Chapter Thirty-Four
Ava
I arrive at the office at noon the next day. Despite having downed one too many tequila shots last night, I only have a slight headache. Sebastian woke up early. He’s not at the office when I arrive, because he and Logan are at the bank, caught up in a daylong meeting.
Nostalgia grips me the second I arrive at my desk. I can’t believe my last day is finally here. Taking a deep breath, I start packing my belongings, trying to focus on my upcoming trip with Sebastian, and push out the thought that I won’t see him again after the trip ends.
Last night, we had a moment—at least, I think we did. I let my guard down. I know that for sure. I can’t believe I told him I want four kids. And there was that moment just before I fell asleep, he might have told me to stay. I might have imagined it, and I don’t have the courage to ask him. Maybe on our trip. . .
Smiling, I fetch a small box to put the gifts I’ve gotten from him in. I kept one chocolate, and let one rose dry. I place them carefully in the box, ignoring the feeling of finality sweeping over me as I close the lid.
I sit at my desk and check my e-mail, looking for any unanswered request from Sebastian’s team. My eyes freeze on the subject of the newest email.
Termination of contract
With trembling hands, I click it open.
Dear Ms. Lindt,
We regret to inform you that your employment at our agency was terminated, effective today. The fourth clause of your contract was violated. As you were informed, this is grounds for immediate and irrevocable cease of work. You also lose your right to the contract termination compensation and to the bonus for your work with the client in this case.
We wish you best of luck.
I stare at the screen, reading the text again and again, until my eyes water.
No!
Sweat dots my palms, a strange coldness gripping me. I am on the brink of panic, unable to fight it much longer. Barely keeping it together, I call Dirk. He picks up immediately.
“You are firing me?” I’m surprised at how calm I sound. “What is going on?”
“You know perfectly well what is going on,” he sneers. “You are fucking Sebastian Bennett.”
I draw in a sharp breath, clutching the phone forcefully. “That is not true. I don’t know where you get your facts—”
“From Bennett himself. I spoke to him.”
“You spoke to him,” I repeat. My hand trembles on the phone, so I grip it tighter. Sebastian wouldn’t do this to me. He knew I’d be fired if Dirk found out.
“Yes, last night. He answered your phone and I recognized his voice. He proudly announced you are his girlfriend. He had no idea who I was, but that’s beside the point.”
Despite everything, I let out a breath of relief. He didn’t do it on purpose.
“I’ve been on alert ever since Anna told me you’re cozy with the Bennetts,” he continues.
I swallowed hard. Should’ve know that bitch would go right to him.
“She was in San Francisco again a week ago,” Dirk adds. “She saw you and Bennett kissing. I waited for their show to be over to fire you to avoid a scandal. We are a serious marketing consultancy, Ava.”
“I know that.”
“Not an escort service. That clause is in place for a reason. We have a reputation to keep up.” Dirk’s voice is as dickish as it gets.
“I can explain.” My mouth goes dry, and I press my knees together to stop myself from shaking.
“I’m not interested.”
“This isn’t what it looks like.”
“Did you sleep with Bennett?”
“Yes, but—”
“Do we have a clause that specifically forbids it?”
“Yes, however—”
“Then things are exactly the way they look. You know very well the trouble that scandal caused us all those years ago.”
“There won’t be a scandal this time.”
“It doesn’t matter. It’s best to cut the evil right from the root.”
“What the. . . Damn it, Dirk. You can’t leave me without my job, and refuse to pay my bonus and termination deposit.”
“Yes, I can. It’s written in your contract.”
“I won’t be able to afford . . . I’ll lose everything.” Something hard settles in my chest, making it hard to breathe. Keeping my phone between my ear and shoulder, I swipe my sweaty palms on my skirt.
“That’s not my problem.”
“I busted my ass off for you all these years,” I say through gritted teeth.
“And then you opened your legs for Bennett and threw all that hard work away. I thought you were smarter than that.”
“You dick,” I yell into the phone. “You have no right to talk to me like that. The board might have named you CEO, but the reputation of the company was built on my back and on that of other consultants. Your incompetent ass wouldn’t have gotten you where you are.”
“Right. I was about to draft your recommendation letter, but I see one won’t be necessary anymore.”
I nearly swallow my tongue. “What? No, Dirk, look, I’m sorry I said that. I’m just—”
“Don’t bother putting your time with us on a resume.”
“I spent six years in your company,” I shriek.
“If you put us on your resume and someone calls, I’ll give them enough reasons not to hire you. You’ve been warned.”
“I am your best employee—”
“Were. Best of luck,” he says, before I hear dead air. The asshole hung up on me.
I stare into space, my mind blank, my entire body overcome by quivers. Reality seeps in slowly. Finding a new job will take me months. Without the bonus, there is no way I’ll be able to pay my rent, even if I move to a cheaper neighborhood. I’ll have to dig into my savings. Tears roll down my cheeks. The savings were meant to go toward a deposit for my own home. Good-bye, dream of owning my own place.
Good-bye, all dreams. Everything will go to hell. Everything will crumble around me. One little mistake, that’s all it took to undo my hard work. How is this fair?
Dirk’s words resound in my mind. That’s not my problem. Of course not. Why should he care? Shit, why did I have to lose my temper like that?
Wiping away my tears, I steel myself, looking for a solution. First things first, I need to convince Dirk to change his mind on that recommendation letter. Without that, finding my next job will be a nightmare. A six-year gap on my resume will raise eyebrows. I have to put my job at the agency down, and I must convince Dirk to support me when future employers call him. I’ll make him see reason. I’ve done great things for his company, even if I made a mistake.
The second thing I need to convince Dirk of is to give me that bonus. That’ll give me a safety net until I find a new job.
I dial him again, but he doesn’t pick up. Fuck you, Dirk the Dick. I need to fly to New York right now and do some damage control. The hours it’ll take me to get to New York will be enough to allow Dirk to cool off, but if I let too much time pass, it’ll become even harder to turn things in my favor. I’m about to go to Sebastian’s office, then remember he won’t be here for the day. I call him, but it goes straight to voice mail. Right, he probably shut off his phone during the meeting. Hanging up, I ponder what to do. I can call again, but my voice is too undependable to leave a voice message. I write him a quick e-mail.
I have to return to New York. Cancel the vacation. Sorry. Call me when you can.
I book myself the next flight to New York and head straight to my apartment. I pack all of my things as quickly as I can, then drop the key to the building administrator. I take a cab and stop at Sebastian’s place to gather the few things I have here. That’s when I realize I have to return his key. I stare at it in my palm, and then set it on the coffee table with a heavy heart.
On the way to the airport, I try calling Sebastian a few more times, but it goes straight to voice mail again. I really don’t want to take off like this, with just the e-mail I sent him earlier, but squeezing all that’s happened into a voice message will bring me to tears.
I also call Dirk a few dozen times, but he doesn’t answer. I do my best not to flip out, but I burst into tears several times during the flight.
My most important goal is to convince him to give me a recommendation. If I achieve that, I can sort out the rest. It’ll be a mess, but I’ll manage. I always do.
I can’t lose everything. Not after working so hard, for so long.