A Heart to Trust

by A. L. Brooks

  Jenny, who had been trying to get her erratic breathing under control, snorted. “No, not really. To be honest, I’m panicking.” Her stomach did cartwheels. She wondered where the nearest drugstore was; she was in desperate need of some antacids.

  “Hey.” Adrienne stood and walked around her desk to place a comforting hand on Jenny’s shoulder. “Please don’t panic.”

  Jenny exhaled three times, Adrienne’s warm hand still pressed into her shoulder. “I’m sorry for coming in all angry and, you know, shouting.”

  “It’s forgotten. It was understandable. And I’m sure you aren’t the only one in their boss’s office right now.”

  Jenny nodded, her breathing calmer. “Probably not.” She thought of the mystery woman crying in the stall next to her in the restroom. “God, people are going to lose their jobs. This is awful.”

  Adrienne backed away and sat against the edge of her desk. “It is. I’ve been through something like this once before, maybe twenty-five years ago. It’s not pleasant.”

  Before Jenny could respond, Adrienne’s phone rang. She glanced at the display and sighed. “Right, that’s Harper from HR. I imagine she’s looking for you. Did you get a chance to see when your appointment was for?”

  Jenny nibbled her bottom lip, her embarrassment at maximum. “No, just marched in here with my ass on fire.”

  Adrienne threw her a knowing look, then schooled her features as she picked up the phone. “Hi, Harper. Yes, she’s with me. My bad, I wanted to talk to her after the staff meeting and lost track of time.” Adrienne shot Jenny a wink.

  Jenny clapped a hand over her mouth to stop her laugh escaping.

  “Yes, I’ll send her up now.” Adrienne put the phone down.

  “You didn’t have to lie like—”

  Adrienne held up a hand. “No harm in doing so. Now, at the risk of sounding like I’m telling you what to do, here’s what you’re going to do.”

  Jenny rolled her eyes.

  Adrienne smiled. “Stay calm. Listen to what she says without any arguing, even if you don’t like what you’re hearing. You’re always better off with a job, even if it’s not the perfect one. So, don’t do or say anything to jeopardize any chance you have of staying on, at least in the short-term.” She stopped, her cheeks red. “Good God, I sound like your mother.”

  Jenny’s throat closed, and she had to swallow a couple of times before responding. “No, you don’t. You sound like someone who cares, and I appreciate it.”

  Adrienne’s eyes went wide. “Oh God, I’m so sorry. It was a figure of speech and—”

  “It’s okay, don’t worry.” Jenny stood and straightened her shoulders. “Okay, I’m going to see what Harper has to say.” She paused. “Thank you. For everything. And I don’t just mean today.”

  Adrienne pushed away from the desk and motioned Jenny toward the door. “You’ve got this. I have every faith in you.”

  “Thanks.”

  “I’ll be gone by the time you come back down, so I’ll catch up with you in the morning, okay? But call me later if there’s anything you want to talk through.”

  “I’ll be fine, don’t worry.” Jenny left Adrienne’s office trying to believe her own words.

  Chapter 2

  “How are you?” Adrienne asked as Jenny walked into her office Friday morning, Adrienne’s usual coffee and her breakfast bag of a croissant and a fruit cup clutched in her hands. “You look tired.”

  Jenny knew Adrienne was being polite. She looked like shit. “Yeah, I didn’t sleep so well last night.”

  “What did Harper say?” Adrienne motioned Jenny to take a seat.

  Thankful to rest her weary body, Jenny slumped into the visitor’s chair. She placed the coffee and breakfast bag on Adrienne’s desk. “The meeting was all right. I mean, she basically told me what you’d already said. My job’s been put on the ‘at risk’ list and this morning I meet my new boss and find out more about what’s going to happen.” She willed her stomach to stop acting like a gymnastic event at the Olympics, but it was hard. Her nerves were literally eating her up about what would happen. “I mean, it’s great they’ve organized that meeting so quickly, but I feel like a zombie. I’m so not ready to go play nice with the new people.” She huffed out a long breath. “This all just totally sucks.”

