Chapter 19 Elizabeth
ELIZABETH
I barely slept last night. Every time I closed my eyes, I pictured Sherry’s smug little smirk and the way she thought she owned the board. This morning, though, the script flips. She won’t see it coming.
For once, I’m not the girl who hides in the background. I’m the one holding the cards. My phone is warm in my grip, the evidence tucked neatly inside, and it feels like armor.
Not fear, not dread, but excitement.
A low burn in my chest that has me walking faster, chin higher, heels clicking sharp against the marble.
The office doors give way with a push, and I stride in like I belong on the cover of Forbes. “Morning, ladies,” I toss out with a smile. Heads lift from screens, surprise flickering across faces.
“Elizabeth, wow,” one of them says, eyes sweeping me up and down. “But aren’t you supposed to be off today?”
“Just tying up a little business,” I reply, slipping my coat over my chair. The lie tastes sweet. My real business is wearing cheap perfume and plotting at the reception desk.
And there she is. Sherry. Rounding the corner, heels stabbing the carpet, lips already curled like she smells something foul. I don’t hesitate.
My pulse kicks, but my stride is steady as I cut across the floor and stop dead in her path.
I clear my throat—loud enough to snap her head around. She spins, eyes narrowing, mouth twisting into that familiar sneer. “What do you want?” she spits. “Shouldn’t you be at home polishing the boss’s shoes?”
Her voice drips venom. Normally it would sting. But I’m not doing normal today.
I laugh. Not my real laugh, the hollow one I’ve perfected over years of surviving people like her. “You’re hilarious, Sherry,” I say, smile sharp enough to cut. Then I drop it. Letting my voice flatten, my eyes go cold.
“Actually, I’m here to tell you this—” I step closer, so close she has to tilt her chin to keep looking at me. “You’re going to stop harassing me. Today.”
Sherry rolls her eyes condescendingly and tries to push past me, but I grab her shoulder, stopping her before she can get away. “Get your hands off of me,” Sherry whispers so as not to catch everyone’s attention. “You’ll get what’s coming to you.”
Her words cause an authentic laugh to escape me as I lift my phone and pull up the article that Dani and I found the previous night. I feel lucky to have a friend who is in the journalism world. I’m still shocked at her snooping abilities.
Although it makes it nearly impossible to hide anything from her.
“I actually have something for you,” I say, and turn the phone to face her. “Want to explain this? Or better yet, how the hell you managed to get a job here with a record?”
Sherry’s face whitens as she snatches the phone from my hand and looks closer, scrolling through the article. “How did you find this?” she asks quietly, glancing around the office to make sure no one is close enough to hear us.
“I have my ways, Sherry. I didn’t take your threats lightly, and I don’t appreciate your false accusations. The lesson here is don’t fuck with me, especially when you have no idea what you are talking about.”
I’m on a high as I drill into her, yet it’s not going as I expected. She now has fear washing over her face. I expected her to lose her mind, scream and yell, or even try to slap me, but not this.
“Please … you can’t tell anyone about this.” Sherry hands my phone back to me and changes her demeanor from defensive to scared. “This was in the past, and I paid for it, trust me.”
The confidence I carried fades quickly, and now I just feel bad for her. I know I’m sticking up for myself, but this isn’t me. I’m not as ruthless as she is. I’m not a bully. Looking around, the office is filling up with employees, and we are in the open.
Instinctively, I grab her arm and pull her into the women’s bathroom, locking the door behind me. “What’s going on?” I ask once we are completely alone. “What happened?”
As her eyes well up with tears, she goes into a tangent.
“I was young and dumb. Typical, I know. This was my ex-boyfriend, the only man I ever truly loved, and he cheated on me. I didn’t know how to process my feelings at this age or how to deal with heartbreak, so I decided to get some payback the only way I knew how. ”
I listen, and while I’m not surprised by her actions, I know women who’ve done crazier things from a broken heart.
“I vandalized his car and broke into his home because he wouldn’t give me any of my things back.
Can you believe that? He wrecks my heart, and I’m the one who has to pay for it …
” she continues, dabbing her face with a paper towel.
“Just please, don’t say anything to anyone.
I need this job. I was able to get it off my record, but they’ll fire me for lying to them about such an insane case. ”
I’m silent for a moment, running her story through my mind. There’s a small part of me that is still upset that she was being so rude to me, but as a woman in this world, I can relate to her story. It’s hard not to feel sorry for her.
“Fine,” I finally answer. “I won’t say anything. However, you need to back off and stop threatening me.”
“I know, and I’m sorry. I was jealous,” she replies and lowers her eyes, almost shamefully. “Jonathan never gives me the time of day, and I’ve been here for years. You walk into the conference room once, and you have all his attention. It didn’t seem fair.”
Smirking, I shake my head. “You have the wrong idea about me and the situation. It’s all strictly business between him and me, I promise.”
I’m lying directly to her face, but no one in the office needs to know what goes on behind closed doors. Whether he is my boss or not, I tend to keep my private life private.
“I’m his assistant and that’s all,” I continue.
“I know, and I’m sorry. I just saw you outside of his place and lost it. My attitude toward you ends now.” She smiles and puts her hand on my shoulder. “Thanks again for not telling anyone about my past.”
As Sherry leaves the bathroom, I stay behind to gather my thoughts before leaving the office. It doesn’t feel good lying to her now that we have come to an understanding, but I’m not about to risk the one good thing I have going for me.
“So, how’d it go?” Dani yells from the kitchen as I enter the apartment. Christmas music is playing through the television, and Dani is wrist deep in cookie dough.
Today, as we normally do a few days before Christmas Eve, we are making cookies for ourselves and friends. It’s sort of our tradition we made up a few years ago, and had so much fun, we had to keep it going.
“It was … interesting,” I say as I begin to wash my hands to join her. I grab one of the bowls that is already filled with chocolate chip cookie dough and begin spooning it out on the cookie sheet. “We did come to an agreement that I’ll keep the news to myself if she lays off and leaves me alone.”
“But?” Dani finishes mixing her famous blueberry cheesecake cookie dough and begins washing off her hands in the sink.
“But, I felt bad at the end. She told me what actually happened, and yes, she went a little crazy, but she was a woman scorned by her first love. I get it. And she told me she was jealous that I got the job and she didn’t.”
I replace the finished cookies in the oven with the fresh tray of dough and set them on a cooling rack. “So she’s going to lay off, then?” Dani asks.
“I think so. She looked distraught that I found the article.”
The rest of the day is spent baking and singing along to the Christmas carols, and for the first time in days, I feel happy, I feel relaxed. Once all the cookies are cooked and cooled down, I package them up in different Christmas-themed containers.
“So, who are you sharing yours with?” Dani asks as she puts her containers off to the side of the counter.
Usually, I would bring them all to my family during our Christmas dinner, but I think I know of a sweet man who would enjoy them more. I smile at her with a knowing glance, and she rolls her eyes jokingly.
“You two love birds make me sick.” Dani grabs some flour from the open bag and tosses it at me playfully.
“Hey, you asked.”
While I don’t have a plan yet, I want to surprise him for the holidays. He’s been nothing but a fantastic friend and lover to me. He deserves a little gift.