Chapter 11
Erica
I watch as Sarah packs up her desk into a cardboard box, surprised that her years of work here somehow fits inside its four flimsy walls.
She picks up the last item from her desk, a picture frame housing a photo of her and her fiancé, and places it carefully on top of the box’s contents.
She catches my stare and gives me a meek smile.
“The promotion was too good to be true, I guess.” She shrugs. “Should have been yours anyway.”
I feel my cheeks tinge pink at the thought of how jealous I had been just over a week ago as she proudly carried flowers and a congratulatory balloon after being moved up in the company.
Now I can’t help but feel awful as she gives me a hug before picking up the box and carrying it to the elevator, her final walk in this office.
This past week, I had seen so many of my coworkers and friends make the same walk, carrying their boxes and saying their final goodbyes.
The utter disbelief on their faces has been heartbreaking and terrifying as I wait to find out my fate.
I know my time will be coming to an end, and it will be at the hands of The Shark.
Marco Vallejo. The father of my daughter.
I wonder why it’s taken so long to be called into his office for him to fire me.
I’ve been on pins and needles waiting to hear his assistant call my name.
I actually haven’t even seen him at all since he moved into the office down the hall.
I was strategic in moving to one of my coworkers’ old cubicles, out of sight of Marco’s office.
I’ve been arriving early and leaving late just to avoid bumping into him, but it’s inevitable. He’s my boss now.
It irritates me that he hasn’t even gone so far as to introduce himself to any of us, as if we don’t matter at all to him.
He probably doesn’t see the point in introductions, since we will all be gone soon.
I swallow hard at the thought. The thought of being jobless and trying to support myself and Josie has been keeping me up most nights.
I’ve continued searching the web for jobs, but I haven’t received any callbacks for interviews.
I know soon I will have to go to my brother, Troy, out of sheer desperation and love for my daughter.
I run my hand over the mouse of my computer to wake the screen up, not realizing I have been inactive for so long.
I’ve been keeping up with my column as normal, even though I wonder if there is a point.
There are just a few more paragraphs before I need to go over it for edits.
I click through the tabs on my computer for supporting research on the latest election and am about to type out my thoughts when Marco’s assistant pops her head around the corner of my cubicle. I jump slightly.
“Sorry to interrupt,” she says warily. “But Mr. Vallejos would like to see you in his office.”
I give her a nod, not able to utter any sort of response for fear of crying.
She gives me a weak smile and disappears behind the walls of my cubicle.
I take a deep breath and stand up, smoothing the black sheath dress I chose for today.
It seems fitting, as this will most likely be the day I lose my job. It’s almost like a funeral.
I walk down the hallway, aware of the watchful eyes of my remaining coworkers.
They either haven’t been called in yet, or were given the opportunity to stay.
I know I won’t have that same opportunity.
Marco is going to take one look at me and give me the boot.
Our night together just makes things complicated.
If I had known he would ever become my boss, I would have done things so differently.
I blush at the thought of him on his knees before me and the way I shook when he touched me in the most intimate places.
I still dream of him sometimes, our night together on some sort of subconscious loop.
I sometimes let myself forget that he’s the father of Josie, but right now it’s smacking me right in the face as I approach the door of his office.
Stay calm, I think to myself. Maybe he doesn’t even remember me.
Guys like him probably have one-night stands all the time.
I’m no one special. I’m probably lost on him.
It has been a year since we spent the night together.
Who knows what he has been up to or who he has been with in that time.
However, I know I’m just lying to myself, trying to calm my nerves that are trying to escape through every pore of my body.
I knock on the door and hear him say, “Come in.”
I open the door and step inside, my legs shaky. I see him sitting behind his desk, George’s old desk, looking even more handsome than he did the night I met him. I try not to let that show on my face.
“Please, close the door,” he says with a soft smile.
I would rather do anything else than be trapped in this room with him. It already feels like all the air has been sucked out, but I do as he says and gently close the door behind me.
“Please, take a seat,” he says, gesturing to the chair across from him.
I sit down, trying to ignore that only a desk separates us, and the familiar scent of his cologne travels toward me like some sort of cruel reminder of how good it smells on his bare skin.
I force myself to look up at him and see he’s already looking at me, his brown eyes dancing excitedly and his mouth turned up in a knowing smile.
Shit. He remembers. Of course, he does. I was stupid to think otherwise.
