Page 5 of Together at Ruby's

“Well, we best get in there,” the president interrupted, breaking what almost felt like a spell over Tate.

“Yes, let’s go,” Aurora said turning on one of her heels to walk with the president into the conference room.

Tate followed, looking for an open seat in the crowded space. One of her coworkers waved her over to the empty chair beside him. “Thanks,” Tate said as she checked the clock on the wall and tried to settle in. It was eight on the dot. Her heart raced with adrenaline, and she felt her palms starting to sweat. Hopefully the meeting would get straight to the point before she hyperventilated.

As if reading her mind, the president stood and held up his hands for quiet. All murmuring stopped. “Thank you all for your time this Monday morning,” he said. “I know there is a lot of work to be done, but I wanted to take a moment to talk to you about teamwork.” His face grew serious. “Teamwork is essential to success in this company. It is the key to completing tasks efficiently and effectively. Good teamwork can help to improve communication, increase productivity, and promote a positive work environment.” The man let his eyes scan the room, and Tate couldn’t help but wonder what he was getting at exactly. In her opinion, the firm worked like a well-oiled machine. Numbers had never been higher. Bonuses should be record setting that fall.What does this have to do with my promotion?she wondered as the man continued. “However, teamwork is not always easy. It takes effort and cooperation from all members of a team to make it work. When teamwork is not effective, it can lead to conflict, decreased productivity, and a negative work environment. And nobody wants that, right?”

For a beat no one moved, but then people’s heads nodded as they realized what he said had been a real question. The president smiled. “Good,” he said. “Now, with that being said, I’d like to make an official announcement.”

Tate held her breath.This has to be it,she thought, ready to finally be rewarded for her years of hard work. “As you know, the Vice President of Mergers and Acquisitions position here has been vacant for a while,” he said. “But no longer. I’d like to introduce you all to our newest VP, Aurora Price.”

For a moment, Tate was sure she heard the room hush, and then for a minute nothing else registered. The urge to puke nearly overcame her, but she swallowed it down. Over the sound of her heart pounding in her ears, she knew the president was saying more. Something about needing to bring in a fresh, outside perspective to the firm and then the listing of Aurora’s credentials. Finally, the woman herself stood to address the room. Unable to help it, Tate stared at her only to find her looking right back, the hint of a smile on her lips, as if they were the only two people in the room.

5

Finishing the last of her sweet pear and walnut salad and taking the plastic bowl to the recycling bin, Liza tried not to think about how horrible her morning had gone. It seemed like nothing but one complaint after another. Angry clients who were frustrated about what was and was not covered by their insurance policy. Fender benders, flooded garages, even a lost wedding ring had swamped the team of four insurance specialists working the phones.Not a great start for the week, she thought straightening her dress as she headed back to her building in downtown Portland. Not that she disliked her job, but being an insurance specialist in an office all day was not her lifelong dream. She liked helping people when they were polite, but she didn’t like being hung up on.

Glancing at her phone and seeing that it was one-thirty and time for her to return to her desk, she was a little surprised there was nothing from Tate. When they discussed things last night, it seemed logical the announcement regarding the promotion would be sometime in the morning. That would give her time to start her transition from her old team to her new position. With no word, Liza had to assume that the official announcement had yet to happen. Still, Liza didn’t worry too much. Tate was certain to get the VP job. It was more likely Tate was too busy jumping into her new role to text, even on such a special occasion.

Walking down the hallway to enter the office Liza shared with the other specialists, she waved at her coworker and friend Emma to let her know she could go on her lunch break. Liza dropped her purse in a desk drawer and took a seat. Slipping on her headset, she prepared to take the next call. While she waited, she wondered if maybe it would be a good night to call her friends together to meet at Ruby’s. They didn’t typically meet on Mondays, but tonight would be a special occasion. She had been dying to tell her friends about Tate’s new job, and they would want to celebrate with them. But until she heard from Tate, she didn’t dare make any plans. It would be too hard to explain without spilling the beans.What about dinner with only Tate someplace special?she thought.I could at least make a reservation somewhere so we can have champagne and celebrate.They hadn’t made it to dinner or even out of the apartment last night and the memory of why made her cheeks flush a little. Instead, the two of them ended up ordering takeout and sat in their robes on the couch while they ate. They hadn’t been so connected and laid back in a long time, and it had felt very good.It’s all because we are on the brink of a new chapter.

Before she could make up her mind what to do the line beeped and a new call came in. “Hello. This is Barb Williams’ Insurance Office. How may I help you?” she asked.

“I need to make a claim,” came a gravelly voice. “Someone broke into my car last night.” With a quick scan of her computer screen, Liza was able to determine who the customer was based on his phone number. He was a longtime customer with quite a few claims over the years.

Still, she confirmed. “Who am I speaking with?” she asked, and the man gave her his name. A quick look at the policy and Liza knew the conversation would not go well. The man had only the most basic liability insurance on his only vehicle. It would not cover a break in. “Sir. I’m sorry to tell you that a break in is not covered under your car insurance policy.”

“What?” the man growled. “Then what do I pay you for every month?”

Patiently, Liza explained the details of his policy and the limitations. At the end, he finished the call by calling her useless, among other things, and hung up. Liza had never wanted to quit more than at that moment, but she took a few deep breaths and stayed at her desk. The time would come soon when she could permanently call it quits, and for Liza, it couldn’t come soon enough.

