by Becca Little
“I seem to be missing your nine o’clock assignment. I had hoped to review it with you while we talked about your tardiness.” He raised his eyebrows and then looked back to his e-mail.
“Mr. Adams, I’m so sorry. I left it at home. If you’ll just give me a chance—” She didn’t get the chance to finish her sentence as he raised his hand to cut her off.
“Jennifer, I’m afraid this has gone on long enough. You were given a great opportunity here. Mr. Fields himself agreed to hire you because he knew your father.” Mr. Adams sighed.
She wasn’t aware that anyone knew she was hired because her father used to work there, but clearly Mr. Adams did.
“I’m afraid I’m going to have to write that warning I told you about, and Mr. Fields is probably going to let you go when he finds out about your assignment. It was an important one.” Mr. Adams pulled out a piece of paper and began writing down the incident.
Jennifer wanted to cry. She really had nothing to say for herself, no defense to the accusations. They were true. She had gone out for drinks, thinking she would be home in plenty of time to get a good night’s sleep, and then Michael showed up. Michael. He had ruined another great thing in her life just by flashing his smile at her. She hated him more than ever. She couldn’t believe how stupid she had behaved the night before, and it was going to cost her everything.
“Can I talk with Mr. Fields? Could I possibly plead my case?” She hadn’t seen him since the day she was hired. The thirtieth floor was practically his private abode, although if she came in earlier than her shift or stayed late, she would have likely seen him walking through the area when he said good morning and goodnight.
“That will be up to Mr. Fields. If he wants to talk to you, he’ll summon you.” Mr. Adams pushed the paper over.
Jennifer read her sins line by line in angry red ink. Every bit of it was true. She was habitually late getting to work, she rarely finished her assignments on time, and latest one didn’t even get turned in. The written warning was pretty much the end of the line. None of the other ladies working there had one in their file, and the unfortunate few that managed to earn one were unemployed. Being fired from the company meant it was very difficult to find work elsewhere. She knew it would be back to waiting tables. Jennifer signed her name nervously and handed the paper back.
“Mr. Adams, I’m really sorry.” She stammered.
“This is out of my hands, Jennifer. Please go back to your desk and do something worthwhile today. We’re still paying you after all.” He dropped the paper into a scanner, and with a click, it was e-mailed to Mr. Fields.
Jennifer spent the rest of the day working as hard as she could. Despite the fact she left her assignment at home, she could recreate most it from the original files. By the end of the day, she felt like she had a workable first draft. She didn’t care that her shift was almost over. That didn’t matter as much as her job did. She would stay until the sun came up if she had to. Her e-mail lit up twenty minutes before it was time to clock out. When she saw it was from Mr. Fields, her blood ran cold and her hands quivered.
All it said was ‘Please come see me before you clock out. -D’
She knew she couldn’t face him in the state she was in. She needed a cigarette badly, and even though she should have gone right up to his office, she would be a wreck with the craving gnawing away in her brain. If she was going to be fired, she could at least go out with dignity, not shaking from nicotine withdrawal.
She slipped out the back door and lit one up, smoking it as fast as she could. She dissected the e-mail in her head. Everything they got was so formal, signed Mr. Fields in his big bold font, the same one that was on the side of the building. Of course, she had never gotten a personal e-mail from him, so maybe he addressed all the personal e-mails like that. She began to realize why her father was so stressed every day. He would be so ashamed of her standing outside smoking, minutes away from termination.
Losing her father left a void in her life, one that had never been filled. She was his girl, and he expected the best from her. For a few years after he passed, she tried to live up to that, but once she hit puberty, everything changed. Without him there to guide her, and her mother completely losing touch with reality, she did whatever she wanted. Occasionally, her mother would yell at her, but she was mostly disconnected. Losing her husband at such a young age had left a void in her life as well. Those days were over, for the most part. She bragged about the wonderful young lady her daughter had become. She had no idea her daughter had become such a terrible failure.
She had no choice but to face the inevitable conclusion of her employment. At least she could add ‘fired by a billionaire’ to her resume if she ever found someone willing to interview her again. She doubted it would matter what she put on it when she applied for her next job as a waitress. A pretty face, some nice tits, and a round ass was about all they were looking for, and she did have that. Genetics had been good to her. It was too bad they couldn’t get her out of her current situation. She extinguished her cigarette and went back inside. It was time for him to do his worst.
CHAPTER 2: FIRED
The ride on the elevator to Mr. Fields’ office was the longest experience of her life. The floors seemed to creak by. Even getting to that floor required a special code, but the elevator attendant seemed to be expecting her, so he punched it in and sent her on her way. When it finally came to a stop, she had to compose herself. It opened to a rather bare landscape. She had expected a Picasso, a Rembrandt, and the statue of David to be greeting her. That was the reputation he had. As she walked down the long hallway towards his office, she passed by a board room, several conference rooms, and a full kitchen. He had made it his self-sufficient lair.
