Chapter 37 Calliope
CALLIOPE
The silence is deafening. All eyes turn to me as Victoria finishes her rant and gasps as if the words took every ounce of strength she had.
My lips part, but any kind of excuse I can think of just sounds incredibly lame.
I should say something.
Anything.
Nothing comes. The sea of stunned and accusatory faces in front of me blurs into one giant look of accusation and heat suddenly blooms down my back. A rush of goosebumps follows down my arms and legs as my gut tightens and for a single second, I fear I’m about to throw up.
“It’s true!” Jimmy’s suddenly on his feet and pointing a finger directly at me.
“I knew from the get-go that she was up to no good. Sneaking around thinking I wouldn’t notice and the moment she falls into bed with him, all he can talk about is how wonderful the website is!
I won’t let this fly,” he yells. “Not for a second, I won’t stand for this! ”
As loud as he’s yelling, he cuts himself off when Elijah whips around to glare at him and what little confidence Jimmy has immediately melts into a rough cough as he looks away.
Tears sting behind my eyes and my chest tightens, each breath tearing out of me like I’m drowning from a lack of air. Try as I might, nothing works. I can’t speak. I can’t move. I can’t think beyond the utter hurt that radiates in my heart from Victoria.
I thought she was my friend.
I’ve always had her back.
Now she stands in front of me, panting, with nothing but disdain in her eyes. Does she really think I’d sleep with Elijah just to save my job?
“Victoria—” I gasp, but suddenly, Elijah is right in front of me. He grabs me from my seat and hauls me upward in a firm but gentle move and drags me out into the hall.
“Elijah, wait!” I gasp, pulling back against him, but his grip is unrelenting. I blink and tears roll down my cheeks as Elijah strides all the way toward his office.
He opens the door and ushers me inside, finally releasing me, and our eyes meet. “Stay here,” he orders. Then he’s gone and the door closes softly behind him.
A soft sob rises in my throat and I try to smother it with my hands but it still escapes, a pathetic sound in the cold silence of his office.
What am I going to do?
Our relationship, as complicated as it is, isn’t a secret anymore.
Those two words Elijah said are the only words he’s spoken to me since hurrying from my home.
If he expects me to just sit here and wait while he spins whatever tale he needs to in order to save his own skin, then he’s got another thing coming.
Except when the door handle is against my palm, I can’t turn it.
Going back out there to see everyone looking at me makes my stomach recoil, and I can’t do it.
I should, but I can’t.
Eventually, I stumble away from the door and hastily wipe away the stray tears that keep escaping down my cheeks.
I’m refusing to cry but I feel it, hot and heavy in my chest like a ball of static just waiting to erupt.
Victoria’s betrayal hurts. Elijah’s silence hurts.
As I walk around his office, I contemplate destroying the place in a final act of defiance before I’m fired.
Fuck his fancy desk and countless heaps of paperwork, or his computer on loan from one of the offices downstairs. Fuck his water jug and fancy, pretentious crystal glasses that sparkle on a tray near the window overlooking the city.
He’ll be fine. Men like Elijah are always fine.
But as tempting as it is, I end up sinking down onto the couch and cradling my head in my hands.
No matter what happens, the stain of Victoria’s accusation is never going to leave.
Even if, by some miracle, I get to keep my job, no one will think of me the same way ever again.
Maybe I should quit and retain some dignity.
As the silence drags on, the tears come and no matter how much I sniffle or wipe my eyes, they keep pouring.
One sob leads to another, which snowballs into another and another as my soul seeks permission to let loose.
I refuse with all the strength I have and fish my phone out of my pocket to distract myself.
A text from Stacey lights up the screen. It was sent ten minutes ago with a request for drinks this weekend to celebrate how good Nick’s party was. I stare at the text until my eyes blur, then I hit call.
“Hello?” Stacey’s happy tones flood my ear and weaken my resolve to not break down.
“Hi. I’m sorry to bother you at work.”
“Don’t sweat it. I wouldn’t have answered if I were busy. You good? You sound a little… not great.”
“I’m sorry,” I whisper as a hiccup of a sob rushes past my lips.
“Calliope, what’s happened?” There’s such concern in her voice that I almost crumble right there and then.
