Page 45 of Corporate Escapades

Packing up her desk, she prepared for the following week with the hope of promotion. She had done her best. If she found herself stuck in this position another week, she didn’t know how she’d get through.

“Hey,” said Vic as he waltzed up to her desk. “Are you ready to head out?”

Paris glanced at him as she slid the rest of her minor belongings from the week into her bag. “I couldn’t be more ready,” she replied. Dropping her voice down, she said, “This has been the week from hell.”

“Really?” asked Vic, his brow furrowed. “Once we’re out of here, you’ll have to elaborate.”

“Sure.” Swinging her bag over her shoulder, she led them out of the building and to the walkway that led to their apartment. “Angela’s a demon,” she said. “I don’t know what I did to pissher off, but it’s quite clear that she doesn’t like me and that she wants to make me miserable.”

“Okay,” replied Vic. “How do you figure?”

“Well, for starters, every time I bring her coffee, she tells me the order is wrong. I always write her order down. Tuesday, it was cinnamon and a splash of cream. Wednesday, it was cream with three sugars. Thursday, it was no cream, cinnamon, and two sugars. Today she wanted it black. Whenever I return from getting her request, she tells me a completely different combination, as if it were what she asked for from the beginning, and I KNOW she’s messing with me and trying to break me down.”

“Really?” asked Vic. He couldn’t believe Angela would mess with the owner’s daughter like that. “Could you be stressed and misinterpreting what she asked for?”

“No!” snapped Paris. “I’m not crazy.” She didn’t feel she should have to defend herself to Vic. He had no idea what it had been like working with Angela all week. All he saw was boobs and a short skirt. “It’s not just the coffee,” she spat back.

“What else?”

“She’s mean. She never has anything nice to say. I try to anticipate what she might want next, but it’s never the right thing, and she lets me know. Wednesday, she kept me from my lunch break because she wanted a letter retyped for the fourth time!”

“Did you mess it up the first time?” asked Vic.

“I didn’t write the first letter. Besides, it wasn’t even work-related!” exclaimed Paris. “She had no right to keep me from my break.”

“So, why didn't you stand up for yourself?”

“Because she’s awful, and I didn’t want to hurt us any further,” replied Paris. “What would you have done?”

“I would have told her to stick it where the sun doesn’t shine,” said Vic with a laugh. “If it wasn’t work-related, she didn’t have a leg to stand on.”

“Yes, but she would go out of her way to make it sound as if I was the screwup and that I was being rebellious. The board would probably take her side. I don’t think that’s a risk I wanted to take, do you?”

“Maybe not,” he replied. “I’m sure things are fine. They let us out early, right?”

“True. There’s no way I could’ve done any better, so if they don’t promote us, we’ll have some serious issues getting out of this hole.”

Vic nodded at her. If she was being honest with him and she had done her best, it was now out of their hands. He decided to forget about it for the time being. He’d butted heads with Angela in the past, but only over details for a party. Never had he seen a vicious side to her. “Let’s pack so we can get out of here,” he said as they entered the elevator. Continuing on toward their apartment, he further pondered the curious situation between Angela and Paris, which brought him directly back to the curves of her body. He had to change his thoughts quickly to avoid an awkward conversation between him and Paris.

It was five in the evening by the time they arrived at Vic’s family cabin in Rock Valley. They’d stopped for provisions along the way and were fully prepared to eat well over the coming days.

It had been years since Vic had visited, but the view from the yard was still beautiful. The lake looked like glass, reflecting the trees along the shore. As the leaves rustled in the breeze, he smelled mountain flowers and fresh water, bringing back memories from childhood.

Rock Valley was a small town situated at the foot of the Sheep Rock Falls Mountain Range. The mountains, capped with snow, towered majestically over the small town. While the range was quite small, it still provided an array of outdoor activities, including some impressive waterfall hikes.

As a child, Vic had spent many hours hiking in the SRF Mountains. He loved the smell of the crisp mountain air and the spray of the falls. His cousins would visit and they’d swim in the lake and sit around the bonfire telling stories and cooking campfire pies and marshmallows. He’d never wanted those days to end.

He missed his cousin dearly. They had spent countless hours together working, playing, and getting into mischief. Looking up at the cabin, he could almost see Brody looking back at him from the kitchen window.

“Are you okay?” asked Paris. Vic jumped. She was surprised at how on edge he seemed. “It’s been a while, hasn’t it?”

“Yeah. Three years, I think. The last trip we’d planned was with you, Brody, Alli, and Mya. As you know, that never happened. I guess I haven’t felt much of a need to visit. Especially since my parents and Cristo renovated the inside after Brody passed.”

“Who takes care of this place?” asked Chase.

“Cristo usually comes up once or twice a month. My parents visit every few weeks. We have caretakers who regularly tend to the property when they’re unable to make the trip,” said Vic.

“I love it here,” said Mya. “It’s so peaceful.”

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