secretary, she thought, trying not to let it rattle her composure. A muscle in her leg began to ache, and no wonder. According to her fitbit, a roundtrip between Laurie’s desk and hers was fifty steps. At the current rate of being summoned, each twelve-hour workday would garner three thousand steps solely from walking back and forth. That was over five extra miles a week. By April, Jack might be ready to enter the Boston marathon.
Jack stopped at the desk and waited but didn’t speak. She didn’t have to. Laurie seemed to sense her presence—less in the way someone does when they’re attracted to a person and more like how a vampire can tell when they’re in the room with a human pulse. There were five Bloomberg terminals on her desk, and without looking away from a
single one of them long enough to make eye contact, Laurie launched into her latest demand.
“I need the following reports.” She listed a handful, and Jack used her own version of shorthand to jot them down as Laurie’s words came out like rapid fire on a battlefield. “I needed them yesterday, so…”
Laurie didn’t wave Jack away. The iciness in her tone was more than su cient to do the job. Jack flipped back around and hightailed it to her desk, hopeful to fulfill the current demand before the next one could be issued. It was bound to happen any minute now, and Jack hated the feeling of things piling up, of getting behind. Somehow, Jack doubted Laurie would ever let her rest. The more she accomplished, the more the woman would demand. Others may have found it discouraging, but for some reason, Jack relished the challenge, even if she did find half the tasks assigned to her ludicrous in the extreme.
“Why does she need every single thing printed out?” Jack said it to herself but loud enough that Marian looked her way. “With all those Bloomberg terminals, she has every possible piece of information she needs at her fingertips.
Does she get o on asking me to do menial tasks for her?”
Marian gave her a look that was somewhere between a sympathetic smile and a smirk. “Oh, sweet Millennial, you wouldn’t understand, but some of us grew up on things called books.”
“Yeah, well”—Jack hu ed as she gathered the sheets of the final report from the printer—“you might start seeing it my way if she’d chosen you as her print monkey instead of me.”
Jack carried the reports to Laurie, handing them o without a word. Before Jack could retreat the twenty-five steps back to her desk, Laurie barked, “You printed them wrong.”
Chilled inside, Jack retrieved the papers and scanned them for errors. They looked correct. “These are the reports you asked for.”
“I didn’t say the reports were wrong. I said the printing was. Do it again, but right this time. I’ve been letting it slide, but it’s getting ridiculous. Why do I have to tell you how to do your job?”
My job? Jack silently fumed, the corners of her eyes growing wet as she stomped back to her desk. This isn’t my job. Marian didn’t look up as Jack passed, but there was a Post-it Note stuck to the screen of her monitor when she sat down. It read: Increase the font size by twenty-five percent.
“What does this mean?” Jack asked, waving the yellow slip in the air.
Marian held a warning finger to her lips, used her other hand to point emphatically at the note, and mimed squinting at her hand as if it were a page she was struggling to see.
“WHY DOESN’T SHE GET GLASSES?” Jack spat out through gritted teeth.
“Shh!” Marian shot a look over her shoulder at the sound of Laurie pushing her chair away from her desk.
Oh, God. Did she hear me?
Jack’s insides plummeted, but Laurie charged right on by her, phone pressed to her ear, saying, “Tell him this is a good deal, Andy. He’d be vested in four years…” Her voice trailed o as she rounded the corner, leaving behind the spicy floral scent of her no doubt very expensive perfume.
Though not usually a fragrance fan, something about that particular scent was unaccountably arousing to Jack. It lingered in the air for what seemed like hours and never failed to torment her with thoughts not suitable for work.
Jack wasn’t sure what brand it was but assumed it must have a name like Untouchable Arrogance.
After the boss had departed, Marian waited another beat before venturing to speak. “Laurie had me pick up a pair of reading glasses for her once—oh, let’s see, two, no three years ago—but Bonnie cracked a joke about them as soon as Laurie put them on. I found them in Laurie’s trash later that day. That was the last time she ever mentioned glasses.”
