“Oh, don’t you know that Janice and I talk?” she asks, and I shake my head.
No, I didn’t know that. But it makes a lot of fucking sense. Two of my least favorite people, colluding against me because they have nothing better to do than to try to ruin me.
“We’ve kept in touch ever since the divorce,” she says. “Apparently she thinks you’ve been a very bad boy around the office. And not even the founding partner can get away with that forever.”
“What are you talking about?” I ask her again.
“Oh nothing,” she says, nearly singing the words. She’s gleeful with pleasure. “I just wanted to call and say don’t forget I warned you that you could never be happy trying to replace me with these naïve little ‘pets’ of yours. Tu-ta-lo.”
She hangs up before I can get another word in.
What the fuck?
I don’t know what she’s fucking talking about, but I know it can’t be good if it involves Janice. Leave it to Janice to try to ruin my life. And leave it to my ex-wife to gloat about it.
I head down the hall to go warn Madilyn that something’s amiss. I don’t really know what is happening but I want an excuse to see her. And I know she’d appreciate the heads up.
But as soon as I get to the lobby, Ron Sanchez is standing there, as if he was debating whether to come to my office or not.
“Oh, hello Asher,” he says, looking down at his shoes. “I was just coming to let you know you’re needed in Conference Room A. I thought I should come tell you myself.”
“I’m needed in…”
What the hell?
I can’t even finish asking the question because it’s so ludicrous. They’re acting as if I’m a brand new associate getting in trouble for filing something wrong. Not the head and founder of this fucking firm.
“What is going on, Ron?” I ask, upset that he’s approaching me this way.
“Let’s just go to the Conference Room,” Ron says. “The head of HR is there and he can explain further.”
The head of HR? I hired that fucking moron. He’s so scared of me he never looks twice at me. But suddenly he’s so important that he has to tell me something that Ron can’t?
“Whatever, Ron,” I say, beating him to the elevator before I beat him up which is what I feel like doing. “So much for thirty years of friendship. If this is how you’re going to treat me.”
Chapter 40 – Madilyn
I haven’t been in my new office very long and already I’m being called out of it and to Conference Room A.
Great.
I just knew it was bad news when Janice showed up at the restaurant. She’s always had it in for Asher and we just gave her the perfect excuse to bust us.
I knew that being with Asher caused a risk for me at work. I just didn’t think it would happen so soon, especially after it was kind of openly known and accepted that he indulged himself in dalliances.
As I obediently follow the HR manager into the Conference Room, I look around and see that Asher is already here. His eyes say “Don’t say anything,” and I wasn’t planning to. He nods at me and somehow despite this shit show I feel that he will protect me, that I will be safe.
Suddenly Mandy Calderon walks in and smiles at me smugly. I glare at her. She sits down beside Janice and I guess they’ve suddenly become best friends. Cameron Sanchez is here but other than that it’s just Asher and me and the HR manager. At least I’m not being publicly shamed. Or at least not yet.
“We’re here today because of very serious accusations of sexual harassment,” the HR manager says, looking down at the paper in his lap as if he can’t bear to accuse us directly.
“On what grounds?” Asher demands.
“Mandy here says you have sexually harassed her,” Janice says, patting Mandy’s knee as if she’s a little kid who needs someone to stick up for her. Meanwhile Mandy is giving me a gloating look like she just won some contest.
“I most certainly have not,” Asher says.
“And I saw you and Ms. St. Clair at the Alcove last night,” Janice continues, shooting me a disapproving look. “And it did not look like a business dinner.”
Mandy’s eyes nearly bulge out. Apparently it’s the first time she’s heard that Asher took me to the Alcove. Now it’s my turn to win the contest I hadn’t even known I’d entered.
“Let’s take one accusation at a time,” the HR manager says. “Ms. Calderon, what exactly are you alleging Mr. Marks did to you?”
“What did he do to me?” Mandy explodes. “He did… well, he did nothing. What he did was pick Madilyn over me.”
I have to try hard to contain my laughter. I raise my eyebrows at Asher, stunned that she just said that.
“Now Mandy,” Janice says, looking embarrassed. Cameron Sanchez looks at her like she’s gone crazy. “That’s not at all what I took what you said to mean…”
“Well, it’s ridiculous,” Mandy explodes. “He always picks the prettiest one and he was supposed to pick me.”
“So there were no unwelcome advances from Mr. Marks?” the HR Manager tries to clarify. “Nothing he did that was untoward or forceful.”
Mandy crosses her arms and pouts.
Janice pats her on the shoulder and says, “There there. I know it’s painful but just try to remember…”
“Stop it,” I say, not able to take it anymore. “He never did anything to her. She just admitted herself that the whole problem is that she wanted to do something with him and he didn’t want to. We’re all adults here, and can make our own decisions. Mandy has had the hots for Asher since Day One.”
“How do you know?” Mandy shouts at me, looking as if she wants to spit on me. “You don’t know anything. You always have your nose in some book.”
“I may not have the biggest social life or the slimmest ankles,” I say, raising my eyebrows at her as she gasps at me, wide-mouthed, “but I obviously know enough that everyone wanted my outlines in law school.”
