Chapter Eleven
I would have given anything to avoid going back into the building, but once I stomped away from Cooper, I realized I had nowhere else to go but back up to my desk. I stood in the shadow of the hulking building and took one last breath of fresh air before pulling open the glass door and going inside. My heart was begging me to turn around and see if I could watch him one last time. I knew he would have to pass by to get back to the parking lot. But my brain talked me out of it, knowing I was already a flight risk and could easily convince myself to fly out to him and go wherever he wanted to take me. Telling him off like that had worn down my defenses. If he had pushed one more time, said one nice thing, apologized again, I probably would have melted completely.
I took in a deep, steadying breath before heading back to the fifth floor.
Once inside the office, I didn’t even bother going to my desk. I made a beeline straight for Bryce’s office and shut the door behind me when he invited me in. I didn’t say anything and started frantically pacing back and forth in front of his desk.
“What is up with you? You look like you’re waiting for the third round bell to ring,” he asked, watching me with a curious expression on his face.
“Ugh! Where to even begin?” I asked, before flopping into one of the overstuffed armchairs in the corner of the office. “It’s that woman. It’s him. Everything, really.”
He nodded, as if he understood exactly what I was talking about. “Safe to assume that by ‘that woman’ you mean Rita, and ‘him’ is Cooper Brighton?”
“Yeah. I don’t know what to do about anything. I’m pretty sure I’m going to get fired. And then Cooper comes in, all knight in shining armor routine, offers me a job at his company, but I know I can’t do that. But maybe I should.”
“Okay, whoa, slow down. Let’s work through this one step at a time.”
I nodded and flopped into a chair, my energy suddenly zapped, the exhaustion hitting me like a truck.
“What’s going on with Mr. Brighton? He offered you a job? Why was he even here?”
I replayed the meeting with Rita for him and then explained the confrontation with Cooper outside.
“So, safe to assume, you and he…” his voice trailed off.
I nodded, pinching my eyes closed tightly. “I’m so stupid.”
Bryce laughed. “Oh honey, no you’re not. He’s a charming man. If he was gay…well, let’s just say I would have willingly fallen into that trap, as well.”
I laughed weakly. His attempt to cheer me up was appreciated but didn’t help much.
The pressure built and the laugh quickly dissolved to tears. Bryce rushed over, sat next to me and gave me a hug. “It’s okay, we’ll fix this. Don’t worry so much.”
“It’s not that. I just feel so stupid,” I answered. My face pressed into his shoulder and my voice came out mumbled.
“What do you mean? You’re not stupid. Far from it.”
“I’m smart, but so incredibly dumb when it comes to men.”
“Is this about your ex?”
I nodded against him. “That’s why I’m in this mess in the first place. When I found out he cheated on me, I got really mad and went off on him. So, then he took my credit cards and went crazy. He bought the new girl all sorts of shit, and bought himself a ton of stuff, too. He even opened new cards in my name that I didn’t know about, and when he was gone, there was nothing I could do. I owe over ten thousand dollars in credit card bills and then I have to pay for rent and utilities on my own too, now. It’s such a mess. That’s why I have to keep this job.”
“That horrifying!” Bryce exclaimed. “Did you call the police? Or a lawyer?”
I shook my head.
“Why not? That’s theft. He should be in jail for what he did to you.”
“I don’t know. Like I said, I’m really stupid when it comes to men.”
“Honey, trust me, that’s not a real man.”
“And Cooper is?” I said, skeptically.
“I have no idea what kind of man he is, to be honest. I’ve certainly heard my fair share of stories. But, that’s not really my point. I just mean that you are worth so much more and you never deserve to be treated that way.”
I sniffled, doing my best to get myself together. It wasn’t like me to be such a basket case. But everything that had happened was piled on top of me and making it hard to breathe.
“I’m so sorry, Allie,” Bryce said.
“Thanks. He was such a dick.”
“Cooper?” he asked.
“No, my ex.”
“Yeah, he sounds like a real piece of work.”
“He was a piece of something…”
Bryce laughed and I smiled through my tears.
I pulled out of the embrace and wiped at my eyes. “Thank you for always being so kind to me,” I said. “You took a chance on me by even helping to get me this job and I know you’re done your best to help me through everything. I hope I’m not making you regret it.”
“Absolutely not. I know we can get this whole thing figured out. I think this is the turning point. We need to turn the page. The Plush ad fiasco is over with, so now you can get back to the computer training and we can stay in our department. I’ll have to deal with Rita, but that’s part of my job, not yours. So you shouldn’t need to interact with her going forward. Let’s put this all behind and move on.”
“Deal,” I agreed, feeling a little lighter.
A knock on the door broke into our moment.
“I hate to interrupt,” a voice chirped from the doorway.
I looked up and saw Brittany, Rita’s main assistant, standing over us, her perfect, Barbie doll smile plastered on her perfect, Barbie doll face. I frantically wiped at my face, sure that all I managed to do was spread my wet mascara all over my cheekbones.
“Yes, Brittany?” Bryce replied.
“Rita needs to speak with both of you, immediately. Please follow me,” she answered, never dropping her sugary expression.
What the hell did Cooper ever see in this girl? I started to wonder as I stared at her in disbelief. If this was “his type” then I was out, for sure.
I guess that was already settled, I reminded myself silently.
A new wave of tears rushed to my eyes but I blinked them away.
Bryce let me go first and we started to follow Brittany down the—now familiar—path to Rita’s office.
On the way, I started to wonder if Rita knew that her loyal pet had once been one of Cooper’s flings. I guessed the only difference between us was that Rita liked Brittany, and she didn’t like me. So where Brittany’s indiscretion was covered up, mine would, likely, be exposed.
Like right about now, I thought as we walked.