by B. B. Hamel
This is a stupid mistake. I’m distracted by my sudden renewed desire for Sofia and clearly not thinking right. I should have known as soon as I had this idea that Karl would see through me instantly and use this against me.
That’s the kind of man he is. Karl is a hard worker, bright and creative, but he’s also ruthless and emotionless. He only cares about results and success above all other things. He’d tear apart absolutely anyone or anything to get what he wants.
And he wants my job. He wants to take this company in a new direction. He’s wanted that ever since I first hired him eight years ago. When we first started growing and expanding, about a year after the company was funded and founded, he was one of my first new hires. He was bright and impressive back then, and he’s moved up through the ranks ever since.
Now, he’s an upper level manager, as close to upper management as you can get, but he wants more. He thinks he can make this company as profitable as possible, and he’ll do anything to get us there.
He’s tough on his employees, notoriously tough, but he gets results. I should have fired him years ago, but now he has support from the board and protection, so I can’t make a move anymore.
I hoped that I could get Sofia out from under him. I was thinking I could make her life at the company easier. Now I see that I just tipped my hand to Karl without thinking.
“I understand,” I say to him. “Can’t blame you. She was a good student when I knew her. I’m sure she’s a good employee.”
“Very good, very good,” he says, nodding, a big stupid smile on his face. “I’ll let her know you were asking after her.”
“Sure,” I say to him. Without another word, I nod and leave the room. I don’t want to spend another second standing in front of that snake bastard.
I’m kicking myself all the way back to my office. Fortunately there are few people in this early, so I don’t have to smile and pretend like I’m not in a black mood.
I’m a fucking moron. I’m a Georgie-level idiot. I should never have gone to him. I just wanted to help Sofia out, maybe get her close, maybe get to taste her one last time…
And there it is. I was blinded by my own stupid desire and made a dumb mistake. I need to be careful, way more careful. I can’t just do whatever I want to do. I need to start thinking two moves ahead.
Karl is dangerous. He’s coming after me. That stunt with the board is proof that I’m under attack, and if I want this company to keep moving in my direction, I better shape up. I can’t be complacent anymore. I’ve had a lot of good years at the helm of this place, but the tides are changing, and I better change with them.
I can’t afford to get distracted by Sofia. And yet every time I think that, I just let myself get sucked further into her orbit. I need to find a way to do this, a way that won’t distract me from my work.
6
Sofia
Over the next few days, something changes.
At first, I can’t put my finger on it. I’m not sure what’s happening, but it’s subtle. Slowly though, it becomes really obvious.
“Why the hell does Karl hate you?” Darlene asks me Friday afternoon in the break room.
“Oh my god, you notice it too?”
“Notice it?” She shakes her head. “It’s crazy, Sofia. Everyone’s talking.”
“Wow. I honestly thought it might just be me.”
Darlene pops open a soda and leans toward me. “I mean, he’s giving you twice the workload. And this morning, he stops by your desk to criticize you loudly for, what, misplacing a comma?”
“I couldn’t believe that,” I whisper to her.
“I know for sure I’ve made little mistakes like that since being here, but he hasn’t said a word. You have one tiny error and he’s coming down on you hard.” She shrugs and leans back in her seat, sipping her drink. “Must have done something wrong.”
It makes me feel better that Darlene noticed, on the one hand, but on the other I still have no clue why Karl hates me. When I get back to my cube, I get right to work, not wasting any time on social media or anything like that. Darlene wasn’t kidding when she said that I’m getting twice the amount of work compared to everyone else.
It’s my freaking second week and I’m already swamped. I don’t know why but Karl seems to hold me to higher standards, and it’s only making me crazy stressed out.
I spend all day buried in work. I manage to get through everything that’s pressing, and as I’m packing up for the day, I notice Karl’s office door is open.
My heart starts beating fast, and I turn to notice him coming up behind me. His face is dour as our gazes meet.
“Hi, Sofia, have a second?” he asks me.
I nod and sit back down. “Sure, what’s up?”
“Well, it’s about that Terrence case. Have you gotten thorough it yet?”
I shake my head. “I was told that isn’t due until next week. I’ll get right to it first thing Monday.”
He purses his lips. “I see.” He hesitates a second. “Look, that’s an important case. Would you mind getting on it?”
I want to scream. If that were the most important thing in my queue, I would have done it first thing and made sure it was finished. Instead, he’s dropping this on me at the end of the day, and he knows damn well what he’s doing.
“Of course,” I say with a tight smile. “I’ll get it done right now.”
“Thanks, Sofia,” he says, and quickly heads back to his office.
I turn back to my computer and want to smash it. I’m so angry and confused, but I have no other choice but to get to work.
“See you Monday,” Darlene says as she heads out, a little guilty smile on her face.
“See you.”
The rest of the department slowly filters out as I try and plow through it, not giving up on this. Even Karl ends up leaving after an hour, and I want to get up and strangle him as he walks past my cube, not even bothering to say goodnight.
