Boss Me

by Claire Adams

  Aria was obviously different from most people I knew, so I had to find a new approach. I didn’t have to, technically. I could let her continue the contract and be miserable. Some part of me felt like that was exactly what she deserved. But, no. I would not be able to handle an encounter with her where I knew that she would rather be any place in the world other than with me. If she wasn’t enjoying herself, I wouldn’t be able to enjoy her company. She wouldn’t be the Aria I had grown to care for.

  So perhaps it was time to try something new. I picked up my phone and called Aria. She didn’t answer, so I kept calling until she did.

  “I get it, I am confined to your contract until eternity and beyond – or whenever you decide you are done with me. You made it very, very clear already. What more do you want?” She sounded like she had been crying.

  “I want to apologize,” I said as softly as possible. “For my behavior. I am sorry.”

  There was silence on the other end for what felt like a lifetime. She must have been shocked. This apology was probably the last thing she was expecting.

  “Are you really sorry?” She asked, sounding much less miserable.

  “I am. But I am not letting you out of the contract. That’s not negotiable.”

  “Then why are we having this conversation right now?”

  “Because I want to apologize. Because you deserve an apology. This contract is meaningless if you hate me.”

  “Well I don’t…hate you. I never said that,” she said, and I felt relief spread through my whole body.

  “In that case, I will see you in the office tomorrow?” I was clutching the phone very close to my ears. “You are out of vacation days, you know. The other tellers might think I’m playing favorites.”

  She giggled, to my surprise. “Well, you are.”

  “They don’t need to know that. Anyway, I would really like to see you tomorrow at the office and we can discuss the contract and how to proceed in a manner that pleases you. How does that sound?”

  She simply said “Okay,” which was still better than a “No.” I could work with “Okay.”

  “Have a good night Aria, I will see you tomorrow.”

  “You too,” she said and then hung up.

  Tomorrow I would have to employ all the skills I had accumulated as a businessman in negotiation, so that when the conversation was over, Aria would think it was her idea to continue with the contract.

  For now, I was just relieved, and fell into my bed, finally relaxed after a very difficult few weeks.

  THE BOSS #3

  Chapter One

  Aria

  After the bizarre phone conversation I had with Zayden, I was very confused about my own feelings. He had apologized, and certainly sounded remorseful. If he wanted to continue this – whatever this was – he probably would not go back to his controlling ways. Or so I hoped. On the one hand, I really, really wanted to believe him—the truth was that I missed spending time with him, even though I hated to admit it. On the other hand, if I had learned one valuable lesson in my 20 years of existence, it was that people did not change. This wasn’t for lack of trying, but human nature demanded a deeply ingrained sense of self that was intrinsic to each person, and getting rid of that was not very different from getting rid of an actual organ. My dad had taught me this. Growing up, I saw the efforts he made to be more financially responsible; he really wanted to change, and it was obvious even to a 10-year-old. Yet he managed to drag my family into bankruptcy, the price of which we were still paying today. Especially me. If it hadn’t been for my dad’s terrible decisions, I wouldn’t be in this situation right now. My mom wouldn’t be in the situation she was in to begin with. Sometimes, it was very difficult not to hate him.

  My thoughts were interrupted by a knock on the door, and I was glad, because I was entering dangerous territory; allowing my thoughts to drift towards my father was like opening a can of worms that was best left shut very tight.

  “Come in,” I said yawning.

  The door swung open. It was Nick. “So, you’re being kidnapped for breakfast.” He looked pleased with himself, perhaps because he had been trusted with the job of kidnapping me. Stacey usually saved any endeavor that involved persuading me for herself, knowing Nick was too weak against my glare.

  “I am starving. I’ll get ready in five.”

  “Wait, what?” Nick looked disappointed. “You aren’t going to make me convince you?”

  “No, Nick, I’m sorry,” I laughed. “Tell you what, I’ll tell Stace I didn’t want to go, but you worked your big Nicholas charms and I changed my mind.”