“Okay, hold on, back up,” says the HR Manager. “Let’s not get caught up in cat fights. Ms. St. Clair, you said something earlier. About how we’re all adults. Are you in a relationship with Mr. Marks?”
I look at Asher and back to the HR Manager. I don’t know how to answer that question. I don’t know what I’m in with Asher. And I don’t want to get him in trouble or get myself fired. So I say nothing.
“Because you said we’re all adults here and we all make our own decisions, or something like that,” he continues. “So if you’re in a relationship, and it’s consensual, then the simple solution is to just have you sign a disclosure of relationship. Right here.”
He fiddles with the papers in his lap until he finds the one he wants and pulls it out.
“From 283 of the Employee Handbook. It doesn’t matter why you were at the restaurant or what you do personally with each other, if both of you agree it’s a consensual relationship and agree not to hold it against the firm.”
He looks at us and then blushes.
“Of course in your case, Mr. Marks, it would be hard for you to hold it against the firm since you’d essentially be holding it against yourself. But still, to dot our ‘i’s’ and cross our ‘t’s,’ it would probably be best to have you fill one of these out as well, if in fact you two are in a consensual relationship.”
“That’s it?” I ask. “That’s all we have to do?”
“That’s what all of this is about?” Asher asks, looking as shocked as Janice does.
“This is bullshit,” Mandy says. “There’s nothing consensual about this. I’m pretty sure that Little Miss Goody Two Shoes Madilyn over here is a virgin. Or at least that she was before Asher came along and corrupted her. How consensual is that?”
“Oh please,” I tell Mandy. “You’re just mad that he isn’t corrupting you. And that he can’t,” I add, “because you already corrupted yourself long before meeting Asher.”
“Now, now, ladies,” the HR manager says again. “Let’s just get back to whet
her we have a basis to fill out this form here. Ms. St. Clair, are you in a consensual relationship with Mr. Marks.
I nod, amazed that the right answer is that I am.
“Yes,” I say.
“Alright then, here’s a form for you.”
He passes me a form and I eagerly sign it.
“And how about you, Mr. Marks? Are you in a consensual relationship with Ms. St. Clair?”
Asher looks at me with tenderness and eagerness combined.
“I am.”
“Oh yeah right,” both Janice and Mandy say at the same time.
“He’s just using her,” Janice says. “And it looks really bad for this firm. He should have to go.”
“I should have to leave my own firm?” Asher says. “How would that even work, exactly?”
“This isn’t right,” Mandy tells the HR Manager. “A relationship implies love, commitment or at least working towards those things. He’s just using her for sex. He’ll dump her as soon as the next shiny new thing comes along.”
“If I recall correctly, that was good enough for you to want to be in any kind of ‘relationship’ with him that you could,” I tell her.
“Stop,” Asher says. “Mandy has a point.”
I look at him.
“A relationship does imply all of those things. And I did used to use people for sex, but they used to use me right back. What I have with Madilyn is different though.”
Now I’m pretty sure everyone’s mouth is hanging open, including my own.
“I do love her,” he says. He nods at me, looking sincere. “Now give me that paper to sign.”
The HR Manager happily passes over another piece of paper and then stands up to leave, looking relieved that his job is done and that the situation has been resolved.
“And I’m committed to her, and she to me,” Asher says, as he signs the form. “We already discussed that and established it when our exes tried to meddle. And speaking of that,” he says, looking over at Janice. “I had a very interesting call from my ex-wife today. She claims you two have been quite the BFFs for some time now.”
Janice’s face reddens. And I probably look as shocked as Mandy does.
“So what?” Janice finally says, not denying it. “It’s a free country. I can talk to who I want.”
“It does seem a little strange, Janice,” Cameron says, speaking up for the first time. “Considering the tumultuous past that Asher has had with his ex-wife. Why would you be speaking with her for all of this time and not tell him?”
All eyes are on Janice, but she merely shrugs.
“I just thought… I’ve always thought… it would be best if…”
“Best if you could get some dirt on me and have me leave my own firm, so that you could take it over?” Asher asks her.
Cameron narrows his eyebrows.
“Janice, if you had a concern about Asher I’d have appreciated it if you would have talked to him or me directly first. We’ve all been partners for a very long time. Instead you went to HR and my hands were tied. I couldn’t do anything but follow protocol and come to this meeting. I was afraid to even go and tell Asher about the meeting myself, but I thought I owed him that, considering we’d been friends for so long.”
Cameron nods in Asher’s direction.
“Since the marble ring,” Asher says, with a playful wink.
I could tell that Asher was upset with Cameron but I’m glad he’s being so forgiving.
“Maybe it’s best if you do go your own way, Janice,” Cameron says. “But don’t use any of the firm resources or clients when you go. You can take Mandy with you though,” he says.
I can’t help myself. I smirk.
The HR Manager has long skedaddled and I can’t wait to get out of here too. I can’t believe my job has been saved. I just want to get away from the craziness that is Janice and Mandy combined, and be alone with Asher.
