I shifted some of my anger away from him and found it wasn’t as scary as I thought it would be. I didn’t need anger to protect me anymore. Not from him, and not from Elena and Curt. I thought I would need my anger to buoy me up, but maybe this could be bigger than me and my grievances. Maybe I needed to think a little bigger. I stopped at Sadie’s desk on my way up to the meeting and asked her for a copy of all the reasons Marcus should be fired. I thought she would balk at being dragged into this, but she gave me her blessing. It was time to be a little reckless. I’d think about the other kinds of reckless I could be after I stormed into a meeting.
Chapter 29 – Noah
I spent a lot of time poring over past sales data for Uncharted Treasures and the methods they’d used in the past to reach their customers. It was so great to get back to using my marketing skills on something worthwhile, but all day I worried about Jenny. My career was suddenly back on track, while hers was in crisis.
She hadn’t told me what her plan was today, and I wasn’t allowed to ask. I hadn’t even texted her. She was angry at me for constantly swooping in and trying to fix things, and rightly so. Letting that habit go meant trusting she knew what was best for her, even if what was best for her was quitting Connected Hearts and cutting me out of her life. That possibility was like a knife twisting into my heart. Because maybe I was bad for her. Maybe what would make Jenny happiest was not having me around.
I didn’t stop for a lunch break, as I was in the middle of meetings with the sales team, but it took all my focus not to think about what Jenny was doing for lunch and if she was down at the café.
Gordon, the Chief Operating Officer, called me into his office at the end of the day. “I don’t want to keep you long, especially as your position here is not set right now and you’re not on salary, but I did want to know if you had an update on your situation over at Connecting Hearts.”
I rubbed my hands against the leather of the arm rests and took in a deep breath, letting it out slowly. “I told her, but to be honest, I’m not sure yet what she plans to do with the information. And I’m not sure if she’ll ever tell me. But I will see her in a few minutes.”
“She’s meeting you for carpool?” His mouth twitched. “Forgive me, part of this is determining what sort of position I can offer you in the future, but part is just me being morbidly curious.”
“I get that.” I cleared my throat, not mad at him, but not able to find the amusement in it he did. “I feel like I should turn down whatever it is you end up offering me, but I’m also weak enough to admit I probably won’t.”
“I’m okay with that. Above all else, honesty, right?”
“Right.”
He stood, so I did, too, and he came around and clapped me on the back. “Good luck.”
“Thanks.” His parting words left me feeling a little letdown, which made no sense at all. I don’t know why I had been expecting golden words of wisdom. Gordon was not a love guru any more than I was.
Feeling like I was prepping for a first date, I ducked into the bathroom and checked my hair, made sure my zipper wasn’t down, and popped a piece of gum in my mouth. I gathered up my stuff from the makeshift desk they’d moved me to, and went downstairs and out into the parking lot.
Sadie and Jenny were already standing beside the Chilivan, talking excitedly, and then suddenly they were squealing and holding hands and jumping up and down. When they saw me they both started laughing.
“Everything okay?”
“Marcus is fired,” Sadie said, shaking her hips like she didn’t care who was watching, which was so unlike her. Well, except for the part about being gleeful about another man’s downfall.
“Marketing Marcus?”
“Yes. The man is canned. All because this girl went in and laid down the law.” Sadie waved her hands in front of Jenny like the girl was a Wheel of Fortune tile, making Jenny blush. “That jerk, Hunter, in her office is fired, too. And Jenny’s getting a raise.AndCurt promised to set aside his employee reward fund and never touch it. Each department head will get their share to allocate as they see fit quarterly.AndElena almost peed herself when Jenny marched in there and told her she knew everything, and told her covering it up was shameful.” Sadie paused. “Sorry. I should not be the one telling this story.”
I turned to look at Jenny, afraid I’d be next on the gleeful chopping block. Because I certainly deserved to be. I should have never doubted her. Not for a minute. Being forced to ignore her and keep my eyes on the road this morning hadn’t allowed me to fully take in her appearance today. She had on a navy blazer with a softer pinstriped blouse underneath, and a hip hugging matching skirt. An outfit that meant business. She hadn’t needed me or my worry. Not even a little bit.
“I—That’s amazing.” I had no right to say good job, or that I was proud of her, but I wished I could.
Jenny gave me a cautious smile. “I think Sadie pretty much summed it up. Let’s get going. I see Dan coming.”
“But we have to tell Dan first. Dan!” Sadie waved at him to hurry. “You tell him, Jenny.”
She shook her head. “I like your version. It makes me sound fiercer.”
“Okay, whatever.”
While Sadie was talking to Dan, Jenny moved to stand next to me.
“How do you feel?” I asked.
“Tired. Relieved.” She looked up at me. “Conflicted, to be honest.”
“About what?”
“Us.” She looked down at our hands, side by side, but not quite touching. The inches felt like miles.