  “This is why I keep you around,” he said, and winked. “She’s meeting us at the diner. She went for a run. I don’t know what’s gotten into her.”

  “She wants to be healthy?” I asked quizzically.

  “What for?” He looked so clueless I wanted to pet him. “What does that do? She is already perfect, as far as I see it. Is she trying to tell me to work out more?” He tentatively surveyed his skinny arms.

  I sighed. “It’s not a trick. She’s been reading too many blogs again. You know she’s a hypochondriac. She thinks she will die of a premature stroke if she doesn’t start running.”

  He shook his head in what appeared to be disapproval and frustration. “Five minutes, Aria.”

  ---

  To my relief, the diner wasn’t cramped like it tended to be during breakfast hours. Today was the day I was finally going back to work after all the drama, and I really needed a nice, calm morning to get through what was sure to be an action-packed day.

  Stacey was already seated and waiting for us at a booth when Nick and I entered. She was still in her exercise wear and looked very energized. Maybe I needed to start joining her in these morning runs. I sure could use the pick-me-up.

  “Had a nice workout?” I asked Stacey sitting across from her as Nick found his way next to her.

  “It was incredible! Did you know there is a hiking trail behind the lake? And clearly not many people have discovered it, because I have been going every morning and it is just me and beautiful birds and swans by the lake. It’s mesmerizing.”

  “Will it be as mesmerizing if you had company?” I asked tentatively.

  Stacey’s whole face lit up, as Nick banged his on to the table, as though unable to understand why not one but two people in his life suddenly wanted to run in the morning.

  “Aria, I’ve wanted you to join me this whole time!” She sounded very excited. “But you’ve been, you know, having a rough week, and I didn’t want to make it seem like I was pushing – but I mean – I did think it would help you work through some of the stress from–”

  “Calm down, Stace,” I said giggling. “You don’t have to be nervous about asking me to do anything with you. You know that! So how about tomorrow morning?”

  “Yep, get ready by 5.”

  “No way! How long do you run?” I checked the time; it was 8 in the morning. One hour until I had to be at the bank.

  “Well, I only run for probably an hour total. But I sit by the lake and think and write on my blog and it’s so wonderful. It’s like–”

  Stacey’s voice was interrupted by Nick’s hysterical laughter. “You take your laptop on your runs?”

  She gave him a really confused and affronted look. “Of course. I take my car to the hiking trail, leave my laptop in it, run for an hour, and then sit down and write while I enjoy nature.”

  “Sure, enjoy ‘nature’,” he said making air quotes with his hands.

  Stacey raised her voice. “At least I’m outdoors and not spending all my time locked in a room playing video games.”

  Nick opened his mouth but before he could say anything, Stacey added, “I will put a dollar in the jar, whatever.”

  “The jar?” I asked the both of them, slightly amused.

  “We have devised a system,” Nick answered pleasantly. “Every time Stacey gives me a hard time about my video games, or I give her a hard time
about her blogs, we have to put a dollar in an individual jar. At the end of each year, we are going to count both jars, and whoever has less gets to pick a present that the collected money will buy.”

  “You guys are so perfect,” I said, yet again amazed by their relationship. “How do you do it?” I asked, and then laughed.

  “Lots and lots of dollars in the jar,” Stacey sighed, and we all laughed.

  Would I ever have what they had… with Zayden? Was he even capable of this kind of comfortable affection? Everything was grand in his life, everything was upscale and elaborate– fancy cars, expensive restaurants, personal chefs. Did he ever just have a day to pursue the little things in life, in a non-calculated manner? I knew the answers to all these questions, which gave me one more reason to keep my cool when I met him later today. We were never going to be right for each other like Nick and Stacey were. And who was I even kidding? He didn’t want to be right for me now, did he? He just wanted me to obediently finish his contract so he could feed his ego; there was never any deception there, never a grey area about his motives. He wasn’t exactly asking me – nor had he ever asked me– to be his girlfriend— just his subordinate who did his bidding and entertained him from time to time, who he could control, and tell her who she can or cannot talk to. As a fresh surge of anger started boiling deep inside of me, I tried to distract myself with the menu.