  “It does indeed.” Adrienne tilted her head. “Have you eaten anything?”

  “No, I’m too nervous.”

  They stared at each other for a moment.

  “I should get going, the meeting’s in a few minutes.” Jenny stood. Her head pounded from her lack of sleep, and painkillers were a necessity to survive what the morning had to offer.

  “Come see me afterwards?”

  “I will.” She huffed out a long breath and headed back to her cubicle. After locating the bottle of painkillers in her desk drawer, she downed two.

  “Jenny, are you ready?”

  Maxwell’s voice made her jump in her seat and clutch her head at the unwelcome movement. “Please, for the love of everything good in this world, stop creeping up on me, Maxwell!”

  “Are you sick?” he asked.

  “Kind of.”

  “I’m sorry.”

  She sighed. “I’m sorry too. I didn’t mean to shout.”

  He shrugged. “You didn’t. Are you ready?”

  “No, but we need to do it anyway.”

  He turned away and walked toward the stairs to the next floor where the meeting rooms were situated. She trotted to catch up with him, and that didn’t help matters with her thumping head.

  Maxwell entered the meeting room ahead of her. Once he’d moved out of the way, Jenny checked out who waited for them. The guy at the head of the table had to be what’s-his-name, the new production team manager she’d now report to. It would be so good if she could remember his name some time very soon. Harper had told her, but in the shock of all that she’d heard, Jenny had completely forgotten it.

  On the opposite side of the table sat two immaculately presented women. They both looked a little older than Jenny. One was all blonde hair, dazzling smile, and way too much makeup, wearing a bright-red blouse. The other woman, dressed in a dark-brown blazer over a creamy silk top, was serious, her posture rigid. Her neatly cut brown hair curved around her neck, and her hazel eyes stared intently at Jenny and Maxwell.

  “Derek Flanigan,” the new manager said as he stood, unwittingly saving Jenny from the embarrassment of having to ask him his name. His handshake was firm, and his face revealed nothing. He was pretty short with a belly trying to tell him his shirts were a size too small. He clearly wasn’t listening.

  Averting her eyes from the mass of flesh threatening to escape the straining buttons, Jenny returned his handshake with equal firmness. “Jenny Quinn.” She inwardly winced at the slight wobble in her voice.

  Maxwell briefly shook Derek’s hand and introduced himself.

  Derek motioned for them to take a seat. “First, introductions.” He gestured to the two women.

  “Hi, I’m Christine Gillard, but you can call me Chrissy!” The blonde spoke loudly, far too loudly for Jenny’s poor head.

  She wasn’t sure she’d covered her wince successfully, if the frown on the other, more serious woman’s face was anything to go by.

  Then the serious one spoke. “Olivia Sinclair.” Much to Jenny’s surprise, the woman’s accent was British.

  “Do you go by Liv?” Jenny attempted a friendly smile. No point antagonizing the rivals on day one.

  “Certainly not.” Olivia gave Jenny a withering look, then turned her attention to Derek.

  Oh, good. Great start. Jenny slid an inch or so down in her seat.

  “So.” Derek leaned forward and clasped his hands together. “I know you’ve all been briefed by HR, but I wanted to give you some more detail and clarity on how this whole thi
ng’s going to go.”

  Jenny schooled her features and focused on his face. Harper had told her not to panic, and to hear him out, and she knew that was all she could do, though her nerves were taut as bow strings.

  “As you know, we’re looking to have three production assistants in place under the new structure. Some managers might take a look at this situation and take one of the easy options.” He faced Jenny and Maxwell. “Option one is to keep our own C&V staff and let go one of you based on seniority. Or performance.”

  Jenny shifted in her chair and risked a quick glance at Maxwell; his mouth hung open.

  Derek turned to Chrissy and Olivia. “Option two is to immediately let one of you go, because you’re on short-term contracts.”

  Jenny blinked. Interesting.

