Not fear, not dread, but excitement.
A low burn in my chest that has me walking faster, chin higher, heels clicking sharp against the marble.
The office doors give way with a push, and I stride in like I belong on the cover of Forbes. “Morning, ladies,” I toss out with a smile. Heads lift from screens, surprise flickering across faces.
“Elizabeth, wow,” one of them says, eyes sweeping me up and down. “But aren’t you supposed to be off today?”
“Just tying up a little business,” I reply, slipping my coat over my chair. The lie tastes sweet. My real business is wearing cheap perfume and plotting at the reception desk.
And there she is. Sherry. Rounding the corner, heels stabbing the carpet, lips already curled like she smells something foul. I don’t hesitate.
My pulse kicks, but my stride is steady as I cut across the floor and stop dead in her path.
I clear my throat—loud enough to snap her head around. She spins, eyes narrowing, mouth twisting into that familiar sneer. “What do you want?” she spits. “Shouldn’t you be at home polishing the boss’s shoes?”
Her voice drips venom. Normally it would sting. But I’m not doing normal today.
I laugh. Not my real laugh, the hollow one I’ve perfected over years of surviving people like her. “You’re hilarious, Sherry,” I say, smile sharp enough to cut. Then I drop it. Letting my voice flatten, my eyes go cold.
“Actually, I’m here to tell you this—” I step closer, so close she has to tilt her chin to keep looking at me. “You’re going to stop harassing me. Today.”
Sherry rolls her eyes condescendingly and tries to push past me, but I grab her shoulder, stopping her before she can get away. “Get your hands off of me,” Sherry whispers so as not to catch everyone’s attention. “You’ll get what’s coming to you.”
Her words cause an authentic laugh to escape me as I lift my phone and pull up the article that Dani and I found the previousnight. I feel lucky to have a friend who is in the journalism world. I’m still shocked at her snooping abilities.
Although it makes it nearly impossible to hide anything from her.
“I actually have something for you,” I say, and turn the phone to face her. “Want to explain this? Or better yet, how the hell you managed to get a job here with a record?”
Sherry’s face whitens as she snatches the phone from my hand and looks closer, scrolling through the article. “How did you find this?” she asks quietly, glancing around the office to make sure no one is close enough to hear us.
“I have my ways, Sherry. I didn’t take your threats lightly, and I don’t appreciate your false accusations. The lesson here is don’t fuck with me, especially when you have no idea what you are talking about.”
I’m on a high as I drill into her, yet it’s not going as I expected. She now has fear washing over her face. I expected her to lose her mind, scream and yell, or even try to slap me, but not this.
“Please…you can’t tell anyone about this.” Sherry hands my phone back to me and changes her demeanor from defensive to scared. “This was in the past, and I paid for it, trust me.”
The confidence I carried fades quickly, and now I just feel bad for her. I know I’m sticking up for myself, but this isn’t me. I’m not as ruthless as she is. I’m not a bully. Looking around, the office is filling up with employees, and we are in the open.
Instinctively, I grab her arm and pull her into the women’s bathroom, locking the door behind me. “What’s going on?” I ask once we are completely alone. “What happened?”
As her eyes well up with tears, she goes into a tangent. “I was young and dumb. Typical, I know. This was my ex-boyfriend, the only man I ever truly loved, and he cheated on me. I didn’t know how to process my feelings at this age or how to deal with heartbreak, so I decided to get some payback the only way I knew how.”
I listen, and while I’m not surprised by her actions, I know women who’ve done crazier things from a broken heart.
“I vandalized his car and broke into his home because he wouldn’t give me any of my things back. Can you believe that? He wrecks my heart, and I’m the one who has to pay for it…” she continues, dabbing her face with a paper towel. “Just please, don’t say anything to anyone. I need this job. I was able to get it off my record, but they’ll fire me for lying to them about such an insane case.”
I’m silent for a moment, running her story through my mind. There’s a small part of me that is still upset that she was being so rude to me, but as a woman in this world, I can relate to her story. It’s hard not to feel sorry for her.
“Fine,” I finally answer. “I won’t say anything. However, you need to back off and stop threatening me.”
“I know, and I’m sorry. I was jealous,” she replies and lowers her eyes, almost shamefully. “Jonathan never gives me the time of day, and I’ve been here for years. You walk into the conference room once, and you have all his attention. It didn’t seem fair.”
Smirking, I shake my head. “You have the wrong idea about me and the situation. It’s all strictly business between him and me, I promise.”
I’m lying directly to her face, but no one in the office needs to know what goes on behind closed doors. Whether he is my boss or not, I tend to keep my private life private.
“I’m his assistant and that’s all,” I continue.
