“How dare I?” I demanded, my body shaking from head to toe now. “How dare you! You’ve treated me like shit since I first started working for you and made my life a total hell. You know, at first I thought it was worth it. I thought that, hmmm, maybe working for this vile, evil woman would open doors for me one day, and I’ll only have to suffer for a little while before I can find my own way. But you know what? Eat shit! Because it’s not worth putting up with it anymore. I quit!”
The look of utter shock on Christine’s face made my day and I let out a burst of maniacal laughter that I’m sure made Christine think I’d gone stark-raving mad.
This time, I didn’t laugh as long as I had with April, and when I was done, I turned to leave but stopped to add, “Oh and by the way, you can save your little threats about how you will ruin me and how I will never work in this city again.”
I flashed one last triumphant smile the witch’s way and swirled around and began to leave the office. But the sound of Christine’s voice brought me up short a second later.
“Victoria.”
I should’ve ignored her and kept going. After all, I’d gotten the last word in, and there was no reason to engage her further and listen to her empty threats about how she would ruin me, but for some reason, the tone in her voice made me freeze. I had to hear what she was going to say.
Slowly, I turned around to see Christine regarding me with amusement in her eyes.
Why is she smiling? I wondered. I just told her off. She should be steaming mad and wanting to kick my ass out of her office.
“Do you recall when you first came to work for me?”
“Yeah? It was on a day that—”
She interrupted me, obviously not looking for me to actually answer her question. “You signed a contract.”
Her words were like a sucker punch to the stomach.
I licked my lips that had suddenly gone as dry as a desert. “So? What does that matter?”
Now it looked like Christine was the one holding back maniacal laughter. “Do you recall what was in the contract, Miss Young?”
The room began to spin around me as panic began to seep in.
I’d been so desperate to get the job working for Christine, I hadn’t thought to go read through it all, eager to sign my soul away for the chance at a future career in fashion. A chance at reaching that first step in achieving my dreams.
“No,” I admitted.
Christine grinned. “The terms and conditions were that you cannot terminate your job with me without at least a sixty-day notice for any reason outside of a medical or family emergency without opening yourself to legal ramifications.”
It took a lot to steady myself. Any second and I was going to faint.
Christine looked me over while speaking with glee. “And since the only emergency it looks like you’re in is a dire need to lose another twenty pounds off your enormous rear end . . .” Christine’s smile took over her entire face. “I could sue your fat ass off.”
It was all I could do to stay standing. “Y-y-you can’t do that,” I stammered.
Christine crossed her arms across her chest. “Watch me.”
"That's not legal. Besides, it’s not like I actually have anything to sue for.”
Christine uncrossed her arms and leaned forward across her desk, boring into me with suddenly cold, calculating eyes. "Do you really want to take that chance with me, Victoria?”
When I didn't reply, Christine let out a chuckle, a heartless, evil sound that felt like a knife was being jabbed in my side. "I didn't think so." She snapped her fingers and did her customary ‘shoo the fly’ gesture. "Now go make my coffee."
* * *
"She's just doing this to keep me chained here!" I sobbed into my hands. “She’s too sadistic to let me out of my contract and pursue my own career elsewhere."
"I'm sorry, Vick," April cooed, "but you should've known better than to try Christine. In fact, I'm in shock that you're still here. Telling Christine to shut up and calling her a miserable hag?" April shook her head and let loose a chuckle of disbelief. "No one has ever dared to say anything like that to her before . . . at least no one who has lived to tell the story, that is."
I sniffed, taking the back of my hand and wiping at my tears.
April and I were sitting at a small table. I had an untouched bagel with cream cheese on it while April had one celery stick. I don’t know why she bothered. She might as well have had a plate of cotton balls in front of her for all the calories it contained.
News of my insubordination had spread like wildfire. I’d had people casting furtive glances my way and whispering to each other. I knew what they were probably saying. Something along the lines of, Did you hear about what Victoria said to Christine? She must have been born with a set of balls.
“I know, right? I should be gone. If anyone else had said what I said, they’d have been fired in a New York minute. But me? She threatens to sue me to keep me working for her. It just goes to show how much she delights in my misery.” I shook my head angrily. “She hates the fact that I’ll be able to make a career for myself without her help."
"Will you though?" asked April skeptically.
I sniffed and then stared at her. "Will I what?"
"Be able to make a career for yourself? You still have a lot to learn, Vicky.”
"Yeah.” I paused. “Tyler said that he would help me in any way he can." I quickly outlined Tyler’s offer to help me fund my career and maybe start a business together.
April studied me for a long moment before speaking. "You know I love you, Vick, but I'm sorry. Do you honestly believe this guy? You seriously can’t be that naïve, Vick. The dude’s a major player. He probably tells girls stuff like that all the time just to get them in bed."
"No, it's not like that, April," I hissed irritably, surprised at the anger dripping in my voice. I paused for a moment, sucking in a deep breath to calm myself before continuing. “At first I was like you, thinking he was a big time player, but I’ve since found out that he’s not like that at all. He’s got another side to him.”
Who am I trying to convince? April or myself?
