Chapter 12
After only an hour since pulling herself out of bed, Catherine was walking down the steps to her apartment. She thought to herself this morning she might have set a record as she started trying to hail a cab to get to work. Catherine was getting an earlier than usual start and decided she liked Monday’s after all, since the start to her week was seeing Glen. It felt like forever, even though she was only apart from him one day, but Catherine couldn’t wait to see him. After only about five seconds, a limousine pulled up beside her, the driver got out, opened the door, and motioned for her to get in. After a few moments, the driver spoke. “Madam, the boss sent for me to drive you to work.”
Catherine said, “Thank you,” wondered what had gotten into Glen, and got into the limousine. As the door closed behind her she found herself looking a lilacs, daisies, mums, tiger lilies, roses, and so many other kinds spread over the limo. After Catherine got over her shock, she noticed there was also a note taped to the television that read; A flower for every time I thought of you after we parted. This weekend I wished work started on Sunday so I could only see your face. Catherine was touched so much so tears came down her cheek. How could a man be so thoughtful? But, how could she be so deceitful to such a man that had been nothing but nice and honest to her. Catherine’s thoughts went to the report she needed to give her Uncle the next day. How could she do this to Glen and his family? If only she had someone to talk to, someone to share her feelings with.
The limousine stopped outside the office, the driver got out, and opened her door. Catherine took one last look at the lovely flowers, drew in air to remember the scent, and took a few different kinds of flowers with her to put on the desk She wore a simple suit, skirt outfit and hoped she looked good enough for Glen to take notice. Catherine nodded hello to Ernie, got into the elevator, and hit the button to bring her to the top floor. As the doors opened, Catherine felt the butterflies arrive in her stomach, almost on cue, in anticipation of seeing Glen. She immediately put down her bag and walked down the hallway to the CEO’s door.
“Good morning, boss.”
Glen looked up and smiled, “Good morning, Miss Richmond. But, don’t you think we are on a first name basis by now?”
As Catherine approached the desk, she seductively said, “Thank you for the lovely ride this morning. What makes you do such nice things, boss?”
Glen got up from his desk and walked partially over to Catherine, she came the rest of the way, and he placed his lips on hers for a second before whispering in her ear, “I understand personal is personal and business is business. But, when we are alone, it’s Glen.”
“Yes, sir,” Catherine pulled enough away to salute him.
Glen looked sternly at her but spoke softly, “Catherine.” He kissed her, but this time the kiss was anything put impersonal. “It’s Glen.”
Breathlessly, she said, “Yes…Glen.”
“I have to get back to work. So, I’ll see you soon.” With that, he kissed her and went back behind his desk to finish some important paperwork. Glen wanted to make sure today seemed like any other day, so he wouldn’t give anything away of the surprise to come.
“Me too. But, first I’ll have to start with the mess you made of my office.” Catherine breezed out of the room and started to work. By twelve o’clock Catherine was exhausted and wanted to see Glen again. But, there had not been a break all day, meeting after meeting after work after more work. After a momentary lapse in work gave way, Catherine thought it was the perfect chance to take a short break to see Glen alone. Just before she rose to go down the hallway, the elevator doors opened again and Catherine wondered what headache she was going to have to deal with now. But, as she looked up immediate joy seized her.
“It’s so good to see you!” Catherine said as she ran towards Mrs. Upman to hug her.
“Yes, well I thought I should come and check up on everything and everyone.” Mrs. Upman said to her noticing Catherine’s huge smile.
“Don’t tell me you didn’t miss this. Well, not the work, but the atmosphere, excitement…”
“Well, of coarse I do miss some things. But, I’m enjoying my retirement, especially not waking up at four in the morning.”
“You look great. I guess the hours really suit you.” Catherine thought it might also be partly due to the new company she was keeping, but held her tongue.
“Thank you. So, can you get away for lunch?”
“Definitely not. Today had been nonstop work. I don’t think Gl, Mr. Serentini would approve at all.”
“Well, you’ll have to make time today. I won’t take no for an answer.” She said while looking in the direction of Mr. Serentini’s office.
“I’m not sure…”
Mrs. Upman cut Catherine off. “Is Mr. Serentini in a meeting?”
“Well, not right now.”
That was all the response she needed before Mrs. Upman started towards Mr. Serentini’s office. “Then let’s go ask him.”
Mrs. Upman was already half way down the hallway with Caroline hot on her tail. She said after her, “I don’t think he’d appreciate being disturbed.”
“Don’t worry so much.” Mrs. Upman laughingly threw open the doors to the office. Not as surprised or irritated as Catherine thought he would be, Mr. Serentini looked up over a mountain of paperwork and actually smiled.
“Mrs. Upman, how nice to see you. You look great.”
“Boy, you kids both say the same thing. Stop trying to get my goat, I know I look the same. So, I’m going to take your secretary to lunch.”
Glen started rather glumly, “Well, we are pretty busy today. Perhaps another day would be better.”
“No. I won’t hear of it.” Mrs. Upman looped her arm through Catherine’s. “You can blame it all on me. I’ll see you soon. We’ll even bring you back some lunch, if you would like.”
