Where She Belongs (22 page)

They
were all feeling pretty loose when Carmen leaned over the table. "I
never got to tell you before, I never liked Trenton. From the moment
he started dating you."

"Really?"
Shanna said.

"I
didn't either. I thought he was a snooty ass," Gina said.

"He
is," Shanna said, with a snort. Everyone laughed. "Have you
changed your minds?"

Mostly
they shook their heads. "Sorry, baby, he's got you in a totally
subservient job now. He's wasting your talents."

"Where
is that coming from?"

"You
are much gossiped about, honey. I've got some friends who work there,
mostly guys, since that company is an old boy's club, unless you are
a secretary."

"It
is not. They are very progressive."

"Mmmhmm.
Count how many mangers are women there." She looked around the
table and everyone was nodding.

"So
everyone talks about me?"

"Yes.
They say that he's not smart enough for the position he has, so you
have to do all his work for him. His father knows it too, so he's
pushing Trenton to marry you." More nods from the other women.

"Everyone
is saying this about me? Why didn't you tell me before?" She
looked at everyone with gaping mouths. She dumped the rest of her
drink into her mouth and held up her empty glass.

"I
thought you knew," Carmen said.

"Me,
too," Tia added.

The
waitress came over. "A beer please."

"What
kind?" she asked.

"Whatever.
Just bring me a beer, please."

"Shan,
you okay?" Carmen asked.

She
slapped some cash on the table. "Pay for my beer and I'll be
right back. I have to call someone."

"It's
late, Shanna. Who are you calling?"

"A
friend back home. Give me a moment."

"Okay,"
Carmen said.

She
pulled her phone out of her purse and scrolled through her contacts
as she walked outside.

"You
okay?" the man by the door asked her.

She
nodded. "Oh yeah, I have to call someone."

"Alright."
He pushed the door open for her.

She
hit dial and waited a step outside the door. There was an answer on
the fourth ring.

"It's
a little late, but I’m always glad to hear from you."

"Gabe,
do you think I'm stupid?"

"I
think you are the smartest person I know, love. Why?"

"Everyone
at my company thinks I'm doing Trenton's work for him."

"Are
you?"

"No.
I mean, I do a lot, but assistants are supposed to. They are supposed
to assist."

"You
can't believe gossip, sweetie."

"Even
if there might be a grain of truth in it?"

"You
said there wasn't."

She
sighed. "I'm drunk. What do I know? First you tell me all that
shit. Today I got an e-mail from marketing, and now this. That has to
be the three bad things, right?"

"Probably
if you believe in the rule of three."

"I'll
go with it."

"Who
are you drinking with?"

"Carmen,
Gina, the other girls. Women. We are career women." She leaned
against the building. "At least they are. I'm someone's
assistant everyone thinks I'm a patsy sleeping with the boss' son."

"They
don't think that."

"I
miss you. I miss home."

Come
home then. He didn't say it. "I could come visit you."

"Yeah,
that would make Trenton real happy. It's fine. I’m drunk and
depressed about my first courageous move in two weeks. Every time I
think about doing something, all these fears crop up and I think I'm
better to stay where things are secure."

"You
need to start examining those fears, Shan. You need to start going
for what you want, not what people tell you can get. Your company is
not the only one in town with a marketing department. No one says you
have to stay there. Hell, you don't even have to tell anyone but me
you are applying."

"Good
point. I'll do that Gabe. I think."

"No.
You do it or I'm going to be on your ass every minute until you get a
marketing job. Now, go enjoy the rest of the night out, and tomorrow
you can start proving to everyone that you aren't only an assistant."

"Okay.
Right. Thank you."

"I
love you, Shan."

"Night,
Gabriel," she said, wishing she had a little more to drink, so
she could say 'I love you, too,' because she really did.

*
* *

Gabe
poured himself a second drink. This had to be his last one, or he
would seek therapy.

He
picked up his phone and read his texts from Shanna. He had sent two
messages tonight, so a third would probably start looking desperate.
Especially late on Friday night. It wasn't even that late here.

He
tried to recall what he used to do before the heart attack. Before
Shanna showed up to show him what he was missing in his life.

He
couldn’t recall doing anything of interest. Watching hockey.
Working.

Maybe
he should take sometime off work and go see his Mom for a while.
Might do him some good to get out of town. Out of his house. Even his
bed reminded him of Shanna.

He
checked his phone again.

She
was out with her girlfriends anyway. After the disappointing news
about no positions in her desired department, which he thought was
probably bullshit.

He
reached for his laptop to see if he could find any listings.

His
phone started singing. And speak of the angel, there she was on his
call display. He hit the answer button. "It's a little late, but
I’m always glad to hear from you."

"Gabe,
do you think I'm stupid?"

"I
think you are the smartest person I know, love. Why?"

