Enlightened (Red Flags) (27 page)

We took our time, allowing the warmth of the water to completely engulf us.  When I noticed Jason's skin turning a shade of bright red, I motioned for us to get out. 

Jason wrapped me in a large towel before wrapping himself.  We strolled back into my bedroom and, after drying ourselves off, eased down under the blankets and into each other's arms.  His large arms swarmed and enveloped me into his body.  He played in my hair with his hands as our breathing filled the space.

"Hey," Jason said, finally breaking the silence.  I looked up into his warm eyes and smiled. "I love you."

"I love you, too," I replied, then relaxed my head back on his chest.  I found the beat of his heart moving at a steady rhythm, almost matching the beat of my own as we lay together, completely and emotionally spent from, yet, another up and down day.

Chapter 19  

Sleeping in Jason's arms was a strong reminder of what good sleep felt like.  There was no tossing and turning, no early morning wake-ups…nothing.  When I finally did wake up it was only because Jason was standing next to me, holding a steaming mug of coffee.  The aroma of the coffee infiltrated my nose, waking me from my peaceful sleep.  "Good morning," he said, looking freshly showered and smelling wonderfully delicious.  The sunlight beaming into the room caught his eyes perfectly, sending a shimmer down to me along with his beautifully perfect smile.

I sat up and took the mug, sipping the coffee carefully so as not to burn my lips.  "Good morning to you.  "What time is it?"

Jason leaned down and kissed me softly.  "It's seven forty-five.  You better get up, you've gotta get to work.

Work.  Work was the last place that I wanted to be waking up out of a wondrous sleep to go to.  In a very short amount of time, I had gotten tangled up in a mess with Damian that was ruining my happiness at the one place that I thought was going to be the bright spot in my life. 

If only I had given in to Damian, or kept Jason hidden
?

I immediately swiped those thoughts away.  There was no way of avoiding this situation and I wasn't ready, nor did I want to engage in anything more than a working relationship with Damian.  He was insanely good-looking, I could give him that, but with his jealousy, his pubescent grudge holding, and his senseless actions, I just couldn't think of anyone wanting any more with him.

"I'm getting up," I said, dramatically throwing the covers off of me. 

I took the coffee from Jason and sat down on the edge of the bed.

"Where are you headed today?"  I asked, as I mentally undressed the snug fitting slacks from his body.  It should have been a crime to look as good as he did, and surprisingly, the mature scruff that had grown in was enticing me even more.

"I have to head to Hunter's dad's firm.  Have to sit down with him and go over some numbers and speak to my lawyer."

I nodded, but then a question hit me.  "Where did your clothes come from?"

Jason smiled his charming smile.  "Do you think I ever go anywhere near you and not have a change of clothes?"  I cocked my head to the side in confusion.  "If I have the chance to cover your sweet ass all night, you best believe I'm gonna do it.  I keep clothes so I make sure I can stay."

A coy smile traced my lips.  As long as I had been around Jason, he seemed to always know just what to say to bring my shyness back to the surface.  He leaned down and kissed me again.  "I've gotta go.  And stop worrying about your damn job, you'll be fine."  He winked then walked out, leaving me with my jumbled nerves. 

How was I supposed to not worry about my job?  It was my way of living.  I didn't have millions of dollars stockpiled from my uuber rich dad.  I didn't have companies that I was running, I
needed
to work, so trying to quell the tornado swirling around in my belly was a monumental feat. 

I sipped on the coffee a while longer and stood just as Chelsea popped her head into my room.  Her long hair was styled in a pretty bun, showing off her radiant smile as she looked me over.

"I'm out.  Going to my interview," she said.

"Good luck.  You won't need it, but good luck anyway."

"Thanks, doll."  She bit her bottom lip and then sighed. "I know you're worried about your job, Cara.  Just think positive, okay?" 

I nodded my head and tried to keep the pea green color layering my queasiness at bay.  No matter what everyone said to me, I just couldn't find a way to find the positive thoughts that they kept talking about.  It's much easier to say those things when you aren't the one who is on the chopping block. 

Nonetheless, I smiled at her.

