by Sloan Storm
Instead, I nodded in the direction of the sound. “Left your television on.”
Fiona snapped her hands to her hips. “Thank you for the update. Will you please leave?”
I nodded. “Yeah, okay, Fiona. I’ll go. But before I do, you’re going to tell me what the hell is going on with you or I can promise you won’t have a job to come back to.”
She thinned her lips and spun in a flash, turning her back to me. In the span of a few seconds, Fiona disappeared into the kitchen. I followed right behind, the soles of my shoes sinking into the old, soft linoleum flooring. At one point, it felt as if they might give way and I’d fall straight through to the apartment below.
Fiona stopped and with her back still facing me, she reached up and ran both of her hands through her hair. Afterward, she placed them flat on the counter, just at the edge of the partially rusted aluminum sink. Fiona locked her arms straight, dropping her head a bit.
“What do you want from me, Gabe?”
I reached up towards my face and wiped my palm across my lips. “It’s real simple, Fiona. I just want the truth.”
“Gabe, I’m sorry I left the office, okay? I…”
I interrupted her. “Fiona I think I’ve given you ample opportunity to be honest with me. If you can’t trust me enough to do that after everything I’ve offered to you well, then, I suppose there’s nothing left to discuss.”
With that, I turned to leave.
“Wait,” Fiona called out as I walked away. “Where are you going?”
I stopped in place and turned to face her once again. “What do you mean, Fiona? Back to the office. Where else?”
Fiona’s shoulders slumped. “Oh, okay.”
“So that’s it then?” I replied in disbelief. “You’re just going to give up? Not fight for any of this?”
She shook her head with a listless rhythm. “I’m not sure I can anymore.”
“Well, then I’ve heard all I need to hear. Goodbye Fiona. And good luck. You’re gonna need it.”
I’d made a few steps closer to the front door when I heard Fiona close on me from behind. “Gabe, wait. Please.”
With my fingers wrapped around the dented, cold brass knob, I paused. “What?”
“Promise me you won’t be upset.”
“No, Fiona. I won’t promise that,” I began, as I released the knob from my grasp and turned around to face her. I gestured with both arms, spreading them wide. “Is this how you want to live your life? Look at this place… What is it you’re so afraid of you aren’t willing to take whatever risk you must to get out of here?”
“It’s not that simple, Gabe. You don’t understand.”
“Well, then you need to explain it to me, Fiona because you’re right. At this point, I absolutely do not understand. I’m giving you an opportunity that one hundred percent of people in your position would kill to have. But, seemingly every time I turn around, you give in to the pressure with unexplained illness. Tell me, what would you think if you were me? How would you act?”
Fiona broke her gaze upon me and as she did, I noticed her eyes glaze over with a tell-tale sign.
“You’re right, okay?” she said with a nod. Her tone carried genuine sadness. “The stress of all of it. The position of team leader, the presentation, us…”
I had to admit, seeing her like that didn’t sit well with me. Not one bit. But pressure is something that everyone deals with in one form or another. It’s part of life. How I felt about it, one way or the other, didn’t really matter.
“Fiona,” I said, as I stepped towards her and cradled her upper arms with my hands. “You know I want to help you and see you succeed. You do believe me don’t you?”
Fiona nodded in agreement. “Yes.”
“Some of what I do probably seems a bit excessive at times, but it’s only because I have such high standards for you. I believe in you and I think you have an awful lot to contribute to the company.”
“Thank you. I’m sorry.”
I waved her off. I had no time or use for self-pity.
“I need you back at the office, Fiona. You need to find the strength from somewhere to go back. And I don’t mean a week from now, I mean this afternoon. Is that clear?”
She nodded.
FIONA
Just as I closed the front door, my grandmother called for me from her bedroom. I made my way down the hall, and as I entered, I looked in her direction.
