“I don’t know, I think I’m digging this silver fox thing he has going on,” Heaven jokes. “Watch out, Axel, I might be infatuated before the day is over.”
Alfred sticks out his arm for Heaven. “Milady?”
My grin fades when they leave. Now, I have to figure out what to do about Allie and my parents.
Axel
I watch as Allie slinks into my office in her too-tight skirt and too high heels. Her once flowing hair is now clipped at the nape of her neck. Her face is pinched in contrition as she settles in the seat across from me. Her cheeks pinken when she notices me watching her. I withhold a sigh; I’d never thought I’d see the day where I’m not happy to see her enter my office.
The air is rife with unease which is never the case when we’re working together. The light-hearted banter and concise agreements during a busy day are replaced with a clumsy awareness of us as people. Right now, we’re a disjointed team.
“It looked better down,” I admit before returning to the paperwork on my desk. I haven’t thought of everything I want to say to her or how to broach the subject. I opt to focus on business first. “My mom told me about the pregnancy lie and the PR firm has already contacted me to let me know they’re working on squashing it,”
I move from one pile of paper to another. Allie is still abnormally quiet. My phone pings with a notification; it’s a picture of Heaven and Alfred making kissy faces at the camera. I smile and shake my head.
Me: Tell Alfred I’m calling his wife.
Heaven responds with a photo of Alfred looking scared.
I murmur her name with a laugh.
I catch Allie studying me after I return my phone to its spot on the desk. Her brows were knitted, but she quickly schools her face in a neutral position. The awkwardness between us is so thick I shift in my chair before picking up where I left off.
“Was Janet what you wanted to discuss or is there something else?”
“That’s it.” Her tone is lower and tense indicating she’s still in a mood.
I exhale. “Look, Allie. I don’t know what’s been bothering you lately, but I am not an unreasonable person. Do you want to talk about it?”
Tight-lipped, she shakes her head and stares out the window.
“Fine. Just know I’m not mad at you, but your behavior in the last two days is unacceptable. Since you don’t want to resolve your issue with me, I have no choice but to let you do it on your own.”
Her head snaps forward, finally facing me. “Meaning?”
“Meaning, you are leaving after this conversation.” Her hazel eyes pool with moisture, and it hurts my feelings. I clench my jaw to keep from retracting my last statement and push through to the next part. “And you don’t need to be here next week, either.”
Allie’s jaw drops, her face reddens, and some of the tears escape. “Y-you’re suspending me for having a bad day? I’ve been a model employee for over five years.”
I shake my head emphatically. “No, I’m giving you time to work through your issues, whatever they may be,sinceyou’ve been a model employee for five years. Anyone else would be in the middle of a disciplinary meeting with H.R. I’m trying to avoid those types of unpleasantries.” I tent my fingers together. “Take the week and find my Allie Cat.”
“Don’t call me that anymore.” There’s an iciness in her tone that both alarms and irritates me.
“Fair enough. I’ll never call you that again. Either way, take these next week and a half and come back as the assistant you were before yesterday, or wewillhave issues. I don’t like this new persona. No one gets paid to yell at me or boss me around. We’ve had a respectful working relationship up until this point, I don’t see why that has to change.”
The hurt in her eyes kills me on the inside. “Are you sure you don’t want to talk about it?” I offer one last time. “Are you in danger or something,”
She shakes her head. “And if I opt to resign?”
Surprised, I blink a few times before responding. Her lack of gratitude is starting to chafe my nerves. “I would rather you not, but I’m not going to beg you either. I would think you’d be happy to get a work-week off that’s not being taken from your vacation, sick time, or attendance. If you don’t appreciate the chance I’m giving you, or you feel this new version of you is here to stay, then you know where you can find H.R. Honestly, I really think you should stop talking and leave before you piss me off. Do you really want me to rescind my offer and move straight to paperwork?”
I lift a brow silently challenging her. I would hate for our time together to end this way, but I can’t force her to talk either. I also hate that she doesn’t trust me enough to let me help her through whatever has her lashing out. I’m surprised that her lack of faith in me hurts. I thought we were friends.
I wait for her answer as she stares at me hard with her thin lips pressed so tightly together that they begin to turn white. Finally, she nods stiffly before vacating my office and closing my door with a soft click.
I bow my head and rub my temples. This sucks; one of the most reliable women in my life has gone crazy. I want to fix her issue, but she won’t let me. Doesn’t she know that I care enough to try to fix an issue for her?
Now, I just have to figure out what’s bothering my parents. Twenty-two minutes after dismissing Allie, I shut down my computer and pack up my things. I’m done for the day. My lack of concentration has me being unproductive.