I wonder if our night together has the same hold on him as it has on me.
If it had, then he wouldn’t have left me alone in his apartment the next morning.
The thought makes me frown, and I don’t return the smile he’s giving me, as if we are old friends.
I see his smile falter as his eyes drop to my mouth. They linger there for a moment, and I feel as if he’s running one of his long fingers up my spine.
“It’s good to see you,” he says. “I wanted to apologize for not speaking with you sooner. It’s been a little hectic since—”
“Since you pushed George out,” I interrupt him.
I’m surprised by my boldness, but if I’m going to get fired, then I may as well tell him what’s on my mind. Someone should.
“George left on his own accord,” says Marco, leaning back in his chair. He doesn’t look angry, yet more so amused.
“Only because you kept coming after him like the shark you are.”
“The old man wanted to retire. I just gave him a gentle nudge.”
I roll my eyes.
“Look, I also wanted to apologize for what happened between us. I shouldn’t have left you that morning, but—”
“I don’t know what you’re talking about,” I say.
He opens his mouth to say something, but decides against it. Maybe if I pretend like nothing ever happened between us, then he will too. I would rather just skip all this awkwardness and get to the part where he fires me.
Marco picks up a folder in front of him and opens it, reading over a few things.
I let my eyes wander his stupidly perfect face just for a moment.
I wonder if he’s enjoying this slow torture, as I tap my foot impatiently against the carpet.
He looks up and I quickly avert my gaze, as if he’s not the most beautiful thing in this room, or all of Manhattan for that matter.
“I’m impressed by your file,” he says, patting the folder in front of him.
“You’ve been keeping tabs on me?” I ask sharply.
“I have to on all the employees here.”
“The ones that are left…” I mutter.
He ignored my remark.
“I know you care a lot about this paper, and you’ve been here since the very beginning.” He’s reading from the folder, as if these aren’t things I shared with him the night we met.
“HR has nothing but positive remarks to say about you,” he continues. “Which is why I want you to work alongside me.”
My mouth falls open as I look at him in shock. This is not how I thought this little meeting was going to go. I already had my own cardboard box ready to go. I can’t find any words to say and continue to look at him like a gaping fish, which he thankfully ignores.
“I want someone to help me with the acquisition. Someone who knows the ins and outs of the paper. Someone who can be my right-hand man… er woman.” He smiles at me.
“But my column,” I say, coming up with some excuse to turn it down.
“Oh, you’ll still write each week. I encourage it, and I’ll make sure you have the time to get your word count in.”
“B–but,” I stammer, not sure what excuse I’m going to come up with next.
“It’s only temporary.” He waves me off like it’s no big deal. “I just need you for this transition phase.”
I sit back in my seat and shake my head, still not wrapping my head around what he’s saying.
He wants me to stay, and on top of that he wants me to work alongside him.
I’ve spent the past week carefully avoiding him for a reason, and now I won’t be able to.
I don’t know if I can handle this, even if it’s just temporary, as he says.
“Would it help if I told you there is an increase in salary?”
My ears perk up at that. I’d be able to better care for Josie, and maybe even put some money into savings. I think about all of my unanswered résumés I have sent out and the empty call log on my phone. I don’t have another job lined up.
Is it worth it though? To work with the man when I despise everything he stands for. The same man who left me in his apartment after giving me the night of my life. The same man who is the father of my daughter and has no idea about it. My stomach is tangling itself into knots.
I watch as Marco grabs a pen and jots something down on a piece of paper. He slides it over casually.
“Your new salary, if you take the new position.”
I hesitate before picking up the paper and unfolding it.
I try to hide my shock as I look over the number that’s almost quadruple my current salary.
I would be an idiot not to take it, yet part of me feels awful for my friends who lost their jobs at the hand of the man before me. Why is he doing this for me?
I start to feel paranoid that maybe he knows about Josie, and is trying to help in some discreet way.
But then I think there is absolutely no way he knows he even has a daughter.
I’ve kept my secret close. Still, I can’t help but feel that this promotion is curious, like he’s giving me special treatment, but I don’t know why.
It can’t be because we shared a night together.
Or maybe this is his way of keeping me quiet. Either way, I have to take the job.
I fold the paper back up and clutch it in my lap. I take a deep breath before meeting his questioning gaze.
“I’ll do it,” I say softly.
I remind myself it’s for Josie. All of this is for her.