“I meant to,” he said. “I would have tonight, if I’d gotten the chance.”
She shook her head. “I don’t know that,” she said. “I can’t know that. All I know is that you only told me your true intentions after I confronted you. And that makes it hard for me to trust you now.”
She got up. Petr stared at her. “Are you leaving?” he asked.
“I need to think about all this,” she said. “I need some time.” And she turned and walked out the door.
She managed to keep her emotions in check until she reached her car. Then, once she was safely inside, she buried her face in her hands and sobbed.
Chapter 16
Sarah’s email arrived later that night. She had included the name, address, and contact information of their mother’s lawyer. The office was in downtown Los Angeles, not too far from where Naomi worked.
“I made an appointment for you tomorrow,” Sarah wrote, “but you can reschedule if it doesn’t work for you. Don’t wait too long, though. You want to make sure to get that money in the bank ASAP. Let me know if you need help finding a financial advisor or anything. Harry has some contacts in California who might be able to help.”
Classic big sister. Naomi rolled her eyes, but she felt a rush of warmth at the same time. It felt good to be taken care of, to know that her sister had her back. Even though she and Sarah weren’t very close, Naomi knew that she could trust her sister completely. She didn’t need to worry about being tricked in this relationship.
Again, she felt horrified and ashamed for allowing Petr to pull the wool over her eyes. That would never have happened to Sarah. Sarah would have refused to marry anyone who wanted to tie the knot that quickly. Naomi remembered how she had insisted on living with Harry for a year before allowing him to propose, even after the two of them had been sure that they were headed for marriage. She had told Naomi that she’d wanted to make sure they were compatible.
And it had worked. Their marriage was stable and solid. Harry was a caring, devoted husband. Naomi had always secretly thought of him as a little bit boring, but maybe it was better to be married to someone who wouldn’t surprise you.
She would certainly rather have never been surprised by Petr.
What was she going to do? She couldn’t even decide whether or not she wanted to speak to him again.
Of course, she was probably going to have to. They were legally married. Even if she decided she didn’t want him in her life at all, there was the matter of divorce papers.
She shuddered, thinking about it. How could she sit opposite him at a conference room table, lawyers by their sides, pretending that she hadn’t once stared up at him under the starlight, that she hadn’t studied the perfect muscles of his upper body and looked forward to the years she would spend memorizing the way they felt beneath her fingers?
And how could she bring herself to sign a document that gave him half of the inheritance her mother had left her, even if it would mean getting him out of her life for good?
It wasn’t even about the money. One and a half million dollars was still more than Naomi had ever imagined she would have. It was about the fact that it had been a gift from her mother, the last gift her mother would ever give her. Her mother had intended that money to help Naomi change her own life.
She would be horrified if she knew. She would be so disappointed.
Naomi decided to keep the appointment Sarah had made for her. The sooner she could speak to a lawyer about her situation, the better. The lawyer would be able to tell her just how bad things were and whether there was any way out of it.
With that vague hope in mind, she fell asleep.
* * *
Naomi awoke to the sound of her alarm beeping insistently.
Rolling over, she grabbed her phone from her nightstand. Her stomach dropped. She had slept in. She should have been at her desk half an hour ago.
Rick is going to murder me, she thought, jumping out of bed and fumbling for any clothes that were clean.
Then she paused.
Was this really a problem worth focusing on right now?
Naomi hadn’t wanted to leave her job when she’d felt like she would be depending on Petr’s money. And it turns out that was a good instinct, since he hasn’t got any money, she thought wryly.
But now she had money of her own.
She knew that her mother wouldn’t want her to remain unemployed, living off of her inheritance. But her mother also wouldn't want to see her tormented by a job she hated.
Maybe it was time to make a change.
Rather than throwing on the first clothes she’d touched, she took her time getting dressed. She brushed her hair and did her makeup. When she was satisfied with her appearance, she gathered her things, got into her car and drove to the office.
Her heart was pounding as she walked into the building. She hoped that her anxiety didn’t show on her face. She breathed deeply and did her best to remain cool and calm.
Rick was at the back of the office when she walked in the door, but as soon as she came in, he rushed forward. He had clearly been waiting for her arrival.
“Come to my office,” he said, and she heard the triumph in his voice.
She followed him across the floor, noticing as people tried to pretend they weren’t watching. She was sure that as soon as the door closed behind the two of them, the whispers would start. People would speculate that she was getting fired. She had seen it happen before, to other ex-employees, and she knew how impossible it was to look away from. It was like watching a train wreck.
But this is different.
They entered Rick’s office. He sat down at his desk and pointed to the chair opposite his, indicating that she should sit. She did so.
“Do you remember what you told me after your impromptu vacation?” Rick asked her.
“Maybe you’d better remind me,” she said.
The corner of his mouth twitched. “You said that I didn’t have grounds to take action against you unless your work started to suffer,” he said.
“Ah,” she said. “That’s right. I did say that.”
