Saying Yes: Stormy Love: Book 1
Page 1
Table of Contents
Credits
Title
Newsletter
Chapter 1
Chapter 2
Chapter 3
Chapter 4
Chapter 5
Chapter 6
Chapter 7
Chapter 8
Chapter 9
Chapter 10
Chapter 11
Chapter 12
Chapter 13
Chapter 14
Chapter 15
Chapter 16
Chapter 17
Chapter 18
Chapter 19
Chapter 20
Chapter 21
Chapter 22
Chapter 23
Chapter 24
Chapter 25
Chapter 26
Chapter 27
Chapter 28
Chapter 29
Chapter 30
Chapter 31
Chapter 32
Chapter 33
Chapter 34
Chapter 35
Chapter 36
Chapter 37
Chapter 38
Chapter 39
Chapter 40
Chapter 41
Chapter 42
Chapter 43
Chapter 44
Chapter 45
Chapter 46
Chapter 47
Chapter 48
Chapter 49
Chapter 50
Chapter 51
Chapter 52
Chapter 53
Chapter 54
Chapter 55
Newsletter
First edition May 2021
© Cherry Publishing
71-75 Shelton Street, Covent Garden,
London WC2H 9JQ, UK
ISBN 9781801161183
Saying Yes
Ella Sparkle
Stormy Love
Book 1
Cherry Publishing
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Chapter 1
Jenna
You know in Charlie Brown cartoons when the teachers are talking and it just sounds like “wah wah wah wah?”
That was all I could hear. It was like my brain had already shut down trying to protect itself from the words that it somehow knew were coming at it.
I shook my head and tried to focus on what the woman sitting across from me was saying. I think it was something about the history of the law firm and what being a partner involves. All things I had thoroughly researched before applying, so luckily I would be safe if she tried to quiz me, even if I hadn’t been paying attention. I'd never had a quiz that I didn’t pass. That's where my planning and preparedness always paid off.
“Jenna, are you listening to me?” Cynthia clasped her hands together and leaned forward on her desk.
“Yes, Cynthia. I'm sorry, you were saying?” She totally knew I hadn’t been listening. You don’t get a reputation like Cynthia's unless you're able to read people instantly and know exactly what they're thinking, before they even knew it themselves.
Cynthia raised a perfectly arched eyebrow at me, conveying that she knew the truth, that I'd let my mind wander while she was speaking, that I wasn't as sharply focused on our conversation as I should have been. She cleared her throat before starting again. “I was saying that as a partner in this law firm, one of my responsibilities is to ensure that the people we bring on permanently are not only the best and the brightest, but that they will be a good fit for the firm and the clients that we work with.”
I sat up a little straighter in my chair and tried to use my most professional voice. “I understand completely. That is exactly why I want to work here. This firm has an excellent reputation. I am hoping that after I start law school, I can move up from my current position as an assistant into an intern. My plan would be to move into an associate position once I have my law degree, and one day I hope to make partner in this firm and be sitting right where you are, Cynthia.” I tried to give Cynthia a confident smile but, based on the cold look she gave me in return, she was not impressed in the least.
“Well, Jenna, that is certainly ambitious. It sounds like you have the next several years of your life planned out.” Cynthia looked directly at me with an unreadable expression. Damn, this woman had a good poker face.
“Yes, I do. I have always had a plan and when I make a plan, I stick to it.” I said the last part as confidently as I could while maintaining eye contact with Cynthia. It was only then that I noticed she had moved her hands to the arms of her black leather chair and leaned back away from her desk a bit. Cynthia took a big deep breath in while maintaining eye contact with me the whole time. It was almost like she was a cobra getting into a strike position after she had zoomed in on her prey. A late forties blonde cobra, with a perfectly styled bob and a very expensive designer suit.
I had seen that look on her before. It was usually right before she tore into the opposing attorney or a witness on the stand, and they were left feeling less than two inches tall by the time she was done. Cynthia was known as a vicious, but brilliant, attorney.
Suddenly, I realized it was after five o’clock on a Friday afternoon and she and I were very likely the only people left in the building. I felt my entire body tense up in an utter panic as my realization took hold. That look was for me, once again, she was the cobra. This time though, I was the prey, and she was going to strike me down where I sat.
I tried to remain calm on the outside, but inside alarm bells were ringing as I braced for what was next. I could feel beads of perspiration popping up on my forehead. I clenched my teeth together, as I tried to maintain some type of confident-looking smile. In reality, I probably had the same fearful look in my eyes as a small furry animal when it realizes that the cobra is about to pounce and eat it for lunch.
“Jenna, I am going to get right to the point. You have been an assistant here for a few months, and frankly, this is just not working.”
“What do you mean ‘this is just not working?’” My voice came out squeaky and laced with shock. I tried to take some deep breaths in through my nose to steady my mind and stop my heart from racing, as I fought the rising sense of panic that started to crush my chest.