"Everyone
at my company thinks I'm doing Trenton's work for him."

"Are
you?"

"No.
I mean I do a lot, but assistants are supposed to. They are supposed
to assist."

He
was torn between making her feel better and making Trenton look like
the bad guy. He decided, as he always did, that Shanna was the
priority. "You can't believe gossip, sweetie."

After
the call, he stared at her picture on his phone screen. He’d
taken it while she was here. It was behind Bryce’s desk, her
desk, in the office. She looked as if she owned the place. He touched
the screen and the picture went away. That hadn’t been his
plan, he wanted to pretend he could touch her face.

He
got to his feet and headed for bed. He laid down on the side where
she had slept that night. He texted her.
I’m on your side of
the bed. And I meant what I said about applying at other places.

Once
the message was sent, he put her picture on the screen. He dragged
his finger across her face.

With
a sad smile, he shut the phone off and put it on his nightstand. He
had to get a hobby.

Chapter 14

By
Monday morning, she had applied for three other marketing jobs at
various companies. She didn't tell Trenton. She did text Gabe. Her
messages with him were always locked. The rest of the weekend was
uneventful. She and Trenton both worked, as usual. Most of her work
was a ruse, busy work.

When
she went to get her notes from the printer, they weren’t there.
Someone else's secretary came by, "This one hasn't worked all
morning. I've been printing to the fourth floor. It's been working
fine. Tech is supposed to be fixing it, but you know how fast they
move on Mondays."

"Right.
Fourth you said?" The other woman nodded. Great, marketing was
on the fourth.
Thanks universe for rubbing it in my face that you
won't let me in there.

She
went back to the office to inform Trenton of the issue. "We'll
have to head down every time we want to print something off."

She
walked past the elevator and walked down the stairs, trying to
prolong her the time between floors. She swiped her employee card in
front of the door and was granted access.

She
stopped in front of the nearest office. "Which way is your
printer?"

"Is
that printer still down upstairs?" the man behind the desk said.

"Yep.
Tech is slower than usual today."

"What's
your name?"

"Shanna
Whittikar. I'm Trenton von Brooke's assistant."

"Assistant
to the second-in-command. I'm Richard Matthews."

"Well,
he's not actually second-in-command." Not yet.

"May
as well be. I heard someone he didn't like was trying to get a better
position in the company. I know this because the guy applied to the
marketing department. Anyway, Trenton didn't like whomever it was,
the guy was like a secretary or mail room, overqualified for his
current position, so Trenton had his Dad tell my boss not to give the
guy the job."

Shanna
felt her stomach drop. "I don't think Mr. von Brooke would do
such a thing."

"I
was out last week, so I only heard the story today. But everyone
swears it happened. The guy next to me was in the office when the
call came in."

Shanna
clawed back her emotional responses. "Huh. What do I know? I'm
merely his assistant?"
And girlfriend, the rat bastard.

The
turned a third corner. "Here's the printer. If you go that way,
you'll make your way back to the stairs."

"Thanks."
She scoured her brain for the head of marketing's name. Before she
throttled Trenton, she had to be sure this wasn't a fabrication of
the rumor mill.

She
grabbed her papers and headed back to her office. Once at her
computer, she searched the office database and found where Henry
Schnek's office was. She logged out of her computer and went to his
office.

His
secretary looked at her with disdain for not having an appointment.
"Tell him it's Shanna Whittikar."

"Does
he know you?"

"The
name might ring a bell. Let's see."

Less
than two minutes later, Mr. Schnek had ushered her into his office.
"I already e-mailed you and told you there were no positions
available."

"I
hear this might not be true, Mr. Schnek. Look, I'm not here to get
you into trouble or make a scene, I need to know the truth. Were you
asked to not hire me to your department?"

Henry’s
eyes darted everywhere but hers. Hopefully he never cheated on the
wife he had pictured around the office. He wasn’t good at
lying, which made her wonder why he was in marketing at all. "Of
course not, Miss Whittikar."

"Did
Byron von Brooke ask you not to hire me?"

"Look,
I do my job here. I don't want to get into trouble with the upper
management. I'm not part of their little circle of friends. They
don't like me that much. When Bryon von Brooke calls, you don't ask
questions. If it were up to me, I probably would have hired you. I
don't know what they have against you. But if anyone asks, I did not
tell you this."

"I'm
not going to take this any further than my own office. However, if I
get indicted for murder, you may be called to trial about it."

"What?"

"Sorry.
I don't do black humor very well do I?" Schnek shook his head.
"My own boyfriend is stopping me from getting a better job.
Don't work where you date people and don't date people you work with.
My advice."

He
looked like a deer caught in headlights. "Thanks. Are you going
to be okay?"

"Probably.
We'll see."

"Okay.
You weren't serious about the murder thing, right?"