“I think I’ve done my best to overlook the problems in your work over the past few weeks,” he said. “But I’ve seen you slipping, Naomi. You haven’t been showing me dedication and zeal for quite some time now.”
She watched him, waiting.
“So this is what we’re going to do,” he said. “I’m going to mandate that you take a core value refresher course—the same one we give to our new hires. I’m also going to adjust your pay rate to reflect that of a new hire. If you show me dedication and zeal, you’ll be able to increase your pay back to what it once was. You’re also going to be disqualified from any merit-based bonuses for the rest of the year.”
“I thought you were going to fire me,” Naomi said, surprised at how calm her voice was. She had expected this to be an emotional confrontation. She hadn’t thought she would be able to keep her cool this long.
But maybe confronting Petr last night had prepared her for this. After all, that had been much more fraught. What difference did it make what Rick said to her?
“I considered firing you,” Rick said, smiling patronizingly. “But I still think you can succeed, Naomi. You just need to try a little harder. I think if you retake the training and rededicate yourself to the company’s goals, you’ll find that you’re very successful.”
Naomi nodded. “I understand.”
“You’re taking this very well,” he said. He turned to his computer. “Should we go ahead and schedule you for your training, then?”
“No, I don’t think so,” Naomi said.
Rick looked up at her. “I beg your pardon?”
“I don’t think I want to do the core value training again,” she said. “Frankly, I get the picture. Dedication and zeal. We talk about those words more than we talk about the actual products we sell here. It’s a little bit weird, if you want to know the truth.”
“Did I give
you the impression that this was optional?” Rick said. “Because it isn’t. It’s a condition of your continued employment here.”
“You’re saying that you would fire me if I refused?” Naomi asked.
“We would have to consider terminating you if you weren’t willing to cooperate, yes,” Rick said. “You know I don’t want to do that, Naomi.”
“Yeah, I know you don’t,” Naomi said. “You’d rather scare me into thinking that I don’t have any options. You don’t want to have to worry about me suing for wrongful termination.” She shook her head. “Rick, honestly, it’s sad that you don’t want to foster strong relationships with tenured employees. This could be a great place to work if you put in a little more effort. But as it stands, you make your employees miserable. We all deserve better.”
He stared at her.
She got to her feet. “I’m giving you my week’s notice,” she said. “And I’d appreciate it if you let me take the rest of the week off—unpaid, of course—because I have to be honest with you, if you make me come in, I’m not going to be putting in much work at all.”
“How can you throw away an opportunity like this?” Rick demanded. “This company is one of the fastest-growing and most profitable businesses in Los Angeles!”
“Yeah,” Naomi said. “But you just threatened to cut my wages because I showed up to work an hour late, so that profitability isn’t really doing anything for me at all. Do I need to sign anything before I go?”
Wordlessly, Rick produced a sheaf of termination papers. Naomi scanned them, signed quickly, and pushed them back across the desk.
“I wish I could say it had been nice knowing you,” she said. “But to be honest, it’s been pretty unpleasant. I feel sorry for whoever you hire to take my place. I hope you figure out how to treat your employees like the assets they are, because if you don’t, I won’t be the last one who walks out.”
She grabbed her purse, threw open the door, and left, aware of Rick staring after her.
Betty ran up to her as she approached the building’s front door. “Naomi!” she whispered. “What happened? Were you fired?”
“I quit,” Naomi said.
“What?”
Naomi went over to the receptionist’s desk—the desk that was no longer hers—and picked up a sticky note and a pen. She scribbled her phone number and handed it to Betty.
“Stay in touch,” she said. “I’ll tell you the whole story sometime, if you want. But right now, I have an appointment I have to keep.”
In truth, the appointment with the lawyer wasn't scheduled for several more hours, but Naomi called the number Sarah had given her as soon as she had left her old office. The woman who answered said that it would be fine to reschedule, and if Naomi was willing to come in right now, the lawyer would be able to see her. Naomi got in her car and drove over, riding high on the adrenaline of having finally stood up to Rick.
I’m never going back to that office. I’m done with Rick, and I’m done with that job. I’ll find something to do that actually makes me feel worthwhile.
She parked in front of the law office and went in. “Good morning. I’m here to see Lawrence Brown,” she told the woman at the desk.
“Good morning. You’re Naomi West?”
“Yes,” Naomi said.
The woman nodded. “Mr. Brown is expecting you.” She picked up her phone, pressed a button, and said, “Ms. West is here.”
A few moments later, a door opened, and a friendly looking white-haired man in a suit appeared. “Naomi?” he asked.
“That’s me,” she said.
“I’m Lawrence Brown,” he said. “You can call me Larry. Why don’t you come on back to my office?”
She followed him down the hall to a spacious office with a big executive desk. The chair he had for guests was just as comfortable as the one he had for himself, and she relaxed into it, feeling more like a person who was about to inherit millions than she ever had before.
“So,” Larry said, placing a folder on his desk between them. “First of all, my condolences on the loss of your mother.”
“Thank you,” Naomi said, touched that he had taken the time to start there before jumping into the official business.
