Ryan woke early, dressed, and left her in peace. She was glad she didn’t have to spend the morning being pleasant with him when she really just wanted him to get out of her house. She had debated on a few occasions over just changing the locks while he was out at work, but now she didn’t have an income, and she needed him there to help pay the bills. She had squandered her savings on a series of lavish vacations with her friends a year before when she was single and with no responsibilities, but now she was regretting that decision because she was trapped. Financial freedom would have meant being able to get rid of Ryan, but she found herself dependent and it hurt her pride more than ever.
She pulled on a tight suit dress and a little black jacket, slipped her feet into her black court shoes and pinned one half of her hair back over her shoulder with a little silver clip. She looked groomed and elegant and she was sure that after spending the past three years of her life working at the firm, at least one of the partners would listen to her when she told them that none of it was true. She applied her lipstick and blotted it before making her way towards the door. “No more moping around,” she said aloud, “It’s time to take back control of your life.”
One of the downfalls of living and working in a small town was that everyone seemed to know your business. As Miranda crossed the street outside of her building and made her way down towards Main Street, she saw at least five friendly faces who all seemed to want to talk to her about what had happened at work.
“So are they clearing it all up for you, Sweetheart?” one of her neighbors, Mrs. Paver asked her, “I mean of course you didn’t do it… They must know that?”
“Well, I would hope so,” she said confidently. “I’m actually just on my way over there now to discuss a few things.”
“Terrible business,” Mrs. Paver said as she shook her head, “I’m sure they will catch whoever is responsible.”
“Well, as long as they accept that it wasn’t me,” Miranda smiled hopefully. “Have a good day Mrs. Paver.”
She trotted off down the street, hoping she wouldn’t have another run-in with a nosy neighbor. Even though most of them were harmless, after everything that had happened with her job, she couldn’t help but feel sometimes that they were more interested in the gossip surrounding her than her actual feelings.
Her heart began to beat faster as she approached the tall modern building on the corner of Main Street. Blake & Fox Law had stood tall and proud there since they had razed and rebuilt the building in 2009. Miranda started there in 2011 and had been a dedicated and valued member of the team up until the press ran a story about one of their most notorious clients. The journalist cited a source close to the firm who had provided them with the details that were not only confidential but also unknown to many people in the firm. Sure, quite a few people would have been able to view the information about the case, especially the PAs who were working on the correspondence and providing admin support, but with Miranda being the acting partners’ number one, the blame seemed to instantly fall on her.
“You viewed all of the documents more than anyone else,” Mr. Blake had said when he’d called her into his office, “We have no choice but to suspend you without pay pending an investigation.”
“But I didn’t do this,” Miranda had pleaded, “You know this isn’t me!”
“I’m sorry, but we can’t discuss this any further.” He had shown her the door, and she had left dumbfounded. That had been a week ago and now she was sick of being in the dark. She needed answers and she wasn’t going to be brushed off again.
As she approached reception, her heart seemed to catch in her throat as she saw Jessica, the cute little office girl, sat behind the welcome desk, filing her nails and gazing off into space.
“Hi, Jess,” Miranda smiled sheepishly. “I need to speak to Mr. Blake.”
“Hi,” Jess looked unsure, “Umm, okay, just give me a moment.”
She fiddled with her switchboard and held the phone receiver to her ear. “Miranda’s in reception,” she said quietly. “She needs to speak with you.”
Miranda sat down on a chair in the waiting area and stared at the floor. She didn’t want to look around and accidentally catch the eye of a colleague who may have been passing through reception. She wanted to be in and out of there as inconspicuously as possible.
“Miranda,” Jessica called over to her, “He said you can go through.”
“Thank you,” she said as she got to her feet and hurried along the corridor to the partners’ rooms.
The door creaked open and she knocked as she entered.
“Miranda,” Mr. Blake said as he rose to his feet. “Can I help you?”
“I know I’m supposed to be suspended Mr. Blake, but-“
“Sit down, dear,” he said as he gestured to the chair in front of him.
She took the seat and stared up at him.
“You know I didn’t do this, and I just want to come back to work. It’s just awful having to go through of all of this.”
“I’m sorry you feel that way,” he said genuinely, “But protocol is protocol.”
“But why?” she said, “No one else has been suspended, I don’t understand why I seem to have been chosen at random? You know I wasn’t the only person to see those files.”
“Miranda,” he said with a sigh, “Someone provided evidence it was you…”
“Who?” she snapped. “I’ll tell you who, the person who’s really guilty.”
He lowered his head and turned his eyes up to meet hers. “We are investigating it… that’s all I can say for now.”
“Am I going to be compensated when all of this comes out as being a big misunderstanding?”
“If that is indeed the outcome, then yes, of course,” he said.
“I just want to come back to work, Mr. Blake…” she said as the tears welled up in her eyes. “I’m innocent… I would never compromise one of our cases for the sake of a payoff from a journalist, and I know you know that.”
He looked up at her with sympathy in his eyes. “I’m doing everything I can to make sure this is all resolved quickly,” he assured her. “I promise to be in touch as soon as I can.”
He got to his feet and so did Miranda. She was glad she had had the opportunity to speak up after the initial shock of being told to leave the office the previous week, but she was also totally frustrated that he wasn’t just welcoming her back with open arms.
As she walked down the corridor and made her way through reception, she smiled weakly at Jessica and crossed to the elevator. She needed something to cheer her up. And fast.