CHAPTER 5DENISE
CHAPTER 5
DENISE
I was super overwhelmed. Digging into these organizations was way more difficult than I imagined. I couldn’t just ask them for information that was incriminating, so most of my time was spent putting together crumbs and following trails all over the internet. The due diligence was worth it, I’d already caught that one of the organizations looked great on paper, but there was some chick in the background of their photos that turned out to be a prominent fixer in DC, and she only really represented super shady people.
One of the interns slowly moved into my peripheral and I gave her a minute to grab whatever she was searching for, but she stood there, waiting. I turned to find her staring at me. She scanned me up and down, and I saw her gaze focus on the sleeve of my shirt before bouncing to my face.
Fuck.
“Umm, sorry. I didn’t mean to… sorry. I just. Umm—”
“It’s fine.” I gave her a wooden smile as I picked up the black coffee and abandoned the sugar and creamer, so I could make a quick escape.
“Wait. I—your secret is safe with me. I just—are you okay?”
I paused, glancing back at her. Her hair was a cropped curly fade and her brown eyes showed sincerity. Something in her posture made me stop.
“Bree, right?” I asked.
She nodded as I scanned her outfit for a second, taking in her wrinkled skirt.
“Thank you. It’s been a lot, but I’m okay. Your candor is appreciated.”
She shook her head and her eyes shifted left and right.
“Is this your first internship?” I asked.
“Yeah, I’m really surprised ya’ll chose me,” she replied.
I frowned. The reason I knew her name was because she was doing the best out of all the interns in her cohort. She asked questions, slayed deadlines, and was always eager to volunteer on new projects.
“Bree, you’re doing an impressive job. You deserve to be here.” I touched her shoulder and watched as a shy smile crossed her face.
“Keep doing what you’re doing,” I said, making a mental note to move her to a new mentor that was more hands-on. Hopefully, someone who could explain the delicacies of being a person of color in the workplace.
Grabbing my coffee, I headed back to my office, ready to dig around and see what other landmines were hidden in these files.
The rest of the afternoon was a blur. I spent my time digging into the financials for the final nine organizations. I was slow and methodical. Every document was printed and annotated and compared to everything they’d written up on their applications.
When I took a break, I finally got back to Cleo’s email. There was a folder full of stuff, including photos I hadn’t seen of the trashed apartment along with her account of that night, her observations on his behavior, and moments where he’d made her feel uncomfortable.
She’d never mentioned some of it and my blood boiled as I scrolled further down her list and saw some suggestions for what I could include and an explanation of the narrative she was hoping to build around Curtis, our relationship, and the video.
I started off small, talking about the events and fights that showed he had an angry streak, but one that was never directed at me. The more I typed, the stupider I felt. Each red flag I laid out was like a slice across my skin in the same spot, digging deeper and burning more as it got closer to the bone.
As I put my phone down, I took a few deep breaths to try and center myself again. There was an incredible work opportunity in front of me that I couldn’t fuck up.
More deep breaths.
There wasn’t enough space in my brain for all of this bullshit and the research I was knee-deep in. I needed to focus. Put it all away and keep my eyes on the prize.
My work line rang and startled me.
Without looking, I grabbed the headset and answered.
“This is Denise Roberts.” My voice didn’t betray the confusion I felt as I put my phone down and pulled up my email. Maybe I had a call scheduled that I’d somehow missed.
“Denise.”
I felt my heart drop directly to my ass as Curtis’s sad voice echoed through my headset. The breath I sucked in did nothing to control the rage that was raising my blood pressure and drumming in my ears.
“Denise. Are you there?” Curtis’s tone wasn’t just sad, it almost sounded like he’d been crying.
All the words that I wanted to say were stuck in my throat, thick and suffocating, like a scoop of thick peanut butter.
“I know I fucked up. I’m—I’m so sorry. You just made me so angry—”
“ I made you so angry? ” I repeated, outrage loosening my lips enough to reply.
“You embarrassed me—”
“ I embarrassed you? ” I echoed, this time I was laughing. A sigh came through the line and I laughed even harder.
“Can you not do that? I’m trying to apologize,” he said, that somber tone was gone and replaced with a familiar exasperation. There he was. The prick.
“Apologize for what, Curtis?” I was baiting him. This whole call was a waste of my time. No apology was going to fix what was wrong with our relationship. I don’t think the man had ever actually apologized to me.
“I’m sorry, I—I’m sorry,” he whispered as I rubbed at my healed arm as angry goosebumps broke out along my skin as I waited for him to elaborate.
After a few seconds, I spoke, “...I’m sure that was hard for you to say. If that’s it, I need to get back to the work that pays my bills.”
There was a huff through the line as he sputtered.
“I’m trying to fix this.”
A smile pulled my lips from my teeth. He was calling me to try and get back together? I covered my mouth to stop the cackle that would surely be heard all the way across the Golden Gate Bridge. The man was delusional. Words tumbled from my lips before I could stop them.
“Fix what? That you’re a liar? A fucking snake that destroyed thousands of dollars of my shit because your feelings were hurt?” I hissed, each word deepening the shade of red that was coating my vision. My fingers tightened on the side of my headset.
Bold wasn’t even the word to describe him. How the fuck had I stayed around him for as long as I did?
“Have you seen what people are saying about me online? You ruined my reputation,” he said. Whatever sadness he was faking was gone, and that same tone he’d had that night was back. Furious arrogance.
“Fuck your reputation!” My voice sounded shrill as I scanned the floor outside my office, worried that people could hear me.
“Fine. I was trying to help your fat ass out.” Curtis laughed. Honestly, I didn’t know why I was even still listening to him.
“Don’t call back here,” I said.
“You’re gonna re—”
I hung up in his face.
Snatching off my blazer, I put my hands across my stomach before shaking out my arms. When that didn’t help ease the tension thrumming through my body, I walked over and tried to stare out toward the Bay. Karl, the fog, rolled in an hour ago, surrounding the building, but I kept looking out of the window into it anyway. When the fog rolled in, it really felt like I was on top of the world.
I wasn’t an idiot; I knew that the comments on that video were unkind. That’s why I hadn’t bothered reading them. I didn’t need that shit rattling around in my head. Curtis’s laugh echoed in my head, and I shook my arms out again. I can’t believe he’d had the audacity to call me. At work. After everything, he thought he could convince me to take him back.
He was absolutely fucking nuts.
As much as I wanted to punch something, I couldn’t think about it. I owed it to myself to get it the fuck together and stay present in the moment. It wasn’t the time to lose focus. Closing my eyes, I leaned against the cold glass and let the chill seep through my skin.
I had this. I could do this. Curtis be damned. Denise Roberts needed to prove that she could stomp with the big dogs, and that was exactly what I was going to do.