“Karina’s father died yesterday. Real sudden. Stroke.”
“Oh. Oh no!” Elissa’s stomach sank. Karina’s mother had been ailing for years, but her father still seemed… Wait, if her dad was gone, who was going to take care of her mom?
“I told Karina I would let everyone here know so she didn’t have to make so many calls. She’s heading to Ohio tomorrow. Today is packing and calling family. She’ll likely be out a few weeks. Not only with the funeral arrangements but with her mother’s care.”
“I understand. I’ll send her a text in a day or two. Need me to brief whoever is taking over her accounts? I can do it today.”
A small smile creased Mr. Samuels’s face. “No need to brief. Karina assures me you are more than capable of handling her cases until she gets back. Said you could even file everything and clear her desk if this takes longer than she’s expecting. I’m in one hundred percent agreement. Her clients are familiar with you, and you won’t have to waste time briefing anyone. Any new clients will be assigned to other accountants. Since Karina had some of our largest accounts, I’ll be overseeing your work, but I have no doubts you’re the best person for the job. The load will be heavy. Get whatever help you need. Any questions?”
Pride bloomed in her chest. Karina, her mentor, felt she had this covered. It was the highest praise she’d ever received. Even better than the summa cum laude on her diploma from the University of Arizona. And then…
Ryan. She should tell Mr. Samuels about Ryan. The mere idea sent her heart racing and her palms sweating. He was older than her dad, had kids her age. How in the hell could she tell him she was dating an employee of one of their clients? She could see how that conversation would go.
“Gee, Mr. Samuels, I’d love to, and I can with most accounts. But the super important DeMarco account? See, I fucked the owner’s son and…”
She must owe another twenty to the swear jar by now. It was Friday, and this would throw the office into chaos for a couple days. She could take the weekend to think—overthink—and devise a plan, and in the meantime, she would avoid the DeMarco account like the plague.
“Everything alright there, Elissa?” Mr. Samuels’s voice broke through her spiral.
“Oh yes, sorry. Just thinking about what to tackle first.”
Yes, Monday would do.
“Okay. I’m available any time. Do not hesitate to call, text, or email when questions or concerns arise. Let’s give Karina a few days before doing more than offering condolences, but she said she’ll be bored silly after the funeral.”
“Thank you, Mr. Samuels, for your confidence. I won’t let you or Karina down.” A few days, yes, they’d know more by then, and possibly Karina would return by the end of next week. She really, really didn’t want to have this conversation with a sixty-year-old man. Would it hurt anything to put it off for a few more days?
“I know, Elissa. It’s why I chose you for the job. I’m going to unlock her office so you can access anything you need from there. While you see what you can find, I’ll call our clients and inform them of the situation.”
Elissa nodded and watched her boss’s boss walk away. She took a moment to gather herself, deal with the information, and send up a short prayer for Karina and her family. She snagged her bag and walked to Karina’s office. The door was cracked open. Pushing it wider, Elissa entered, set her bag down in a chair, and collapsed in the other. It didn’t feel right to sit in her mentor’s chair.
As usual, Karina’s desk was clear. Like most other industries, the vast majority of their work was done digitally. Paper copies were mere backups, hedges against technology that could delete a day’s work with a simple keystroke. The boxes from their clients were stored in a secure file room. Via their shared file system, Elissa had access to the ongoing audits, tax returns, and other documents.
She glanced over the large desk calendar Karina had filled out. Although everything went into the shared calendar app, Karina was old school, wanting or needing a physical reminder as well as a ping from her phone. Elissa checked today’s date. For the morning, her boss had written “DeMarco” in big, red letters. The afternoon was blocked off for another client in green. That’s right, they’d planned on reviewing the DeMarco paperwork this morning, and the other client’s after lunch. They were going to hunker down and knock out most of the DeMarco Property Management tax return next week, which would give them plenty of time to see if any other information was missing or if they had any questions. Another few days, and they could audit themselves and draft some recommendations for next year.
Shit, shit, shit.
Elissa placed her head down on the desk. Three more bucks in the swear jar. She should march right into Mr. Samuel’s office and recuse herself from this account. But she couldn’t, not when everyone needed her. With Karina out of the picture for the foreseeable future, anyone else would have to start over. She’d have to put this thing with Ryan on pause until after Karina returned.
Dashing away tears, she fished her cell phone out of her purse and stared at it.
This is the right thing to do.
Elissa always did the right thing. She prioritized her family and her work. She didn’t lie, she didn’t cheat. She didn’t sleep with clients’ employees. Or sons, as the case may be.
She didn’t put mind-blowing sex above her professional ethics. She was already in a squishy gray area, which made her queasy.
All these thoughts were delaying the inevitable. She had to let him know it was a one and done. Elissa prided herself on her integrity. A clean break right now would alleviate some of her anxiety.
She took a deep breath and composed her text. And deleted it. Tried again. Deleted it again.
It’s not like it was the greatest sex she’d ever had.
She forced herself to write out the break-up text. Her finger hovered over the send button.
Okay, it was exactly like it was the greatest sex she’d ever had.
Elissa couldn’t do it, not via text. That was far beyond shitty, and Ryan deserved better. She’d do it the next time she saw him. She deleted the last text. Tonight, when he called, she’d tell him what happened and talk to him like the adult she was.