Mrs. Upman walked back toward the doors with Catherine trailing. At the doors, Mrs. Upman abruptly stopped. “Get your purse and I’ll meet you by the elevator.” Catherine gave a quick look of apology at Mr. Serentini and went to go get her purse. She knew better than to argue with the woman. She didn’t even want to think of the last time Catherine remembered second guessing something Mrs. Upman said.
Glen was a bit disappointed that Catherine left, but he thought that would give them more time later together and give him more time now to concentrate on work.
“Mr. Serentini, I asked Jack Harrison to look into it for you. He should have the information for you later today.”
“Thank you very much for coming in, although I can’t say I’m happy about you taking my secretary to lunch right about now. We’re swamped.”
She chuckled, “You don’t have much choice. I know you’ll get along without her for a little while anyway. Bye, dear.”
“Bye.”
Mrs. Upman walked out of the office to the elevator and a surprised Catherine greeted her. “I can’t believe you got him to let me go! Especially a day like today.”
“It’s from working for the family forever,” she just responded. “I’ve known Glen since he was in diapers.”
“Well, that certainly gives you some say.” Catherine said happily.
“It had better!” They joked together and Mrs. Upman leaned closed to Catherine, “I even changed his diapers once or twice.”
Catherine grabbed her purse and walked into the elevator. They went through the lobby to the restaurant around the corner for lunch. Both sat at a table by the window and were given a menu. Catherine thought of how nice this woman was to her and how upset and disappointed she would be to find out Catherine lied to her and people she cared about.
Mrs. Upman could tell something was on Catherine’s mind. “What is bothering you, hun?”
“It’s Nothing.”
As Catherine rolled her eyes towards the floor, Mrs. Upman knew her suspicions were right on. “You can’t fool me, I can tell. What is wrong, dear?”
“Well—, Can I confide in
you?”
“You know you can.”
Mrs. Upman sat and listened patiently while Catherine explained what a horrible man James Martin was and that he was, in fact, her Uncle. She still sat quietly when Catherine told her about the deal she had with him and the repercussions that would happen if she didn’t comply; that her mother’s art store would be bulldozed and the house would be put up for sale as well as all of her other possessions that would be taken. When Catherine finally finished, Mrs. Upman said, “Well, dear, I think it’s truly a shame and your Uncle is not a nice man. But, at least you were qualified for the job, your resume was impeccable.”
Another twinge of pain hit her. “Not exactly, he made it all up. My Uncle called in a few favors and built up a resume for me. It would have been found out one way or another if a thorough background check was done, but my Uncle banked one the fact that it wouldn’t be done.”
“Well, now I know why you were so nervous and uptight the first few days.”
“Yes. But, that isn’t even all of it. He also set up the apartment I have now. I was living in the house with my mom, but my Uncle took it away from me along with everything else when she died. The only was I can get anything back was if I got him information about the Serentinis. Everything I’m living now is a lie.” Catherine felt so good to get everything off her chest and finally her emotions let go as a tear came down her cheek.
“Wow, that was nothing like what I thought was bothering you. I do think you need to tell Mr. Serentini and he will be a bit upset, but nothing catastrophic, he won’t press charges. He is a nice man.”
“Maybe I didn’t explain enough. Mr. Serentini, Glen, and I are involved, if one dinner and meeting the family is enough to be considered “involved.” But, he is such a great man and I don’t want to loose him. I can’t loose him. But, I just can’t keep on lying to him this way. I…I think I love him.” She blurted out.
“Well, you either do or you don’t. Do you?” Mrs. Upman had a strong personality which showed. But, it in now way meant she didn’t care. It was just her way of expression
“Yes. I love him.” She finally admitted to herself as well as Mrs. Upman.
“Well, this does complicate things. But, I still maintain my earlier position. You must tell him.”
“I know. Truth be told, I’ve known for a while now and have really just been putting it off. But, it is only three more weeks and—”
She cut Catherine off again. Mrs. Upman could tell Catherine’s heart was in the right place and knew all she really needed was a push, maybe a shove, in the right direction. “You must tell him, the sooner the better. If he finds out after you’ve finished working for him, it might be worse.” Then added for emphasis, “Just think if he found out from someone else.”
“Alright. I’ll tell him today, just as soon as I get back to the office. Thank you for this talk, well, for you letting me talk. I really needed it.” As Catherine wiped a tear off her face, he voice broke again. “If you don’t mind me saying, you remind me a lot of my mother.”
“I take that as a deep compliment, dear. But, now that you decided to definitely tell him, I know your heart is in the right place. Well, I always knew that. But, I had to be as positive as I am now. So, I have to tell you something.”
“What? Tell me anything.”
“It might be breaking a confidence. But, I think you need to know. Yesterday Mr. Serentini asked me to check to see who your closest relative is and to find out how to locate them. Today, I asked Jack Hammond to find out, so I hope he didn’t find out who your Uncle is already, but it might be very soon coming.”