"Thanks, Chels." 

Chelsea blew me a kiss and then scurried out of the condo, leaving me all alone. 

Walking sluggishly into the bathroom, I programmed my phone to a metal rock station, plugged it into the speakers and put it on full blast.  If there was any way to drown away the incessant thoughts of losing my job and ruining my professional reputation, it would be through music that left me with no ability to hear my own thoughts. 

And that was just what I did.

<>

Parking in the parking lot of SDSM, I sat in my car and stared at the large building in front of me.  Déjà vu hit me as I sat with my knuckles white, wrapped around the steering wheel, same as I had done the morning of my first day.  The only difference was the apprehension of wanting to prove myself and do well, versus the fear of being terminated.  I swallowed hard as I realized that I couldn't sit in my car forever.  I grabbed my things and made my way out, letting the crisp morning air and the warm sun hit me, before taking the forever long walk to the entrance of the building.

When I walked in, nothing was out of the ordinary.  I wasn't sure if I was expecting anything different, but a weird feeling passed through me, as I stepped in and realized that with or without me, this place would continue on and I would soon be an after-thought.

Sunny was sitting at her desk, on the phone, her quintessential shit stain expression plastered on her face.  As I approached her, she quickly ended her call and smiled an overly condescending smile at me, making me lose it.

"What the fuck, Sunny?"  I asked, completely annoyed with her. 

She gawked at me as surprise overtook her.  Holding her hand up to her chest, I found the fight in me that had been buried for far too long and felt compelled to say what I thought needed to be said. 

"I've done absolutely nothing to you besides exist, and from day one, you've pulled some insecure, jealous, bitch behavior out on me and I certainly don't deserve it."  She moved her mouth to speak but I quickly cut her off.  "I don't give a shit if you're fucking William or the whole damn company.  I don't want him, I never have, and I'm not going to take your shit anymore.  Grow the fuck up!" 

By the time I stopped talking, or rather, yelling, I was breathing so hard I had to hold my own chest in a failed attempt to slow it down.  My eyes were fixated on Sunny, and I could feel the anger that had been brewing since the past week, finally start to spill out of me.

"I… I'm sorry, Cara," Sunny said, through a broken and battered voice.

"I don't need your stupid ass apologies.  I need you to grow up and leave me out of your shit."

Sunny sat dumfounded.  She had nothing to say in response and I didn't give her the chance to find anything to say. The people milling about the lobby area stopped and stared at me as I shouted at her, but I didn't care.  It felt good to finally release some frustration. I stalked off to the elevators, growing impatient with the thought that I was making my way up to my fifth floor office for the last time.

When I stepped off the elevator, I walked into a rather serene scene that didn't seem to jive with my internal emotions.  On the inside, a volcano was eagerly awaiting eruption, but on the outside, the office looked unnaturally calm, making it feel like an omen.  Reel me in, hook me, then lay down the law.  I casually walked down the hall and into my office, trying my best to remain composed even though I was feeling anything but.  Amanda walked in with uneasiness riddled on her face, and as she sat my mug of coffee down on my desk, I caught her off guard by speaking first. 

"You don't need to prance around me.  I know what's up."

She looked up from the mug with bulging eyes.  "You know what?"

"I know that I'm going to lose my job today."

Amanda sighed.  "What happened on Friday?  Damian came in angry this morning and he and William have been holed up in William's office ever since."

"It's a long story, but at the end of the day, Damian is not the good guy that you might think he is."

Amanda looked at me in utter confusion.  I couldn't blame her.  She had probably heard some pretty slanderous things about me and didn't know which side to believe.

"Amanda!"  William angrily yelled, sending her jumping and hurrying out of my office.  I walked over to door, hoping to hear more of their conversation.

"Is Cara in yet?" he asked.

"Yes.  She just got here."

"Send her in."

I moved out of my office before she even came for me.  As she walked out of William's, I was standing in front of her.  She gave me an apologetic smile and then led me into his office.  My stomach turned in angry knots as I walked in.  William sat in his chair with a deep scowl on his face, looking like the big tyrant-like boss that he had been previously labeled as.  His expression didn't bother me so much.  It was Damian standing just behind him, with a rather smug grin on his face that bothered me.  I wanted to shrivel up on the spot, but I cleared my throat and walked in with confidence instead.

