by Tiana Cole
“Thank you,” Phil replied meekly as he hung his head in shame.
“The main reason I’m pulling you from the BMW account is because I don’t want you around Jenna. Not now. Not ever,” Zane’s voice dropped to a growl as he turned to face the stout, balding man he once considered a valued confidant.
“Look, buddy, I don’t know what she told you, but I can assure you I never—”
“Stop!” Zane’s thunderous voice erupted, the sound of his large hands slapping down loudly on his desk causing Phil to recoil in fear. His blue eyes, suddenly filled with anger, locked onto his frightened protégé’s. “Just stop it. How stupid do you think I am? We both know you screwed up. It’s written all over your face. You know Jenna wanted me to fire your ass, but I talked her down? She finally agreed to let things slide as long as she never has to deal with you again. From here on out you’re going to avoid her at all costs, you understand me?”
“Yeah…” a visibly shaken Phil agreed. “Yeah, I understand.” He’d never seen Zane come anywhere close to losing his composure like this.
“Good,” Zane glared. Clearing his throat and adjusting his suit jacket, he quickly regained his cool and spoke calmly. “You so much as speak one word to her, and you’re done, got it?”
“I read you loud and clear,” Phil assured, still trembling from Zane’s brief explosion.
“And you’re not out of the hot seat yet,” Zane continued as he remembered the original reason he’d wanted to speak with Phil five days earlier.
“What to you mean?” Phil swallowed hard.
“Whatever happened to those accounts I told you to look into? The missing funds? Ali told me you never spoke to her about it,” Zane questioned as he began pacing by the large window with his hands behind his back.
“What?” Phil chimed indignantly. “I sure did! It was a few weeks ago, so I’m sure she just forgot.”
“I see,” Zane replied dubiously. He knew how busy Ali kept, but it wasn’t in her fastidious nature to forget such an important conversation. “If I recall, they were your accounts. How did you manage to misplace those expense reports? More importantly, how have you not found them by now?”
“Everything’s accounted for, I guarantee that,” Phil insisted. “I’ve been so busy with the BMW account, I’ve been bringing work home with me. All the expenses are at my place somewhere, don’t worry about it.
“Don’t worry about it?” Zane asked in irritation. “It’s a lot of money that’s unaccounted for. It’s my job to worry about it.”
“Right, you’re absolutely right,” Phil backpedaled. “I’ll get those reports to you by the end of the week.”
“I want to see every receipt,” Zane demanded as he stopped pacing and studied Phil’s tense face.
“Got it,” Phil nodded while avoiding eye contact, uncomfortable with his boss’s icy stare.
“You’re dismissed,” Zane said as he nodded towards the office door. He thought he heard Phil breathe a faint sigh of relief.
“Thank you,” Phil forced a smile as he rose from the chair. He was typically a smooth talker, a trait he used to lure in clients, but he was also a nervous one. When placed in an uncomfortable situation, he’d speak excessively and had a tendency to volunteer too much information. As he backed his way towards the office door, again offering his apologies for his behavior and absence, his overactive mouth made a critical mistake by adding, “Kroger, Tanque Verde Ranch, and Hotel Congress, right? I’ll get you their expenses by the end of the week.”
He’d just turned to exit the room, his hand on the door’s knob, when Zane’s imposing voice stopped him.
“Wait!”
Phil froze in place for a moment before slowly facing his boss.
“Yes?” he asked with worry.
“I only told you about Kroger and Tanque Verde Ranch. How did you know about Hotel Congress?” Zane asked as he crossed the room and stood intimidatingly close to the man.
“I… I…” Phil stammered as his mind frantically searched for an excuse but only came up with, “Ali told me.”
“I don’t think so,” Zane shook his head. “I told her to keep that one strictly between me and her. And you just told me you haven’t spoken to her in weeks. Try again.”
“I… I…” Phil stammered again as guilt spread across his face. “I must have run into her at some point. This damn injury,” he gulped as he pointed to the bandage wrapped around his head, “has my mind all jumbled.”
