Chapter 39
Marissa stood in line at the coffee shop, the aroma of freshly brewed beans mingling with the hum of lunchtime conversations. Customers worked on their laptops and talked on their phones, oblivious to her inner turmoil. She had lost her job only a few days ago, and uncertainty settled on her chest like a weighted blanket.
She had stopped in to meet with a resume writer about revamping her resume. He promised to present her skills in the best light, but would doing so be enough to find a new career that paid as well as what she had left behind at Executive Match? Without a recommendation from Arnie, she’d have a hard time finding a similar position at another firm. She might have to go back to working in a coffee shop again. She had experience as a barista, but the pay wasn’t great.
She picked up her order, and the tension eased from her shoulders as she closed her fingers around the cup, the warmth providing a comfort in the cold reality of her life.
“Hi, Marissa.”
The familiar feminine voice came from behind, and Marissa rotated her head to see Wanda standing nearby. Her former co-worker appeared hesitant.
“Hey.”
The last time she saw Wanda, the older woman had acted strange, so she wasn’t sure if this was a friendly greeting or not.
“How are you?” Marissa asked.
“Doing okay. How about you?” Concern filled the older woman’s dark eyes.
“I’ve been better but hanging in there.”
“I’m sorry about what happened to you.”
Marissa shrugged. “I knew the rules and broke them. It is what it is. There are consequences for our actions.”
She hadn’t heard from Arnie’s lawyer yet, but only a few days had passed since her dismissal. She fully expected to be contacted at some point, and the damages she would be required to pay were bound to drain her bank account.
She hoped he didn’t go so far as to sue her, but Arnie was a businessman who’d turned around his mother’s failing company. He had every right to take Marissa to court if he deemed such drastic steps necessary.
“Do you mind stepping outside to talk for a few minutes? I was passing by and saw you in here. I’m on my way to the office and can’t stay long, but I wanted to tell you something.”
“Sure.”
They wound their way through the tables and exited onto the sidewalk. Outside, Wanda moved to the side of the building.
“We do what we do because we believe in love, and you can’t help you fell for a client, and he fell for you. You’ve worked for the company for over eight years and nothing like this has ever happened before,” Wanda said.
“I appreciate what you’re saying, but that doesn’t matter. Once is enough,” Marissa said.
She was not going to make excuses for her behavior. She had violated the trust of the company and her own ethical code. She might very well be blackballed from the industry.
Wanda lowered her voice. “I know who ratted you out.”
“So do I. My ex and I had a big fight, and he denied telling Arnie,” Marissa said.
Wanda shook her head, frowning. “Your ex? I don’t know anything about him. The person who ratted you out was Lori.”
The news hit with the force of a punch to the gut, and Marissa’s mouth fell open. She stared at Wanda in disbelief. “What?”
Wanda nodded her confirmation, her gaze sympathetic.
A cold wave of shock washed over Marissa. She couldn’t move. Her heart pounded a drumbeat of disbelief in her chest.
“Why would Lori tell Arnie about my relationship? How did she find out…?”
Her mind raced, replaying past interactions at the office. Each time she had given Lori advice, each time they had joked about the hot rich guys coming into the office. Each memory was a fresh stab, and the bitter taste of disillusionment coated her tongue.
Did Lori find out that Garlique was owned by Bruno and put two and two together that they were involved? Marissa had shared her food with her! Or did she guess from the day that Bruno brought her lunch from his tavern?
“We were friends.”
Wanda pursed her lips. “You might have been a friend to her, but she wasn’t a true friend to you. Lori really wanted to be a matchmaker, and with you out of the picture…”
Wanda didn’t need to finish the sentence.
“A position opens up, and she becomes the next matchmaker right away. She doesn’t have to wait.”
Wanda nodded again.
“She acted surprised when security escorted me off the floor, as if she had no idea what was happening to me and why. Yet she was the reason Arnie found out in the first place, and she had to have known what the repercussions would be.”
The betrayal cut deep, and now she understood why Chet had been adamant he hadn’t contacted her employer. He had been telling the truth. He really was innocent, and she owed him an apology.
“I’m sorry, sweetie. We’re going to miss you. Rick was really bummed he didn’t get a chance to say goodbye. When you have a free moment, give him a call.” Wanda pulled out a card and wrote a number on the back. “That’s my personal cell phone, not the company phone. Don’t be a stranger, and if I can help you in any way, let me know.
“Thanks, Wanda. I will.”
They briefly hugged, then Wanda left to go to work. Marissa looked after her wistfully. That used to be her.
With a deep sigh, she went back inside the coffee shop and found an empty table.