"Thank you, Amanda.  Shut my door please," William growled. 

Amanda nodded her head and hurried out of the office, leaving me alone with the prick of the year and a very angry boss.

"Take a seat, Cara," William said, motioning towards the chair in front of his desk.  I wanted to decline and just tell him to get it over with already, but I sat and, tried to look like I had not a care in the world.  "Cara.  I think I made it clear when you were hired that above all else, professionalism is paramount."  I nodded my head.  "Besides what Mr. Rossi has had to report back to me, what I saw on Friday with your out of control boyfriend, makes me think you didn't take me too seriously."

"In my defense--"

"You'll get your chance," William said, holding his hand up in front of me.  "Your boyfriend accosted our team owner, threatening his safety and making him re-think if this is the place for his business.  Why do you think I should overlook that?"

"Mr. Rolston," I spit out in exasperation.  My breathing had begun to pick up again as I could no longer sit and listen to a very lopsided scenario.  "My boyfriend was only defending me from Mr. Rossi.  He has been a nightmare to work with."

William's eyes lowered as he listened to me speak.  "What do you mean?"

"Mr. Rossi has been hitting on me since the night of the meet and greet and he has some sort of sordid history with my boyfriend so after turning him down, and finding out who my boyfriend is, he's been making life miserable for me."

Damian laughed.  My eyes darted to him, and so did William's.  "This is rich.  Cara, I would think as a college educated, marketing manager that, you would leave the high school shenanigans out of business.  I would never threaten the integrity of my reputation or my business."

William looked back down to me as I sat bewildered by the scene happening right before my eyes.  Damian was a sly one.  I had no idea he could act so well.  In fact, if I wasn't so filled with rage, I would have given him a round of applause for his performance.

"He took my phone, Mr. Rolston.  He's been sending text messages back and forth between my phone and his to make it look like I've been texting him."

William stood as he shook his head.  "Cara, you are new in the business world, so I'm not sure that you fully comprehend the severity of losing this million dollar contract with The Tide."  My mouth dropped.  "I cannot and will not risk the reputation of this firm, or the business relationship that I have with Mr. Rossi because you cannot get your emotions, where Mr. Rossi is concerned, in check." 

Fire thrashed my chest as I sat infuriated, watching William take the word of Damian and what he thought he had seen over my genuine complaints.

"If there was a problem with Mr. Rossi, why didn't you ever say anything?"

I sat glaring at Damian who still hadn't wiped his smug grin from his face.  

"Cara!"  William barked out.

I shook my head and swallowed hard again.  "I just couldn't.  You’d warned me about the account and I didn't want to stir up trouble."

William shook his head as he tightly held his eyes closed.  When he opened them, he stared at me with emptiness inside of them.  "I'm not sure if you're ready for this world, Cara.  I'm not going to throw away the biggest account SDSM has ever had because you can't get things together with your crazy boyfriend."  He looked back to Damian who stood, lips pursed and expressionless, before saying, "I'm sorry, Cara, but you're fired."

The dreaded words pierced my ears with the sting of a thousand needles.  I knew they were coming.  I thought I had prepared myself for them, but when they came, they hurt and burned more than I could have ever imagined.  Seeing my dismay, Damian stretched his not-so- long-ago grin into a mega-watt smile.  He walked over and patted William on the back, lightly saying, "Thank you.  I want to make this partnership work."

I sat in the chair and watched the two of them, growing sicker by the second.  I couldn't believe Damian had completely ruined my career even before I'd had a chance to really make my mark.  I couldn't believe that William did no due diligence in finding out exactly what had happened and, I couldn't believe that I was still sitting there, watching the two of them act like they had finally gotten rid of a cancer. 

"Amanda will help you clear your things," William said calmly.

Just as I stood to leave, I could hear Amanda just outside the door shouting, "You cannot go in, Mr. Rolston is in a very important meeting."