No matter what, I’m going to make this work.
Tucking tail and running was the cowardly thing to do, and while I was many things—overweight, reclusive, and introverted, to name a few—I also had strengths. Like, my ability to persevere under the most difficult of circumstances. I mean, despite the drama of my sister and JoJo, I graduated valedictorian of my class. Despite my crippling fear of big crowds, I fell into the top ten percent of my graduating class. I had a lot to be proud of, and I knew I brought a great deal of comprehension and skill to the job I had been hired to take on. Plus, I’d be dealing with the board, which meant I’d answer to them more than JoJo anyway.
And no one had control of me unless I allowed them to have it.
“No one has control unless I give them control. No one has control unless I give them control. No one has control unless I--.”
I finally got logged into the desktop computer and an idea struck me. I pulled up Google Chrome and searched for an image that had the same sort of quote on it that I had been chanting to myself. I found a beautiful picture of a fall day, where the leaves had turned all sorts of colors and the babbling brook looked good enough to drink.
And after setting it as the background image on my computer screen, I sent it to my email so I could make it the background on my laptop as well as my work phone.
Every day, I’d make sure to remind myself that JoJo didn’t have control over me unless I allowed him to have it.
At least, I hope so.
“Knock, knock!”
A soft rapping sound echoed toward me before my office door slipped open. My newfound friend, Brit, stuck her head in and flashed a pearly white smile at me as I continued to type away, trying to set everything up. I had to sync my schedule with JoJo’s, which seemed a bit odd for an accountant. But, when I realized that he had all of the board meetings on his schedule that immediately transferred to mine, I understood why that was an item on the list to get done.
“What’s up?” I asked as I finally pulled my eyes away from the screen.
Maggie showed me her watch. “It’s time for lunch.”
My eyes bulged. “Wait, seriously?”
I checked the time at the corner of the desktop screen and sure enough, the morning had already flown by.
Which cued my stomach to start growling like some rabid monster that had gotten lost in the woods.
“Come on! We’re going to be late,” Brit said.
I turned off my desktop screen and fetched my purse. “Lead the way, beautiful!”
And as we made our way toward the elevator, I couldn’t help but breathe in a sense of accomplishment.
Because getting through each part of the day without JoJo making me crumble was something to celebrate.
4
Rebecca
“I mean,can you believe that man?” Brit said as she sipped her coffee. “The man is a fucking windstorm, and every time he comes down to our level my heart seizes in my chest.”
Angelica, one of the women from H.R., nodded her head in agreement. “Trust me, Becca, you’re not the only one that dreads Mr. Ryker’s existence. He keeps everyone on pins and needles whenever he’s around.”
I sighed. “I mean, part of me is a bit relieved that I’m not the only one, but why work for him if he makes everything so miserable?”
Kayla, the other woman from H.R., scoffed. “Have you seen what he pays us? It’s at least forty percent more than the market standard.”
Angelica cackled. “Yeah, probably to justify how he treats us so we won’t leave.”
I furrowed my brow. “Does he really fear people quitting on him like that?”
“Nah,” a male voice said as it approached us, “he just doesn’t want people that do their job well leaving and shitting on his name when they get a new job.”
“Tommy!” Angelica exclaimed.
The three girls stood to embrace him before he turned to me. “You must be the new girl everyone’s talking about.”