I realize that I’m alone, and I still have some stuff to do on this project. Instead of feeling sorry for myself, I dive into it and get it finished. By the time I email the files out, it’s nearly seven o’clock on a Friday night and the office is deserted.
I’m angry as I wait for the elevator. I can’t believe Karl just did that to me, and I know he knows exactly what he was doing. He’s not a stupid man. He knew that would take me at least a couple hours to get through. Frankly, I wasn’t as careful as I would have been otherwise, but I think it’s good enough. He can give me shit on Monday if he doesn’t like my work.
The elevator doors open and I’m so distracted that I just jump in and lean up against the wall, not bothering to look at the guy standing in the back corner.
“Bad day?”
I half turn, surprised. Jacob grins at me, head cocked slightly.
“Oh, uh, hey,” I say to him. “Just finishing some stuff up.”
“It’s late. Karl kept you?”
I shrug a little. “Had a last minute job to finish up.”
“On a Friday, huh.” He frowns at me. “Everything okay with him?”
I hesitate a second. I know I shouldn’t say anything to him, but I’m so angry I can barely keep it contained. “Just getting my feet under me, you know?”
He smiles a little and nods. “Listen, let’s go get a drink.”
I sigh. “I don’t know. I’m starving.”
“Drink and dinner then. I’m buying.”
I look into his eyes, and I’m so angry that I’m not thinking straight. “Okay,” I say. “Let’s do it.”
“Great,” he says, grinning. The elevator reaches the ground floor and I follow him out through the lobby. We get outside and there’s a car waiting for us already. He helps me inside and leans in to tell the driver something before getting in behind me.
I glance at him as the driver pulls out into traffic. He’s checking his phone, scrolling through emails. I bet he’s really busy if he’s staying so late on a Friday. But then agai
n, I don’t think he has a family to head back home to… though that doesn’t mean he has nothing outside of work. It’s not like I have a big family, either.
“You’ll like this place,” he says, slipping his phone back into his jacket pocket. “Quiet and cozy.”
“Another friend of yours?” I ask him.
He laughs. “No, not this place.”
“What were you doing working so late?” I ask. “Not like you have a boss.”
“Not exactly,” he says, frowning. “But this is just a tough time at the company.”
“Want to tell me about it?”
He hesitates, but dives into the story. I listen as he talks about the two different tracks for the company, and how he doesn’t think that Karl’s way is the best way for the company. Now he’s trying to work hard to prove to the board that his method is right.
When he finishes, we pull up outside of a little bar in a neighborhood I’ve never been to before. I follow him out of the car and into this little place with a big copper bar along one wall and a dining room toward the back. He posts up at the bar and I sit down next to him.
“You like pizza?” he asks me.
“Uh, yes,” I say. “Who doesn’t like pizza?”
“Lactose intolerant people,” he answers.
“They’re just potential pizza lovers. It’s not their fault their bodies disagree with cheese.”
“Solid point,” he says, laughing, and orders us a pizza from the bartender. He also asks for a gin and tonic for me, and a whisky for himself.
“Cheers,” he says when our drinks arrive a minute later.
“Cheers,” I say in response. I drink deeply, sighing to myself. “Long week.”
“Look, I think I should apologize to you,” he says, looking down at the bar.
“Why?” I ask him.
“Well… I did something fucking stupid.” He looks up at me with a surprising sincerity. “I did it for good reasons.”
“What did you do?” I ask, totally bewildered.
“Went to Karl and asked to have you transferred to my department.”
I stare at him for a second, totally surprised. “Why?” I ask.
“Because you shouldn’t have to work for an asshole like him,” he says. “I was trying to make your life easier but… I think it backfired.”
The story he told me in the car suddenly clicks. The competition between him and Karl, and him asking to have me transferred to my department…
“He’s taking it out on me,” I say.
“Yeah.” He takes a deep sip. “I fucked up. I’m really sorry.”
“Shit,” I say, shaking my head. “Why the hell would you do that?”
He looks at me for a second. “You want the truth?”
“Of course,” I say, anger rising inside of me. I know he did it hoping that he could help me out, but clearly that didn’t work out. Because of him, Karl hates me, and now my life is twice as hard.
This is why Karl’s been treating me like crap. He’s hurting me to get at Jacob. I’m stuck in the middle of this, all because Jacob asked to have me transferred to his department.
I mean, Karl shouldn’t be acting like this, of course. He’s a petty asshole, obviously. But Jacob knows that and he still messed up.
But looking at him… the anger just isn’t taking off. I thought I’d flip out, but truth is, I can’t stay mad at Jacob. I’m annoyed, without a doubt, but I know he did it for a good reason.
“I wanted to keep you close,” he admits. “I know you’re smart and capable. But… that’s not the only reason.”
I can feel my heart beating quickly in my chest as he looks at me. It’s that same look, the one that drives me crazy, all passion and desire. I can see right through him and he doesn’t seem to mind one bit. It’s all there on his face, everything he wants to do to me, all the dirty thoughts he’s had over the years. And I share all of those feelings, even if right now I wish I didn’t.