“Oh no, I hope not.” Catherine knew the day was coming, but she really wanted to tell Glen everything herself now. She needed him to understand exactly why everything happened.
Catherine hugged Mrs. Upman quickly and started back to the office. The whole way she was fidgeting and anyone watching could tell she was very nervous. But, also a million questions were wandering around in her head. Why did Glen ask about her family? Did he know all along? She dismissed those thought to uneasiness and kept reminding herself that everything would be over soon, it would be out in the open, and she could go on with her life. Maybe even Glen would forgive her in time. Hopefully, that was not too much to wish for.
Chapter 13
Catherine was gone for exactly twenty minutes when Glen realized he missed her. Even though he didn’t see her before she left for precisely two hours and eleven minutes, he knew she was close by. It was especially worse because she wasn’t even in the building. At least when he was working, there was the comfort knowing she was directly outside his office and if the want grew strong enough, he could just walk outside his office. But, now the want was there and she wasn’t. He stared down the handful of papers on his desk and realized he had better start working so he could make tonight perfect. It wouldn’t do if he was still working at nine at night instead of with Catherine. As soon as he put in the new objective, ‘to only work,’ into place Jack Harrison practically barged into Glen’s office. He didn’t even knock. For someone that has been in the Serentini’s employ for this many years should know better.
“Mr. Serentini, I have some important information that can’t wait.” Harrison half ran over to his boss’s desk.
Glen didn’t even look up. “You could have knocked.”
“It was hard enough trying to get in here getting past your secretary and you want me to knock!” He practically screamed out.
Glen didn’t understand what was going on and put down his work to concentrate on Harrison. “Just slow down. What are you talking about?”
“What? Oh sorry. I’m talking about your secretary, Miss Richmond.”
“Yes, Ca—, Miss Richmond. What about her? Oh, that she’s not at her desk. Yeah, she went out with Mrs. Upman for lunch. She’ll be back soon. I assure you it’s nothing to be upset over.” Glen picked up his work to start back in.
“But it is!”
Glen slammed down the papers and stood up. He got more upset and protective than intended and blurted out. “Just a minute now, you better watch your tone now.”
“I’m sorry, sir. Listen, it’s my fault for not checking it out sooner. I just assumed that since she was your pick and you didn’t send her resume down to me, as you usually do with new hires, that you did a full background check.” As Glen glared at him, Harrison added, “Well, it’s my fault.”
“What are you talking about? What is wrong with Catherine?” Glen barely got out as he quickly moved out from behind the desk.
“I’m sorry, sir, Catherine?”
“Miss Richmond!” Glen didn’t know what was wrong with his vice president, it almost sounded if something was wrong with her. But, that couldn’t be possible.
“Well, you know the problem that we’ve been having with information being passed to James Martin?”
“What does she have to do with any of this?” Glen practically roared at Harrison.
“She’s Martin’s niece.” Harrison finally got out.
“What?”
“Miss Richmond’s Uncle is James Martin.”
“Did she change her name?”
“No. Martin is Catherine’s mother’s brother, so her legal name is her father’s which is different from her Uncle’s, sir.”
“This can’t be true. Are you positive?”
“I’m sorry sir, I’m positive.”
“How many people know about this?” Glen couldn’t believe it. He didn’t want to believe it. How could someone he trusted and had become so close to, do something like this? How could have been made such a fool of?
“Myself and two more of my team.”
Glen walked over to the other side of his desk and shook Hammond, “You make sure no one else finds out, understand.”
“Perfectly.” Hammond squeaked out before he thought his boss might strangle him. He had never seen Glen like this, even in tough business situations.
“Get out!” Glen shr
ieked.
He took the excuse to get out of the room and ran towards the door. “Sorry again, sir.” Hammond said just before he closed the door to the office.
“Get out!” He yelled to empty space to get out some of the rage. Glen paced around the room, constantly looking out the window. He hoped the skyline would calm him, as it did many occasions before. But, he had no luck. He pulled a box out of his jacket pocket, opened it, and held his mother’s ring within his palm. Too upset, he sat back at his desk, opened the bottom drawer, and threw the box within. Then Glen slammed the drawer closed and cursed. He just sat there looking around and outside the windows for two minutes just as he heard the elevator doors open. Glen sat there in silence as he heard footsteps coming down the hallway toward his office. Enraged, he saw Catherine step inside his office smiling and all Glen felt was disgust.
In high spirits of revealing her secret, Catherine practically waltzed into the office. “Good afternoon, boss. Mrs. Upman said she would be into see you later, but had things to do for the moment. We brought you back some pasta from the restaurant, with extra sauce, just as you like.” As Catherine got closer to Glen’s desk she saw the look on his face as well as his hands in fists and asked, “Is something wrong?”
Glen could barely hold together his emotions, but kept them in check just long enough to say through clenched teeth, “Is there something you would like to tell me?”
Catherine had never saw Glen look so furious and was scared, but moved towards his desk. “What do you mean? Are you alright?”
“Do I look alright?” Glen asked loudly as he stood up.
Catherine immediately started to back away. “No.”
“Well, is there something you want to tell me?” He stepped forward.
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