Page 55 of The Vegas Rerun
And now she’s walking around the building, walking the same halls she’s walked every day, sipping coffee, breathing our air like she’s done nothing wrong. She’s walking around in my company after hurting the only woman I have ever loved.
No. I can’t let that go. I won’t. Screw the official channels. Even the most picky HR rep can’t say this isn’t a sackable offense or that I didn’t do the right thing by ridding the office of her. She’s a proven threat to the people who work here.
I make my way back to my office, avoiding catching anyone’s eye and trying to ignore the whispers that follow me. I catch snippets anyway, things like he looks mad, and someone is getting fired, shit like that. Well, they are correct on both counts.
I reach my office and sit down and pick up the receiver of my desk phone. I dial the extension number of her work area, and a cheerful voice answers my call.
“Hello Mr Redfern. What can I do for you?”
I take a moment to breathe. The cheerful voice isn’t Sarah, it’s Patty, and it’s not right to take my anger out on her. She isn’t the one who has done anything wrong.
“Can you put me through to Sarah please,” I say.
“Sure,” she says. “But are you sure I can’t help?”
“I’m sure,” I say.
“Ok,” she replies.
She sounds disappointed, but when word reaches her that Sarah has been fired, which knowing this place won’t take long, she’ll be relieved it wasn’t her I wanted to see.
I listen to the beeps as I’m transferred, and then Sarah’s voice comes over the line.
“Hello,” she says. “Wh …”
I cut her off before she can go any further.
“Come to my office,” I say. “Now.”
There’s a pause and then she speaks.
“Is this about …”
I cut her off again. I have given her a simple instruction. Why the hell can’t she just do as I say?
“Now, Sarah,” I say, my voice low and barely controlled.
I hang up before she can answer me with another question. The anger still burns inside of me, and I need to let some of it out before Sarah gets here. I want to fire her sure, and I want her to know I’m angry at her, but I don’t want to go so far that she can turn this around on me and get away with what she’s done.
I stand up, and I shove my chair in hard enough that it thuds against the edge of the desk. I need to move. I need to do something before I go mad. Maybe I should have gone to the hospital first. I feel like seeing Molly would have calmed me down somewhat because she has that effect on me, reminding me of what is important, but I can’t walk into Molly’s room knowing the woman who tried to kill her is still comfortably employed here.
It’s less than a minute before I hear the clipped sound of Sarah’s heels coming down the hallway towards my office. She doesn’t even knock on the door. She just swings the door open like she owns the place and waltzes inside. She obviously has no idea what I’ve learned. She very much thinks that I still think that she’s the victim here.
She steps further inside of my office, her head held high like she has nothing to be ashamed of. She makes as though to sits down in the chair opposite mine but then she turns slightly to look at me where I stand in the middle of the office and whatever she sees there stops her in her tracks. Good.
Since we last talked, she has pulled her blonde hair up into a top knot, and I can’t help thinking this is another calculated move, showing her injured nose off better and making sure the blood on her blouse isn’t covered by her hair.
She wants people to see her, to ask her what happened so she can try to poison everyone against Molly. I’m not going to letthat happen. Once I’ve dealt with this and been to see Molly, I’m going to hold a meeting and tell everyone what really happened. For now, though, I just have to get through this part without losing my temper.
“You wanted to see me?” she says. There's a tilt to her head, a calculated innocence in her half smile. “Have you changed your mind about me filling in for Molly?”
I don’t say anything. Not yet. I just stare at her.
She shifts a little, looking slightly uncomfortable under my scrutiny, but still maintaining her smile.
“Mr Redfern? Is everything ok?”
My voice is flat when I speak, and I ignore her question. She’s not here to make small talk with me.