“But—” Jack clicked her mouse a couple of times, firing up the printer right behind her. “Clearly, she needs them.”
“Laurie is the only one who gets to say what she needs.”
This wasn’t presented negatively. If anything, Marian’s tone was one of fondness over her boss’s stubborn trait. Jack couldn’t understand it.
“Yeah, I’ve noticed that about her.” Jack finished increasing the font size of the last report that needed reprinting. “Her wife teasing her over her reading glasses, though? This Bonnie woman doesn’t sound like she was a nice person.”
“Oh, she actually was, but she had a wickedly biting sense of humor.”
“Sounds more like a bully.” Jack wasn’t sure why she was pushing the issue. Clearly, Marian didn’t agree with her, but for some reason, Jack felt suddenly protective of her boss.
She’d seen the woman’s vulnerability before, when she’d been so adamant to leave the lights o at the hotel. Actually, Jack was kind of thankful for that. In retrospect, knowing exactly what your boss looked like naked wasn’t exactly helpful information.
“It’s clear you have a strong sense of loyalty.” Marian stood by Jack’s desk and placed a hand on her shoulder.
“But, trust me. You’ve got the wrong end of the stick when it comes to Bonnie. In every way that mattered, those two were the perfect match.”
The protective impulse that had welled up in her before was joined by a neon streak of pure, green jealousy. “How so?”
“The way they fed the other to push harder, to make the company perform better every quarter. They were the dream team who not only ran this company but the entire town.”
Marian sighed. “She won’t admit it, but Laurie needs to get her feet back under her. Until she does, she’ll be even more di cult to be around.”
“Oh, great,” Jack moaned. “She gets worse?”
Marian chuckled, giving her shoulder another squeeze.
“When she’s herself again, there won’t be any stopping her.”
Admiration shone in Marian’s eyes, but Jack thought she detected a warning in them, too. Her boss had a reputation, for sure. Was that Marian’s way of saying get in line or you’ll be out the door? What Jack really wanted to ask, but was too afraid to say out loud, was what happened if she didn’t find her footing after all? In the past, Laurie needed Bonnie to help her succeed. But Bonnie was gone, so who did that leave?
Surely not me? Being good at her job was one thing, but as far as Jack could tell, it wasn’t just professional skills that would make Laurie thrive. It was a symbiotic relationship, a deep connection on an emotional level, like what she’d had with her wife. Two sharks in their tank, constantly in motion, feeding o one another. No way was Jack up to that task. At least, she didn’t think so. Unless, maybe…
They’d had a connection when they first met, but those had been di erent circumstances, and the spark between them had been physical, nothing more. Well, Jack had thought it was more, but not now that Laurie treated her like a glorified admin, barking at her for imaginary transgressions while ignoring her own shortcomings. What
if Laurie refused Jack’s help and sank like a stone? Toby would have them both out on their asses, and then where would she be? Getting herself onto Toby’s team was looking like the better option all the time.
But, she couldn’t. Marian was right. Jack was loyal to a fault.
On Laurie’s first day back in the o ce, she’d picked Jack to be on he
r team. Yes, she’d also tried to fire her, but Jack had proven her worth and Laurie had taken a chance on her in a way that no one else ever had. If Jack were like the rest of the portfolio managers she’d worked with, she would try to leverage that for a higher paycheck by taking everything she knew about Othonos to Toby.
But that type of self-centered duplicity was the one aspect of this business Jack loathed. She believed loyalty and trust should factor into every decision, even ones involving eye-watering sums of money. That meant she and Laurie were a team, and she would need to rise to the occasion and make sure her boss was in top form. Whatever happened, they would sink or swim together.
IT WAS WELL past her usual lunchtime when Jack finally made it out to grab a bite to eat. Though well-stocked in the mornings, the popular café across the street from her building closed at three o’clock, and since that was less than an hour away, pickings were slim by the time Jack made it through the line. Balancing a tray bearing a giant blueberry mu n, a bowl of slightly past-peak strawberries, and a large co ee, she took a seat at a table for two across from her friend Carmen.
