Chapter Eight
Rose wasn’t sure what to expect by the time she arrived in Keith’s office and this had kept her awake most of the evening. “Hi Keith. I’m either very late or very early,” she said as she tried to lighten the mood since she noticed she was the only one meeting with Keith.
There was no playful banter and a tiny tremor of uneasiness settled in her stomach. Rose squared her shoulders and watched Keith fidget. His gaze was everywhere except on her and she felt as though she were watching a car wreck that you couldn’t pull your eyes from.
“Ms. Perez,” he said. “I’m glad you’re here.”
Ms. Perez? What happened to calling me Rose? And suddenly breathing became difficult. They’d always called their employees by their first names. The only time they used surname was to resolve an employee issue. Was there an issue here? Rose thought back to the last week and wondered if a client had complained, although everyone had always told her that she went above and beyond when it came to her job. Then it hit her. Jake.
“As you know,” Keith continued. “We take pride in this company and we like to think of our employees as family.”
It took a lot of Rose’s will power to keep from rolling her eyes.
“However, when one of our employees does anything to place us in a bad light, we need to take action.” Her lips pressed together in a tight line as she focused on what he was saying. “You understand, Ms. Perez, that sometimes it’s necessary to take disciplinary action. Something I detest.”
“Did I do something wrong, Keith? Is that what you’re trying to tell me?” Rose hated dancing around punitive suggestions. If Keith was going to fire her because of her involvement with the club, Paradise, she’d rather he tell her that now. She’d figure out what to say to her family later.
“Okay. Here’s the thing. We’ve recently learned that you’ve been involved in some after-hours activities that, if learned by the general public, could detrimentally affect our business.”
And there it was.
“Of course, we don’t specifically have proof of any involvement,” he continued. “But we don’t want to have someone say anything that could reflect poorly on us. We have a lot of important clientele that come through here.”
Rose cringed. “Are you firing me?”
“We decided it’s best if you take some time off. To find out if this is really the career path you want to take.” Keith walked over to the floor-to-ceiling windows that looked out over the city and then turned toward Rose again. “No, we’re not firing you. We’re giving you a month long furlough.”
“A month? But, what about my clients?”
“We’ve taken the liberty to have the rest of the staff take them on. We’re telling the clients that you have some family issues to attend to.”
“But that’s not true.” Rose’s face heated. She squeezed her eyes shut and shook her head. “You don’t have any proof, yet you’re telling me I can’t work for a month.”
“We’re going to check the allegations very carefully. Think of this as a long awaited vacation.” Keith stood, essentially dismissing her. “You can get any personal items out of your desk and I’ll ask security to escort you to your car.”
Feeling like a common criminal, Rose stood, and with her head up and shoulders back she walked to the door. “May I ask who’s accusing me?”
“We’re not at liberty to say. At least not now,” answered Keith. “If we find the allegations to be false, that person will be dealt with. After all, we’re family here. We don’t take kindly to family making things up about each other.”
Rose bit the inside of her cheek wondering how Keith was going to find out that she’d been going to Paradise. She gathered what little personal belongings she’d kept at her desk and packed them into a small box. She looked around at her office, it was a small typical one desk, two chairs and a file cabinet arrangement. Brushing her hand along the top of an office staff photo, it was one she was sure would be replaced without her profile if she didn’t come back. She tapped the top of an old bobble head figurine and its nodding head seemingly confirmed that this was the right step for her future. Rose knew she’d now put her energy into making her future work the way she intended.
“I hope you’ll be back!” She was almost toppled by another staff member whom she hadn’t heard come into the office. “Keith told us you needed to take care of family issues. I hope everyone’s okay.”
Rose released herself from Kristen’s bear hug. “Everything’s going to be fine.” She was sure of that.
“I’m sad you’re leaving for the month. The office was secretly hoping you’d be promoted to assistant manager, but now if you’re gone, we think they’ll put Jake in that spot.”
“Really!” Rose walked out of her office with Kristen on her heels and looked over at Jake working with a client. “I wasn’t aware that Jake was in the running.”
“Yeah. He’s already giving orders like he owns the place. Some of us are looking for other jobs so we don’t have to work with him.”
“I wouldn’t give up just yet.” Rose didn’t acknowledge Jake when he smiled and waved to her. Somehow, she knew he was the reason she’d been furloughed and she was determined not to let it get to her.
“Kristen,” Jake called from across the room. “If you don’t have clients to work with, maybe you can put away some files.”
“Don’t worry Kristen, I think things will work out like they should.” Rose hugged her one last time before heading home. She knew she’d need to find another job if they made the determination to not take her back, which she believed was a probability at this time.
Inside her apartment, Rose placed the box on the kitchen counter, tossed her keys aside, and she pressed play to listen to the messages on her phone. Having her phone on at work meant an automatic disciplinary action, something she’d seen others go through so she was always careful to make sure it was off.
“Rose? Are you okay?” Bruce’s husky voice asked. “Please call me when you get this. I just wanted to apologize. I need to explain what happened.”
She stared at her phone and replayed the message. “I need to explain what happened.” Isn’t that the same thing she asked of him and he refused to listen? Rose shut her phone off giving Bruce the same courtesy he gave her. I don’t need to hear your explanation.
