Incumbent(70)

Rather than stress any longer, I picked up my phone and placed the call. When he spoke to me, Mr. McMillan’s voice was condescending, at best. In a way, I understood his concerns, but that didn’t make them right. Before I knew it, I told him I’d be sending him my resignation, but he accepted it verbally over the phone.

There wasn’t much left for me to do but to figure out where to go from here. I could find another job. It might not be teaching, but it wasn’t as if I wasn’t a smart woman. I’d minored in law, and even though that wasn’t my concentration, I could go back to school and become a paralegal, or maybe even a counselor.

One thing I realized as I looked at myself in the mirror was that I wasn’t a scared, pissed-off teenager anymore. I was a woman who knew who she was and what she wanted, and that was to love and be loved by the most wonderful man in the world.

People’s opinions were just that, their opinions. They would have them no matter what choice I made. But to think their opinion of Drake would change because of me? No. There was no way I could let that happen.

All my life, others thought they knew what was best for me, and that was what started this nightmare. Granted, those people were my parents, but I realized long ago that they truly didn’t love me. I’d been a mistake, wasn’t exactly a planned pregnancy, and I was sure my mother had never forgiven me for the stretch marks on her body.

I got in the shower and let the steam caress my skin. How I wished the streams of water falling over me were Drake’s hands, but he’d left earlier to meet with Ben. Rather than dwelling on what had happened, it was time for me to take control of my own life.

After I got dressed and applied a little makeup to hide the dark circles that lingered under my eyes, I headed downstairs. Jack was sitting at the kitchen table, dressed in a suit and reading the Wall Street Journal while he sipped at a cup of coffee.

“Good morning, Jack.” I smiled as I poured myself a cup of much-needed caffeine. “Are we the only ones here?”

“Yes, Gretchen left shortly after Drake did. Something about a straightening iron. When I told her I had an iron in the laundry room, she laughed at me and left.”

I couldn’t help laughing at him. Men.

I was starting to feel more like myself, but my nerves were still shot. So much had happened in such a short time. It seemed as if all of my hard work to keep my anonymity was blown to smithereens in a few days.

Jack smiled as I took a seat next to him at the table. “You look better this morning.”

“I feel a bit better. I just talked to my boss and resigned.” I took a sip of coffee and smiled.

He dropped his newspaper. “Did you just say you quit? Does Drake know?”

“No, but I’ll tell him when he comes back.”

I hoped Drake would understand. Oddly, quitting didn’t make me sad, like I expected it to. I just felt numb to it all, as if it weren’t actually happening to me. When I spoke to McMillan, I knew I was saying the words, but in my ears they sounded like someone else’s voice.

“What are you going to do now?”

I stared into my coffee cup a moment, considering my answer. “I haven’t thought that far out. I have enough savings to cover my rent and living expenses for a few months, so I suppose I’ll look for another job and possibly go back to school part-time. There’s nothing more rewarding than teaching, but after what happened, I don’t see myself getting a glowing recommendation. I’ll just start over; it won’t be the first time.” I looked up to Jack with a grin and shrugged.

He raised his cup to me. “You’re a strong woman.”

“Well, I don’t know about that, but I’ve dealt with worse situations and survived. This should be a cake walk in comparison.” In actuality, walking on coals would be easier than what I had already gone through.

Regarding me thoughtfully, he asked, “If you went back to school, what would you study?” His genuine concern and interest in me was heartwarming.

“I’m not sure yet, but I do enjoy the law. Although I only studied it so I could understand how our government worked.” I let out a small laugh. “But I’m not sure some of our government officials even understand it.”

Jack laughed. “For some reason, I don’t see you as a lawyer. No offense to my mom, but it seems so tedious and boring. Yes, I have a legal staff, but out of all my employees, they’re the stuffiest group in the building.” Then his brows lowered and he brought his hand to his chin. “I have an idea, and before you give me an answer, I want you to think about it.”

“Okay.”

“You know I own a PR firm, and I’ve been thinking of creating a position that would go between my human resources and legal departments. A liaison, of sorts. Laws change so quickly that sometimes when there’s an employee complaint, things could be missed, even though the two departments are very competent. If we don’t keep up with changes, it’s a liability. We’re growing fast, which is wonderful, but my staff is stretched thin. Having daily conference calls to discuss upcoming meetings about the next conference call isn’t very efficient, and that’s where you would come in.”

“Me?” I gaped at him, shocked he would even consider hiring me.

“Yes. I’d like you to come work for me. You would handle getting out memos and modifying existing policies. I’d also need you to train employees about any changes that will affect their compensation or the way we do business. Since you’re a teacher, that should be right in your wheelhouse.” He took another sip of his coffee.