All day, Jack had been looking forward to chatting with her former supervisor, who’d been a mentor to her ever
since her internship at Bay State Bank and Trust, but hunger put her brain on autopilot. Before uttering so much as a hello, Jack broke o a piece of sugar-coated mu n top and stu ed it into her mouth, counting on the carbs to chase away her lightheadedness.
“Easy there.” Carmen pointed to Jack’s mu n. “Don’t lose a finger.”
Jack swallowed what was in her mouth before chewing it completely, forcing her to chase it down with co ee to avoid choking. “I haven’t eaten anything all day, and I only have a few minutes before I have to be back in the o ce.”
Carmen leaned closer to Jack. “I’m worried about you. I know I pushed you to get your foot into the Emerson door, but working directly under Laurie—it’s something few have survived.”
“It’s been intense,” Jack agreed. “I’ve been working such long hours I’ve almost forgotten what the world looks like.”
“Honestly, I don’t envy you. As exciting as the opportunity must be at your age, I have to admit it’s times like these I’m glad to be a director at a mom and pop shop too small for a major player like Emerson to pay any attention to.”
Jack snorted. “Trust me, being noticed by Laurie Emerson isn’t all it’s cracked up to be.”
“Be careful you don’t get on the wrong side of the Hatchet,” Carmen warned. “You know why they call her that, don’t you?”
“She has a reputation for firing people who disappoint her.”
“If she only fired them, it would be a mercy. Let’s just say, she’s the type who not only terminates people, but ruins their lives by making them beyond toxic. Any downtown firm would rather bust Bernie Mado out of prison than hire a Laurie leper.” Carmen held her cup under her chin with both
hands, eyes sparkling with drama. It was a great description for a Hollywood villain, but having actually worked with the real Laurie, Jack believed maybe half of what her mentor described. “What project does she have you slaving over?
Word is, it’s big, but no one knows any details.”
Jack tossed the last bite of mu n into her mouth and pressed her lips tightly together as she chewed.
Carmen gave her an appraising look. “I’m guessing by your silence it’s even bigger than the gossips are saying.”
Jack’s lips remained zipped, though she fought to keep from laughing at her mentor’s obvious consternation. There was nothing Carmen disliked more than not getting an inside scoop.
“Oh, you’re no fun!” Carmen swatted playfully at Jack with a paper napkin.
“Honestly, is that why you invited me today, to find out what’s up at Emerson?”
“Not at all.” Carmen pressed a hand to her chest as if to protest her innocence. “I’m worried about you. Your last text consisted of ten crying-face emojis. I thought it might be a coded message, begging for rescue.”
“I don’t have time to type words.” Jack tucked her hands under her arms. “She’s running me around like a biblical slave. And, she’s already tried to fire me for sleeping with her.”
Only as Carmen’s face went ghostly white did Jack realize what she’d said. “Wait. Run that last bit by me again.”
“Uh… can we pretend I didn’t blurt that out?”
“Uh, no we can’t.” Carmen leaned across the table and added in a faint whisper, “You slept with Laurie Emerson?
What the hell were you thinking?”
“I didn’t know who she was at the time,” Jack whispered back. “We met in a bar during the blizzard, and it was supposed to be a one-night stand.”
Carmen buried her face in both hands, giving Jack a full picture of how big a mess this clearly was. She let out a long breath and peeked one eye over her fingers. “You need to put feelers out for other companies, right away.”
“I haven’t even been in this position for two weeks.”
“That’s a lifetime. Get out while you still can.” Carmen fixed her dark eyes on Jack’s. “Right now, while you’re still working for Laurie, you have value. Companies will be willing to pay for inside info on her.”
Jack sti ened, appalled at what Carmen was suggesting.
“I signed a nondisclosure agreement the day I started at Emerson.”
“Those are hard to enforce,” her mentor answered with a shrug.