“You’re lying,” Zane replied as he continued to shake his head. “You’re a great salesman, yet somehow, you’re a terrible liar.”
“I don’t know what you’re talking about,” Phil laughed nervously.
“What did you do, Phil?” Zane questioned in disappointment.
“What do you mean?” Phil answered as his face flushed and beads of sweat began to form on his forehead just below the medical gauze.
“You took the money, didn’t you?” Zane asked bluntly.
“What?” Phil scoffed. “Don’t be ridiculous.”
“Why did you do it?” Zane’s faced turned from anger to hurt at the realization that the man he once considered a trusted ally had betrayed him.
“You’re crazy,” Phil looked away in shame.
“Just tell me why,” Zane persisted with his voice low and his blue eyes filled with a deep sorrow.
“It’s that little hood rat girlfriend of yours!” Phil suddenly burst in rage. “She’s poisoning your mind! Running around here like she owns the place, that bitch!”
“Choose your words,” Zane warned in a furious growl, a finger pointed in Phil’s face and his brow lowered in anger.
“You know she hits on me all the time, right?” Phil chuckled with a snort, still averting Zane’s gaze by keeping his eyes locked onto the blank television screen mounted to the office wall.
“No she doesn’t, Phil,” Zane fired back in disgust.
“She’s been making eyes at me since day one!” Phil persisted.
“No she hasn’t,” Zane laughed in amusement at Phil’s desperate allegations.
“It’s true!” Phil maintained, “And now she’s trying to play us against each other.”
“Phil, I know you did it. I just want to know why. I think I deserve that. I’ve treated you so well—”
“You’ve treated me so well?!” Phil exploded, his face twisting in rage and his eyes, now fueled with contempt, no longer afraid to make contact with Zane’s. “That’s bullshit, and you know it! How have you treated me well, huh? By siding with that whore secretary over me?”
“Ah, so that’s what this is about,” Zane sighed, unfazed by Phil’s maniacal look. The man had clearly come unhinged, but Zane showed no signs of fear.
“You’re goddamn right that’s what this is about!” Phil screamed so loudly Zane was sure the entire firm could hear it. His face was now beet red and what showed of his forehead was pulsing with pronounced veins. “You took her word over mine, then had the nerve to dock my pay twenty grand a year?”
“Yes, for five years to cover the check I had to write her,” Zane reminded him, realizing the math added up to the same amount of money his company was missing. It all made sense now. The three businesses in question weren’t real clients, and there were no expense reports because Phil had simply pocketed the money. He might have gotten away with it had he taken the time to forge a list of receipts, but in his arrogance, he’d assumed everyone was too stupid to catch on.
“That’s horse shit!” Phil barked. “That was my money, and I never touched that slut!”
“So you decided to, what, just steal that money back?” Zane asked in puzzlement.
“I didn’t steal it, I earned it!” Phil defended through gritted teeth. Zane sensed the man wanted to take a swing at him but knew he was physically outmatched.
“Look, I’m not going to press charges,” Zane sighed. “I’m not even going to take you to court. Just consider the money you stole your severance pa
y and get out.”
“You can’t do this to me!” Phil sneered. “You need me! I helped make this company what it is!”
“Your problem’s always been thinking you weren’t replaceable,” Zane told him, disheartened by the man he’d hired years earlier and had such high hopes for. “Grab your things from your office and get out.”
“Please, don’t do this,” Phil pleaded, the anger in his face turning to desperate panic. “I’ll pay back the money. I’ll—”
“Don’t,” Zane stopped him by first holding up his palm and then pointing at the door. “Just go.”
His battered head lowered in defeat, Phil slowly opened the office door and stepped into the small reception area. Several employees who’d been drawn by the sound of his screaming voice were lingering there and scurried back to their designated departments. Knowing he had nothing of importance in his office, Phil slunk down the long, wide hallway, and Zane trailed behind him to see him out of the building. He called for the elevator, and when the doors parted, he entered and turned to face his former boss. With a forced smile and his eyes welling with tears, he sniffled, turned his hands into imaginary guns, and gave Zane one final, “Pow, pow!”