“I hope you’re right, Vicky.” April really didn’t believe me, and a small part of me wondered if I didn’t believe it myself. “But wait . . . didn’t you find out that the guy is like your stepbrother or something?”
I shrugged. “Yeah? So?”
“So? Isn’t that like kind of . . .”
I rolled my eyes at her insinuation. “Oh please, we’re not related. Heck, we were total strangers until not so long ago.”
“I guess you’re right on that,” April conceded after a moment of thought. “But either way, it’s still going to make everything even more difficult. Besides, Vick, Christine owns your soul.” Her eyes seemed to say to me what she wouldn't say, maybe it’s for the best.
“But that’s the thing . . . maybe I can get out of my contract.”
April shook her head, taking a quick nibble on her celery stick. “Are you kidding me? Christine has like an army of lawyers. You’d never get out of it. I don’t care what Tyler is telling you. Once he knows you’re that much of liability, he’d drop you like a hot potato.”
“You think so?”
April nodded. “I know so.”
“Hey bitches!” chirped a familiar voice. Gabe came walking up to our table with a tray of food. Unlike April, he actually had food on his plate, a big fat hot dog and a side of fries. Gabe was as skinny as a rail, but he could eat as much as he wanted without getting fat. It was so unfair. So, so unfair.
Animated as a cartoon, Gabe sat his tray down on the table and then took his seat. “Hey Vick, you're like my fucking bitch of the hour! I hear you totally told Christine off.”
I held in a groan. I really didn’t feel like talking about anything right then, least of all my confrontation with Christine. “You heard right.”
“Hell yeah!” Gabe picked up his hot dog and took a huge bite out of it
before asking me his next question with a mouthful of food. “Tell me exactly how it went down. I want all the details!”
I shook my head and picked up my bagel, only to find my stomach turning. I had absolutely no appetite.
“You don’t wanna know.”
Chapter 13
Tyler
After Victoria had left, I’d taken a hot shower and started getting ready for work. I was buttoning my last cuff when Jonathan appeared at the top of the stairs.
“Is there something wrong, Master Locklin?”
I turned away from the mirror to regard the older man with irritation, who was peering at me with a look of concern. “What did I tell you about calling me Master, Jonathan?” I demanded. “It makes me sound like a damn slave owner.”
I turned back to the mirror and rolled my shoulders, examining my appearance. There was a sparkle in my eye and a glowing flush to my skin. I knew I was handsome, but there was something more going on here. I looked . . . alive. More alive than I could ever remember.
It’s Victoria, a voice in the back of my mind said. She’s done this to me. It was scary, the way she made me feel. Even scarier, the way she made me lose control of rational thought.
What was I thinking, offering her something like that?
What the hell did I know about fashion? Better yet, I don’t even really know what she knows. How could I offer to fund such a thing? I was supposed to be a damned businessman.
I’ll just explain to her later that I didn’t really mean what I said, I thought. Much later.
“I’m sorry Mast-, umm, Tyler,” Jonathan replied, breaking me out of my reverie. “It’s a terrible habit, I suppose. Call me old-fashioned.”
“Well get with the times. This isn’t the 1800s anymore.”
“You’re right, sir. I’ll try to be more thoughtful of that in the future.” He paused. “Will we be taking the customary drive to Armex headquarters?”
I shook my head, turning away from the mirror and walking over to the bed to shoulder on my business coat. “No. I want to head by the Locklin estate. I’d like to pay my father a little visit.”
* * *
“I trust your relationship with Victoria is over,” my dad said as I stood before his desk in his study. A steaming coffee mug was before him, right beside the morning newspaper he routinely read before being chauffeured off to his office at Armex.
I did my best to hide my grin. “No. As a matter of fact, it’s not.”
Dad’s head snapped up sharply. “What did you say?”
“Our relationship, it’s not over. It’s only just begun.”
He pushed the paper across his desk and narrowed his eyes at me. I could tell he was pissed off, though he was doing his best to hide it.
“I warned you what would happen if you didn’t break this thing off, Tyler,” he growled.
“I know,” I said in an offhand manner that I knew would make him want to jump my shit.
His jaw bulged, a sign that I’d indeed gotten to him this time. “So why are you still with her? She’s your stepsister.” He continued, his voice raising a few octaves. “Do you have any idea what kind of image problems this relationship will cause for Armex?”
I chuckled. "You know what? You're hilarious. First you badger the fuck out of me about settling down. Then, when I finally do find a girl to settle down with, she’s not good enough for you."
"That's not true and you know it, Tyler,” Dad growled. "You know very well why I don't approve of this relationship." He snorted with contempt. "If you can even call it that. And by the way, you haven't fooled me one bit. I still don’t believe that you're willing to settle down. You want to know what I think?"
I crossed my arms. “You’re going to tell me anyway, so go ahead.”
"I think you got scared shitless when I threatened to replace you with Charles Whitmore, so you hastily latched onto the first girl you could find to put up with your bullshit to show me you’d changed." He scowled. "Well, you can drop the act now, Tyler. As long as you end this farce of a relationship and continue to behave, you’re in no danger of losing your position with our company."