Her day was a blur.Tate swung from total numbness to nausea and back as she sat through one meeting after another. Meetings that centered around Aurora Price and bringing her up to speed. For the most part, even though she was a key member of the team, Tate stayed silent, simply staring at the wooden conference table and trying to piece together what happened to her career. When she would look up to answer a direct question, the auburn-haired stranger and the firm’s newest vice president seemed to always be staring at her with a little half-smile on her pretty face. If Tate had been her normal self, she might have wondered what the woman was thinking, but at the moment, all she focused on was getting through what felt like the longest day of her life.

Whenever she got the chance to scurry back to her office, close the door, and sit in her chair, all she could do was stare at her computer monitor. It was like her brain was fried by the bad news and had somehow disconnected from her body. The usual activities of her day-to-day job were forgotten. When a chime came from her laptop, Tate saw a new email had come in, adding to the growing list of unopened correspondence. It was a meeting invite, and the subject line listed Tate’s three biggest accounts. With a sick feeling in her stomach, she clicked on the email only to read a short statement that said it all. She was to prepare a presentation later that evening for Aurora Price to hand over to her the accounts she had spent years cultivating a good relationship with and who were huge moneymakers. The words hit her like a punch in the gut and the nausea returned.

Looking at the time, she saw it was scheduled for seven p.m., much later than many other of the firm’s employees worked. Still, she moved the mouse, letting the cursor hover over the accept button. For the last decade, she had accepted meeting requests no matter the time they were scheduled. She always made herself available, but today she couldn’t force herself to click the button.What would happen if I declined it?she wondered.What if I finally said no?Slowly it dawned on her that maybe it was because she never pushed back that cost her the promotion.Maybe they think I’m weak and too much of a sheep.

Tears stung her eyes at the thought it might be true, and instead of clicking accept or decline, she did nothing at all. Suddenly, she had to leave. The walls of her office felt like they were closing in and grabbing her bag, she stood. She was about to do the unthinkable, but she didn’t care. She was simply going to walk out. Stepping out her door she saw two colleagues talking to the executive assistant. When they noticed her, they immediately stopped talking, and Tate saw the worst thing she could imagine—pity on their faces. “I’m going to be out for the rest of the day,” Tate stammered.

The executive assistant opened her mouth to respond, but before she could say a word, Tate strode to the elevators. She could not get out of there fast enough and wanted to be home where she could be alone until Liza got back.Liza, she thought as the elevator doors slid open and she stepped onboard.How will I tell her?

Pullinginto her garage at home, Liza was caught off guard when she saw Tate’s vehicle was already there. She couldn’t remember the last time the woman was home on a workday before Liza. She had left her office at five o’clock sharp, and even with a commute, it was still incredibly early for Tate’s workday to be over.And why didn’t she send a text? Liza wondered.If she was going to leave early, I would’ve asked for the time off too. Then an idea struck her. Tate was probably planning a big surprise for Liza and waiting for her to walk through the back door. There would likely be chilled champagne ready to pop so they could toast the new chapter of their lives. Her eyes widened.And there might even be a ring involved.

Liza rushed into the house and paused when all the lights were off. There was nothing to greet her, not even a sound, and for the second time in two days, Liza was not sure what to think.Her car is in the garage though, she thought.And I don’t believe she would have gone for a run on such an important day. There was a noise in the kitchen, and Liza walked in expectantly only to find their cat, Zombie, eating a bit of kibble. He looked up when she entered before refocusing on his bowl. “Where is Tate?” she asked him, but Zombie stayed occupied with his dinner.

Putting her purse on the kitchen counter, Liza decided that if Tate was home, there could only be two places where she was hiding. Possibly in bed waiting for her, which seemed a little unlikely after last night, however not impossible given the events of the day.Maybe she feels especially powerful, she thought with a tingle and started in that direction. As she did, she crossed the doorway that led into the extra bedroom they used as Tate’s home office. The door was closed, which was rare unless Tate was on a call. Leaning closer, Liza paused to listen. There was nothing but silence and when she looked, she saw the room was clearly dark because she couldn’t see any light seeping around the door. Still, something instinctive told her Tate was inside. For the first time, she felt a trickle of worry as she gently opened the door. “Tate?” she asked softly. There was no answer, but she sensed her partner was in the room.

Opening the door all the way, she stepped inside only to find the woman in her executive chair, turned to look out the window. Only the early evening light lit the room, casting long shadows across the walls. On the desk was a half-full bottle of bourbon. “What are you doing?” Liza asked feeling her cheeks flush with fear, disappointment, and a little anger. Something was very wrong, and she knew it.

“I want to be alone,” Tate answered softly. “We can talk about everything later.”

“No,” Liza said, her body cold with dread. “We’ll talk about it now. Tell me what happened.”

Tate whirled around in her chair, fixing Liza with a stare. Even in the dim light, Liza saw Tate’s face was pale, and her short hair was disheveled as if she had been running her hands through it over and over. “You want to talk about it?” Tate said in a tight voice. “Fine. Aurora Price is what happened.”

Liza blinked. “Who is Aurora Price?”

“The new VP of Mergers and Acquisitions at the firm,” Tate said.

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