I saw him kissing countless girls at parties over the years. Not to mention all the times he brought one of the vacuous bimbos to hang out with the group. I never said anything to him. I would never try to undermine his happiness like that. If having a trampy girl on his knee was his idea of fun, he could have at it.
I was so wrapped up in the rant going on in my head that I walked right past my office. I saw the sign for Down the Street and realized my mistake. I headed in to get some coffee, trying to convince myself that I meant to pass my building. Stupid.
I still got to the office before Gwen. I had just set my stuff down when I heard her clomping down the hallway. I knew I was about to get a barrage of insults and not-so-subtle digs about what she witnessed at the bar.
She stopped in the doorway and just shook her head at me with a smug smile. I refused to let her get to me. She settled in her chair, grinning like my humiliation was her own personal victory. Her phone vibrated on her desk. She picked it up and a mischievous smile spread across her face, so wide I thought her head would split in half.
“Drew is so sweet,” she squealed.
My head snapped up. Excuse me? Did she just say Drew? As in, my Drew? I stared at her with wide eyes. Was Drew texting her now? What the holy fuck? Is this his idea of payback? I went out with someone he didn’t like, so he is going out with someone I loathe to hurt me! That bastard! As if things weren’t already bad between us. Now that psychotic plastic floatation device was rubbing it in my face.
I’m sure that after my little display the other night at the bar, Gwen was very aware of how I feel about Drew, as was everyone else, so now her plan was to do everything she could to take him from me. The only issue with her plan was that Drew was never mine to begin with.
I felt the angry tears beginning to well up and I knew I had to get out of there. Gwen glanced up from her phone with a smirk. I rose from my desk and walked as quickly as I could to the bathroom without drawing too much attention.
I made it to the bathroom and slammed my fist into the wall before sliding down to the floor and releasing the sob. This was an ugly cry, with snot and mascara dripping down my face. Tears came so hard, I felt like I would choke on them.
I heard a knock at the door. “Alexandra? Is that you in there?” It was Madeline. Oh great, to make matters worse, my boss caught me in the middle of a sob fest at work.
“Can I come in, dear?” she asked softly. I got to my feet and opened the door. When she walked in, I turned to the sink and grabbed a tissue in an attempt to clean up my face. I looked up into the mirror. Oh God! I blew my nose and attempted to clean the lines of black from under my eyes. Jesus, I looked like Alice Cooper.
Madeline handed me her compact. I took it as the tears started to flow again at her sweet gesture.
“Oh darling, what is it? What happened?” She brushed a piece of my hair behind my ear.
“I had a fight.” I sniffled.
“With who, dear?”
“Drew.”
“That charming young man who was with you at the gala?”
I nodded in response, willing the tears to stop. Madeline was being so nice. She could have just told me to suck it up and get back to work, but she was comforting me and seemed so genuinely concerned that the dam burst and it all just came flooding out of my mouth.
“I’m so in love with him, Madeline, but he doesn’t feel that way about me. I went out with someone else to try to get past my feelings for him so we can stay friends. He found out, we fought, and we said some really hor-horrible things last night. I was so insensitive, and he was so ang-gry,” I blurted, bringing the tissue to my face to wipe at the newly fallen tears. I took a breath. “Then I get here and find out that he is going out with Gwen to hurt m-me like I hurt him.” I hiccupped. “She will never be happy until she ruins me, and she will do anything to make it happen. But going after Drew like this is too hateful, even for her.”
“You let me worry about Ms. Stevens, okay?” She dipped her head to meet my eyes, wrapping an arm around me. “Now, about your young man, have you told him how you feel?”
“No, I can’t,” I said in a quiet voice. “I can’t risk losing him. He’s all I have.”
She pulled my head down to her shoulder. I took comfort in the familiar cloud of Chanel that enveloped me. I took a deep breath. She turned me to face her and placed both hands on my cheeks.
“Listen to me, Alexandra.” She held on to my face firmly but gently and looked straight into my eyes. “If I have learned anything from my life, it’s that anything worth doing comes with some risk. Now, the boy I met at the gala cares for you greatly. I’m sure you can fix whatever unkind words were said.” I started to shake my head, but she stopped me.
“Ah, he knows you didn’t mean it and I’m sure he didn’t either,” she continued. “If you love him as much as you say you do, then you need to be honest with him. You cannot tell for sure what is truly in his heart. Only he can tell you that.” She smiled down at me and dropped her hands. “So, take as long as you need to compose yourself and we will get on with our day, shall we?” I nodded. Madeline squeezed my arm and turned to leave.
As she opened the door, I spoke up. “Madeline?” She turned and looked at me. “Thank you.”
She smiled, opened the door, and left me alone. I took a deep breath and washed my face, trying to get the rest of my emotions under control.
After a few minutes of deep breathing, I put myself back together enough to leave the bathroom. I returned to my desk just in time to see Gwen storm out of Madeline’s office.
“Just wait ‘til my father hears about this. You will be ruined! Do you hear me?” she screamed in Madeline’s direction.
Madeline was standing in her doorway, casually leaning against the doorframe with her arms crossed against her chest. “I doubt that very much, my dear.” She remained perfectly composed and professional. “Do send Senator Stevens my best.”
She was perfectly calm as Hurricane Bitchface raged back to her desk and snatched up her few personal items, not caring if she knocked over anything in the process.
Once she had her bag full of glitter pens and hot pink Post-it notes, she lifted her chin with a huff. I gaped at her from the doorway. I couldn’t believe what I was seeing. Madeline fired her.
She stomped toward the door, stopped in front of me, and pointed her sharp, acrylic claw in my face. “You will regret this,” she said, then shouldered past me, knocking me back into the wall.
She clomped her way out the front door. I watched her stomp down the hall as people stuck their heads out of their offices to catch her dramatic exit.
I turned to Madeline, my mouth wide open. She let out a hoot and did a little shimmy. I was floored. What did I just witness? Did she really fire Gwen? When she finished her dance, she pressed a hand to her chest, her breathing heavy. “My God, that felt good!” She wore a breathtaking smile.
“Did you…?” I asked, raising my eyebrows.
She waved her hand dismissively toward the door. “Oh please, darling. I only hired her as a favor to her father. I have been looking for an excuse to get rid of her for such a long time.”
I wanted to hug her. I tried to hold back the tears that threatened to start again. She saw my face begin to crumble and stepped forward, pulling me into a hug.
She pulled away, keeping a strong grip on both of my arms, and looked into my face. “If there is anything I will not tolerate, it’s a bully.” She stared into my eyes until I nodded my understanding. She stood up and straightened her perfectly ironed blouse. “Now, let us discuss the Parker proposal.” She pointed a perfectly manicured finger in my direction. “You’re going to have a lot of extra work on your plate now that Ms. Stevens is no longer with us.”
I couldn’t believe this was happening. Gwen was gone. I was finally rid of her. I hurried around my desk to get to work. Before I took my seat, I looked up at her and narrowed my eyes. “Are you sure about this?”
This all seemed too good to be true, and a small part of me—granted, a very small part of me—felt bad for Gwen.
“Of course, dear! You are vastly more talented then she could ever dream of being. Did you see her last proposal? Velvet leopard print.” She made a stink face and, with that, she turned and headed into her office.