  “But I don’t work that way.” Derek held up his hands. “I firmly believe in people being given a job because they’re the best one for it. Contract status, age, and length of service are all irrelevant.” His weak smile offered Jenny little comfort. “So here’s what we’re gonna do. You’ll all continue working on your current projects. But I’ve also got a great new project lined up, and I want all four of you working on it together. I’ll assess how you work both individually and as a team, and at the end of this project I’ll make my decision on which one of you has to, unfortunately, leave us. The remaining three will then be given full time, permanent roles with C&V Inc.”

  Silence met his announcement.

  Jenny swallowed a couple of times as her tired brain worked to keep up. Four of them being assessed for three jobs. Three permanent jobs, which was something. But how the hell would this assessment process work? And what was this new project they had to work on together?

  Maxwell looked equally confused, which helped.

  “Any questions?” Derek asked.

  “When can we start on this new project?” Chrissy’s voice was full of excitement. “I’m so looking forward to this challenge!”

  Jenny avoided rolling her eyes, but only just. To her surprise, a brief scowl crossed Olivia’s face before she shut it down and returned to her impassive mask.

  “I’ll send you all a meeting request for a project kick-off session and you’ll hear all about it then.” Derek turned to Jenny and Maxwell. “I think it would be best if you two moved over to our offices on Monday. I’ll get two workspaces freed up for you this afternoon. Please clear out your desks and get your stuff transferred over, okay?”

  Jenny’s stomach rolled. More change. More upheaval. She wanted nothing more than for some genie to appear, snap their fingers, and roll back time to a point where C&V did not want to buy TC Productions. Why couldn’t things stay as they were? After the changes enforced on her by her parents ten years ago, she’d built herself a new life, a calm and predictable one. She liked it that way; the emotional turmoil of anything else wasn’t something she wanted to repeat.

  And yet, here she was again, having big change imposed on her. She didn’t know if she wanted to cry or scream.

  “Do you think you could handle some food now?” Adrienne said the minute Jenny walked back into her office. She leaned back in her chair and gazed at Jenny, her expression warm and understanding.

  Jenny had expected to sit right down and talk everything through with Adrienne, so the question about food threw her a little. She was still numb from what Derek had said. She was also still trying to process both his words and her impression of him.

  He’d come across as sincere, but she’d misread people before with her trusting nature, and maybe this was another one of those occasions.

  She’d tried to talk to Maxwell after they’d left the meeting, but he’d muttered something about needing time to think and promptly left the office. I need to find him later, make sure he’s okay. Focusing back on Adrienne’s question, Jenny checked in with her body. Okay, head not beating like a drum anymore, stomach giving a hint of hunger. “Yeah, sure. Tell me what you’d like and I’ll go get it and—”

  “How about you let me take you out? The day’s normal work has gone out the window, wouldn’t you say? And I think it would be good to talk about everything you’ve learned today. So I think we deserve a slightly longer break. Therefore, pizza from Gino’s might be in order.”

  Jenny’s mood lifted considerably. “Seriously?”

  “Absolutely. Come on. Get your purse and let’s get out of here.”

  After the waiter showed them to their small table halfway down the diner, he passed them menus, took their drink orders, and left. Service at Gino’s was always performed with speed; their sodas were in front of them a minute later.

  “So, what’s the deal?” Adrienne’s voice was quiet.

  Jenny sighed, then sat forward in her seat and related to Adrienne all that had transpired in the meeting.

  “Hm,” was all Adrienne said when she’d finished.

  “Yeah.” Jenny fiddled with her soda glass. “You know what’s weird? The only thing I can focus on is that part about moving offices. More than anything, it brings home that today is the last day I work for you.” She looked at Adrienne, her mentor and friend, and swallowed the lump in her throat. “I mean, I’ve only ever worked for you. You’ve been incredibly supportive to me, and pushed me to learn and better myself. And literally in a couple hours that’ll all be gone and I’ll work for someone else.”

  Adrienne’s eyes glistened. “I know. It’s all so sudden. But I am only a phone call or email away, okay? I will always have time for you. Remember that.”

  “Thank you.” Jenny’s voice was small.

  “You can do this, you know. I obviously don’t know how good the two C&V women are, but I know you are good at your job. Just do for Derek what you’ve done for me and I think you’ll be fine.” Adrienne squeezed Jenny’s hand.