The bartender places a pizza in front of us, totally interrupting the moment. Jacob sits back and serves us each a slice. We eat in silence, and I have to admit that the pizza is really, really good, but my thoughts are swirling.
“Look—“ he starts, but I interrupt him.
“We don’t have to talk about it,” I say. “Honestly, right now, I just want to eat this.”
He grins a little. “Works for me.” He motions for another drink and has another slice.
We fall into small talk again, mostly about the office, but a little bit about our lives before. I tell him about my college days and he talks about the first few years of Quest. We had such different lives back then, and in a lot of ways we still do, but here we are.
I can’t help but smile and laugh at his jokes. He’s so handsome and charming, and although he fucked up and made my life harder, I still feel so comfortable sitting here and talking with him. Maybe it’s the drink, but I don’t think so. I felt this way at lunch.
We finish eating and drinking, and I check my watch. “Shit,” I say to him. “It’s almost nine.”
“Really?” He checks his phone. “Damn. Time flies, I guess.”
“I should get going.”
He takes out his wallet and pays for everything before I can offer to split. “Need a ride somewhere?” he asks.
I shake my head. “I’m going to walk,” I say.
“You sure?” he asks.
“I’m sure.”
He shrugs and we walk out together. For an irrational second, I think he’s going to kiss me again, just like back then.
Instead, he gives me a smile and disappears into his car. I watch as it pulls away, and I’m left standing on the corner wondering what the hell just happened.
He’s my boss’s boss, the founder of my company. He’s filthy rich, he’s my old teacher, and there are a million reasons why I should steer clear of getting involved.
And yet… I can’t help myself. I should be pissed, but really I don’t feel it. I’m mostly annoyed, but even that’s fading. He seemed to genuinely feel bad.
As I walk through the city, I can’t stop thinking about Jacob. It’s childish and silly.
He said he wants to keep me close. I can’t help but wonder what he meant by that.
I feel like I’m floating, almost happy that Karl kept me late. If he hadn’t, I wouldn’t have run into Jacob again.
My apartment’s a twenty-minute walk, but the night feels good, and I can’t stop smiling.
7
Jacob
I can see clear across the city from my office, but today that doesn’t seem to matter.
I can’t really enjoy the view when I’m still obsessing over Sofia. Well, obsessing isn’t the right word. I’m trying to figure out how the fuck I can help her, but I’m not totally sure.
I have ideas, dirty ideas, dark ideas. They keep swirling around me in clouds, making me want to do things… making me want to take things from her. It’s like a game, except the stakes are so high right now. I shouldn’t be indulging in this distraction, not when I have my team working overtime to try and come up with new metrics and ideas to keep the company on my path.
Still, I got her into this mess. And I’m also Karl’s boss. I can order him to send her to my department, though politically that might be a bad idea. He can use that against me, try and twist it into something it’s not, although he’s probably be right.
I want her in my department for my own selfish reasons.
No, she has to stay where she is. I can’t work with her here, just outside my office. I’d be too tempted to do something stupid, like bend her over my desk in the middle of the day and spank her ass raw before making her suck me off in front of my big windows.
I’m hard just thinking about it. Which is why I need to find another way.
Maybe I can’t bring her into my department. But I can protect her. I’m still Karl’s boss, and I still have allies in Human Resources that I can call on, people I hired a long time ago who are loyal to
me above anyone else.
I can’t force him to treat Sofia better than anyone else, but I can make sure he isn’t torturing her too much. I can give him a little oversight, make it hard for him to take his anger out on her. It’ll cost me some favors, but it won’t be impossible.
I got her into this, and I have to be the one that gets her out of it.
Making a decision, I start by placing some calls. I get Roger in Human Resources on the phone, and he brings in Cindy and Lucille. I drop some hints about Karl, the sort of stuff that won’t surprise anyone. Treating a new girl a little too tough, maybe they can check up on her, that sort of thing, and can we keep it between us, you know, as a special favor to me.
Once that’s over, I make a couple other calls. And as I’m taking, I realize something.
I want more from Sofia. I’m using a lot of political capital right now, at a time when I shouldn’t be wasting any of it. It’s dangerous and maybe stupid, and if I’m going to do it, I want to make sure she wants it.
When I’m done on the phone, I quickly buzz Minnie. “Can you get Sofia Wolf on the phone for me?” I ask her.
“Sure,” Minnie says. A couple minutes later, my phone rings, and I pick it up.
“Sofia?” I ask.
“Hi, Jacob,” she says. “What can I do for you?”
“Listen, I need to speak with you in person. Could you come up to my office?”
She hesitates a second. “Okay, sure,” she says. “I’m just swamped down here.”
“I understand. It’s about that, actually.”
“Jacob…” she says slowly.
“Just come up.” I hang up the phone before she can argue.
I’m practically jumping with excitement. I take a deep breath and stretch out a little bit, trying to calm myself down. I don’t get like this, all giddy over a woman. This isn’t my style at all, and yet being around Sofia drives me wild.
Minnie buzzes a few minutes later. “Sofia out here for you,” she says.
“Send her in.”