Maybe it's because Ron was right?
I would ruin her.
It didn't matter that I loved her. It was better to let her go. I wasn't worthy of her, and I was fooling myself to think I could ever make her happy.
fifteen
Elinora
Ten Years Later
“Um, just in case anyone finds a corpse in the janitorial closet”—I shifted my eyes from side to side, making sure the boss wasn’t listening— “it’s mine.”
My receptionist, Mabel’s, jaw fell so low it practically became unhinged. “I totally saw this episode on True Crime, and it doesn’t end well,” she hissed. “You need to pack your bags and get to Mexico now.”
“It’s fine.” I rebalanced my coffee on top of my stack of binders, doing my best to keep my computer bag secured on my shoulder. “My dad was here.” My books were steady now, and I returned my gaze to Mabel, who sat stiffly behind the real estate office receptionist’s desk. Her face was a shade of shock, matching her more-strawberry-than-blonde hair.
“Should we call someone to help him?” she asked, concealing her mouth with a cupped palm.
“Oh!” My eyes rounded. “My dad’s notinthere. What kind of mind do you have?” I flashed my eyes heavenward as this conversation was going in a completely different direction than I had planned. “My dad left me a present for my new office. I’m holding it in the closet while the paint dries in my office.”
Mabel tilted her ear toward me while scratching it. “Uh—”
“He’s the taxidermy guy.” I waved my hand dismissively as I forgot she had no idea who my dad was. “I know it’s weird. I can’t stop it. I’ve tried, but he loves it. It's how he always provided, and I have learned to accept who he is.” I rambled as I didn’t have time to waste. My dad’s unexpected visit this morning had thrown off my schedule, and I was running late for our planning meeting. That shouldn’t be a huge deal, but I was still the newest hire, and under the closest microscope. Although I had recently passed the bar exam, I hadn’t been immediately offered a position as a corporate lawyer. Instead, my contract listed me as their “legal clerk.” I’d wanted to argue, but I needed a job. I hoped a promotion was coming, and the rumors floating around the office were promising. Still not wanting to wreck my chances, I scurried down the hall to the boardroom.
Our office suite was in the corner of a high-rise building, and all the doors were glass. Even when they were closed, one could see exactly what was going on inside, which wasn’t the worst part. The absolute terrible part was everyone could see me walking down the hall, and there was no way I’d be able to casually sneak into the room. I worked in a real-life fishbowl.
I attempted to pad softly down the wood floors, but my new pencil skirt kept riding up my tummy rolls, landing dangerously close to my armpits. It was all I could do to covertly tug it down and not spill my coffee. I was the only woman who had ever fantasized about wearing maternity clothes when I wasn’t pregnant. When Mabel had been pregnant, she’d worn pants with all these fantastic elastic bands that conformed to theshape of her bump, and they could stretch for days.They were my dream pants. She’d come into work, complaining about her pants, but I couldn’t help but wish I could try them.I wanted conforming elastic.In what society do we normalize maternity pants, because that’s the one where I wanted to live.
Just make it through the meeting without a wardrobe malfunction, and the rest of the day should be a cinch. And not like the unbreathable cinch of my skirt. The good kind.
I flexed my lips, landing in a toothy grin as I opened the glass door, and shimmied slowly against the wall, eyes on the empty leather seat closest to me.
“Elinora.” Jonathan Fox, my boss and CEO of the company, pronounced my name as if he was a preschooler still trying to grasp the concept of syllables and handed me a matte black folder. “It’s the rubric for your evaluations. Please look it over when you have time.”
“Yes, sir.” I eyed the folder, wondering how I was supposed to grab it with my hands so full, but he did me a favor and slid it on the table in front of an empty seat. I plopped down onto my chair and managed to drop my stack of binders while only spilling one drop of coffee on the table. I quickly smudged it out with my thumb and licked off the remnants before anyone noticed.
“Now that everyone is here, we will begin.” Jonathan went into presentation mode as he flicked on a projector with a PowerPoint slide. “Last week, everyone renewed their work contracts. Many of you expressed concerns about not getting raises. That was an intentional delay due to some developments and the reason why contracts were only renewed for six months. As you know, I’ve been the sole owner of Platinum Real Estate for over thirty years. This year has proved challenging due to my recent health issues. I’ve decided to take a step back from the daily management, and I am bringing in a few partners.” Jonathan paced to the other side of the room while letting hiseyes scan the packed boardroom. “I’ve delegated this Tampa office to my son. One of his first orders of business is to complete your job evaluations as we restructure, and then we will assign salary recommendations based on the restructuring." He pulled his lips into an excited smile, but when paired with his newly grown mustache, he looked like the Monopoly guy. “We will welcome your new boss, also Mr. Fox, in the office sometime later this week.”
I was mostly listening to this excuses-to-why-we-never-got-raises speech, but I was more concerned about my stupid skirt riding up my rib cage again. This skirt clearly had a mind of its own, preferring to travel the northern hemisphere. I’d leave it up there if I had the length to spare, but I needed to pull it down or I’d risk showing someone my nether regions. I crossed my legs for extra protection and shifted in my seat, doing my best to sneak an adjustment just as the glass door behind me opened.
Fresh air wafted in.
All googly eyes aimed my way as I leaned forward, grabbed both sides of my skirt, and yanked it down as if I were digging out a wedgie. My face instantly flamed with embarrassment as I dropped back to my seat, my gaze on my lap.
Crud. Crud. Triple crud.
I was pretty sure whoever was standing behind me had gotten a front row seat to me “adjusting my skirt,” and I couldn’t bring myself to turn around. My stomach dropped out the bottom, and the heat in the room suddenly amplified to a hundred and forty.
I leaned forward, bracing my forehead with my palm while doing my best to conceal my face by looking down. See? This was why the gator suit had been such a huge asset. Clearly, I wasn’t skilled at choosing appropriate office wear. Shopping was a total scam, because clothes always looked so adorbs in all those online ads. The cute pencil skirts with blazers. When you addedin a few extra pounds for us plus-size girls those styles became unmanageable.
I fought back a deep cringe so hard my shoulders shook.
The heat on my cheeks grew, and I kept my gaze glued to the table as I felt the human presence behind me walk around the side of the room, meeting Jonathan up front. “Sorry to be late,” Mabel squeaked out. “The delivery guy needed some signatures.”
It was only Mabel. Still embarrassing but it could have been so much worse.Phew.
He paused for a beat while Mabel took the last chair. I steeled my chin down and planted both feet on the floor.