The gesture pulled at Zane’s heartstrings and brought him back to when he’d hire Phil, still very much a kid then, fresh out of college. He returned his smile with a sincere one of his own, truly saddened to be parting on such unfortunate terms, and waved goodbye as the elevator doors closed.
Chapter Fourteen
“What the hell happened?” Jenna asked as she rushed down the hallway and met Zane standing outside the elevators in the main reception area of Enterprise Marketing. Debbie, the portly redhead who served as the firm’s head secretary, sat behind the high counter trying rather poorly to mind her own business.
Jenna understood her curiosity and was equally interested in finding out what had just taken place. She’d left Zane’s office under the pretense things were working themselves out, and minutes later, World War III had erupted.
“It’s a long story,” an exasperated Zane told her. “Let’s just say Phil Miller won’t be with us anymore.”
“Mr. Miller’s gone?” Debbie chimed in, unable to contain herself any longer.
“Unfortunately, it appears so,” Zane answered her with a polite grin.
“That’s too bad,” she replied somberly. “I really liked him.”
Jenna rolled her eyes but kept her comments to herself.
“Seriously, what happened?” she leaned in and asked him again quietly. “Everybody’s talking…”
“I’ll tell you over dinner,” he promised as he led her into the hallway and out of earshot from Debbie. “I fired Phil,” he spoke softly so as not to be overheard, then glanced at his watch. “There’s no way I can do lunch right now, babe. I’m sorry. I have a ton of things I need to handle.”
“I completely understand,” Jenna nodded. “Go do your thing. I‘ll grab you something while I‘m out and drop it by your office in a bit.”
“You’re an angel,” he smiled, stealing a quick kiss after glancing down the hallway to make sure there were no onlookers.
“I know,” she joked as they started down the hall together.
“Primavera tonight?” he asked as they came to a stop just outside the art department so she could grab the purse she‘d set down at her workstation. The Italian restaurant had become her favorite as well, but they hadn’t visited the place in two weeks.
“Only if I get to pay this time,” she teased, knowing he’d never actually allow her to pick up the check.
“Yeah, no,” he laughed. “Tell you what…” he whispered, “how about you cut out early today? Take off at three, swing home, and get all dolled up. I should be out of here by five. I’ll make a reservation for six.”
“Perfect,” she beamed. “I can’t wait to hear about Phil!”
“I have some more news for you, too. Good news,” he playfully winked. He headed to his office leaving her to wonder what had happened with Phil and what the good news would turn out to be. She had some news of her own she’d yet to share with him, but wasn’t sure if he’d consider it good news or not.
Two days earlier, she’d passed on having lunch with him in favor of visiting an obstetrician she’d set up an appointment with. She learned that the baby was healthy, and the doctor confirmed what she’d suspected: she was three months along, and the child had likely been conceived the first night they’d slept together.
After leaving the obstetrician’s office, she’d sat pensively in her car for nearly ten minutes before phoning the clinic they’d referred her to and scheduling a visit for the following week. She was surprised by how attached she’d grown to her baby in the few short days since learning of her pregnancy, and was undecided whether or not she’d go through with the abortion. Tonight she would tell Zane about the pregnancy, and his reaction would determine the course she’d choose. She’d wanted to tell him earlier in the week, but Phil’s mysterious disappearance had made things stressful enough.
She didn’t want to add to that stress by springing a baby on her overworked and overwhelmed lover, and opted to hold out until the issue with Phil had been resolved. Now that it apparently had been, she couldn’t keep the truth from him any longer. She had to tell Zane about the baby tonight.
Grabbing her purse, she headed down to the building’s lobby and surveyed the parking lot for any sign of Phil. Satisfied that he was truly gone, she hurried to her car and drove towards Opa, calling the Greek restaurant along the way to place a takeout order.
