When the meeting is over, I make it a point not to be the first one to leave the room. I’m not running. I take my time to review notes and action items. When I reach the end of my list, I can feel Jack’s eyes on me. I give him a saccharine grin, my painted red lips dramatic, as I stand up.
I know he watches me as I leave.
Flying across the country, solo, for a two-day client event was not my plan, but this is the universe’s way of saying “I told you so.”I told you not to date someone at work, especially someone in leadership. I also told you not to avoid the countless red flags before you walked in on him engaging in late-night extracurricular activities with his other work girlfriend.
I also told you to get to bed earlier because a 6 a.m. flight is brutal.
Told. You. So.
I don’t love that Jack still works here after the sex in the office. Stella reiterated that while she wholeheartedly believed he engaged in an inappropriate act, and put him on HR’s radar, there’d be no repercussions unless I filed a formal complaint.
We know what happens with those and the people who file them.
No matter how upset I was, I knew I’d never file. It’d follow me around as much—or more—as it’d follow Jack. Meanwhile, Misty—Jack’s second girlfriend—never came back to work. Guess she couldn’t handle being part of the catalyst of workplace turmoil and playing a part in breaking up a two-year relationship.
When I was dealing with the stinging realization that I’d have to see Jack every day, I put in a request to work remotely. I wanted to get up and move anywhere and work from a shared space or a new apartment. My body had this itch to get myself far away from Jack—proximity-wise—and maybe try something new.
I’d even considered moving somewhere much smaller. There’d still be a Target within driving distance, obviously, but change the scenery.
Yes, I’d miss the sound of endless traffic. Car horns. People yelling out windows. Sometimes the screeching brakes. I’m not sure how I’d function without the chance to get dumplings from my favorite Thai spot, paired with the spiciest Indian food, where they put extra garlic on my naan. It’d be difficult to leave the string of Indie bookstores which I pass on the short walk from the office to the bus stop.
But it doesn’t matter. My request was denied. Well, sort of. The message was to re-evaluate in twelve months. Stella never mentioned it and neither did I. I planned on getting through the year and seeing how I felt before bringing it up again.
I love a plan. And at thirty-three years old, mine was ripped from me. Believe me, it’s not Jack, specifically, but the idea of knowing what’s coming next.
I worked hard to move up in the company and become a senior consultant in the five years I’ve worked at Sparks Wellness. Stella’s been fair and transparent about my trajectory. She’s given me quite a bit of opportunity and responsibility in my role.
No way am I letting a walking misogynistic disaster like Jack derail this part of my life. I can do the bare minimum and keep the peace at the office.
This whole fiasco is also my doing. I knew it was bad news, and a total cliché, to get involved with a colleague. Now, my outlook on men is shot and I’ve opened a whole jar of trust and self-worth issues. I made this bed and here I am lying in it.
Nonetheless, here I sit on a 6 a.m. flight, after three short hours of sleep. There wasn’t enough time to bring any of my colleagues up to speed, courtesy of Jack and his last-minute lack of follow-through. I jumped in, head-first, after the meeting from hell and did everything I could to be 110 percent prepared.
It helps that I enjoy my job. Working for Sparks is exciting and rewarding. We build wellness strategies for employers to roll out for their employees, encouraging changes that’d make them happier people, both at work and home. Before starting here, I had no idea about the breadth of corporate wellness and how much fun I’d have in the field. I feel like a nerd saying it but it’s true.
I get settled in my seat and my phone rings—Vivian.
“Up and at ’em early, I see. I just boarded.” I yawn into the phone.
“I set an alarm to check-in. Wanted to make sure Jack didn’t meet you at the airport or do anything his entitled and equally egotistical self would do,” she retorts in her own yawn.
That might seem like a long-winded insult for pre-sunrise but it’s very much how Vivian is. I adore her for it. She’s the first friend who showed me what it’s like to say what I want in a friendship without making me feel needy or childish. She means what she says. No bullshit.
“No sign of him. I don’t think he’d want to risk a scene.”
I know Jack skipping this trip is significant. The client is expecting him since he’s one of their key points of contact. The compromise we silently made was that he wouldn’t accompany me, and I won’t tell said client any details about him getting caught having sex in the office on a Tuesday.
“He loves all attention—no matter how slimy it is. Dude isn’t even smart enough to get his rocks off somewhere other than your place of employment,” she shares with enough contempt appropriate for 6 a.m.
“Things we know and I don’t want to get into while I’m sitting next to a stranger. I’ll text you when I land,” I say as my seatmate’s tired eyes meet my gaze.
“You’re right, you’re right. Remind me. Where are you staying?”
“The Emerald Canopy Lodge.” I try not to roll my eyes. “The room rates are ridiculous but it has good feedback on their website.”
“Jackwouldget a client to crack their budget on a place that starts with “the.” Ivy—this also sounds like your nightmare.” She remembers my desire to spend most of my time indoors.
Vivian knows how Jack immediately blew through the client’s budget on this “must-stay” lodge. There were many other options within their price range, but Jack couldn’t let it go. I love how Vivian and I can confide in one another about work. We support each other, even though I work in corporate wellness and she works at a bakery, plus other odd jobs.