“I think the battery died,” she grumbled. Clutching a pair of noise cancelling headphones I recently purchased for her in her hand, she held them up, pointing them in my direction. “Can you see if there’s something wrong with them? I’m missing my show. I unplugged them but I can’t hear a darn thing.”
In recent months it had become more and more difficult for her to hear the television, unless I turned the volume up to a level far too loud for my liking. As a compromise, I’d purchased the headphones for her a couple of weeks earlier.
After taking them from her hand, I turned them to one side and noticed the battery indicator light was indeed off. I stifled a lump in my throat. Hard of hearing though she was, I couldn’t be certain she hadn’t heard Gabe and me. After all, he’d heard the television after she’d unplugged the headphones. I wasn’t concerned she would have heard the details of the conversation but the sound of a man’s voice would result in questions.
“It’s the battery, Grandmother,” I said, as I pointed at the indicator light. “Do you remember? If it’s not blue, then the battery needs to be replaced.”
She nodded. “Oh yes, that’s right. I’m sorry about that, dear.”
“It’s okay, I’ll get some more batteries from the kitchen and bring them in here so you can keep them next to your bed.”
“Thank you, Fiona.”
I smiled and turned to walk away, thankful that my concerns about whether or not she heard us were wrong. I made it almost all the way across the room but just as I reached the threshold of the doorway, she spoke once more.
“Oh and dear, when you come back, you can tell me all about it.”
I stopped and did a half-turn in her direction. Frowning, I replied, “All about what?”
“The man you were talking to by the front door. It wasn’t Charlie’s voice—that much is for certain.”
Charlie was the maintenance man for the apartment complex. The building was so old that hardly a week or two went by without him coming by to repair something. I swallowed, but did my best not to seem bothered by her demand. “Oh, that. It was nothing.”
My grandmother cocked her head and staring at me beneath a wrinkled brow she said, “Now Fiona, you know full well I’m not going to accept that from you.”
I pinched the inside of my cheek between my teeth for a moment. “Well… what did you want to know?”
“For starters? Who was it?”
“Grandmother, I’ve got to get back to the office. Now, let me get your batteries and I’ll be right back.”
“No, Fiona,” she said, as she lifted her arm and wagged her index finger at me. “Who was it?”
Clutching the headphones, I traced my index finger along the soft leather earcups. “It was my boss, Gabe.”
She paused for a moment and looked at me in confusion. Before she had a chance to say anything, I turned to leave as fast as I could.
“Look, I’m gonna go get a battery for your headphones and…”
“No!” she exclaimed. “Fiona Matthews, you will do no such thing!”
I shook my head as I backed away. “I don’t want to talk about this, okay? I have to get back to the office, Grandmother. Please.”
She ignored me, and before I realized it, the questioning began in earnest. “So that’s why he came here? To get you back to work?”
I looked down, tugging my shirt down around my curves. Afterward, I drew my hands together in front of my body, holding the headphones as I did.
“Fiona?”
“What?” I began, as I locked eyes with
her. “What do you want me to say? Yes, he came to find out what was going on and to get me back into the office. All right?”
“There’s no need to get snippy with me, Fiona,” she said, as she placed her hands in her lap.
“I’m sorry.”
She nodded, but I could tell her line of questioning was far from complete. My grandmother narrowed her eyes at me. “Tell me this. Since when does the CEO of a big company make a personal visit to an employee’s house to check on their well-being?”
I exhaled. “What do you want me to tell you, Grandmother?”
“The truth, Fiona. You’ve been vague and mysterious about him all along. But now this man is coming into our home. There’s more to this, and I want you to tell me now. I deserve that much from you.”
“Grandmother, believe me. I’m not trying to keep anything from you. It’s just… I don’t want you to worry. I can handle it okay?”
“Well, now I am worried, Fiona. This is a disaster in the making. You should stop whatever is happening before it’s too late and it affects your career. Heaven forbid you get involved with him. That would be a dreadful mistake.”
“What do you mean?”
