Chapter 5
You’ve got to be a battler. If you don’t, they’ll walk all over you.
This is it. Less than a month and I will be done with this place, thought Camdyn as she adjusted her favorite work bag on her shoulder.
She stared up at the tall building that contained the Anderson Law Firm.
It was all sleek glass and steel. Her firm operated out of the top three floors, but the building itself was huge.
Thirty-five floors. Making it the second tallest building in Phoenix.
A variety of enterprises and corporations filled the other floors.
It struck her as odd that she’d never been to any of the other floors. Only the top three and the bottom.
The ground floor was home to a large lobby, a coffee shop, and a busy service center that handled postal, printing, and other business-type needs.
Normally, she visited the coffee shop before going into the office, but today she bypassed it and headed straight to the elevators.
She was early, as usual, but still, several familiar faces and colleagues greeted her as she made her way through the building and up to her office.
No one mentioned her resignation. So, word hadn’t spread yet. It probably wouldn’t until Richard spoke with her. She was surprised he hadn’t reached out to her, but she knew he was probably waiting to see her face-to-face. Richard was always professional.
However, Ricky had messaged her and tried to call multiple times over the weekend. She’d ignored him though it had irritated her. Nothing he could say would change anything, so why was he even bothering her.
No more thoughts of that, she told herself.
She’d already moved on. Friday had initially seemed like a horrible day, but somewhere along the drive to California, she’d recognized it for the turning point in her life that it was.
From that moment on, everything had been brighter.
She’d made it to the game, watched her brother’s team win, uncharacteristically went to a club, danced her heart out, and then had a steamy romp with Javi.
She’d slipped away to her own room early Saturday morning before he’d awoken.
Then she’d slept ’til that afternoon, dined on room service, and lounged around reading a book she’d bought months ago.
Sunday morning, she’d visited the hotel spa before checking out and driving home to prepare for today.
She’d love to relive the weekend again. It had been restorative and invigorating, especially the wild night with Javi. Monday had arrived too fast.
She had considered not showing up for work today, but her professional integrity wouldn’t allow that.
She would work out her notice no matter how uncomfortable the environment might be.
She was still pissed at Ricky, but she could be civil if she had to interact with him.
She would let the uncomfortable awkwardness serve as her penance to herself for choosing to work with the Andersons instead of joining her own family’s practice in the first place.
A sigh escaped her. She really had made the wrong decision when choosing to work here. Hindsight and all that.
Opening the door to her office, she was struck by a strong fragrance.
On her desk sat a gigantic floral arrangement.
She groaned. The flowers were pretty, even if they were more suited for a funeral than an apology.
Ricky had clearly not asked for help when selecting them.
She could easily imagine him walking into a florist’s shop and deciding on the first gaudy basket he saw.
She really should have never agreed to go out with him.
She plucked the card from the arrangement.
Another meaningless apology. She dropped it in the trash.
She didn’t believe his compunctious words, and she was not going to suffer in her tiny box of an office with the cloying floral fragrance.
Picking it up by the white plastic handle, she headed back out of her office and took the elevator up to the admin level.
Arriving early had worked in her favor, and as she’d expected, reception was empty. Cecily always walked in at the last minute, so Camdyn hadn’t worried about seeing her, but she knew Ricky was in-house somewhere and she wanted to avoid running into him. His dad was probably here, too.
She found the large conference room empty and placed the basket in the center of the table. It looked gaudy there, too, but better than it had looked on her desk. Maybe they’d look better in the space if she removed the big satin bow.
“Good morning, Camdyn,” greeted a deep voice from the entryway.
She spun around and found Richard leaning against the doorframe.
He was a big guy, tall and stocky, but he had this grandfatherly look—a weathered face, white-gray hair, and a way about him that just made you feel comfortable. He was like Santa Claus.
“Good morning, Richard,” she replied.
He motioned towards the basket. “What’s the occasion for those? A parting gift?”
Camdyn smirked. “I guess you could call them that. Ricky left them for me, but they’re a bit too fragrant for my office space.”
He grimaced. “So you decided to share your good fortune with all of us?”
Not sure how to answer, Camdyn just looked at Richard while he shook his head. “Those look like they belong at a wake. His mother is going to be horrified to know that’s what he sent you.”
Camdyn couldn’t help the little laugh that slipped through at his comment.
Richard motioned her forward. “I always knew I wouldn’t be able to keep you forever. Come along, Miss Gallegos, let’s discuss your resignation in my office.”
She was going to miss working with this man.