Chapter 12 #3
She opened her mouth to say something, but I took a step closer to her.
“Shut up. You’ve talked enough. It’s my turn,” I growled, and held my index finger up to her face.
“I thought we were friends. I was dumb to think so, I’ll give you that one.
Go ahead and think what you want about me.
At the end of the day, I could give two shits.
But don’t ever go insulting the man I love. ”
“You’re just a fling to him. He will come to his senses and see I’m the woman he belongs with. He’ll never love you,” she spat out.
“You’re wrong. I love Theresa very much,” he declared, and wrapped his arm around my waist to pull me into a side hug. I embraced him to drive home his statement to this crazy bitch.
Tears filled her eyes. “You’re lying.”
“No. I’m not. And even if I were, I’d never date you—not after seeing this hideous side of you.”
“But—"
Caleb didn’t let her finish. “I’ve had enough of this conversation. You’re fired. Pack your belongings. I want you out of here within the next thirty minutes.”
“You can’t… do that.”
“I can, and I just did. Phil will help you collect your things. Come, Theresa,” Caleb said, guiding me out the door. We passed a big, burly man who stood in the doorway. “If you have any issues, call the police,” Caleb said as he passed him.
“Will do, boss.”
Caleb led the way to the elevator. It was quiet on our way up. I was processing everything that just happened. I still couldn’t believe what Grace had done. She had always been so nice to me.
The elevator pinged and we stepped out. Gretchen was waiting at her desk, her hands clasped together.
“Did you talk to her?” she asked.
“Yes, she’s delusional. She wanted Mr. McDuffie and tried to get me out of the way since I announced we were dating. I think she thought once I was gone, he’d start seeing her.”
Gretchen’s mouth gaped open in disbelief. “What?”
“Yeah,” I said, walking over to her desk. Caleb headed into his office. “It was insane. She tried to deny everything, but once the proof was presented to her and Caleb told her it was never going to happen between them and that she was fired, it sank in for her.”
“Are we living in a soap opera or something? Who the hell does that?”
I giggled. “It feels like we are.”
Caleb reappeared at his doorway. “Ladies, I think we all have earned the right to take the rest of the day off.”
I glanced down at my watch. “There’s only an hour and a half left.”
“Hey! Don’t complain. Just say thank you,” Gretchen exclaimed.
I chuckled. “You’re right. Thank you.”
“You’re welcome. Would you like to come over to my place tonight?” he asked as Gretchen got her belongings together.
I thought about everything that had occurred today and how I was feeling. I knew he had apologized, but it still really hurt that he thought I was capable of lying to him.
“No. I’ll stay at my place tonight.”
“I understand. I got your stuff together, so you should be set to go,” he said, reaching out to hand me my purse and work bag.
“Thanks. Aren’t you going to leave with us?” I asked, slinging my bags over my shoulder.
“I have one more call to make. I’ll talk to you later.”
“Goodnight,” I said, giving him a small wave before turning to head to the elevator.
Gretchen followed after me. When the doors closed behind us, she let out a low whistle.
“Girl, he has got it bad for you.”
“What are you talking about?”
She tilted her head and narrowed her eyes. “You are not that dense, Theresa. Mr. McDuffie is head over heels for you. Didn’t you see how disappointed he looked when you turned him down?”
“Well, he shouldn’t have believed that I would lie about having the files,” I said matter-of-factly.
“You’re right. That was a dick move. But remember, it was a knee-jerk reaction. Once he had time to calm down and was presented with the facts, he admitted his mistake and apologized. Not a lot of guys would do that so quickly, or at all.”
The elevator doors opened, and we stepped out into the busy lobby. She was right. What mattered was that in the end, he did believe me and admitted his fault. I had had one boyfriend in the past who was incapable of doing that. Hence why we broke up.
“Hey, I’m not trying to tell you what to do,” she said, pulling me to the side of the hallway. “I just see how happy the two of you are, and I’d hate for Grace to have succeeded in breaking that up.”
“Fair point. I’ll talk to him tonight.”
“Good. I can’t wait to hear all about it tomorrow. Do you need anything? Want to go get a drink?”
“Rain check? I want to head home and take a shower.”
“Deal.” She gave me a hug. “I’m sorry this is what you had to come back to from your vacation.”
“It’s okay. What’s work without a bit of drama?”
She laughed. “True that. Bye, Theresa.”
“Bye, Gretchen.”
She headed toward the garage exit. I went out the front of the building and headed home. It was a warm summer afternoon, but the breeze from the lakefront made it comfortable. It gave me some time to think and decide what I wanted to say to Caleb when I saw him next.