Page 88 of Whispered Sins

Monica:Shut up. That means it’s…

Me:Yep. A million bucks.

Monica:Holy shit.

Me:I know.

I heard a knock at the door.

“Come in,” I said, placing my phone on my desk and looking busy.

Brian peeped his head in. “Are you free for a meeting in an hour?”

“Uh, sure. What’s up?”

“Mr. Bradley from headquarters is driving in from Philly. He heard about the deal and wants to meet with you.”

I looked at Brian warily.

“It’s a good thing, Addison.” He drummed his fingers on the doorframe. “One hour.”

I nodded and he walked out the door, closing it behind him.

A wave of nausea rushed through me and I leaned over my desk trash can, thinking I was going to hurl. Mr. Bradley was the Executive Director of Leading to Learn. I’d met him a few times, but never had a meeting with him. I started feeling anxious.

An hour passed too quickly and I made my way to Brian’s office. I knocked softly and he invited me in. Brian sat at his desk and across from him was Mr. Bradley, in a navy suit with a leather briefcase by his side.

He stood and shook my hand firmly.

“Hello, Mr. Bradley,” I said, taking the seat next to him.

“Ms. Heartly. I hear you’ve been doing great things here. Things this nonprofit could only dream of.”

“Oh, I wouldn’t say that.”

“You made a deal with the largest donor we’ve ever had or probably ever will have.”

“We’re very proud of her,” said Brian, smiling at us both.

“Thank you,” I said softly.

“I think your invaluable people skills and negotiation tactics should be recognized,” said Mr. Bradley.

Those were two things I didn’t have. I was put on this deal because someone else was busy. It wasn’t because I had a knack for small talk or was even a little persuasive. Daniel just saw something he thought he liked and threw money at it. Just like he did with everything. I felt like an impostor.

“We would like to give you a promotion to head up the donation team,” continued Mr. Bradley.

“Oh, but…” I started.

“It comes with a generous raise and it will be a good internal move within the company. Who knows? Maybe you’ll have my job one day,” said Mr. Bradley.

I chewed on the inside of my cheek as I thought about what he was saying.

As if sensing my hesitancy, he said, “You don’t need to decide now. Just think about it.”

“I will, sir.”

He stood and shook my hand firmly before I walked out of the room in a dreamlike state. All of this was happening because of Daniel. I wanted to thank him and punch him at the same time.

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