by Holly Jaymes
I arrived back at the office and went straight to my desk to do a final review of the anniversary party. After confirming everything for that event, and following up on a few others coming in the next couple of weeks, I was about to take a break when my phone rang.
“Sasha Crawford,” I said when I answered.
“Ms. Crawford, this is Sal Macon.”
Immediately, I went to attention. Sal, or Sally as was her real name but we all thought she used Sal to sound masculine and be taken more seriously, was a VP at Sterling Starr.
“Yes, Ms. Macon.” I wondered why she was calling me. Then I remembered Reece was out of the office, so I was the one in charge. “How can I help you?”
“Normally, I prefer to do this in person, but that’s not possible at this point. It has come to our attention that you’ve violated the non-fraternization policy of Sterling Starr.”
My gut clenched and I felt like my life was flashing before my eyes. I was about to be fired. Not wanting to incriminate myself, I didn’t say anything.
“I know the policy may seem harsh, but it’s there for a purpose. It protects you and others from harassment, lawsuits, and workplace hostilities.”
I remained quiet, especially since my quip would have been something like, “you mean it protects you from lawsuits.”
“Are you there, Ms. Crawford?”
“Yes ma’am.” I wondered if they’d fired Reece already. Had he confirmed our relationship?
“I’m sorry to say that we need to let you go. You’ll be receiving an official termination email shortly.”
“I have an event tomorrow,” I said lamely.
“Your termination will be effective Monday. You can do your event and you’ll be paid through the weekend. Mr. Alexander will take over your other events.”
I closed my eyes as my heart sank. He wasn’t fired.
“I want to remind you of your non-compete agreement—”
“You’re firing me, I don’t think that will stand.” I don’t know where I found the gumption to say that, but it didn’t seem right that a company could fire me and prevent me from working in my field. It would be one thing to quit and then compete, but I was fired.
“We have the resources to file suit.”
“I’ll have my lawyer contact yours.” Jeez, how was I going to pay for a lawyer now that I was unemployed? And why was I fired and not Reece? “It’s nice to know a woman in power supports other women trying to make their way in the world,” I said sarcastically.
“What does that mean?” she asked, in a tone that sounded like she didn’t like being called out.
“It appears that I’m the only one fired.”
“That’s a business decision, Ms. Crawford.”
She was basically saying I was disposable. Reece was the one they couldn’t afford to lose. A part of me wanted to challenge that. Reece had settled into the office and even the town, but I was from here. I had a relationship with my clients beyond just putting on their events. I grew up with many of them. Many had known my mother, and still knew my aunt and uncle.
But I was sure she didn’t care about a small-town office. “I guess you’ll find out if it was the right one.” I hung up, as I didn’t think there was anything else to say.
I sat for a moment, unsure as to whether or not I wanted to cry or throw something. Both. I was so angry and sad and scared. I focused on the anger. I stood, and ran my hands over my desk, pushing everything to the floor.
“Yikes!” Janice poked her head in my door. “What happened?”
“I’ve been fired.”
“What?” Her eyes rounded into shock.
“He took my job…twice.”
“Reece fired you?” she asked.
I shook my head. “No.” Except maybe he did. Had they confronted him about us at his meeting and he tossed me under the bus? “I don’t know. Maybe. Sal Macon did the honors, but Reece Alexander set me up.” I grabbed my purse and my succulent plant, and headed out the door. “Oh, by the way, you’re in charge.” I was about to tell her to find someone to cover the fiftieth wedding anniversary because I was too angry to help Sterling Starr not mess up an event, but the couple had been a big help to my family when my mother died. They were a beloved couple in the community. I’d be there for their event for them, not for Sterling Starr.
Chapter 12: Ridiculous
Reece
The last time I’d driven to Los Angeles, I was eager to get back to the warmth and hustle and bustle of the city. This time, I wanted to get my meetings done and get back so I could see Sasha. I didn’t mind the cold so much now, if she was next to me keeping me warm. The only downside was that our relationship was forbidden by our boss. That meant we couldn’t stay the night. I couldn’t wake up with her by my side as I had the last time I’d come to L.A. and brought her with me. Maybe I should have suggested she come with me again except I knew she had events today and tomorrow.
Leaving her bed last night was incredibly hard. I wanted to say, “fuck it” and quit my job or simply accept the ramifications of what could happen if our relationship got out. The only thing that stopped me was that I knew she loved her job.
What I knew was that I loved her. At least I thought I did. Since high school, I’d dated regularly, and even had a few relationships. I cared for those women, but what I felt for Sasha was different. She was the first thing I thought of when I woke in the morning, and her lovely face filled my dreams when I went to sleep. I felt like my heart was tethered to her somehow. Was that love?
As I walked to the conference room for my meeting at Sterling Starr, I wished I could resign. If I’d planned this better, I’d have arranged my meeting with my agent and the producer before this and then I could just quit. At least that’s what I hoped. If I got this YA screen adaptation gig, I’d probably earn enough to quit. My agent suggested it was high five-figure, maybe even six figure deal. Of course, one script wouldn’t support me for life, but if I got this job, I’d be able to save some money, especially if I stayed in Eden Lake which was far less expensive than L.A. and I’d have a great gem in my portfolio to get more work.