“Fiona, don’t pretend you don’t know what I mean. You know exactly what I’m talking about. You’re a grown woman now. A man only does things like he’s doing when he’s interested in one thing and one thing only.”
I looked away from her for a moment, curling the sleeves of my shirt in my fingers.
“You weren’t honest with me about the dinner you had with him, Fiona. I have to tell you that hurts my feelings.”
“I know, I’m sorry. I wasn’t trying to keep it from you. You’ve not been well. That’s all.”
“No. I know you don’t like it when I tell you this, but you’re young and there’s some things in life you don’t know about yet. This is one of those things. It’s really for the best if you end this Fiona, before it goes any further.”
What could I say? There was no way I could tell her what was going on. Even worse, what she said made a lot of sense. It was hard to disagree with her logic.
Nodding, I looked at her once more. “You’re right, Grandmother. I’d have to be a fool not to see it.”
Her face brightened a bit at my agreement. “I’m sorry to be the one to have to tell you this, Fiona. It really is for the best though.”
“Okay,” I began with a solemn nod. “All right. I’ll do something about it. I promise. I’m going to go get your batteries now.”
“Okay, dear.”
I turned, left the room and walked towards the kitchen. As I did, I found myself struggling against now familiar emotions. Intellectually, rationally, I understood and agreed with everything she said. I had no good reason to think that continuing with Gabe would result in anything but problems for me. After all, he came to my home. What was next? To what lengths would he go to have me do as he wished?
But then there was the other part of me. The part that had all but lost the ability to resist him any longer. I worried that if he were to send for me, demanding I come to his office, I wouldn’t be able to deny him whatever he wanted from me.
But I couldn’t tell my Grandmother that. That struggle was one I’d have to endure alone.
GABE
Fiona had returned to work, and except for the few hours she’d disappeared, she hadn’t missed a beat. As much as I would have liked to get to the bottom of whatever was going on with her, I didn’t have the time. She was just going to have to work through this on her own for now. And frankly, after getting a bit of distance from the situation, I realized that was the best thing for her.
A couple of days had passed since I went to her apartment. We hadn’t spoken, but even so, I still needed the updates she’d avoided giving me. It was the first time since then I had a few minutes to spare. Picking up the phone, I dialed Holly to have her get Fiona to my office as soon as possible. She must have stepped out, because after a few rings, there was still no answer. With no time to waste, I disconnected and called Fiona myself.
She picked up after the second ring.
“Fiona, I need you to come to my office.”
She remained silent for a moment. Through the receiver, I detected the sound of a swallow just before she spoke. “Do I have to?”
Pulling the phone away, I glanced at it in disbelief for a moment before returning it to my ear. “Yes, Fiona. You do.”
More discomfort sputtered from her lips. “Couldn’t we just handle it over the phone? I’m happy to tell you whatever it is you want to know.”
I wrapped my hand around the receiver, crushing it in my grip. I gathered myself, taking a moment before I continued. “Fiona… If I wanted to handle it over the phone, I wouldn’t tell you to come to my office, now would I? What exactly is the problem?”
“There isn’t one. I-I’ll be up as soon as I can.”
“Now. Not five minutes from now. Or an hour. Right now. Drop whatever it is you’re doing, and come at once.”
“Okay, I…”
I slammed the phone down in its cradle as she muttered, disconnecting her. Afterward, I shot to my feet. Sliding my hand through my hair, I took a few steps around my desk and tried to calm myself ahead of her arrival. About ten minutes later, the intercom on my phone crackled to life. The sound of Holly’s voice interrupted my train of thought as I sat at my desk going over some clinical trial data we’d received on the Link Protocol.
“Gabe,” she began. “Fiona is here to see you.”
“Okay, send her in.”
Moments later, the door opened. Still too annoyed to look in her direction, I continued to peruse my notes and pointed in the direction of the conference table.
“Have a seat, Fiona.”