  “What are you guys having?” I asked, forcing a smile.

  I got bacon and eggs over-easy, Nick got two omelets, and Stacey, to both of our surprise, got a garden salad, making me suspect that there was more to why she was running. She was obviously hiding something from us. Stacey loved food more than anything and always mocked people on diets. Early morning runs to be “healthier” I could buy, but this, this was not the Stacey I knew. Wondering about what she was hiding momentarily took my mind completely off all my other worries. A glance at Nick told me he was thinking the same things, but we made eye contact and silently decided not to pick at her for the moment. Instead, I decided to bring up my own woes.

  “So guys, I am finally seeing him today,” I said, looking at Nick because watching Stacey nibble at the carrots was bound to make me laugh.

  “Womp womp,” Nick said. He was also not looking at her. “So this is it, then? You are going to break it off?”

  “I think so…” I thought of what I wanted to communicate to them exactly, but then realized I didn’t know. They had yet to hear about my phone conversation with Zayden. “He called me the other night. And apologized for being so controlling.”

  “He did?” Stacey sounded genuinely surprised. “Are you sure?”

  “I don’t think he could mean much else by the words ‘I’m sorry’,” I said, snappier than intended.

  “No, I mean like, did he say he was apologizing for being controlling? Not just like a general ‘I’m sorry we’ve been having a fight and I want you to come back, so I’m backing down kind of a thing?”

  Hmm. What had he apologized for exactly? I couldn’t be entirely sure. But I did remember he said… “He said he would not do it anymore.”

  “Very interesting,” Stacey said, clearly weighing the implications of that rapidly in her head. “So you’re still going to break it off?”

  “I think so… I mean… that is why I brought it up. What do you guys think?”

  Nick got suddenly very preoccupied with his omelet, which was fine. I was used to him making humorous quips, but he was never one to volunteer serious advice, probably for good reason.

  Stacey, on the other hand, was always full of perfect advice, so I was curious to see what she had to say – considering she was the one who had put the idea of breaking it off in my head to begin with.

  “There is a good chance he is going to hurt you,” she said matter-of-factly. “He has already done it once. That said, I am not going to tell you what the right thing to do is here. I have an opinion based on very little secondhand information. I don’t know him like you know him. I don’t know what was between the two of you like you do. The only person who can realistically decide what the right thing to do here is you.”

  “No, Stace! Come on, don’t choose now to be politically correct. You think I should stick to ending it don’t you?”

  “I did before and I told you as much. But if he is willing to change, it’s a completely different matter. That’s what I am trying to say – there is no way for me to rightly assess if he is, in fact, going to change. You’re a much better judge of that, which is why I know whatever you decide will be the right call.”

  That gave me a whole lot to think about, so for the rest of breakfast I remained almost completely quiet, thinking about what I was going to do when I got to work later that day. The fact that I was even considering all this so seriously and having second thoughts was ridiculous.

  I would just have to deal with it when I saw him – perhaps I would make the right decision when faced with him in person. Right now my judgment was too clouded by the fact that I missed him, which I hated myself for.

  Quickly finishing the rest of my eggs, I got up to leave. “I’ll be late for work, got to run. Thanks so much, you guys. For everything.”

  “Of course. Good luck today. You’ll do the right thing, Aria,” Stacey told me and smiled. “Just don’t be too hard on yourself.”

  “Have a good one, Aria!” Nick waved.

  I was made up entirely of nerves by the time I left.

  ---

  When I reached the bank, it was unusually quiet. Everyone was staring in the direction of Zayden’s office, making insincere attempts to conceal what they were doing. Mrs. Brian was gasping visibly. I put my things away in my desk, then looked up to see what the fuss was about. My heart stopped.

