Page 79 of His Four Leaf Clover

As much as he loved his wife before, he was beginning to despise her. Melvin found himself thinking if staying married to Trudy was even worth it. She never wanted to follow and she was a horrible leader. He fell out of love with her a long time ago, and she just kept pushing him further away. She was an enabler, and he blamed her for Trent not getting the help that he needed. She cared too much about what people said, and he was over it. She wanted people to believe that her life was a fairytale when it was really a nightmare.

“I’m sorry, Melvin. I made a stupid mistake and I apologize.”

“Apologize with changed behavior, Trudy. What is it gonna take before you really see shit for what it really is? Not only did he put a dent in our bank account but he cost us more money by damaging the cameras.”

They thought the signal went out of some of their cameras before they went outside to investigate. Trent had sprayed the lenses with black paint, and they were ruined. Melvin tried cleaning them with a solution, but that only made it worse. The lenses were cloudy and the picture quality was horrible.

“I’ll replace the cameras too.”

“Is that your solution to everything? You can’t fix all of Trent’s problems. We’re not medical professionals.”

“I know that. I’m just trying to keep the peace between us.”

“Yeah, well, you’re a little too late for that,” Melvin replied before he hung up the phone.

Trudy sighed. She was mentally exhausted and she didn’t know what to do anymore. It was at those times that she really missed Carmelo. But what he’d done to her was unforgivable. She was hoping that going back to work would temporarily take her mind off of her problems. Staying busy usually did the trick. She just hated that she would have to look in the faces of some of her colleagues. They were jealous of her and always had been.

As soon as Trudy pulled up to her designated parking spot, she smiled in contentment. She grabbed her Prada briefcase before getting out of the car. Her hair was freshly sewn-in and she had on a new, form-fitting skirt and blazer set. She took her time and applied her makeup and she felt confident as she walked up the steps that led into the building.

“Good morning,” Trudy spoke confidently as she strutted in her six inch heels.

Of course, all eyes were on her, but she loved the attention. The women and men stared, all for different reasons. As usual, the whispering started, but that was nothing new. She was used to being talked about. That was common when you worked with a bunch of jealous bitches. Trudy ignored it all and took the elevators up to her office. She wanted to get right to work but she had to see what needed to be done first.

As soon as she stepped off the elevator, her supervisor and his boss were waiting in the hallway. That was strange seeing as how Mr. Daniels, the man who owned the firm, didn’t even live in Louisiana. She could count on one hand how many times she saw him in all the years that she’d worked there. He usually did all of his meetings via Zoom or Teams.

“Hey, Trudy, can we have a brief moment with you, please?” Barry, her supervisor asked politely.

“Sure, Barry. Just let me put my briefcase in my office.”

“That can wait. We need to see you in the conference room.”

Both men turned and walked away with Trudy following close behind. She took the seat that was being offered and looked at both men in confusion.

“What is this all about?” Trudy was curious to know what was going on. She had been out of the office for a few weeks so she knew that she hadn’t done anything work-related. More than likely, it had something to do with the haters who she worked with.

“You’ve been an asset to this firm for many years, Trudy. You’ve helped to build the firm’s immaculate reputation and it really pains me that we’re even here right now. It’s unfortunate, but I’m afraid that I have to terminate your employment, effective immediately.” Barry looked sad as he spoke but he had a job to do.

“Wait… what?” Trudy gasped in shock. She was not expecting to hear that at all. She felt like the room started spinning as she held her chest.

“I’m so sorry, Trudy but we have to protect not only the firm but we have an obligation to our other employees and clients as well.”

“What does that have to do with me?”

“When you were hired, you signed an ethical clause that you violated,” Mr. Daniels spoke up sternly.

“How? What did I do that was unethical?”

“A very sexually explicit video was sent to not only me, it was sent to every employee at the firm. We’re not here to judge your personal life, but the firm’s name is at stake. And I’m sorry but I had to report it to the state’s disciplinary board.”

Unlike Barry, Mr. Daniels seemed more angry than sad. He had a look of disgust on his face, and Trudy was mortified. Tears fell from her eyes as the shock wore off and the reality of the situation finally hit her.

“I don’t want to make this any worse than it already is. You don’t have to pack up your office today. I can arrange for security to meet you here on the weekend, so no one can see you leave.” Barry really liked her but he had a job to do.

“Thank you, I’d appreciate that. Thanks so much for the opportunity and for always being so kind.”

Trudy was mortified as she stood up and walked out of the room. Instead of waiting for the elevator, she took the stairs to the first floor. She looked at the floor as she hastily made her way to the exit amid the whispers and laughter. She felt like a fool in front of the same women who she’d belittled multiple times before. She got into her car and sped out of the parking lot, thinking of a lie that she could tell her husband about her termination.

Tears blurred her vision as she drove home in a daze. All the late nights and early mornings seemed to be in vain since she knew without a doubt that her law career was over. Trudy hadn’t checked her work emails in a while but she decided to pull it up when she was stopped at a red light. Her heart dropped when she saw the email that was sent to all of the employees. It was the same video that Clover had, so there was no need to wonder how they got it.