Chapter Eleven - Ellie
Well, call me cheap and stupid.
Ellie Hatcher, you brought this on yourself.
I huff out a breath and stand up, pulling my dress back down over my hips and searching through my purse to find my compact.
Great, just great. I look well-fucked.
Did he pull my hair? It’s all messed up.
My phone buzzes and I search around for that, groaning as I see the caller ID. I press accept and exclaim, “Adeline! You’re here!”
“And you’re not,” she says in her sweet sing-song voice. “Where are you? Ming says you got an office in the Atrium.”
“I did, but hold tight. I’ll be there in five minutes.” I end the call, smack a new layer of lipstick on, and exit my office.
“Oh, Ellie?” Stephanie calls. “Stonewall said six o’clock is good for him.”
“Good for what?” I ask, cursing her for derailing my getaway.
“Your meeting tonight. He just left and said he’d be gone all day, but he’d be here at six for your appointment. His office, he said, not yours.”
“Fine,” I say, making a dash for the elevators.
Once the doors close and I’m alone, I let out a long breath. I just let my boss fuck me on my desk.
Heath’s desk, to be accurate. His smoking desk, because that’s what it was. A place where he entertained clients with drinks and cigars.
Gross. I’d rather be in the greasy airplane hangar than up there on the seventh floor with the executives.
It feels like the train takes forever, but I look at my phone and it’s not forever, just six minutes.
When I burst throughout the door to the hangar Adeline and Ming are laughing in my old fishbowl office.
“Hey,” the mechanics call to me. “How’s life up on the executive floor, Ellie?”
“Great, guys!” I call back, then push the doors open.
Adeline and I rush together for hugs and squeals.
“You bitch!” she says. “You got a promotion! Finally!”
“Ugggh,” I say. “Don’t remind me. It’s not what you think. Let’s go have breakfast and we’ll talk.”
Ming gives me a knowing smile as I open the door for Adeline. She knows this won’t be easy. I admit, Andrew’s call to McAllister was a surprise. We’re friends, I know that much, but I never expected him to stick up for me like that. Adeline and I are very close. She will not be happy to hear I am quitting.
“So spill, chick,” Adeline says as soon as we enter the stairs to the train station. “What’s going on? Ming kind of filled me in on the new boss. What happened to Heath?”
“Honestly,” I say, “I don’t know. I have no clue. We were pretty good friends. I mean, I thought we were dating.” I push the call button for the train.
“Ellie—”
“I didn’t say we were dating, but I think we were close. And then one day he doesn’t show up and there’s an announcement that he’s taking over some sister company in China.”
“Ming told me what you were doing. Sending him delusional messages, Ellie? What’s that about? You’re not desperate, girl. You’re smart, beautiful, and don’t need to be chasing a douchebag like him.”
“He’s not a douchebag.”
“No?” Adeline asks. “Then why does Ming think he is? She says he was stringing you along to keep you from quitting.”
Hmmm. “Well…” I don’t have an answer for that. Thankfully the train comes and it gives me a moment to get my thoughts together. “I did try to quit last year too. And it’s not that I don’t love my job. I do, actually. I just think I’ve outgrown it, you know?”
“I’m all for you quitting.”
“You are?”
“Of course. You’re meant for bigger things. And they have been taking advantage of all your talent for years. You need to break away and rise up, Ellie. And Heath’s promises were just a ploy to keep you here.”
“Well…” I sigh. “Now his brother has taken over and it seems to be playing out the same way. Only he’s much more aggressive about it.”
“The office? And promotion?”
“Yeah,” I say. And the sex. But I don’t say that part.
“Well, don’t let him smooth-talk you into staying. Stick to your guns.”
“I turned in my notice last night but he refused to accept it.”
“Who is this guy?” Adeline asks, annoyed.
“McAllister Stonewall,” I say. I might even sigh his name a little. This doesn’t get past Adeline, because she cocks a knowing eyebrow at me. “What?”
“Is he dreamy? Because you just said his name like he is.”
“He’s very good-looking,” I admit. “And a little bit… overpowering.” That’s an understatement. “And I just don’t know anymore. He kind of flipped my world upside down yesterday.”
We get off the train at Building Eleven—that’s where the executive restaurant is—and I fill her in on how he humiliated me at yesterday’s meeting as we take the escalator up to the dining room.
“What a dick,” Adeline says.
I hold up two fingers to indicate the number in our party to the host at the front and then we follow him to a private table in the back where I bring the celebrities. Once we are seated I get back to the conversation. “Right? I’m not overreacting? I mean, maybe I overreacted in the meeting and my escape down the slide was ridiculous, but I was just… shocked. It was stupid to put all those personal things in Heath’s message stream.”