“It’s awful. You know how Elijah left yesterday?
I hadn’t heard anything and I was really nervous about maybe seeing him today.
Turns out he’d called a meeting to talk about the future of the company and he was saying all this stuff about changes and closures.
I think he’s trying to fire me, maybe out of revenge for Nick or something, I don’t know. ”
“What a dick!” Stacey gasps. “That can’t be legal!”
“I don’t know. I don’t know what’s going on. And then Victoria… I thought she had my back.”
“Victoria?”
“The one I was telling you about from the stores? The one I thought I was pretty close to?”
“Oh, yeah, sorry. I remember.”
“She just stood up in f–front of everyone and accused me of sleeping with Elijah to keep my job!” I cover my mouth with my hand. “It was awful,” I gasp against my fingers. “Everyone was staring at me like I was some kind of slut and I couldn’t think of anything to say.”
“Oh, honey! I’m so sorry! What a fucking raging bitch. Who the fuck does that?”
“I thought she was my friend,” I whisper hoarsely. “She’d been asking me to get info on Elijah after she saw us on our date together, and that had been something I was trying to do but like, it just never happened. Other stuff kept getting in the way, y’know?”
“Calliope, you don’t need to explain yourself to me. I have your back no matter what your choices are. Y’know, so long as they don’t endanger you or anyone else I care about.” She laughs humorlessly. “Shit. Do you want me to come and get you?”
I should say no. I should go back out there with my head held high and give both Victoria and Elijah a piece of my mind about what they’ve been doing, but the thought of showing my face to anyone makes my blood run cold and I shiver.
“Yes, please,” I whisper.
“Okay. I’ll get Harrison to cover the shop and I’ll be there, okay? Hang tight for me, hon.” She makes a kissing noise and the call ends, leaving me to the smothering silence of Elijah’s office one more.
This has to be a sign. It’s time to do something else with my life or move on from this.
Pack up my things, put me and Nick in the car, and just drive until I’ve left all of this bullshit behind.
The minutes tick by sluggishly and I’m growing so anxious about what’s going to happen that I can’t sit still.
I end up back on my feet, pacing back and forth in front of the window with my tears finally at bay.
I can cry when I’m home.
Fuck. What am I going to do?
My job is over. There’s no doubt about that.
Regardless of whether I’m fired or not, I can’t work here anymore.
I need to move on. And quickly, because if Elijah decides to take me to court over Nick, then I need to show them I have a stable job and income to care for him.
How did it come to this? It wasn’t too long ago that I was fantasizing about a life with him, that we could become this sweet little family like I’d always dreamed.
I’d have someone in my corner, Nick would have someone for the father-son races, and we’d get matching ugly sweaters at Christmas like a real family.
How could I not see this coming?
Kicking myself does little more than bring my mood down which then tanks when an email pops up on my phone reminding me that Valentine’s Day is in three days. My mood completely sours and I delete the email immediately.
It’s only February and I need this year over already.
After forty minutes of kicking around Elijah’s office, Stacey texts me and tells me she’s down in the lobby.
Fuck this, I’m out of here.
Striding toward the door, I gather all the strength I have left and take a deep breath, ready to rush out and face whoever I need to face in order to make it to the elevator and out of this wretched building.
As I reach the door, it suddenly swings open and Elijah walks in with a slight jump of surprise to see me so close.
“I’m leaving,” I snap before he can speak. “And you can’t stop me. I’m leaving.”
“Calliope—”
“No!” I point at him as my heart thunders in my chest. “You don’t get to say anything. This is all fucked up because of you. Everything is fucked up because of you and I’m not going to stand here and listen to you berate me or accuse me or whatever it is you’re going to say.”
“Calliope… what are you talking about?” He closes the door behind him and walks a few steps toward me, which forces me to take a few steps back.
“I know, okay? I knew the second you ran out of my house like I lit a fire under your ass. I should have known from the start how this was going to end, but I’m not going to let you intimidate me, alright?
I’m going to fight and you’re going to regret the day you crossed me or—or fired me or whatever, you hear me? You’re going to regret it!”
Elijah’s face remains stunned as he stares at me with his lips slightly parted. “Fired you? Calliope, what are you—I’m promoting you, not firing you.”