Finally, we’re in my new office together, which is closer to Conference Room A than his office.
“Nice digs,” he says, gesturing towards the window with the partial view of the Sandias.
“Not as nice as yours,” I tell him.
“You have to start somewhere.” He smiles.
“Did you really mean what you said in there?” I ask him. “Or did you just say it to convince them to let you sign the form and not get either of us into trouble?”
He smiles at me, rather mysteriously.
“Either way, thanks,” I tell him.
I cross the room and bury my head in his chest. He holds me tight and then tilts my chin up to look at him.
“I meant it,” he tells me. “I love you. I have never felt this way about anyone. It’s almost scary, the way that I feel.”
“I know what you mean,” I tell him, as he kisses me with those full, sweet lips of his.
I always knew great things awaited me at this job. That it was a new start and a fresh leaf for me. I just didn’t know that those things included a relationship with the boss that was even more than either of us had bargained for.
Epilogue
Madilyn
It’s Valentine’s Day and it’s raining. That’s fitting, because it’s the anniversary of my father’s death. We gather at his gravesite: Mom, my brothers and Asher and me.
Of course my mom had opinions about me dating my much older boss. But I’ve never listened to her advice. And in the end Asher even won her over, by paying for her kitchen to be redone.
“I can’t believe you bought my mother’s affection,” I often tell him.
“Well, whatever works,” he always says. “And in my case, it’s often money that works the best. Plus, you helped me win that big verdict in the Schwartz case, so part of it was your money too.”
Now, despite the rain and the thunder that starts roaring, my mother talks, because that’s what she does best.
“I’d like to say a few words,” she begins, and my brothers and I smirk at each other, all of us trying not to roll our eyes because we know it will be more than a few words. “Your father had his faults but he was a good man. He left part of himself here with all of us. No one knows what it was like to live with him besides me. But even I have very good memories of him…”
I slip my hand into Asher’s. I’m so glad he’s here with me. He gives my hand a squeeze and I look up into the sky, letting my dad know I remember him in my own way, although I don’t have quite the dramatic tendencies that my mother does.
Later, after I say goodbye to my mom and brothers, I get into the car with Asher and say, “Thanks for coming.”
“Of course,” he says. “I think it’s really great that you still try to have some relationship with your mom despite how… difficult she can be.”
I shrug.
“I mostly do it for my dad’s sake,” I tell him. “Because I know he’d want me to still have some sort of relationship with her. But it’s not like we’re particularly close.”
“Well, you’re a very forgiving person,” Asher says. “And it’s inspiring. It makes me try to forgive my own mother more.”
“I think you’re a forgiving person,” I tell him. “You forgave Janice.”
“Not really,” he laughs. “I was just glad to be rid of her.”
Janice had left to form her own firm. It wasn’t the happy ending she thought she would have when she had been colluding with Mandy and Asher’s ex to take his firm from him. It wasn’t as bad as it could have been, though. She has a few of her own clients that went with her, even though she didn’t take any of Asher’s like she had hoped.
“But you helped her transition smoothly,” I tell him. “And you let her take some of the clients she called her own, but which were really the firm’s.”
He shrugs.
“The oil and gas cases were hers anyway,” he says. “She brought them with her to the firm. And she’s just their piddly little local counsel anyway. It’s not like that work brought in a ton of money.”
I smile.
He downplays it, but he’s a nice guy at heart, despite his outwardly asshole appearance.
“Well, I hope Mandy’s having fun working for her,” I tell him. “Even though she can’t be your pet like she wanted to be.”
We pull up to the Alcove, where we’d decided to have Valentine’s Day dinner. In honor of our first real date.
“I’m so glad I met you,” he says, as we are seated. “I can’t believe in the past my tastes would have run more towards the Mandy Calderon type. What was I thinking?”
I laugh.
“Yeah, luckily I came along to save you from your bad taste,” I tell him.
“Seriously, though, Madilyn, you are the best thing that’s ever happened to me,” he insists.
“Awwww.”
I’m used to him being sweet now— as well as dominant, possessive and sometimes a bit controlling, which is fine, because sometimes I’m a bit controlling too— but it’s still touching.
Suddenly he’s kneeling down on the floor, looking up at me with that mischievous grin that I love.
“Did you get us a room and drop the key card?” I guess.
There’s no need to get a room, because I spend almost all my time at his house now, and we’ve been talking about moving into together. It will be nice to get away from the house I shared with Jimmy, and all my memories of that loveless, sexless relationship.
But I figure maybe Asher got us a room just to be romantic, and maybe to be able to stay here and have another drink or two without having to worry about driving. Maybe he’s doing the “Oops, I dropped a keycard” game as a throwback to our first date. I assume he’ll look up my dress at my panties and feel me up while he’s down there under the table. And then we can continue the rest of the night just like last time.
I’m excited if that’s true. It would be fun for him to tie me up in the same hotel bed again. But then again, it’s always fun to be with him, no matter where we are.
“No,” he answers me. “I didn’t drop the key card. But I do have this.”
I look down and see him holding up a large diamond ring.
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