Two
The first thing that Rose knew about the transition of power was walking into work the next day. Nobody said anything. That was the first hint. The crew at her work, particularly the people that she worked with, were gossip hounds. If they weren’t gossiping, it was because they were afraid that something was going to get said, and that meant there was something to say.
Which meant that she’d missed something, because nobody leaned over to her and said ‘do you know what’s up with Craig and Linda?’
The implication was clear. She’d missed something, and apparently it had something to do with the meeting she’d been texted about. From a mystery number, no less. So she sat down at her workstation, hit the power button, and leaned back into her chair and hoped to heaven that Sarah and Violet were behaving at day-care for once.
A voice behind her cleared his throat. It was clearly a man’s deep voice. It was hard to recognize who someone was from the way they cleared their throat, but she could tell the condescending attitude of Marcus anywhere. It was like a feeling that descended over the room when he decided to sink himself in, rather than any one specific thing.
“Can I help you?”
“Was there some kind of problem yesterday?”
“Yeah,” Rose said, turning and standing up. The tone in his voice pissed her off, and her head hurt more than it should have. So she was overreacting. But that was also the only way that you could react to Marcus when he got a bug up his ass. “There was. I was knee deep in wedding plans, so maybe I was busy. Thanks for asking Marcus.”
“Well, the boss wants to see you.”
“Bob’s here?” That was a change of pace.
“The new boss,” Marcus said. His voice was crisp. “Which you’d know about if you bothered to come in yesterday.”
Rose didn’t manage to stop her eyebrows from shooting up. “New boss, huh?”
Craig nodded at the edge of her vision. She gave him a tight-fisted thumbs-up. He nodded again.
“This way.”
He took her into the break room, which Rose noticed immediately wasn’t the straightest way to any part of the office other than the refrigerator.
“You need to make up major brownie points here, Rose. Major.”
“I’m going to be fine,” she said. “I’ll be very polite and apologetic.”
“You had better be. This guy’s not screwing around. He’s one of those corporate types, and I’m pretty sure everyone’s ass is on the line here.”
“Well, thanks for the warning.”
“I don’t want you getting fired without even knowing in advance. You may be lazy and disrespectful, but you’re a good girl deep down.”
“That might be the nicest mean thing anyone’s ever said to me,” Rose said, and winked. Marcus’s lips tightened in an expression that might have been amusement if I’d ever seen him smile.
“Alright, come on. He’s waiting.”
Rose followed. She practiced having an apologetic expression. It was hard to do when she thought about the fact that Marcus thought she was a good girl, deep down. It was like being told that Josef Stalin approved of your behavior.
“Go on inside. He’s expecting you.”
Marcus turned and walked away, leaving Rose standing at the door. Whoever was waiting inside, he must have heard them. Which meant that she couldn’t take more than an instant to gather herself. So she did what she did best: went in blind and unprepared and hoping things would work out.
Which, to her very great surprise, they did. Not the way she expected, of course. She expected and hoped for him to like her and for the two of them to have a great working relationship. What she had instead was a sudden sense of deja-vu which took only an instant to clarify into a memory of a wild night with a stranger out at a business convention.
A night that had turned into two baby girls, forty weeks later.
“It’s you.” The words just fell out of her mouth before she’d even considered it.
“I’m sorry?”
Rose fought to get herself back under control. “I’m sorry. I was, uh. I was dealing with wedding details.”
“You’re getting married?”
“It’s complicated, sir.”
“Well, congratulations anyways, then.”
“Thank you anyways, sir.”
“Is that why you couldn’t make it to the mandatory meeting last night? You were at your wedding ceremony? I wasn’t informed of anything like that.”
“No, sir. Planning. I had my phone off.”
He frowned and nodded. “Short notice wreaks havoc on everyone. Myself included, but I needed to know what needed restructuring. And I figured, you know, anyone who can’t make the time for work, maybe work can’t make the time for them.”
“I didn’t mean anything by it, sir.”
“I’m not finished.”
“Sorry.”
“But,” he continued, putting extra emphasis on the word But. “I could be convinced of your absolutely sincere commitment to this company.”
“I’m a hundred percent committed. Sir.” He didn’t seem to recognize her. Rose didn’t know how she was supposed to feel about it. But it had been a year, and she hadn’t known his name. He only stood out in her memory after the fact, once she’d found out that she was pregnant.
“Do you really even know what a hundred percent commitment looks like, Miss Sewell?”
“I have twin baby girls, sir. I absolutely know what a hundred percent commitment looks like.” Rose hoped she didn’t sound cocky. But then, it seemed as if her mystery-man boss was a man who didn’t disapprove of a certain amount of cockiness.
“Two girls, and you’re getting married? Shotgun wedding?” The question was surprisingly blunt.
“It’s quite a bit more complicated than that, sir,” she said. “I can explain but it’s an involved story. I don’t want to bore you.”
“Well, you’re obviously committed to those girls. So the question is, where else do your commitments lie? To keeping your job? Or to your husband?”