I laughed. He had noidea.
“Yeah, staying three hours after my other classes to read entries from prisoners and editing sub-par college entries.” That internship had been the highlight of my college career and I wouldn’t have changed a second ofit.
“Now that’s what I’m talking about!” Excitement oozed from Chase. He was just as welcoming as Greg, but I could tell that he was going to be a different kind of boss than Greg. “Follow me and let’s get some paperwork for the new job done. Your salary will be doubling, and we have to resubmit any vacation requests you may have, and then we can be on ourway.”
Chase tried to lead my to the back to fill out paperwork, but I couldn’t move. Doubling my salary? That wasn’t expected. I tried not to show just how much this meant to me. This was beyond anything I was expecting. I took a deep breath, centering myself, and followed to where Chase was waiting forme.
We were on the second floor for no more than an hour, before Chase ushered me up to the third floor. I looked around at the same cubicles that lined the financing floor but saw none that were open for me. It wasn’t till we were at Chase’s door that I saw the smaller office room to its left. It was empty, and the name on the door readAlexa Cartwright - Executive AssistantEditor.
“You don’t waste any time, do you?” I pointed the door out to Chase. I wondered if anyone would judge me if took a photo. I smiled to myself, proud that I had made this choice in mycareer.
“Of course not! When you told Greg last night that this was good to go, we had them put it on first thing this morning since you’ll be starting right away. I have a lot of books that need to be gone through and have final edits done. That is your main job here now, in case Greg forgot to mention it. Once books are prepared to be published, then you’ll do one last overlook and approve them for publishing. There will be times when you might be asked to assist with full editing, but as of right now, you are my final go-to. So if you see something, make sure to flag it.” Chase showed me into my office, which already had a pile of six manuscripts on the desk. “I’ll get Dyllan, our new intern, to get you somesupplies.”
“That won’t be needed, but thank you.” The confused look on Chase’s face made me laugh. I guess it was something odd to say when the only things in this room were bookshelves, my desk, a chair, and manuscripts. “I always carry a redpen.”
I pulled it out of my purse to show him. He just chuckled and walked out of the room, leaving me to my reading. I didn’t realize it was lunchtime until I looked up to see Lilly taking a photo of me hunched over mydesk.
“We thought maybe you could use some food.” Erica popped her head from around thecorner.
“That actually sounds perfect.” I didn’t hesitate to put down my pen and book. I needed a break. I had been on the same page for what seemed like all day. The chapter I was on just wasn’t making any sense and I couldn’t put my thoughts into words. I checked my phone before leaving, still not seeing anything from Adam. He should have been in town by now, or at least I had hoped. I just didn’t want his boss to change his mindagain.
Baker’s was unusually packed today, so when we finally got our food, we had no choice but to head back to the office. I had my meatball sub in hand as we walked across the street. I almost dropped it when I saw Adam waiting outside of the officebuilding.
“Adam.” He didn’t look like himself. It looked like he hadn’t shaved since I left. He was wearing torn jeans and a tight white shirt. I could tell he had been working out. It wasn’t just the voice on the phone that didn’t sound like my Adam anymore, the man standing in front of me didn’t look like my Adam either. I handed my sub over to Lilly and even wait to see if the girls were going to goinside.
When my hands were free I tried to jump into Adam’s arms but was stopped mid-stride. Adam’s hands stopped me in my tracks. He didn’t like public displays of affection, but who cared? My husband was finally here and standing in front ofme!
“I didn’t think I was coming today, but I knew I had to.” He reached out to grab my arm, pulling me closer. He smelled like home, and tears started to form in my eyes. Oh, how I had missed this man, but even though I was being held tight, I still felt a distance between us. I wanted itgone.
“What does that mean, Adam?” I pulled myself away from him as my voice started to crack. I quickly wiped away the tears that were falling. “I’ve missed you somuch.”
“I know, baby. Meet me at this address tonight.” He slipped a paper into my hands. I stared down at it, not sure what to do. Not sure why he was giving me this. “Please.”
He kissed me on the forehead and then turned around to leave. What I would have once considered a sweet act, left me with more questions. This wasn’t my Adam. Why was he being socryptic?
“Adam!” I screamed after him as he walked away. He didn’t look back at me. He didn’t even flinch at my scream. My feet wouldn’t move. I was paralyzed with the fear of what was to come, but I had no idea what was happening. “Adam!”
I was yelling at myself now. People around me were staring. Heat rose to my cheeks, and then I ran. I ran to the only place I knew wouldn’t reject me. Mywork.
I barely made it into the lobby bathroom before breaking down. I didn’t even know what had just happened. I sank down to the floor with tears streaming down my face. It was times like this that I felt grateful for not wearing makeup. My nose was already starting to stuff up. The tears come faster the more I tried to stopthem.
“Are you okay, Alexa?” I looked up, startled to see Max standing beforeme.
“I’m fine.” I wiped away the tears with the back of my hand and stood up. I didn’t want to let Max see me like this. “Why are you in the girls’bathroom?”
“Darlin’, this is the men’s room.” I knew the look on my face must have shown how mortified I was, because Max couldn’t stop laughing. I tried to push past him to the door, but he wouldn’t let me pass. His hands were planted on my shoulders, holding me in place. “I’m sorry. It’s notfunny.”
“You’re right. It’s not.” I shoved at his chest, but instead of pushing him away, I grabbed fistfuls of his shirt. He grabbed onto my wrists and held them tight betweenus.
“Alexa.” He looked down at me. My name on his lips soothed me. One of his hands moved to my face and wiped away a stray tear that had managed to sneak out again. “I was serious when I asked if you wereokay.”
I didn’t answer him. The words wouldn’t form in my mouth because what was happening was something that I couldn’texplain.
“Go home.” Max released me and granted me access to thedoor.
“What?” I was confused as what he was telling me todo.
“Go home, Alexa.” The look on his face said that he understood what was going on, even though he had no clue why. I checked the lobby for anyone before bolting. Once I hit the sidewalk, I looked down at the note that Adam had handed me. An address was on it, so I hailed a cab and ended up 20 minutes outside the city in front of a two-story Victorian-style house. A sold sign adorned the front yard and a moving truck was in the driveway, but what I wasn’t expecting was Adam on the front porch, holding anotherwoman.
