This is it. This is the moment she’s been waiting for her whole career. Being made a partner. She’d have preferred to be in the office for this type of announcement. So she could stand tall and shake everyone’s hand, so she could be recognized. But she’ll take a congratulatory phone call instead.
“The board chose Johnson. Nothing against you, but they feel he’s a better fit for a partner. He’s been with the company a while now-”
“Five years.”
“Yes, umm, five years he’s been here and he’s done a good job. He’s a good fit.”
“I’ve been there ten, almost eleven. I don’t understand Gerard? If anyone should be made a partner, it’s me. I’ve put off vacations and haven't taken any days off in years. I put in more hours than anyone there.”
“Just wasn’t in the cards, Chloe. Maybe in a few years-”
“I quit.” The words are out of her mouth quicker than she can think them. She’s shaking and knows if she stays on the phone with him much longer, she’ll start crying. “I’ve put in almost eleven years of my life there. I could have left, gone to another firm. But I stayed, worked hard, gave it my all. And you give partner to Ted Johnson, who got drunk at thelast Christmas party and passed out in the cleaning closet.”
Gerard is quiet on the line and doesn't say anything. The only reason she knows he’s still there is from his heavy breathing. How many years did she spend with that asshat breathing on her,loudly?She’s done. It’s decided, she quits.
“What do you want me to say, Chloe? The board’s decision was unanimous.”
She hangs up, wishing it were an old landline phone that she could slam down. She’s on the verge of tears. Unanimous. How could it have been unanimous? Didn’t anything she did there mean anything? And that’s when it hits her, no, it didn’t really mean anything. She wasn’t saving the world. She was looking over reports and figuring out taxes. She wasn’t building a life for herself with friends and family. She wasn’t dating. She wasn’t reading or learning new things. In no way in the past ten years has she done anything besides work at a crummy job.
She slides off the bed, letting herself slump to the floor, knees bent up and bare feet on the carpet. This sucks. This more than sucks. She just quit her job. Her rent, while not a ton compared to NYC prices, is still rent she has to pay. Maybe she can live with Danielle for a while? She has that big apartment overlooking Central Park. What are friends for, right?
She puts her head in her hands and cries. It feels good to cry. To know she did what she thought was right and quit her job. That she stood up for herself, at least a little, and let them know they couldn’t treat employees this way. Now, of course, she has to find another job, one she can work to make partner for, hopefully. It’s all too much. Being an adult, it suckssometimes. And she wishes in times like these that she had someone to help her. To hold her or tell her they’ve got the bills covered while she looks for another job. Someone to help her cook and clean, to go walking around the city with. To kiss.
She pictures Axel. Big, strongvirginAxel. He can make anyone swoon with his good looks, but it’s what’s inside that makes her love him. And she does love him. She wants to be with him, and it makes her heart hurt to know she’s leaving soon. She cries harder.
There are some thumps and a loud knock on her door. What in the world?
“Chloe? Open up, sweetheart.”
She’s up and pulling the door open in a flash. Axel is there, and he pulls her swiftly into his arms. He walks them back into the room before bending down to nuzzle her head. She feels safe and cared for with him. The tears keep flowing, and she doesn't care enough to try to stop them. It's good in his arms.
“What’s wrong, baby? Are you ok?”
She snuggles further into his chest. His calling her baby and sweetheart, even when she’s upset, makes her happy.
“I quit my job.”
“What? Why?”
“My boss called, I...I didn’t get made a partner at the firm. They gave it to some guy who has only been there a few years. Said he was the unanimous choice.”
“Oh fuck. I’m sorry. Are you ok?”
“I am,” she pulls back to look up into his gorgeous face. “I was scared, I’m still scared. But I feel good about quitting. I’ve been there too long already.”
“Is it going to be hard to get another job?”
“I don’t know. I kind of hung up on my boss, so I don’t know if I’ll get a good recommendation,” she barks out a laugh. It feels good to laugh. The tears are gone, and she walks them over to sit on her bed. He comes willingly and nuzzles the top of her head, planting small kisses there.
‘I love you’ is on the tip of her tongue, and it almost comes out. It would be so natural to say it. To tell him how much he means to her. But she keeps her mouth clamped shut and leans into his shoulder.
“Are you going to go back to New York?”
“Yeah, why wouldn’t I?”
He looks sad, she realizes. She wants him to elaborate, to say he wants her to stay. But the truth is, they barely know each other. It doesn’t matter that she feels more comfortable with him than anyone she’s ever met. They have only known each other for a little less than two weeks. He doesn’t say anything else, and neither does she, instead, they kiss and roll around on her bed.
Chloe ends up on top, where she grinds into him unabashedly. She can feel his hard cock trapped in his jeans, and she rubs her clit along it over and over. She’s getting close when he stops her with a hand to her hip. His eyes look wild and blown out, the gold is basically gone. Replaced by large dark pupils. He looks beautiful like this. Hair mussed, shirt disheveled, a wet patch from him leaking through his pants. He looks fucked out. She kisses him and stops her rocking, sliding off of him to the side, where he strokes her hair and kisses her head. She doesn’t want to leave.