“I apologize for the delay in processing the will,” he said. “The matter of the house was difficult to work out. But it’s all taken care of now, and there are just a few things you need to sign before I can issue your check.”
“I do have a question before we begin,” Naomi said.
“Go ahead,” Larry said. “That’s what I’m here for.”
“I’m not sure if this is something you can answer or not.” She hesitated, hoping that he wouldn’t judge her. “The thing is…I recently got married.”
“Congratulations,” he said.
“Well, not exactly,” she said. “It turns out that the man I married knew I would be receiving this inheritance, and he may have married me to take advantage of that fact. I’m wondering whether there’s anything I can do to keep the money out of his hands.”
“Oh, I see,” Larry said, frowning. “Are you legally married?”
“We signed documents.”
“That’s not promising,” he said. “May I assume that you’re not in the middle of divorce proceedings?”
“That’s right. I wasn’t sure what I should do,” she said.
“And there’s no reason you wouldn’t have been fit to enter into a marriage?”
“Like what?” she asked.
“Like being mentally compromised, underage, secretly married to someone else…” He trailed off. “Those are just some of the potential reasons. I’m not trying to speculate.”
“No, unfortunately, I think I’m a prime candidate for marriage,” she said. “At least, I was. Now I’m just a married woman who’s about to be ripped off.”
“In that case, the best thing you can do is to sign these papers,” Larry said. “If your husband comes in with documentation confirming that you and he are married and you haven’t yet claimed your inheritance, he’s entitled to claim it on your behalf.”
“All of it?” She was stunned.
Larry nodded. “That’s a provision in your mother’s will.”
Naomi pressed her lips together. “Show me where to sign.”
Larry handed her the papers and she signed each one. The feeling was so different from the way she had felt signing her termination papers. This felt like disaster mitigation.
Finally, the signing was done. Larry filed the papers and gave Naomi her check.
“Put this in the bank in a private account under just your name,” he advised. “That will stall things, at least. And you may want to get further legal advice to deal with this.”
“I’ll do that,” Naomi said. “Thanks for your help, Larry.”
“Take care,” he said, standing up and shaking her hand.
Naomi hurried out of the office, headed for the bank, hoping the measures she was taking today would keep her mother’s last gift to her out of Petr’s hands.
Chapter 17
“Ladies and gentlemen, welcome aboard flight 357, nonstop to New York City.”
Naomi leaned back in her seat and closed her eyes. The last twenty-four hours had been such a whirlwind that she almost felt as if she was being airlifted out of her chaotic life and away to somewhere a bit more calm and safe.
But perhaps that was what Sarah had had in mind. When Naomi had called her sister to let her know that she’d kept the appointment Sarah had set up for her with the lawyer, she had ended up confessing to the fact that she’d also left her job. Sarah had been pleased to hear it—“that job was making you miserable,” she’d said—but she’d insisted that Naomi use some of her newfound free time to come back to New York and make up for the time they hadn’t been able to spend together right after their mother’s death.
It was a relief to find out that that was something Sarah had been wanting too. And after everything that had happened with Petr, N
aomi knew that it would feel good to be around someone she could feel certain of. She had bought a ticket immediately, forcing herself not to wince at the last-minute airline fare. She wasn’t used to being able to afford this kind of thing.
But I can afford it now, she’d reminded herself. It’s a drop in the bucket.
And now she was on her way. The plane taxied down the runway, picked up speed, and then tilted up, its nose pointing into the sky. Naomi gripped the armrests as she was pressed back into her seat. As soon as the plane had reached its cruising altitude, though, she released the armrest she shared with her neighbor, remembering the way it had felt to be penned in by an armrest hog on the flight home from Europe.
Perhaps it was because her last journey on a plane had been international, but today’s five-hour flight seemed to go by quickly. Not wanting to dwell on thoughts of Petr, she’d downloaded several episodes of an old favorite sitcom to her phone. Now she watched the characters work through their familiar predicaments and find their way to easy solutions. It was comforting, a distraction from the stresses of her real life.
As the plane came in for a landing, Naomi put away her phone and looked out the window at the city below her. She had only visited New York a few times, and it always amazed her. It was so different from Los Angeles. Everything was so tall, and so close together. Even though Naomi had grown up in a big city, she still found New York intimidating.
The plane landed. Naomi grabbed her bag and disembarked, hurrying through the airport to baggage claim. She saw Sarah when she was still several yards away, standing beside the luggage carousel, and hurried to her sister’s side.
Sarah embraced her. “It’s good to see you,” she said. “How was the flight?”
“Great. Boring.” Naomi looked around. “Are the kids here?”
“Home with Harry,” Sarah said.
“Neither of you had to work today?”
“When we heard you were coming, we took the week off.”
Naomi shook her head. “It amazes me that there are employers who will just let people do that with no consequences. Every time you tell me you’re taking time off, I have to remind myself that that doesn’t mean you’re going to get into some kind of trouble at work.”
The Prince's Devious Proposal Page 13
