***
Nash’s phone went unanswered. I called again, and again and again. Five calls and he didn’t answer any of them.
“What is the point, Bonnie? They’re going to do it any minute now,” Peter said from behind me. I impatiently brushed my hair behind my shoulder and dialed again.
“Doesn’t mean that I’m not going to tell him off. He made me a promise,” I said, without turning to look at him. No answer.
Next, I tried his office. Nash Preston the pussy. Can’t even answer his phone and face up to what he’s doing. Not even man enough to look me in the eye and admit that he’s been lying to me.
“Seraphine James, Nash Preston’s office,” the secretary answered on the second ring. My pupils immediately contracted, and I gripped my cellphone harder in my hand.
“Hi, Sera. This is Bonnie Calhoun. Can I speak to Nash, please?” I said, in my most straight-forward voice ever. The last thing I wanted was for her to know exactly what I was feeling.
“Mr. Preston isn’t in his office now, Ms. Calhoun. Can I take a message?” she asked, making her voice sound purposely sweet. I could hear the smile in her voice. She knew exactly what was going on. My resolve to sound calm broke, as quickly as it began.
“Remember how he told you to patch me through to him when I call? Well, I’m calling now. So do your job,” I barked into the phone, unable to control myself any longer. When I heard her laughing, I knew instantly that she had something to do with the demolition. I’d never heard such evil cold laughter.
“I am doing my job, Ms. Calhoun. I’m making sure that the company’s interests are secured,” she said when her laughter subsided.
“So, you’re behind this? You authorized this demolition?” I said, gritting my teeth. I should have known! I’d seen it in her eyes when I first met her, that she would stop at nothing to get what she wanted. And she wanted Nash. By demolishing my building, she knew she could create a rift between us.
“No, of course I didn’t. Mr. Preston authorized it, several days ago,” she said, still maintaining her sugary sweet voice that was starting to make me feel sick.
“But he changed his mind, and you didn’t put a stop to the paperwork,” I spat out.
“I don’t know what you’re talking about, Ms. Calhoun. Mr. Preston wasn’t in the office yesterday; he took the day off. I didn’t get any message about him changing his mind,” she informed me, while I was pacing about. The machines loomed in the background, dangling the wrecking ball threateningly in front of the building. I was running out of time.
“Well, I’m telling you now; he’s changed his mind. You need to stop this from happening,” I said.
“I don’t take orders from you, Ms. Calhoun,” she was quick to reply.
“So ask him! Call Nash and ask him yourself,” I said, throwing my hand up in the air. I really couldn’t lose this building. It was my only personal achievement. The central symbol of my company.
“I can’t. He’s unavailable at the moment. Like I said, he’s not in the office,” she said, manipulating her voice to make it sound like she was speaking to a stranger. Like she didn’t even know me. I breathed in deeply, the phone stuck to my ear. I squeezed it tightly in my hand like I could mold it like clay.
“What is your problem, Seraphine?” I asked her, in a much calmer voice. It was over anyway. This was going to go ahead and happen. There was no way that I could possibly change her mind. And with Nash out of reach, there would be nobody to put a stop to this in time.
“My problem is that you’re overreaching, Ms. Calhoun,” she snapped. Her mask had finally slipped. “Nash Preston is out of your reach, and you should stay in your place.”
“You think he’s going to keep you on when he finds out what you did? That you disobeyed him?” I said, shaking my head. I wished I was recording this conversation.
“I did nothing. This was all authorized by Nash himself. And he didn’t cancel the plan, like you claim he did. So really, I haven’t done anything wrong here. Like you said, I’m just doing my job. And, Ms. Calhoun, you underestimate my importance and role in his life. I pick out his shoes for him,” she snapped and then hung up. I kept the phone to my ear for a few seconds longer, listening to the white noise.
“What happened?” Peter appeared out of nowhere, as distressed as before. He was sweating profusely, and he kept taking his spectacles off to give them a good wipe out of nervousness.
“Nothing. I couldn’t get through to him,” I said dejectedly, pushing my phone back down into the pocket of my jeans.
“So, there’s nothing we can do?” he asked.
I turned to him, narrowing my blue eyes. “I’m going to go throw myself in front of those blasted machines. They’ll have to get past me if they want to destroy my building,” I said and walked away, in the direction of the crane. Behind me, I could hear Peter screaming, chasing me.
But I was determined. I wasn’t going to let Seraphine win. I wasn’t going to let Nash win either. I didn’t care who was responsible anymore. Seraphine could be telling the truth, and it was exactly what I had thought. Nash had no plans of keeping the building, giving me my job back. Either way, I was done with this. This was going to be the last time I ever thought about Nash Preston.