But my Sterling Starr meeting was first, so I’d go through the motions of being a manager and then hopefully, later today, I’d take the next step to living my dreams.
“Reece. How was the drive?” Sal Macon said to me when I arrived. She was always early and stayed late. In many ways, she reminded me of Sasha in terms of her commitment to her job. Sal, though, lacked the warmth Sasha had. When Sasha asked how someone was, she really was interested in knowing. With Sal, it seemed more like she was following some sort of social decorum, but didn’t really give a shit.
“Great until I reached L.A. Is there ever no traffic in L.A.?” I took a seat in a chair along the length of the table. Unlike Carolyn, Sal hadn’t arranged for coffee or scones.
“Today it’s just you and me and Larry and Steve,” she said.
I shifted uncomfortably. Normally, it was all the heads of the company, plus managers like me. The fact that it was just me and heads, was worrisome. Did they know about me and Sasha? Was I about to get the ax? I relaxed thinking that wouldn’t be so bad. I wouldn’t have a job, but I could find one, if today’s meeting with my agent didn’t go well.
“Oh. Is there a problem?” I asked.
She was noncommittal as she looked up when Larry and Steven entered the conference room and sat around the table.
“We want to go over all the events planned for the next few months through the Eden Lake office,” Sal said.
“Okay.” I studied each of them, feeling like there was something more to this. “I sent you a report the other day. We’ve got—”
“Specifically, Sasha Crawford’s events.”
Sal arched a brow in a way that made me think she knew exactly what Sasha and I had been doing. And yet, she didn’t say anything.
I pulled out my report and began going through Sasha’s events. As I did, I was trying to figure out
if I was helping or hurting her.
“The wellness retreat is a significant event. You got Mr. Chandra booked to keynote?” Sal asked me.
“Yes.”
“Was that your contact or hers?”
I shifted again. “He was mine. But Mason McLean was hers. His brother Tucker will be making an appearance as well. He’s her contact as well.”
“Have you heard that Cami Carter is getting married to Joey Markem?” Sal asked about the young stars of a hit TV show.
“I might have heard the gossip about them,” I said, wondering about the change in topic.
“They’re both quite outdoorsy. Apparently they saw the news about Pax Ryder’s wedding on a ski slope—”
“Tubing,” I corrected.
She arched a brow at me.
I shrugged. “It was a snowy hill.”
“The point is, they liked the idea of getting married in Eden Lake.”
So maybe she was trying to decide if Sasha was up to the task of Cami and Joey’s wedding. “I’m sure Sasha will be able to help them—”
“We don’t want Sasha for this.”
I looked to Larry and Steve who both sat looking stoic and unreadable. Whatever was going on, had been decided before I got here.
“What we want is for you to do it,” Sal said.
“I’m managing the office and Sasha is more than—”
“We’d also like you to take over the McLean retreat. Cami and Joey are planning to go, and we want them to see just how good a Starling Starr event can turn out.”
God, I could only imagine what Sasha would do if the event was turned over to me. “With all due respect, that’s Sasha’s—”
“And now it’s yours. As her boss, you can do that.”
“What about her clients? They like her. A lot.” I decided not to add that they liked her more than me.
Sal’s eyes narrowed. “Are you saying they don't like you?”
“No.” They liked me fine, I thought. But they liked her more. “It won’t do well for Sterling Starr morale if you start taking away people’s events,” I said.
“Don’t worry about that. Here is Cami and Joey’s number. They’re expecting a call from you next week. We want you to be hands on with them while they’re at the retreat in May.”
Fuck. Sasha was going to be pissed. I’d have to figure out a way to navigate this to keep my boss happy but still let Sasha do her thing. Unless of course, my meeting went well today and I could call Sal and tell her to take her job and shove it.
“Can we count on you?” Steve said.
“Yeah, sure.”
“Oh, and here’s a copy of the Sterling Starr HR policies. In case you haven’t reviewed them in a while.” Larry shoved the binder toward me. That was code for something I was sure. They must know about me and Sasha and this is my warning to stop seeing her. The words, “I quit,” hung on the tip of my tongue, but never left my mouth.
With a nod, I rose and left the room. I tossed the HR manual in the dumpster near the parking garage. Then I got into my car and drove to Brentwood, where I was meeting with my agent and hopefully, the savior to all my problems.
My meeting at Sterling Starr sucked. The one with my agent and the producer, that one went a hell of a lot better. Several hours later, I walked out with an agreement that included a hefty sum when I delivered the first treatment on the YA book adaptation. Since I’d read the book and already started making notes, I knew I could have that done fairly quickly. Was I ready to quit my job? Not yet. But when I got that first treatment check, I’d have my resignation in so fast Sal’s head would spin.
I drove back to Eden Lake feeling like I was on cusp of something really great. Like my life was finally coming together. After having a chaotic childhood, absent parents, and a job that I was good at but didn’t love, my career and my personal life were definitely looking up.