She closed the door, and I listened as she crossed the room and slid into one of the chairs. After a deep inhale, I stood from mine and walked in her direction. Fiona sat at the table, both hands on it with her fingers interlocked. As I drew near, she looked up at me. I noticed a slight clench of her jaw as our eyes locked.
“Fiona, I don’t have much time. We’ll need to keep this brief.”
She nodded as I paused.
“Not long ago, you sat in this office and told me you were ready to deliver the presentation to the investors.”
Fiona shifted in her seat but never took her eyes off me as I spoke.
“That’s right,” she said, after a moment or two. Her tone carried a hint of false determination. It wasn’t hard to see by the look in her eyes that she wasn’t altogether sure of herself. Not only that, but if I wasn’t mistaken, she seemed a bit… annoyed.
I gave her the benefit of the doubt for a moment. Circling around behind her, I continued, “Okay, well, we’ve not really had a chance to discuss it since that day. Are you still on track to do it?”
She shrugged as I finished my question.
“Fiona, I don’t understand. I thought I made myself quite clear at your apartment. If you can’t handle the pressure of the position or the presentation, I’ve got to know, and I’ve got to know right now.”
Just then, Fiona raised her hand towards her mouth. This was not the time or the place for what I expected would follow.
“Don’t start, Fiona.”
She lowered her head, shielding her face behind her hair. I walked around to the opposite side of the table for a better look. While I moved, she turned her head once more. But as she did, I noticed a droplet splash on the surface of the table.
“Sorry,” she muttered. Grasping her sleeves in her hand, she wiped at the lone tear, smearing it away with the fabric of her shirt.
I almost couldn’t believe what I was witnessing. Frustrated with her behavior, I tried to encourage her nonetheless. “Fiona, you’ll get through this. I promise you will.”
She shook her head. “It’s not that. I mean, I’m nervous about the presentation, but…”
I looked down at her as her voice trailed off. I shook my head. “But what,
Fiona?”
Still not looking up at me, Fiona made two brief swipes at her cheeks before returning her hands to the top of the conference table.
“I-I don’t know what to do anymore, Gabe,” she said with a whisper. “I can’t say ‘no’ to you.”
Mystified, I slid one hand through my hair. “Fiona, why do you think you’re here right now?”
She shrugged. “I’m not sure.”
“What do you mean ‘you’re not sure’? I told you why I’ve summoned you here. I don’t get the reason for the apprehension.”
As I finished my thought, Fiona drew her eyes up to meet mine. The emotion that brought on the tears moments earlier appeared to have vanished. In its place, her irises flickered with a hint of anger.
“Do you have any idea, Gabe? What it’s like? Being in my position?”
I exhaled in disbelief. Was she really serious?
“Fiona,” I began with a groan. “Just tell me what you’re getting at here.”
“Never mind, it’s nothing,” she said with a casual flick of her hair. “I’ll do whatever you tell me. What do you want me to do, Gabe?”
I leaned away as the meaning of her innuendo settled in upon me.
“Listen, Fiona. I asked you up here today strictly to discuss business matters. Nothing more.”
“Yet somehow it always winds up as something more, doesn’t it, Gabe?”
I crossed my arms at my chest. After glaring in silence for a moment or two, I replied, “There’s a lot of women who’d like to trade places with you. Believe me.”
“Well, I wish they would.”
Wiping my hand over my mouth, I took a few steps towards the conference table. As I reached it, I leaned over it and placed both palms flat.
“You act like… I’m a monster or something, Fiona,” I began. I shook my head and with a shrug added, “Look, if you don’t want to have sex, I’m not going to force it on you. Frankly, I really resent the fucking attitude. I’ve given you a goddamn lot since you’ve been here. Now I’m not gonna rehash everything we discussed at your apartment, but I will tell you this… So long as you work for me, you will do as I say. As far as the rest of it goes, well, you’re free to tell me ‘no’.”
