Page 79 of V is for Valentine
“Thank goodness you’rehere.” Viv Caldwell caught up with Felicity as she stepped off the elevator. She was early for work, but Viv had been earlier, and there was something about the wild look in her eye that made Felicity’s stomach tighten. Only days ago Viv had assured her that everything was quiet. Maybe it had been too quiet.
“What happened?”
“They fired Brett. Mr. Murtaugh. They fired him!” Her voice broke on the last word.
“No.” Felicity pushed back her hair, not caring if it stood up. Viv, who was usually the picture of composure appeared ready to burst into tears. “When?”
“This morning. They had an early meeting. Brett expected a bonus and instead he got the axe.”
Viv blinked several times, and Felicity reached out to put a reassuring hand on her shoulder. She knew why Viv was so distraught. Brett Murtaugh was her mentor, and as such, she was concerned not only about losing career guidance, but also about losing her job. These things often came in waves.
“Come on.” Felicity jerked her head toward the walled-in cube at the far end of the room. She’d risen high enough in the food chain to warrant a semi-office which would give them a measure of privacy. Lockwood was a proponent of flex time so there were only a few people at their stations, and from the looks of things, unaware of what had happened, but Viv needed a moment to collect herself without being stared at.
Viv sank into the chair, then reached for a tissue which she waddedbn into a ball in her hand, as if not daring to dab her eyes for fear of starting a river.
“It’s not fair,” Viv said fiercely. “He’s given his all for this company.”
“I know,” Felicity said matter-of-factly. It was true.
Welcome back to your real life, her small voice muttered.
Felicity pulled up a chair so that she was facing Viv without the desk between them. “It’s a shock, but this has been in the works for weeks, I imagine.” She wasn’t telling Viv anything she didn’t already know; her goal was to lay things out and help the woman marshal her thoughts. “It’s been a done deal for a while. We simply didn’t know.”
Viv’s red-rimmed eyes came up. “I’m afraid of losing my job. Of, you know, being tainted by association.”
That, too, was a done deal, if the powers that be had come to the same conclusion.
“Do I ask for a meeting? Do I wait for the axe to fall? I’ve never been in this situation. I just put down a big deposit on a new apartment.” Her eyes went wide as they zeroed in on Felicity. “None of us may be safe. This may be the beginning of a major housecleaning.”
“It could,” she agreed, which would screw up her life and her carefully laid plans. It would also give her an excuse to head back to Holly, or to Boise, where she would do what?
Viv sniffed, bringing Felicity’s attention back to her.
“There’s nothing proactive I can do, is there?”
Felicity shook her head. “Not at the moment.”
Viv got to her feet. “Then I won’t waste time trying to save something I no longer have.” She smiled weakly. “You know what I mean, right?”
Felicity nodded. If Viv’s, or her, job was to be terminated, there was nothing either of them could do. The answer was to keep on keeping on.
“You want to go for a drink tonight?” Viv asked. “Regardless of what happens?”
Felicity smiled. “I would. Thanks.”
There were no guarantees in business or romance, which wasn’t exactly an epiphany; she’d made the same comparison after the Sean debacle.
But losing a job wouldn’t break her heart. Losing Danny forever might.
You’ve already lost him. This friend thing isn’t going to work out and you know it.
Time and distance weren’t going to change that. All it would do was to make the two of them distant with one another. As Viv said, she was wasting time trying to save something she no longer had, while pushing aside the opportunity to have something even better.
The sad truth was that even without the Viv crisis, returning to her real life was not having the effect she’d anticipated. She didn’t feel centered. Her life in Holly didn’t seem to be a long way away. Her feelings for Danny were not diminishing. She was at the point where being locked in a furnace room look pretty good. At least she’d be home.
Her phone buzzed, startling her. The beginning of the end? she wondered as she reached for the receiver. Quite possibly, because Mr. Fanning, senior vice president, wanted to see her in his office. Now.
Felicity got to her feet and smoothed her hair, which felt like yes, it had been sticking up. She pulled her tote bag up onto her desk and dug through it, looking for the comb she knew she had in there somewhere.