I hated to admit it, but for the first time since entering the room, I was pissed. My father was implying that I was scared of him and his threats when the truth was, I wasn't afraid of any fucking body. "Is that what you honestly think? You think that my relationship with Victoria is a farce?"
Dad gave me a puzzled expression. "It is, isn't it?"
“No!" I said sternly with my most convincing voice.
My dad stared at me for a few moments before a surprised look took over his face as it dawned on him. "You're telling the truth, aren't you? There really is something between you two. I must admit, Tyler, I'm shocked."
I swallowed, feeling a heavy sensation pressing against my chest. I hated it. I hated how Victoria made me feel . . . like I was in . . .
I can hardly even think those words. I even promised her help with her career, I thought, when I don't even know if I'd be able to keep my word.
Hiring her was one thing; that I could do. But promising that I’d help her start a fashion business? What the fuck was I thinking?
I wasn’t thinking, that's the problem, I thought. My mind was mush. I'd have said anything if it meant I’d be able to fuck her again.
There was something about being with Victoria that fucked with me.
She's dangerous, a voice in the back of my mind warned. She could ruin you. Not that I wasn’t well on my way to doing that myself.
My dad's voice broke me out of my reverie as I pushed the unwanted voice out of my thoughts.
“Well, Tyler?”
“Look,” I growled. "We aren't related. I really don’t see the big deal here.”
Dad stared. “You’re not stupid Tyler, but let me spell it out for you. It’s not that big of a deal, you’re right. But you know how the media spins things.”
“Who cares what these people think, Dad? Maybe they shouldn't live their lives judging others and mind their own damn business."
He took a deep breath, gathering himself. "Maybe in another time and place I'd agree with you, Ty, but these people that you need to please are not just regular old people. They’re our customers, or potential customers. The very people that allow you to live the lifestyle that you do. You do care about that, don’t you?" He shook his head. "I don't even see why I have to point this out to you. You know better. You know that our competitors will have a field day with this.”
“Well it’s too late now, Dad. What’s done is done, and this isn’t just any old relationship that I can just end . . .”
“Well, son, I think you’re going to have to make a decision. Victoria or your position at Armex.”
"That's such bullshit! I'm not breaking up with her," I declared defiantly.
"Tyler-"
"In fact," I said loudly, speaking over him, "I'm going to hire her, even if it is short-lived. So not only will you be firing your son, but your stepdaughter too!”
* * *
“That’s just five,” Jeff said as he leaned back in his seat across from me. I’d summoned my fellow colleague to my office for a little a private chat about what to do about the soon-to-come vote for my removal. He was enjoying a cheeseburger with bacon and fries from Wendy’s while I dined on a grilled chicken sandwich. “You need at least six.”
“Damn,” I muttered.
“It’s that God damn Charles Whitmore,” Jeff growled, grabbing his Coke and taking a sip before setting it back down. “If it weren’t for him, you’d be in the clear.”
“Fuck that dude.”
“Yeah.” Jeff swallowed and then stared at me. “But why go through all this trouble anyway? Why not just do what your father asked? Your stepsister can’t be worth all this trouble, can she?”
“She’s worth every bit of it, Jeff,” I said firmly.
“I can’t believe I’m hearing this. A few months ago, there was no chick on planet Earth that was
worthy of your affection.” Jeff finished off the rest of his cheeseburger and then shook. “I can’t imagine it, though.”
“Imagine what?”
“Banging my own stepsister.”
I grinned. He caught me off guard on that one.
“Anyway,” I said, abruptly changing the subject, “Who’s on the fence in all this? All we have to do is get one of them to side with me.”
Jeff picked up a napkin and wiped his hands before dropping it in the Wendy’s bag. Grabbing a fry and then dipping it in ketchup, he sat back in his seat and leveled a serious gaze on me. “Well, there’s Ritchie and Kevin.”
“What about them?”
Jeff waved his red-tipped fry at my face. “Well, Rich wants an apology and he might consider voting in your favor. He doesn’t like you, but if he had a chance to stick it to Charles, he’d take it.”
I snorted. “An apology? For what?”
Jeff popped the French fry in his mouth and chewed. “For sleeping with his ex.”
“Seriously?”
Jeff nodded. “Her name is Mandy Lane, remember her?”
I racked my brain for the girl’s face, but I couldn’t come up with an image. “No,” I said finally. “I don’t.”
Jeff grabbed another fry and waved it theatrically. “That’s unfortunate. Very unfortunate.”
“Yeah, even more unfortunate because I’m not apologizing. From what you said, he wasn’t even with her anymore. Why does he even care?”
“Oh come on, Ty. You know how it is, he was hoping to rekindle things.”
“Look, just forget all this scheming. Whatever happens, will happen. If my dad wants to help remove me, then so be it.”
The truth was that my pride would never let me grovel, even if it meant keeping my job. It was just one of my pitfalls as a man. My pride always got in the way.
Shaking his head, Jeff popped his fry into his mouth, smacked his hands together several times to rid himself of salt and then stood up. “Well, it’s your decision, buddy. I’d hate to be in your position,” he warned as he grabbed his leftover fries and dumped them into his Wendy’s bag as he prepared to leave my office. “It’s your future on the line, after all.”
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