  Jenny sucked in a deep breath and straightened her shoulders. “Yeah. I will.”

  “And I know, from what you’ve told me about your past, that changes like this one are the thing you hate the most.”

  Jenny managed a wry smile. “Yeah, they are.”

  “But you are so much wiser now. You learned so much from what your asshole parents did.”

  Jenny snorted; Adrienne had never referred to Jenny’s parents in such strong terms before.

  “Sorry.” Adrienne chewed her bottom lip. “That just slipped out.”

  “Hey, it’s fine. They were assholes.”

  “Absolutely.” The vehemence in Adrienne’s tone made the hairs on the back of Jenny’s neck stand up. “I will never, ever understand so-called Christians who willingly and so abruptly kick their own child out of their house just because they find out she’s gay.” Her skin flushed a dark pink. “Honestly, if I ever met them, I’m not sure what I would do or say. But I expect there would be some ass kicking involved.”

  Jenny laughed out loud at the thought.

  “Remember, you survived that. More than survived—you thrived. Look what you’ve done with your life since then. This won’t stop you. You know that.” Adrienne pinned Jenny with an intense look. “You have had some brilliant ideas in the last year or so. Whatever this new project is you’re a part of, make sure you keep that creative part of your brain switched on. I don’t know about the others, but I do know Maxwell isn’t anywhere near as imaginative as you. This is something where you could definitely have the edge, and you should play it to the maximum. You’re also very good at getting to know the most important people on a project or team and nurturing your relationship with them. People like you, and they share things with you. Again, play to your strengths. Use that. And don’t let your fears dull all those great advantages you have.”

  Jenny let the words sink in and inhaled deeply. “You’re right. Sorry, I just needed to wallow for a while and—”

  Adrienne sat back. “Perfectly understandable. I’m sure I would have done the same in your p
osition.”

  Jenny snorted. “Honestly, I can’t imagine you wallowing. Ever.”

  Adrienne’s mouth twisted. “Trust me, when my ex, Paula, left, I did plenty of wallowing. But I got past that, and look where I am now.” Adrienne raised her glass and Jenny clinked hers against it. “To being strong.”

  Chapter 3

  “Come on, Barnaby. You can do it. Look, it’s just one more block.” Olivia gazed down at the dog beside her and chuckled at his expression.

  It said, “Can’t you just carry me?”

  Barnaby, a big, old, golden Labrador, belonged to Mr. Cousins, one of Olivia’s neighbors. Now well into his eighties and using a walker to get about his apartment and their neighborhood, Mr. Cousins wasn’t physically able to give Barnaby the kind of walk he needed. Although, Olivia thought, most days Barnaby himself, who was probably over seventy in dog years, didn’t seem capable of that kind of walk either.

  This Friday evening was a case in point, but they had at least made it to the small local park, where the grizzled dog had taken care of business. Olivia was thankful because, as ever, her time with Barnaby had grounded her and let her cut loose the stress of the day.

  And God, what a day. It had been bad enough reading the company email late Thursday when they’d announced their takeover of TC Productions. One key phrase had sent shivers down her spine: “There will, inevitably, be some restructuring and potential loss of some positions, but that will be communicated as soon as is possible.”

  As someone on a short-term, month-by-month contract, she’d feared the worst, and sleep last night had been hard to come by. Of course, now that the deal had been announced, so much of the last couple of months made sense. Derek must have known the deal was imminent when he hired her and Chrissy, and therefore only offering them short-term contracts fitted nicely into C&V’s plans. Why take on more permanent staff when you might be getting rid of them only weeks later?

  Her frustration grew once more, despite Barnaby’s calming presence. She’d worked her backside off trying to impress Derek these past three months, and now it might all have been in vain. Her contract with C&V was her third temporary assignment since arriving in New York, and she was sick of them. She just wanted a permanent job. Ideally something with good prospects, but she’d take just the permanent status right now. In six months, she’d be branching out on her own, and being able to convince a landlord she could make rent each month was vital.