11. Ding, Dong! The Witch Is Dead!
DING, DONG! THE WITCH IS DEAD!
NEHA
I wasn’t sure if it was the whiskey warming my chest, the electric buzz of a packed Clover Club on a Friday night, or the satisfaction of seeing Vanessa finally get what she deserved—but for the first time in months, I felt good. Really good. And for once, I didn’t have to force it.
Charlie, Ansel, and I had grabbed a booth in the back, where the music wasn’t too loud. Ansel had just finished giving me a play-by-play of Vanessa’s public humiliation at the executive meeting. I had enjoyed every single second of it.
“You should’ve seen her face.” Charlie swirled his whiskey, the ice clanking against the sides. “It was like watching someone very slowly realize that they had stepped in wet cement.”
I smirked. “And then HR just sent her off with security? She had no final words? No dramatic exit speech?”
Ansel shook his head. “Just stunned silence and a walk of shame.”
I let out a satisfied sigh. “Poetic justice.”
Charlie lifted his glass. “To justice.”
I clinked my glass against his, then against Ansel’s, before taking a slow sip of my drink.
For weeks, I had felt powerless—discarded. But now I felt like I’d done something for myself, and I hadn’t done it alone. Charlie, Jimmy, Joanna—hell, even Eleanor—had all stood behind me.
Eleanor even called me, asking if I’d come back to Sterling.
She apologized for how Vanessa had created a situation with rumors and innuendo to make my life miserable.
I told her I didn’t think coming back was an option.
I was looking forward to working elsewhere, learning new things, and making new work friends.
Sterling had taught me a lot, but as far as my career was concerned, it was in the past. Also, after learning how Vanessa behaved, I didn’t know if I wanted to work in a place where such toxicity had thrived for years before it was removed.
Professionally I was done with Sterling. But from a personal perspective, well….
I glanced at Ansel, who was watching me over the rim of his glass.
He hadn’t needed to ask for my help—he could’ve easily handled this on his own—but he’d come to me anyway, so that I could feel vindicated.
I appreciated that. I liked that he’d put me first, for once.
Hell, I liked it almost as much as I liked us working together as a team again.
Before I could dwell on that further, giving myself an ulcer, Ansel’s phone buzzed on the table. He glanced at the screen and murmured, “It’s Eleanor. I need to take this.” He stood, walking toward the exit for some quiet.
The moment he was out of earshot, Charlie turned to me. "He wants you back, you know that, don’t you?
I stiffened and set my glass down. “I already told Eleanor I wouldn’t come back to Sterling, so he needs to find another assistant.”
He scoffed. “You’re too good to be someone’s assistant, Neha. And you damn well know that.”
I was caught off guard by his bluntness. “Thanks, I guess?”
Charlie rested his forearms on the table. “Ansel knows it, too.”
I sucked in a breath and let it out in frustration. “Sure, he does.”
“Well, then explain why he went out of his way to get me to get you a meet with Leon Carter.”
My eyes widened. I knew Leon Carter. He ran a boutique M he wanted me to succeed on my own.
I swallowed past the lump in my throat. “I don’t know what to say.”
He lifted his drink. “You don’t have to say anything, just enjoy the ride.”
I nodded, my heart feeling full and overwhelmed .
Ansel returned, slipping back into his seat. “What’d I miss?” he asked, glancing between us, noting the tension.
Charlie tipped his glass toward me. “I just told Neha about Leon Carter.”
Ansel beamed. “Isn’t that awesome? Charlie and Leon went to Purdue together.”
He wouldn’t take credit, I realized. He was giving it to his friend and that warmed my heart more than anything else could.
After drinks, Charlie left, and Ansel walked me home from the bar, hands in his pockets. We didn’t talk much, but the silence between us was comfortable—like in the past when we could be together at work without the need to speak.
When we reached my building, I turned to him, tilting my head. “I heard you gave me a solid recommendation.”
“What?”
I gave an exaggerated eye roll. “Charlie told me that you talked about me with Leon Carter.”
His gaze turned sheepish. “I only told him the truth.”
I eyed him carefully, taking in the slight tension in his jaw, the way he was bracing himself—like he wasn’t sure how I was going to respond.
“The truth, like how he’d regret if he didn’t hire me?”
He nodded, his eyes on mine, pleading to see him as he was now and not on that day when he made a mess of things.
“Do you regret letting me go?”
He shook his head.
I frowned.
“I regret how I did it, but I’m glad you’re going to do something on your own, for yourself.
You give so easily and I kept taking and taking and…
I know I didn’t give back. That was wrong of me.
Selfish. I don’t want to be that man. I want to be better.
” He stopped talking for a moment, checking to see how I was reacting.
I was doing a happy dance inside, but I stayed calm on the outside because I wasn’t ready to trust him or myself with him yet.
“Also, I want to date you, which I can’t do if you work for me.”
When he blurted out that last part, I felt everything inside me unravel. I bit my lower lip, then saw how his eyes followed the movement and darkened.
“It’s been hell seeing you in those tight fucking skirts you wear, thinking how it would feel to bend you over on my desk…,” he trailed off, but my panties got wet all the same.
“That’s quite the image.”
His eyes filled with quiet affection. “Tell me about it. I’ve been fantasizing about it for years.”
“That must’ve been hard ,” I teased.
He looked at me in shock for a moment and then threw his head back and busted out laughing. He looked damn good doing it. Carefree, happier than I’d seen him since forever .
“I adore you,” he murmured amused.
Now, my heart did skip a few beats.
“Give me a chance to show you that I’m working hard to be a better person.”
I licked my lips, nervous.
I loved this man, even at his worst. Now, when he was trying so hard to be his best, how could I walk away?
People don’t change, Neha, they just mask.
Maybe, but right now, right this moment, I just want to give him something for everything he’s done and take something for myself as well because I’ve missed him.
I stepped forward, rose onto my toes, closed the space between us, and pressed a soft kiss to his cheek. This was the first time I’d done this, and it felt…well, awesome.
Ansel tensed—just for a second. Then he let out a slow breath, his hands flexing at his sides.
I pulled back and met his eyes. “Thank you.”
His throat bobbed. “You don’t have to?—”
“I know.” I smiled, small but genuine. “But I mean it. You’re not the only one who’s been working on themselves, Ansel, I have as well, and I’m learning to accept help from people without worrying that I’m a burden to them. So, thank you .”
Thank you for including me in bringing about Vanessa's downfall, for telling Eleanor how you messed up with me, for understanding that I need to grow away from you, and for still being there with me and for me.
Most importantly, thank you for asking me to give us a chance, which is precious because I had given up all hope.