“And delusional,” she adds.
“Maybe a little,” I admit. “But McAllister Stonewall could see they were not meant for him and he not only read them, he responded. A man with class would’ve ignored them. And a boss would’ve sent a polite email about it. Not humiliated me in front of the entire executive staff.”
She nods, putting on her pouty face in sympathy. “He handled it wrong.”
“I did too. I understand that. But… but how do I look him in the eye for the next two weeks?” I pause for a moment, wondering if I should tell her the rest. Yes. I better just come clean. “And there’s something else on the phone too.” I screw up my mouth a little to indicate this is not good.
“Spill it,” Adeline says.
“I have this Pinterest board, right?”
“Riiiight…”
“And I post my delusional things on there.”
“OK.”
“Plus, I might’ve made a board with workplace gossip on it. I have these nicknames for everyone, like Jennifer Sluts-around, and Clarisse Takes-all-the-credit, and Marty Brown-nose.”
Adeline bursts out laughing.
“It’s not funny! And I sent the link to Heath. Which means…”
“Oh, my God, why would you do that?”
“Because I’m stupid?”
“So he saw you being Ellie Office-bitch?”
I smile. “Yes.”
“The board was public?”
“No! That’s what I don’t understand. It’s private, just Ming and I can see it.”
“So how did he see it?”
“I sent him the link, I guess?”
Adeline shakes her head. “He can’t see it, Ellie. If a board is private, then it’s not available to anyone unless they are added to it. Did you add Heath?”
“Of course not!”
“Then McAllister didn’t see it.”
“He said he did. He used it to threaten me last night. Said he’d blast my gossip board all over work if I didn’t take back my resignation.”
“He’s lying. What is the name of the board?”
“Work Bitches and Other Cunts.” We both burst out laughing now. “I know, I’m terrible, but…” I have no excuse.
“Am I in there?” Adeline asks.
“Of course not! Don’t be silly. I love my celebrity clients. Even that dumbass Brutus has grown on me a little. OMG, I almost killed him yesterday with a peanut butter sandwich. It was not even on purpose, I cross my heart.”
“Jesus, yesterday sucked.”
“Right? What do I do?”
“Well,” Adeline says, “I’m not the best advice-giver on the planet, which is why I always come to you. But I’d get that phone back and erase the whole message stream. Just press that little delete button and get rid of the evidence. And then you shove that resignation in his face and say goodbye.”
I nod as the waiter comes asking for drinks. We order two mimosas and split an order of French toast. “Then that’s my plan. I need to get into his office and find that phone.”
“Well,” Adeline says, pressing her index fingers under her chin and giving me a devious smile. “That plan has been dealt with. On to the one we’re really here to talk about.”
“Adeline, look—”
“No,” she interrupts me. “You look. You were the one who told me to walk away from my last label and strike out on my own. Indie, you said, right? It’s all about being indie. So I took your advice, and do you know what happened?”
“Of course I know,” I say, smiling. “Four number one hits in twelve weeks. More than two million songs sold, more than a million new subscribers, and seventeen million dollars. But—”
“No buts, Ellie. We made a deal.”
“I just don’t think I’m ready.”
“You’re ready to quit though?”
“Yes.” I nod. “Definitely. Stonewall might not have accepted my resignation, but that doesn’t mean I didn’t really resign. I’m outta here in thirteen days. No exceptions.”
“Then push publish,” Adeline says.
“I need a plan first. Some kind of release schedule or something.”
“Bitch, you work for the biggest fucking entertainment network on the planet. You know every one of the producers on—how many shows do you guys manage here?”
“I don’t know. I lost count.”
“Plus bloggers and YouTubers. All you have to do is go ask for help and everyone will be happy to pitch your release. If I thought professional people looking for a coach would listen to me, I’d pitch you to them. But sweetie, I can get you eyeballs but I cannot get you the right eyeballs. These people here, they can and they owe you. Don’t walk away without asking for a favor.”
“I don’t want to use my position here to get exposure, Adeline. It makes me feel dirty.”
“How many times have you come through for them? When guests canceled? You pulled out your phone, made a call, and that spot was filled.”
“But that was my job.”
“That doesn’t mean you don’t deserve their help.”
I make a face as our French toast is served.
“Just think about it,” she says as we dig in and eat. “And even if you don’t ask for help, you have to put it out there. Push it out of the nest and let it fly. Don’t wait for someone else to create your success. Isn’t that what you told me?”
“I did,” I say, smiling.
“Then take your own advice. Leave the nest, baby bird. And fly.”