Cynthia looked at me and sighed. The only thing I could see on her face was a look of absolute annoyance. Her voice was clipped and sharp as she said, “Jenna, don’t make this harder than it needs to be. Your employment with this firm has come to an end. I have some paperwork from HR here for you to sign and a box for you to gather your personal effects in on your way out.”
My mind raced as it tried to absorb what it had just heard. “This can’t be happening! This is where I want to work! Tell me what I have done wrong and I will fix it. This is where I planned my career to be!”
Cynthia drummed her perfectly manicured fingernails on her mahogany desk as she continued to look at me like I was an inconvenience, taking up too much of her time. “We have determined that you are not a good fit for our firm and the vision that we have moving forward. There is nothing to be fixed. This is just not working and it is time to move on.” Her voice was completely devoid of any emotion as she broke eye contact to shuffle the stack of papers sitting in front of her. It was her way of showing that she was done, and I was dismissed.
I could feel the hot sting of tears behind my ey
es. I bit the inside of my cheek as I tried to hold them back. I wasn’t going to cry in front of Cynthia. I wasn’t going to show her anything that could be considered a weakness... and crying in the office was on Cynthia’s top ten list of ‘Despicable Signs of Weakness.’
As hard as I tried not to cry, her words made it exceedingly difficult; ‘this is just not working and it is time to move on.’
That was the exact same phrase Brett had used six months earlier when he broke my heart into pieces. I had planned on us having the perfect life together: successful careers, a big house, white picket fence, and two brilliant, well-rounded children. He'd clearly had a different plan in mind.
“Now, there are just a few final things to finish up here and then you can pack your personal belongings and be on your way.” Cynthia pushed the stack of papers and pen across her desk to me.
I was in shock. The rest of what Cynthia had to say went back to the “wah wah wah wah” Charlie Brown teacher's voice playing on a loop in my mind. I could feel myself going through the motions of signing the HR forms and turning over my office keys and ID badge, but nothing was making sense.
The next thing I realized, I was standing by the front doors clutching my purse and a cardboard box filled with a few framed photographs and my coffee mug.
“Well, that seems to be everything. Good luck to you, Jenna,” Cynthia said briskly, showing me to the door.
I mumbled something back and walked through the door. I stood in stunned silence on the front steps for a few minutes before the tears started to slide down my cheeks. Once they started, I couldn’t stop them and within seconds I was full-on ugly crying on the front steps of the law firm, where I had planned on building a long and illustrious career.
Everything in my life was falling apart.
Chapter 2
Jenna
Hot tears continued to run down my face as I tried to wrap my mind around what had just happened. I don’t know how long I stood on the steps, clutching the stupid cardboard box like my life depended on it before my phone rang, snapping me out of my fog.
I looked down and saw that it was my best friend, Cassie, calling. I took a few deep breaths before wiping my tears and nose on the sleeve of my sweater and answered the phone. “Hello?” I said, trying to make myself sound as normal as possible.
“Hey, girl! Happy Friday! You're not still at the office, are you? Get your sweet ass out of there and come have some drinks with me!” Cassie’s bubbly voice burst through my phone.
“Hey, Cass. Thank you for the invitation, but I don’t think I'm really in the mood tonight.” I wedged my phone between my ear and my shoulder while I tried to balance the cardboard box, my phone, and my purse. I still had to somehow walk across the parking lot to my car with all of my stuff.
“Jenna, don’t make me do it. Do not make me play the best friend card because you know I will. We are two brilliant and beautiful twenty-three-year-olds and we are not going to waste away in sweats in front of the TV on a Friday night. Now get your bodacious booty shaking and meet me at High Five. The first round is on me and you sound like you could use it.”
“Cass, you are not only my best friend, but you are my only friend. I'm sorry, but I just can’t go out tonight.” I took a deep breath as I stood by my car, the only car left in the whole parking lot, trying to balance my phone and the stupid box while I dug through my purse for my car keys.
“My best-friend-spidey-sense is telling me this is about more than just not wanting to go out. Spill it, Jenna Morgan. What's really going on?”
I had been best friends with Cassie since the first day of fifth grade. I was the quiet girl with brown hair in braids sitting in the back row by myself and Cassie was the new kid. Cassie burst into the classroom, with her bright red hair, like she already owned the place on her first day in a new school. I remember she scanned the classroom before she walked down the aisle and confidently sat at the desk next to me. She leaned over to me and said; “You and I are going to be friends.” Even back then, Cassie was outgoing, a little wild, made friends easily, and totally lived in the moment. I was the exact opposite of all of those things, but somehow ever since that first day of fifth grade, our friendship had always just worked.
I knew from past experience that Cassie was not going to let it go until I told her what had happened, so I decided just to rip the band-aid off and do it. “I got fired today.”