Once she was near his door, and the giant “Damien Fields” nameplate was within her sight, she began to feel butterflies in her stomach. She wasn’t just nervous, she was terrified. This was one of the most powerful men in the country, who, by happenstance, gave her a job. She should have been thankful for it and treated the gift with more respect. If she could have had it all to do over again, she would. That didn’t matter anymore, the only thing left was for her to knock on his door, get fired, and be on her way. She reached out with apprehension, her knuckles a few inches from the door. Suddenly, it opened without warning.
“Jennifer. I’ve been expecting you. Come on in and have a seat.” He pushed the door all the way open so she could enter.
Jennifer walked into his office and realized that was where the Picasso and the Rembrandt were hanging, but there was no statue of David. There was one of Aphrodite, which she was sure cost nearly as much. Calling it an office was a joke, it took up a quarter of the floor, complete with one of the most breathtaking views of the city she had ever seen. If she wasn’t about to be fired, she could have appreciated it more. Jennifer took the seat that he offered and he sat on the edge of his desk, only a few feet from her.
“What’s going on with you?” He asked in a matter of fact tone.
“Mr. Fields, I-” She was cut off with his hand. She realized where her supervisor got his imposing hand of shut-the-hell-up from. It was straight from Mr. Fields. He commanded a lot more respect with it than her supervisor did.
“I don’t want to hear any sniveling or excuses. I want the truth. I want to know why you’re always late, and why you didn’t have your report ready today. I needed that report for a conference call, and I didn’t even realize it wasn’t in my box until I was already dialed in. That report was going to be your big break. If you would have done the job I expected you to do, by Monday morning, all of those old bats that have been giving you shit would have been working for you.” His brow came together in a dark and angry gaze.
Jennifer looked up at the older man. She didn’t realize he put so much stock in her work product. She really hadn’t been able to spend any time with him since she started working there. Most of what she saw of him was in company stock photos and merchandising material.
She was so nervous when she first met him that she kept her eyes mostly bolted to the floor when she wasn’t answering questions. As she looked at him, she realized he was extremely handsome. His jaw was hard and muscular around the edges; his eyes were dark emerald-green, the kind that could turn you to stone with a stare. He wore his suit well; it was practically stitched onto him, tailor made to fit every single muscle on his rippled physique.
“Be honest with me, Jennifer.” He said, and she could sense he was growing tired of her awkward inability to communicate.
“Okay.” She felt a glimmer of confidence. At that point, she had very little to lose, so she just went for it. “I have been late because I hate it here.”
If Damien was shocked by that, he didn’t let on. He simply raised his eyebrows and nodded for her to continue.
“I’m so thankful for the opportunity, I really am. I need my job. It pays better than anything else out there for someone with my education and experience—or lack thereof—but they are so mean to me. I was so excited when I started, but they just beat me up every day with their angry stares, and nasty whispering.” Jennifer cast her eyes back to the floor, unable to continue looking in his eyes, which seemed to glare straight into her soul.
“I see, so you’re saying it is their fault? They make you late, and they are the reason you didn’t do your work, because they are mean to you?” He still didn’t show emotion with his words, but Jennifer realized how silly that must sound to someone who built an entire empire from scratch.
“It isn’t their fault, I am responsible for my own actions, but I just let them get the better of me. Last night, I went out with friends, and I overslept.” Even that excuse sounded weak as it rolled off her crimson lips, which she forgot to touch up after her last cigarette. She became conscious of the imperfection and pursed them together to create as thin of a line as possible.
“I’m guessing alcohol was involved?” Damien drew the connection easily based on what she had told him.
“Alcohol and worse…” Jennifer didn’t finish that sentence.
The last thing he wanted to hear about was how she ended up bringing home a dose of poison and doing god knows what with him. Even she didn’t remember exactly what happened after the shots got poured.
“I’m going to be honest with you, because I’ve always believed in being an honest man.” He tapped his fingers on the desk for a second, staring at them, and then looked back at her. “I brought you up here to fire you.”
Jennifer’s nervous stomach returned. She knew that before she stepped off the elevator, but hearing him say it made the situation a whole lot worse than she imagined. She tried to avoid breaking down and crying by internalizing the tears. Instead of freaking out, she simply nodded.
“What happened to the bright-eyed girl who stalked my lobby for a chance to say hello?” He asked. “Where did she go? Did those old ladies really kill your fire in only a few months?”
Jennifer sighed, staring down at the floor. She hated to admit they had been able to get under her skin, especially with the way he phrased it. She knew she should have been stronger, but the epiphany had come far too late for her to act on it.
“I didn’t even need a resume or references. I would have hired you regardless of who your father was. You showed initiative and I imagined you having an office downstairs within six months, possibly even heading up a whole division within a few years.” He folded his arms, and he looked beyond powerful, like a deity sitting on his throne.
Jennifer couldn’t believe what she was hearing. She thought he only gave her a chance because her father worked for him. She found it hard to imagine she earned her position because she waited in the lobby. Surely, thousands had tried that only to be met with nothing but a swift boot out the door. She struggled for words, but only air escaped her throat which had begun to close in on her, robbing any chance at a verbal reaction.