  A beautiful blonde woman who looked like a supermodel was giggling happily at Zayden, who seemed to be slightly frustrated. It had to be a business partner. Or so I kept trying to convince myself. The woman looked older – closer to Zayden’s age, and it was a perfectly reasonable possibility that she was there for something work related. It couldn’t be anything else, could it? Ignoring the uncomfortable knot that had been forming in my chest ever since I saw the woman, I tried hard to focus on work. A good amount of data entry had piled up in the time I had been away from the office, a fact that Mrs. Brian wasted no time in reminding me.

  “I’m on it,” I said, annoyed. Most of the time I could stand Mrs. Brian and her judgment and nosiness, but right now, in the midst of worrying about the woman in Zayden’s office and everything else that was going on, I had no patience for her whatsoever.

  “That man has no shame,” she was muttering.

  Why? Perhaps she knew who that woman was; otherwise she wouldn’t be making these comments. I was tempted to ask her if it was just a business meeting, but was not interested in the slew of questionable looks and comments that were sure to follow. So instead, I tried hard to concentrate on typing as fast as I possibly could, occasionally allowing myself a quick glance, which I couldn’t help.

  The woman finally got up to leave, and to my utter shock and horror, kissed him romantically on the cheek. I couldn’t quite make out Zayden’s expression at first, but then he noticed I had been looking, and his face got pale. That was it, I couldn’t take this anymore; I would so much rather deal with Mrs. Brian than let whatever was happening consume me.

  “Who is that woman?” I asked, keeping my eyes firmly on my computer and trying to sound as casual as possible.

  Mrs. Brian laughed, and when I looked up at her face she looked completely thrilled to be the person to have this piece of information. She never passed on any excuse to gossip.

  “Want to venture a guess?” she asked smugly.

  “I don’t know. A business partner?” I said, trying not to sound too hopeful.

  That made her laugh so hysterically, I felt the earth begin to shatter underneath me. “Oh dear, dear. You are so innocent. Even if that man were ever to do business with someone who looks like her
, do you think it could possibly be just business?” she asked.

  I shrugged, trying hard to stop the tears that were forming in my eyes. Why the hell was this making me emotional? I was going to stop the contract. Shit. I was actually falling for him. “Who then? Some woman he’s sleeping with?”

  “Not just some woman. The woman.”

  “What do you mean?” I was barely able to keep my voice level at this point. The woman. She couldn’t be–

  “His wife, of course!”

  “What?” I said, unable to keep the tone of horror from my voice. Fuck it. I didn’t even care if Mrs. Brian knew what was going on at this point. I just… I needed to find an empty room… and breathe… before I crumbled completely.

  “Well, okay that’s not quite right. You could say ex-wife, I guess. But really, that’s just a technicality. They have been separated for a year now.”

  That made me feel infinitesimally better. Ex-wife was much better than wife. But then what was she doing in his office kissing him? And the way Mrs. Brian had called her “the woman.” It didn’t add up at all.

  “What is she doing here, then?” I looked her straight in the eye, my disappointment turning into anger.

  Her face lit up as though Christmas had come early. She had figured it out. Well, it was none of her business. “My, my, Aria. I warned you not to get into this, didn’t I? You young girls just don’t listen. You see a good-looking, rich man and he just has to show an ounce of interest for you to run into his arms. You’re all the same. What were you expecting? He’s going to sweep you off your feet and marry you, then cover you in riches?”

  “Keep the judgment to yourself, Mrs. Brian. It is none of your business what I do in my free time,” I snapped.

  “Get angry with me all you like, dear. It doesn’t make a difference. All the girls before you, it’s the same exact story. They go after him against my best advice, and then fall for him. They all think it will be different with them, no matter his reputation, because they are all special little snowflakes. In the end, Gina always returns; she is always his first choice and always will be. Sure, they have been having some trouble over the years, but what couple doesn’t? And marriage is a very strong bond, as Zayden proves over and over again. They filed for divorce, but as far I as I know, the proceedings were never really finalized. My theory is that they don’t want it to be. Just look at them. They are a lovely couple. I would say they are made for each other,” she said beaming, surely enjoying tormenting me.