Cassie didn’t even pause for a second. “You what? Did I just hear you right? What the fuck happened Jen? And whose ass do I need to kick?”
The last question pulled the corners of my mouth up into an almost smile. I knew for a fact that Cassie would totally kick someone’s ass for me without thinking twice. Someone once told me that there are two types of friends in this world; the kind that you could call at two o’clock in the morning, say ‘hey I need to move a sofa’ and they would show up right away, no questions asked; the other kind would just hang up on you. Cassie belonged to the first group. In fact, she would show up, no questions asked, plus she would bring a truck, a bottle of tequila, and a couple of random hot guys to actually lift the sofa, then take everyone out to breakfast after it was done. She was that kind of friend.
I sighed and dropped the box on the pavement as I momentarily stopped looking for my keys. I squeezed my eyes shut trying to ward off the impending headache. “According to Cynthia, it ‘just was not working and it was time to move on.’”
Cassie gasped. “No freaking way! Did she really say that or are you still hung up on that bastard Brett’s lame-ass reason for stomping on your heart?”
“Nope. Those were her exact words.” Since I was no longer holding the box, I resumed digging through my purse for my keys. I swear it had never been so much trouble to find them before.
“Ouch! Babe, I am so sorry. That is beyond terrible. Forget the first round, your whole night of drinks are on me. Come on out and have some fun. End this shit day on a good note!”
I finally located my keys and unlocked my car door. I threw the cardboard box into the passenger seat as I slid into the driver’s seat, thankful that I was finally going to be able to get out of there and go home. “Thanks, but I really just want to go home, Cass. Maybe another time.”
I knew Cassie was trying to cheer me up, but the last thing I wanted to do was go to a crowded bar and pretend to have fun. I didn’t want to do that on a good day, so there was absolutely no way that I wanted to do it after getting fired.
Cassie sighed and suddenly her voice was filled with concern. “Jen, you have not been down to do anything fun for months. I worry about you. You cannot just hide out in your apartment. You're only twenty-three! You've got to live!”
“I am fine, really.” I stuck the key in the ignition and leaned my head back on the headrest. I knew there was no way Cassie would let my answer slide.
“Don’t try and feed me that shit, Jenna Morgan! I can tell by your voice that you are not fine. Plus, I know that working there was part of your plan, and I know how much your plan means to you. It’s me you are talking to. You don’t have to pretend.”
“I know, Cass. But right now, I just want to head home and call it a day. I'll talk to you tomorrow.” I closed my eyes again as the massive headache started to take over.
Cassie was quiet for a few minutes. “Okay. You are my favorite.”
I smiled. Cassie had a hard time telling people she loved them. Instead, she sometimes made up something else that in reality, had the same meaning as saying ‘I love you.’ It was one of many complex pieces that made Cassie, Cassie.
“I love you too, Cass.” I hung up the phone and with another deep breath, I started my car and headed home, ready to end the day.
***
A little over an hour later, I was back home in my apartment where I'd traded my pencil skirt and heels for some flannel pajama pants and an oversized sweatshirt. My long brown hair was thrown up in a messy bun and my face was thoroughly scrubbed of what little makeup I ha
d worn during the day. I was just making myself comfortable on the sofa, ready to pull up Netflix when there was a loud knock, followed by shouting, at my door.
“I know you are in there, so don’t try and ignore me!”
I sighed and leaned my head back on the sofa. I loved Cass, but sometimes her loud and outgoing personality clashed with my quiet and introverted ways. I wasn't sure why she was at my apartment, but I did know I was not in the mood for another discussion about going out.
Cassie banged on the door again. “If you do not open this door in the next thirty seconds, I am going to tell the building superintendent that you accidentally locked yourself in the bathroom while you were taking a shit and he needs to come let me in to save you. You know he likes me and will totally do it! I am also not above going all Mardi Gras and flashing a little boob - if needed - for him to let me in.”
I had no doubt that Cassie would actually do either of those. Plus, it was true, my building super, like every other human being on earth loved Cassie. With a sigh, I got up and opened the door.
“Surprise!” Cassie shouted as the door opened. She was standing in front of my door holding a bottle of wine in each hand. “You won’t come out for drinks, so I brought the drinks to you. Now, let me in and grab some wine glasses. We need to have a conversation and I have a feeling it is going to take a whole lot of alcohol before we are done.”
Chapter 3
Jenna
Cassie and I each sat down on the sofa with a glass of wine. I had no idea what she wanted to talk about. I was already feeling defeated about being fired. To add injury to insult, Cynthia telling me that ‘this was just not working and it was time to move on’ had opened up the still-raw wounds left on my heart by Brett. I wasn't sure how much more I could take in one day.
Cassie took a big drink of wine before she set her glass on the coffee table and turned to face me. “You know you are my favorite and there is nothing I would not do for you. Not only are you my best friend, but you are the sister I never had.”