“How could you blow that? Do you know what I would have given for a chance like that at your age? I had to take everything I wanted by force.” He slammed his fist on his desk, startling Jennifer to the point her shoes nearly flew off as she jumped in her chair.
“I didn’t realize…” She stammered out.
“Don’t you think I ran into my own fair share of jealous people who wanted to stand in my way? Do you think I ever let that slow me down?” His temper had started to build and his nose had begun to flare.
“No.” Jennifer knew the answer, and it was a rhetorical question at best, but she still squeaked out a response.
“You have no confidence. You thought you only got a job here because of your father? If you don’t believe in yourself, why should I believe in you?” His mouth formed a snarl of disgust as he spat his words at her.
“I’m so sorry.” She couldn’t hold back the tears anymore. “When my father died, I lost all of the confidence I had. My life has been a wreck since then, drifting from one disaster to the next. He was the only one who ever seemed to believe in me.”
Damien pulled a tissue from a box on his desk and wiped away her tears. “You’re wrong.” He said.
“I don’t think I am.” She allowed him to dry a few tears, then took the tissue from him. He held her hand, not letting her go.
“I believed in you.” He let her hand go and she finished wiping away the tears.
“I’m sorry I disappointed you.” Jennifer said through her tears and bubbling nose.
***
Damien stared at the young woman in front of him. He had seen such a face before, a broken and desperate soul. She looked just like Sammy did ten years ago when they first met. There were so many layers to Jennifer that he didn’t understand, but the one he saw in front of him was plain as day. She was a little girl who never grew up. Her father died and time just froze for her. She had been masquerading as an adult, but deep inside was the child who still needed a Daddy. He never taught her about the dangers of the world, how to survive, and how to grow into a woman.
“I’m not giving you another chance. You blew that.” Damien said. The phrase should have been a cold one, but it seemed to carry a bit of warmth.
“I understand. Thank you for what you did for me.” Jennifer pushed on the arms of the chair and prepared to stand, but he held up his commanding hand again, halting her in her tracks.
“However, I have an opportunity I would like to discuss with you. It doesn’t involve working for me, but it might just be the thing you’ve been searching for since the day you lost your father. You might not even know it, but I do. I’m almost certain it is exactly what you need, and I’m willing to offer it to you.” He dropped his hand and looked into her tear-stained eyes.
“What is it?” Jennifer was intrigued. She had no idea what he could be referencing, but there was no way she could turn down any sort of opportunity he was willing to offer, even if it meant working somewhere else.
“I don’t want to talk about it here. This is a place of business. Do you know where the Remington is?” He asked, referencing a popular restaurant in town.
“I do, but…” Jennifer had nothing that she could wear to a place like that.
“Be there at eight. Ask for me.” Damien stood up and walked to his door, opening it.
“Are you, asking me on a date?” Jennifer’s heart raced and her head spun.
“No, I’m not asking you on a date.” He shook his head at the notion and she realized he thought the concept was ridiculous. She felt three inches tall for asking the question.
“Okay, what is it then?” She clutched her purse and stood.
“I already told you. It is an opportunity.” He motioned for her to leave.
Jennifer walked out the door and it slammed behind her. She leapt and picked up her pace as it sent a thunderous sound through the whole floor. She practically ran to the elevator and punched the buttons. Her mind was clouded and thick, her fingers were trembling. When she got downstairs, the floor was only lit by a few security lights. Everyone had gone home
for the night except her, even the elevator attendant. She clocked out, and brushed past the security guard who had already started to nod off. She had to talk to Abigail.
CHAPTER 3: OPPORTUNITY
Jennifer’s hands were still shaking as she lit up a cigarette the second she got outside. She smoked furiously while trying to get Abigail to answer her phone. When she was met with voicemail, she decided there was no other option but to go to her apartment. She owned nothing she could wear to the Remington, but Abigail was a similar size and had better clothes. When she got to Abigail’s apartment, she got the same response from her front door. She peeked underneath it and didn’t see even the faintest glimmer of light.
“Fuck!” She said and let out a loud sigh of anger.
She didn’t have enough money in the bank to get a new dress, and her credit card had no money left on it. She had no choice but to go home.
When she got outside, she looked at her watch. She only had two hours until she was supposed to meet him. She vowed not to be late for their meeting—being habitually late for work was bad enough. She decided she wanted to chain smoke instead of taking the bus, so she set out on a trot towards her apartment. It was a twenty-minute walk, but that would give her an hour to get ready and thirty minutes to get to the Remington. She would have to take a taxi, but they would get her there in twenty minutes. She would have ten minutes to spare.
Jennifer got to her apartment door and she found a box sitting outside. It was a plain white box with no markings. She turned it over in her hand and then tore it open while she fumbled with her key. The hallways were poorly lit, so she had to flip on a light inside the door to get a good look what was inside. She saw red fabric and pulled it out. The fabric unfolded into the most gorgeous gown she had never seen.