The resume writer arrived ten minutes later, and they worked on her resume right at the table, on his laptop. When they left an hour later, she had a new resume and two sample cover letter templates she could use to apply for positions. During the interview, he said roles in sales would best fit her skill sets. No surprise there. She had the same thought and was pleased her ideas matched his.
She drove home more optimistic than when she left that morning. The meeting with the resume writer had filled her with a renewed sense of hope. She was so focused on her future and searching for potential jobs that at first she didn’t see Bruno seated at the bottom of the stairs.
She came to a dead stop. He was a sight for sore eyes in a white short-sleeved shirt that showed off his muscular torso and biceps. Despite his delicious appearance, he seemed haggard, as if he hadn’t been sleeping well. She would have the same appearance if not for the magic of makeup and a cold compress that drastically reduced the puffiness under her eyes from the lack of sleep.
He slowly rose to his feet. “Hello, beautiful.”
Her chest squeezed tight, and her fingers tightened around the keys in her hand. “Hi. What are you doing here?”
“You ghosted me.”
“I was going to call you.”
“When?”
She shrugged. “Soon. I have a lot going on, and I didn’t—couldn’t talk.”
“What’s been going on that you couldn’t talk to me?”
Marissa released a tired breath. “Arnie fired me on Thursday.”
“Why? What happened?” Bruno asked in alarm.
She pressed her lips together. “He found out about you and me.”
Bruno muttered something in Spanish, which was likely a curse word. “How?”
“Lori, the receptionist.”
Concern filled his eyes. “I’m sorry that happened. I’ll fix this.”
“There’s nothing for you to do. All I need is space right now.” She’d thought long and hard about how to move forward, and she couldn’t afford to be distracted by Bruno.
“Space?” he repeated, as if he didn’t recognize the word.
She swallowed the tightness in her throat. “Look, Bruno, being with you has been fun and exciting, but I live in the real world where bills have to be paid. What we were doing before… I can’t anymore. I have to find a job.”
“I understand, but I get the impression that you’re cutting me off.”
“Because I need space and time,” Marissa said in a low voice.
“For how long?” Bruno demanded.
“For as long as it takes for me to get back on my feet. I have a child, and I need to be mentally present for him and find a job right away so I can continue to take good care of him.”
“Marissa.”
He reached for her, and she pulled away. “Don’t. I’m sorry. Being with you was fun, really, but our worlds are too different.”
She tried to slip past him, but he grabbed her wrist and pushed her against the building.
“I have been going out of my mind wondering if I did something wrong. Shutting me out isn’t the answer.” His eyes flashed at her in anger.
“And what is the answer? Everything is screwed up! My life is a mess, and all because—” Her bottom lip trembled.
“Because of me,” he said, sounding resigned. “Because I pursued you, even when you told me what the consequences would be.”
She yanked her arm, but his fingers only tightened.
“So we’re done now? You want nothing to do with me?”
“I need to fix my life,” she said through clenched teeth.
“Let me help you,” Bruno said.
“You want to help me?”
“Yes!”
“Then get me my job back! Stop Arnie from suing me. Can you do that, Bruno? Because if you can’t do either of those things, then you can’t help me, and I’m on my own—the way I’ve been my whole life. You get to continue with your perfect life in your perfect house with your perfect family. I have to deal with the very real consequences of my actions. I have to take care of myself and my son—like I always have.” She looked down at his fingers curled around her wrist. “Let go. Please.”
“What if I can fix this?”
She lifted her gaze. “How?”
“Let me worry about that. If I fix the problem, will you forgive me? Will you give us another chance?”
What could he possibly do? She was used to taking care of herself and didn’t want to get her hopes up. “I can fix my own problems,” Marissa said softly.
His eyes narrowed, then he released her.
She immediately missed his touch but straightened her shoulders. They stared at each other, neither of them saying another word.
She noted the hard set to Bruno’s jaw before he abruptly turned and marched across the parking lot to his car.
Raw pain twisted in her chest, and the glimmer of hope she’d entertained extinguished.
That was it. It was over. He barely put up a fight.
Marissa raced up the stairs, blinking back tears that threatened to spill from her eyes. She let herself into the apartment and leaned against the door. She had suggested Bruno was to blame for the wreck of her life, but that hadn’t been fair. He presented the carrot, and she ate it. She had choice. She didn’t have to go to California with him, and after California she didn’t have to continue sleeping with him.
She had wanted to.
He had been a welcome distraction from a mundane, safe, predictable life, but the wonderful distraction of dating a rich man was over.
Time to focus.
Marissa straightened the glasses on her nose, went into her bedroom, and lifted her laptop out of the desk drawer. Going to one of the top job search sites, she set up a profile.
“I can do this,” she whispered to herself.
Then she began her search for work.