Fallen Woman(30)

What I hadn’t planned on when I stomped back down to the mailroom, my shoes clicking on the hard floors, was Ben going to find Jase to save his own tail. Dale sat in the same position he’d been in when I left, still on his phone. I didn’t knock. I just stood in his door and tapped my foot. Loudly.

He glanced up, obviously irritated I was interrupting him again. “Yes, Gianna, what now?”

“Did you get a request for me to interview with the Marketing Department?” I ground out the words through clenched teeth. He apparently didn’t hear my irritation over the machines running the mail, or maybe he just didn’t care.

“Uh, yeah. I told them now wasn’t a good time.” He didn’t bother showing me the respect of meeting my eyes.

“Why would you do that?”

“You’re good here. Pretty thing like you has no business upstairs.”

“Excuse me?” the voice behind me boomed. When I glanced over my shoulder, I noticed the anger had turned his steely-gray eyes almost black. I’d never seen Jase upset much less livid. He turned to me, his jaw firm, the muscles twitching as he tempered his tone enough to speak. “Gia, go wait in my office.” He didn’t wait for my response before stepping into Dale’s office and closing the door.

I wanted to stay and listen but was afraid of the repercussions of still standing in this spot when Jase opened that door back up. I scurried along, but not before I heard him roar at the man in the chair.

As I took the first step off the elevator, I realized the receptionist would stop me in the lobby, but to my surprise, she buzzed me through without so much as a peep. I turned to stare at her behind me, but the door closed, and I couldn’t see her through the frosted glass. I meandered my way back to Jase’s office to find Allison waiting on me.

She appeared sympathetic, and I wondered what Ben had told them. “Hey,” I said and plopped down in the chair outside his office.

“Bad day?” Her face scrunched up in a cute little mess of wrinkles. I hated that she had to be so flipping nice. I wanted to dislike her, but there was nothing to dislike.

“I just don’t understand people. Why would anyone prevent someone from trying to do better for themselves?” I assumed she knew what I was talking about since she knew I’d had a bad day. I guessed she’d heard whatever Ben had told Jase.

“I understand completely. I’m a single mom, too. I’d be lost without Jase.”

My brow furrowed.

“Oh, gah, I’m sorry. I just meant I can only imagine trying to make ends meet with three kids. They’re awesome by the way.”

I cocked my head at her, still wondering what the comment about Jase meant.

“My little boy had a blast playing at the water park with your kids. His name’s Eric.”

I had assumed Eric was one of the lifeguards, but apparently not. A lot is lost in translation from kids aged three and four.

“Jase has been a huge help. Pulling me up here to make sure I was making decent money, doing things like the water park—all those little things you can’t buy at any other company. He really cares about his employees.” Allison spoke well of her boss—too well.

Holy hell. Seriously. I couldn’t do this. I couldn’t sit here and listen to Jase’s assistant tell me she had the same relationship with Jase that I did, and that he’d been her knight in shining armor. He’d plucked her from somewhere else in the building to make her his assistant.

“Oh, I didn’t know. Where were you before you were his assistant?”

“I started in the mailroom. Working for the same jackass you’re dealing with now. I don’t know how you’ve stayed as long as you have. Dale’s a jerk.”

My mind raced, and my heart sank. I wondered if he’d had a similar arrangement with her as he’d had with me. I wondered if his friends paid her to go out with them, or maybe that was why Jase never took me anywhere. Maybe he pushed me off on them to make room for Allison. The idea my children had been around him, I’d trusted him—the written agreement—he was so casual about all of it. He was casual because he’d done it before, and probably more than once. My heart threatened to beat out of my chest if I didn’t get out of there.

“I need to go.” I didn’t wait for her response. I took the stairs, knowing Jase would take the elevator, and waited in the stairwell to see him go up before racing back into the mailroom to grab my purse and tell Nancy I’d see her tomorrow.

“Sugar, you okay? Your friend didn’t go too easy on Dale. You didn’t get any backlash did you?” Nancy meant well, but I couldn’t talk. I shook my head and gave her a weak wave. She grabbed me suddenly, pulled me into a big mama bear hug, and then let me leave.

~~~

The moment I was out of the building, my phone started to blow up with calls and text messages, but I wasn’t interested in talking to Jase. I couldn’t handle being another notch in his life—I didn’t want to be anyone’s project. The red numbers stacked up on the apps—missed calls, unread texts, voicemails. My head was spinning. It was only two o’clock in the afternoon, and I found myself dialing Holland’s number.

“Hey, girl. What are you up to?” His voice was way too chipper.

“Are you near downtown?” My voice cracked, and I almost started sobbing. Deep breaths in and out. Over and over.