Page 72 of #Awestruck

“Given that you’re Evan’s fiancée, and that you seem much more devoted to him than you are to this network, and how you’ve accused others in the workplace of jealousy, do you really think anyone will ever believe you?”

All of that was untrue. Brenda had the experience, nepotism, and connections that I didn’t. She was feared and respected. I was just some nameless intern. She was right. Nobody would listen to me. They would all choose her side.

Why wasn’t I like one of those women in movies who had their phones out recording when the bad guy made an incriminating speech?

There was a big lump in my throat, and I swallowed it down. “I’m not ... I’m not signing that.”

“I’ll note your refusal to sign along with the date. That’s all, Ashton. You may go.”

I seemed to be operating solely from muscle memory. I walked back to my desk, not really seeing where I was headed.

“Aw, is your love affair with Brenda over?” Rand asked as I sat down.

“Shut up, Rand,” I told him, the words sounding vicious even to my ears. I could not deal with him right now. I wanted to lay my head down on my desk and sob. Over being on the outs with Brenda. Losing my job. Worrying about what they might do to Evan. And instead of being able to cry, I had to get to work and pretend like nothing bad was happening. The sharks on this floor would smell blood in the water.

Catching up on my email kept me busy until lunchtime. I grabbed my purse and coat and fled, all too happy to escape. I let out a deep breath of air when I got outside. Even the overcast sky felt less dark and oppressive than ISEN.

I headed for the Asian fusion restaurant in the building where Aubrey worked. She looked as upset as I felt, collapsing into the chair across from me. “There are days when I really, really hate my job.”

“Really? You know, there’s a support group for that. Its membership includes everybody, and their group meetings are at the bar after work.”

“Ha. Have you ordered yet?”

I told her I hadn’t, and we figured out what we wanted to get so that when the waitress stopped by our table, we were ready.

“I don’t know why you’re all up in arms about your job,” I said. “It’s not like Dad’s going to ever fire you. If I were you, your home life would stress me out more. I don’t know how you do that all the time, every day.”

“Well, wine helps. And the fact that I adore my kids more than my own life. It’s different when they’re yours.”

I could see that. I definitely thought Charlotte and Joey were superior to every other child on the planet.

“But we’re not here to talk about my kids. We’re here to talk about Evan. Tell me everything that’s been going on.”

So I filled her in on our activities up to the present day, obviously leaving some private details out of my recap.

“Are you still mad at him?” she asked.

“No. I was really angry in the beginning, and then it just kind of flared up occasionally. Like herpes. And now ... I enjoy being with him.”

“Sounds like things are going well,” Aubrey said, leaning to the left so the server could put her dish on the table.

“They are. Today it’s Brenda who is making me miserable. What is the penalty if you accidentally murder your boss?”

“It’s pretty bad. You don’t want to know.”

“Even if it’s justified?”

“Even then. What did she do?”

Aubrey already knew the basic gist of what Brenda wanted, so I laid out every detail of her evil plans, including today’s interaction.

She sat and listened, not eating, not saying anything. Her eyes got wider and wider until she vaguely resembled an anime character.

“You have to quit. Right now. You have, like, Stockholm syndrome or something.”

“What?”

“You’ve always been competitive. You want to be the best, and you have this really unrealistic dream that will be really hard to attain, and this woman is using that. ‘Just do what I say, and I’ll give you everything you’ve ever wanted.’ And you did what she said. I know you felt justified in the beginning because of how mad you were at Evan, but that’s passed. It sounds like it’s time to move on.”

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