Three weeks had already passed and Rose had been busy applying for jobs. She’d interviewed at top companies and received a couple of job offers and barely gave Bruce or Paradise any consideration. She decided that when her fourth week was up, she’d go into Keith’s office and quit. No one had contacted her since the furlough and Rose didn’t know where she stood with Keith, but she wasn’t about to let him have the opportunity to fire her.
Lost in her thoughts, her cell phone rang and she almost picked it up, but then noticed Bruce’s number and decided against answering.
“Rose, I don’t know if you’re there. I’m not good at this, but I’m sorry,” His husky voice pleaded. “What I need to say shouldn’t be said over the phone. I want to see you. If you call, I’ll come over. If you don’t, I understand. It’ll hurt but I won’t bother you again. I’ll leave it up to you.” By the time the message ended, Rose’s eyes swelled with tears.
Having changed into running clothes, she thought going for a jog in the park would help her relax, however halfway into it she was still angry. The words, “We’re engaged” continued to replay in her mind and running was no longer fun, it made her tense. Finding a spot on a bench, Rose clasped her hands together and stretched her arms over her back and then leaned forward. She decided she’d stretch a little more before heading home. Maybe a nice hot shower will help instead. In the middle of a torso twist, she spotted a car that was as rusty as Jake’s. Had he been following her? Is that what he did when he always told everyone he’s going to his office to work on paperwork? People had told her he usually left the building on the days she didn’t work.
She watched the car as it started up and sped off and then she glanced around feeling like she was still being watched. Unease settled in and she walked back to her apartment, the pace as quick as when she started her jog earlier.
“Tom? Has anyone come by and asked about me?” she asked the doorman.
“I’m just starting my shift, Ms. Perez. But no one’s said anything to me. Are you expecting someone? Maybe a package delivery?”
“I’m not. I was just checking. Thank you though.” She hurried to her apartment, and found a notecard taped to her door. Her name was neatly handwritten across the front and the lettering didn’t look like any that she recognized. She tore it off and unlocked her door and then put the card on her counter while she retrieved her phone. Two missed calls.
“Hi, Rose.” It was Keith’s voice. “I hope I’m not disturbing you but I thought you’d like to know that we’d love to have you back in the office if you’re available to come in as soon as possible. Your clients miss you.”
As soon as possible? Did I hear that correctly She still had one week before they were going to call her back and this was the first time anyone from her office tried to contact her.
She’d made up her mind to go in today to find out if she could determine what was going on before she checked the second message. “Rose? This is Miranda. I’m probably the last person you want to hear from today, but I think we’ve had a misunderstanding. Give me a call.” After writing down her number Rose held her thumb over the delete button, but decided she’d keep the message and contact Miranda later that day. Then Rose opened the note that was taped to her door.
Dear Rose,
While you were out, I’ve signed for many items that came for you, if you’d like to have them.
Mrs. Saunders
Rose shook her head and walked into the hall and knocked on her neighbor’s door. “Hi, Mrs. Saunders. You said you signed for some items left for me?”
“Yes, I did. Come in.” Mrs. Saunders led Rose into her home. Not having been inside since her neighbor’s husband passed away a few years earlier, Rose took in the updated décor. “Wow. Your home is lovely.” The furniture was modern and the fixtures new, unlike what she’d been expecting. And there were flowers everywhere.
“Thank you.” Mrs. Saunders face beamed and she tucked a strand of white hair behind her ear. “Warren decided long ago that he wasn’t going to spend any money that he felt wasn’t necessary. So, along with fixing a few things around the house, I decided to update it, too. I’m thinking about selling, maybe in a few years so I can move closer to my grandchildren. That’ll depend on the market, but I’m not getting any younger.” Her gray eyes sparked when she smiled.
Smelling the tulips and looking at the roses in various sized vases throughout the living room, Rose was amazed at the number of different arrangements. “Wow. You certainly love your flowers. I’d guess you’re either starting your own flower shop or you have an admirer.”
“Oh, I do love flowers, but they’re not for me. They’re why I left the note on your door.” Mrs. Saunders pulled a small card from one of the arrangements and handed it to her. “I’d say you’re the one with the admirer.”
Rose bit her lip and took the card. She read it and her eyes clouded with tears.
“Go on, read it out loud.”
With a shaky voice, she read the card.
“Rose,
I don’t always get it right. Heck, I don’t even know if this is the right way to reach you, but it’s driving me crazy. I can’t sleep. I can’t eat. All I think about is you and I just wanted you to know.”
Love, Bruce”
“Love,” Rose said. “He signed it, Love.” And she smiled knowing how difficult that must have been for him.
Without warning, Ms. Saunders gave Rose a big hug. “So,” she said. “Shall I help you carry all of these flowers to your apartment?”
There must have been at least twenty vases full of flowers, and then she spotted what she felt was appropriate. “No. If you don’t mind, Ms. Saunders, you can have them. I’ll just take these.” Rose picked up a simple vase filled with dark plum calla lilies. Her favorites. “Thank you Ms. Saunders. I appreciate it.”
“You’re welcome.” Ms. Saunders winked at her. “And, call me Lynn. Please.”
“Thank you, Lynn.” Rose headed back to her apartment and placed the vase of flowers in a prominent spot in the window. Then she got dressed and headed for the office to find out what was going on. She’d made a mental note to call Bruce later in the day.