Thirty minutes from Eden Lake, I called the pizza place to give my order, and I picked it up on the way to Sasha’s. Feeling on top of the world, I held the pie up as I knocked on the door and got ready to ravish a beautiful woman.
When she opened the door, it was tear soaked eyes that first had my gut dropping.
“What’s wrong?” I asked. I expected to be let in, but her eyes narrowed and she blocked the door.
“You have some nerve.”
I scanned my brain for what could be wrong. Had she heard that Sal wanted me to take over the retreat? I could clear that up. “It’s not that big of a deal. You can still—”
“Still what, Reece? I’ve been fired.”
I felt like I was punched in the gut. “What?”
She practically growled. “Don’t pretend you don’t know what is going on. You probably threw me under the bus. When they confronted you, did you tell them I threw myself at you? Or is it that you know more celebrities than me? Or that you’re a man who can’t control his dick and women have to pay for that.”
“What are you talking about?” I looked around wondering if people were watching. I wanted to have this conversation in private, but she clearly wasn’t going to let me in.
“You didn’t even call to warn me,” she said.
“About what?”
“That I was fired!”
“That never came up.” I couldn’t get my brain to work. “They told me to take more control over the retreat, that’s it.” I remembered them giving me the HR manual, which I suspected was to let me know they knew about me and Sasha. But if they were firing her, why didn’t they tell me? I’d have quit right then.
“You’re a liar, Reece. You probably were using me the whole time. You needed me to ingratiate yourself into town so the office and bigwigs here would like you. And now they do, and you don’t need me. I’m disposable.”
“You believe that? That I was using you this whole time?” I could understand her being pissed at Sal, but I had nothing to do with this.
“What else can I believe?”
I studied her, as my heart began to tear in two. She didn’t trust me. Didn’t believe me.
Pain morphed into anger. “How about you believe me when I tell you I have no idea what’s going on here.”
She shrugged. “You took my job twice, now. That’s what I know. I know you asked to work with me, which meant you could build your own relationships with my clients. I know you asked me to show you around town. You and Sterling Starr don’t need me, so you had someone at the office report us and now I’m gone.”
“Clearly you haven’t noticed that the people at the office like and respect you more than me. They wouldn’t help me over you in a million years.” I couldn’t believe this was happening. But I’d defend myself. “Maybe you’re the one who plotted to get rid of me. You were pissed that I got the manager job, so you played nice and then had someone report me but it backfired.”
“That’s ridiculous.”
“So is your accusation,” I snapped back. I shook my head. “You know what else is ridiculous? That I fell for you. If I’d known at the meeting today you were being fired, I’d have quit right then. How ridiculous is that, considering you don’t trust me and think I’m an asshole that would fuck you for a job.” I shoved the pizza at her. “Have a nice life, Sasha.”
I stormed away, having trouble managing all the emotions swirling like a tornado in my chest. A part of me wanted to go back and continue to plead my case, but what stood out the most was that she truly thought I was the type of man who’d use sex to get what he wanted in life. That I’d seduced her to hurt her. If after all the time we spend together, she could think I’d do that, I was a fucking idiot to have fallen in love with her.
Chapter 13: Losing My Dream
Sasha
I slammed the door and tossed the pizza in the trash. I wanted to throw something to get rid of the niggle of doubt that I’d been wrong about accusing him.
“You know what else is ridiculous? That I fell for you. If I’d known at the meeting today you were being fired, I’d ha
ve quit right then. How ridiculous is that, considering you don’t trust me and think I’m an asshole that would fuck you for a job.”
I fell for you. No! I couldn’t let him get in my head like that. Whatever his intentions, the end result was that I was fired because he talked me into having an affair and now, I was fired. Whether he set out to hurt me or it’s just the end result of his being more valued at Sterling Starr than I was, didn’t matter.
What made all this even worse, was that he didn’t even like his job. He was good at it, that was for sure, but he always had one foot out the door as he strove to build his screenwriting career. I wonder if Sal knew about that? Maybe I should call her and tell her that after she’d met with him, he’d met with his agent.
Of course, I wasn’t built like that. Just like I wasn’t the type to try and set him up to get fired. But I did have to wonder, how did Sal find out? It was hard to think Reece would have told her as it put his job on the line too, unless of course it was part of some plot. I couldn’t see why Sal would need to be a part of a plot to undermine me, so she probably found out about me and Reece another way. It didn’t exonerate the possibility that Reece set me up. He’d worked in the head office, so chances were he’d be able to convince Sal that I was in the wrong or just that he was more valuable than me.
The other option was that someone from Eden Lake told her, in which case it had to be someone from the office, but who? We’d been so careful to keep our affair hidden. We didn’t go out together so no one could have seen us.
I was making myself crazy trying to sort it all out, until I realized that it didn’t matter either. I was still out of a job. Once I did the anniversary party tomorrow, I was unemployed.
The next day I arrived at the restaurant hosting the party. I was checking in with the manager when I noticed Reece walking in the door. God, was he there to send me home? Was he going to embarrass me in front of people I knew?
I stalked toward him. He glanced up, stopped and waited for me to reach him.