're sure it won't be like the last time? I sit waiting for you and you call me fifteen minutes after your flight was supposed to land and profusely apologize?"
"Don, I said I would be there."
"Yeah sure. I'll believe it when I see you step through those doors."
"Babe, seriously, I will be there. Everything is packed."
"Sure, yep, just like last time right," he barked.
"Don that was different, and you know it. It was a damn emergency."
"Yeah, and what about the time before that?"
"Don, I'll be there. I’ve got to go and finish so I’m not late. I’ll see you at our usual meeting spot."
"Yep." He was gone before I had a chance to say good-bye.
I hung up my phone. That call had struck a nerve, but I didn't have time to think about it. I knew that once we were together, everything would be fine. I just wanted to get what I needed printed and copied before I left. I turned my attention back to the file and began printing off my payroll reports when Mark came striding into my office.
"So, Mia, about this vacation."
"What about it?"
"You aren't really leaving, are you? I mean I could really use your help here this week."
I couldn't believe what I was hearing. "I'm leaving in a few minutes, Mark."
He chuckled as he looked around my office. "I really thought you were kidding when you handed me the notification of vacation. Unfortunately, I'm afraid that I need you to do some work for me, either here or while you are away."
"No way. Absolutely not." I ignored the fact that he was standing there in front of me.
"I just need a couple of hours of your time this weekend, and perhaps five- or ten-hours next week."
"Mark do I really need to remind you that I haven't had a vacation in fifteen years. I have two thousand and twenty-six-point-seven hours in my vacation bank. That is like a full year of time I could take off and you would have to pay me. Also, did you know that I have somewhere in the ballpark of almost thirty-five hundred hours of overtime that hasn't been paid out, since you stopped paying me my overtime three years ago?"
"Yeah, so what of it."
"What of it? It's illegal, Mark. It would take one phone call to a lawyer, just one." I looked at him as if he were completely stupid.
He ignored everything I had said as if I hadn't even spoken. "Monday morning. I'll see you at eight. I will email you the list of what I need you to do this weekend, and I want to go over a bunch of things before the meetings with the lawyers in a few weeks. Just so we are on the same page."
"Yeah, right, Monday. Uh huh. I won't be here, Mark."
"I know you, Mia. You’ll be here before I am. We've gone over this so many times. I will see you then." He left my office and carried on down the hall, whistling as he went.
I had created this, by always being so accommodating, always doing everything that he had asked. I had canceled plans with friends, family dinners, I had even gone into work the afternoon of my mother’s funeral, all because I had been too stupid to stand up for myself. Now Mark was asking me to put my integrity on the line by fudging reports just so this merger would go through. All of his demands had finally pushed me over the edge, and I'd had enough.
I drank down the remainder of my coffee and pulled the reports from the printer, shoving them into my briefcase.
I wasted no time. I reached into my drawer and gathered my paystubs from the past year and shoved them into my bag, along with the USB from my computer. I wanted to make sure there was nothing left for the temp that was coming in to fill my spot. If there even was a temp, which there more than likely wasn't, since Mark hadn't even taken me seriously.
I glanced at the clock. It was almost 6:00 p.m. I would have just enough time to get home, drop my stuff off, and be on my way.
I got up from my desk and looked around my office, my second home, and smiled. I had everything I needed in case this backfired on me. I shut the lights off and was on my way to a week of freedom and the hope of a future husband.
Chapter 4
Mia
I had gotten off the plane and made my way over to our usual meeting place, just underneath the large bagel sign in the middle of the airport. I dropped my bags on the ground and looked through all of the people to see if I could spot Don. I didn't see him yet, and I glanced at my watch. We had agreed to meet at 10:00 sharp, and it was already 10:30. My plane had been a bit delayed, but he would have been able to see that. Perhaps he had run to the washroom.
I took a seat on a nearby bench and pulled out my phone to text him. I waited patiently for the phone to boot up, and once it had, I noticed I had a voice mail waiting for me. I already had a good guess who it was from, but I decided to listen to it anyway.
Only it wasn't Mark. My pulse pounded wildly in my ears as I listened to the message. It was Don. He wasn't coming. He was breaking up with me! My pulse hammered wildly in my ears.
"A fucking voice mail! Unbelievable!" I gritted under my breath, shutting my phone off and throwing it into my purse. "I flew halfway across the country to have him break up with me through a fucking voice mail. He could have saved me the trouble," I said out loud as I sat bouncing my foot impatiently.
A lady turned my way and smirked. I could tell she was trying not to laugh at my outburst.
My first vacation in fifteen years, and this was how it was going to start. I shoul
d have known from the signs that were presented to me earlier today that this whole thing was a bad idea. This upcoming merger had stressed me out so bad, and the fact that my boss was an inconsiderate prick who demanded more and more all the time had burned me completely out, and now this.
I had started to notice the burnout a few weeks ago when I couldn't get up out of bed on a Monday morning to go to our usual business meeting. I had been having trouble concentrating as well. Don had been my rock throughout most of it, trying to be supportive, but then he started expressing that he was beginning to feel ignored. I tried to pretend that what he was saying wasn't true, but every time we had been together over the last few months, I had spent almost all my time working and ignoring him. I had hoped we had fixed our relationship enough; however, I guess we hadn’t. I thought he would be getting down on bended knee professing his love for me sometime over the next week, but instead I sat here alone, feeling foolish. I probably would have been better off if I had just gone to the Dominican alone. Just one more mistake to add to my ever-growing list, and I had TexCorp to thank for that.
I dragged my bags behind me to the closest ladies room. Once inside, I slammed the stall door closed and leaned up against the cold brick wall. I took a couple of deep breaths and pulled out my phone. In those few breaths I decided that Don should tell me himself, not be a coward through a voice mail.
I dialed his number, expecting him to answer, but three rings later, his voice mail picked up. I hung up and pressed redial a couple more times, both yielding the same response.
"Okay so you don't want to answer. That figures. So I'll text instead," I mumbled to myself.
ME: I'm here, waiting at our normal meeting spot, under the bagel sign in case you've forgotten. Are you stuck in traffic?
I quickly used the facilities and had just finished drying my hands when my phone buzzed in my pocket. I pulled my phone out and looked down at the screen.
DON: Nope, check your voice mail
His to Hold (The Malone Brother Book 3) Page 2