“Well, it’s unethical. I could never do that. Besides, I don’t plan to quit.”
“Then you’ll get fired. Trust me on this. I’ve been looking out for you ever since you interned in my department. Do you know why?”
“Because we’re both gay?”
“Because you remind me of myself when I was younger. I knew your talents were being wasted on the phones, even then. I’m not going to sit back while you become the most endangered animal on the planet. Let me make some calls.
By the end of the month, I want you with a di erent firm.”
Carmen checked her watch. “I better get back to the o ce. I have a few reports to finish up before I can head home, and the wife expects me on the 4:15 train on Fridays.”
Jack let out a wistful sigh. “What’s it like leaving the o ce before five?”
“That’s another reason why you need a new job. You working weekends, too?”
“No.” Jack chewed on her lower lip as she considered that her answer wasn’t entirely true. “Okay, she may have said
something about coming in this Sunday, but only because Toby’s expected back in the o ce bright and early Monday.”
“He’s traveling again?” Carmen shook her head. “I heard through the grapevine he was in the U.K. a few weeks ago.”
“Actually, he’s only now getting back.”
“What on earth could he have been doing over there for that long?” Curiosity, and something more, glinted in Carmen’s eyes. “Very hush-hush, I take it.”
Jack shifted in her chair, wondering how much she dared to say on the subject without giving away any company secrets. She’d known Carmen long enough to understand, friendship or not, she’d consider any intel she gathered fair game, especially if she managed to figure out that the Othonos account was involved. Opting for caution, she replied, “I hear he was golfing in Scotland, mostly.”
“Must’ve been some golf trip if it requires you to burn the midnight oil this weekend in preparation for his return.”
Carmen’s smile didn’t quite manage to hide her killer instinct, making Jack glad she’d held back.
“Laurie was fit to be tied over what she called his little vacation. I’m pretty sure she has me coming in on Sunday to help dig a hole to hide his body in.”
“That does sound like her.” Carmen’s face relaxed into a more natural smile, and Jack breathed a sigh of relief that she seemed to be letting the matter drop. “You know, Jack, you’ll never find and keep a Mrs. if you’re wor
king a hundred and twenty hours a week.
“Between you and my mother, I swear.” Jack treated Carmen to an exaggerated eye roll. “Good thing I’m not looking for a Mrs.”
Carmen clucked her tongue in that know-it-all way women had when they’d finally settled down and suddenly were convinced everyone else should, too. “Yeah, yeah.
You’ve said that before. Everyone says that before the woman of their dreams sweeps them o their feet.”
A bell on the café door jingled, accompanied a moment later by a blast of cold air as it opened to let in a customer. A shadow swept across the table as the person passed, but Jack paid no attention until a spicy floral fragrance tickled her nose. “Oh, shit. It’s her.”
“Who?” Carmen frowned and began to look behind her, but Jack shook her head vehemently not to.
“Her,” Jack whispered, crumpling her mu n wrapper and grabbing up her co ee cup to swill down the last of its contents.
“The boss lady?” Carmen chuckled.
Jack shot another look toward her boss, who was standing in line with her back turned to her. She stood and swept her tray from the table. “I don’t think she noticed me. I’d better go.”“Surely she can’t begrudge you a meal on occasion.”
“You’d be surprised.” Jack continued to eye Laurie warily as the woman worked her way to the counter to place her order—the blood of her enemies with extra foam, if Jack had to guess.
Carmen snuck a look over her shoulder, her expression turning sober. “I guess it would be better if she didn’t see you here.”
Better for both of us, Jack thought as she deposited her tray on top of the trash bin and ducked out the door, seemingly undetected. Not that she’d been doing anything wrong, of course. Having lunch with a friend wasn’t illegal. That the friend happened to work for a rival financial firm and had been gently pumping her for information—yes, Jack was well aware that was what she’d been doing, because that was how Carmen was—shouldn’t change the equation.
Somehow, though, Jack had a hunch Laurie wouldn’t see it that way if she found out.
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