As promised, she returned with his lunch and found him hunched over his desk amidst a sea of paperwork. He paused long enough to thank her with a smile and a kiss, and she left him to finish his business. She ate her own lunch in the break room while chatting with a coworker from the art department, but kept glancing at the door, fearing Phil would appear at any second. She had to remind herself that he was gone, this time for good, and was no longer a threat. She’d been dreaming of this day for three months, and now that it had become a reality, it seemed almost surreal.
When three o’clock rolled around, she took Zane up on his offer by leaving early to head back to the lavish adobe estate she’d been calling home. There she showered and slipped into the elegant red evening dress he’d generously surprised her with the month before, and as she sat doing her make-up first and hair second, she practiced the ways she might tell him about their baby.
Whatever approach she chose, she knew him well enough to know he’d be supportive. Still, a small doubt lingered in the back of her overactive her mind and filled her with dread. What if he wasn’t as receptive to the news as she’d hoped?
She’d already made up her mind that if he showed even the slightest inkling of disappointment, she’d go through with the scheduled abortion that was only six days away. She’d become quite good at reading him and would know if he was feigning joy. If he showed genuine excitement, she’d cancel the appointment and become a mother much earlier in life than she’d anticipated.
At 5:26 pm, she heard the familiar sound of Zane’s town car and he strolled through the large oak doors of his impressive dwelling moments later.
She’d been anxiously waiting for him on the living room’s impressive suede sofa, pretending to read a magazine in an attempt to act as nonchalantly as possible. She knew he was every bit as good at reading her as she was at reading him and hoped he wouldn’t sense her nervous energy. She was dying to hear what happened with Phil, and equally curious about his supposedly good news, but breaking her pregnancy to him was filling her with more apprehension than she had thought it would.
“Wow!” he exclaimed with a smile as he strolled into the living room. “You look amazing!”
“Thank you,” she blushed, tossing the magazine back on the marble coffee table and rising to take his extended hand.
“You ready to go?” he asked, giving her a quick peck on the cheek so as not to mess up the red
lipstick that matched her beautiful dress.
“I’ve been ready,” she answered with a grin. “I can’t take this suspense! You have to tell me all about Phil,” she insisted.
“Patience, dear, patience,” he chuckled as he guided her to the waiting town car, stopping to set the estate’s alarm system before Carl chauffeured them to Primavera.
As the car zigzagged its way across town, Zane finally divulged his reason for terminating Phil, and Jenna listened in shock as he revealed the extent of the man’s betrayal. To do so meant offering full disclosure by admitting that his firm had been missing a great deal of money, but he couldn’t hide it from her any longer.
She was stunned by both the amount and how brazen Phil had been in his theft, but she was even more surprised by the poor attempt he’d made to cover his tracks. She knew the guy was a scumbag, but she’d always considered him an intelligent one. Apparently they’d both overestimated his wit.
Jenna was still reeling from the startling circumstances of Phil’s departure as the car delivered them out front of their favorite Italian eatery.
Despite the unfortunate events regarding Phil, Zane assured her that he still had some very good news he’d be sharing as they enjoyed their dinner. Jenna announced that she had some news of her own, an admission that piqued Zane’s interest, and would also be sharing it over their meal.
Seated at the recessed table Zane had reserved, Jenna flipped through the menu with her mind returning to their magical first date here in this very restaurant. The place had a special hold on her heart thanks to that magnificent evening, and every time they returned, she was reminded of that perfect outing.
Every time they came back, she’d try something new, and tonight she settled on the gnocchi di ricotta while Zane stuck to his favorite pollo alla cacciatore. She tried to pry his news out of him while they waited for their meals to arrive, but he remained tight-lipped and spilled nothing. He tried to do the same, prodding her to share her news, but in fear of ruining their dinner, she resolved to tell him over dessert. He joked that her news already sounded sweet, and she couldn’t help but laugh at his ridiculous quip. His ability to make her laugh, even when she was feeling down, was something she loved about him.