by Mia Archer
Unless, of course, they were the types who threw cash around for themselves but not for their workers. I'd found that the American dream was alive and well if you were the one in charge. Not so much if you were the one working for the person in charge.
Speaking of in charge. I sent another text to Amber asking how things were going at the old office, but I didn’t get a response. She’d been strangely silent for the past couple of days. I sighed and stowed my phone back in my purse. If she wanted to cut ties I suppose that was fair enough, even if it did suck.
I didn't have to wait for more than a few minutes before another pretty girl came to fetch me. She had a smile plastered on her face and the generic sort of beauty that said she was probably a prom queen once upon a time. Maybe did a few beauty pageants, but didn't quite rise to the level of Miss America. And now here she was working for whoever I was about to interview with. Maybe I could get some info out of her.
Still, she was nice eye candy. I found myself staring at her skirt as she walked up.
"Are you Nicole?" she asked.
"Sure am," I said.
"If you could follow me," she said. And then she turned around, giving me a view of that skirt from behind. It was a nice view. Almost enough to distract me from thoughts of Erica and how nice the view from behind was on her. Almost.
"So can you tell me anything about who I'm going to meet?" I asked. "Are they good to work for?"
She looked over her shoulder and fixed me with that same generic smile that never quite reached her eyes.
"I don't work for them," she said. "I work for the country club. I'm just showing you to your room."
"Right. Of course," I said, feeling like an idiot. Also feeling just a little frustrated that my attempt at gathering some information had failed so spectacularly. Ah well. At least I tried.
We passed into a large dining room that was mostly empty. It was still fairly early for lunch. There were also little alcoves with curtains set off around the edge, and it was to one of these that she led me. She pulled the curtain aside and gestured for me to go in, that smile still plastered on her face. I found myself wondering what it would take to get that smile off of her face. I found myself wondering what that face would look like if she was screaming in passion, but I quickly chased that thought away.
I was here for a job interview. I didn't need the distraction of my newly discovered sexuality. Besides, I figured I’d gotten into enough trouble lately mixing business and pleasure without bringing that to an interview.
Unfortunately my newly discovered sexuality had apparently stalked me and found the perfect point to ambush me as I stepped into the private dining room.
Erica sat there smiling with her dad sitting next to her. I recognized him from seeing his face plastered on various promotional materials.
I immediately turned to walk out. There was nothing these two could possibly say to keep me here.
"I would really appreciate it if you would stay," a gruff voice said from behind me. It was obviously Mr. Zeidner's voice, but there was a hint of Erica in that voice. It didn't stop me from pulling aside the curtain.
"Nicole, please," Erica said.
That did make me stop. There was something about the tone of her voice. There was a sense of longing there. A feeling of such profound sadness that I had to stop. Even though every part of my body was screaming at me and telling me this was stupid. That the last thing I needed was to get drawn back into the crazy fucked up world that was Zeidner Corp.
I sighed. I was gone the moment I heard her voice. There was no getting around it. She had that hold on me. I turned around, but I didn't smile. At least I had that much control.
"What could you possibly want with me?"
They both looked at each other and then back to me. Both opened their mouths at the same time. Both spoke at the same time.
"We're sorry."
There was something almost comical about the way they parroted one another. The way their heads both cocked to the side at the same time and in the same way. The way they both held their hands in just the same way. It was an eerie father daughter moment.
And it was also a good start. I wasn't sure what they had planned between them, but I figured if they were going to open with an apology then maybe I could hear them out. So I took a seat at the table.
"We went ahead and ordered for you," Mr. Zeidner said.
"I figured I could get something you like here," Erica said. "I hope you don't mind."
I turned and regarded her with a cocked eyebrow. This new Erica was a very strange. Quiet. Almost hesitant. She didn't seem anything like the girl I knew. The girl I’d fallen for. What was going on here?
"So obviously the two of you went to a lot of trouble to get me here. To keep everything all hush-hush. I assume you knew I wouldn't come if I knew who was doing the inviting?"
Mr. Zeidner looked at Erica and grimaced.
"It turns out your former supervisor may have been a little too enthusiastic in firing you," he said.
"She didn't fire me. I quit," I said. "I want to make that absolutely clear. I didn't want anything to do with your company. Or any of the idiots you put in charge there."
Here I was, doing it again. Acting like a complete idiot. Here were two people apologizing to me. Maybe they were here to offer me my old job back, a job that I desperately needed, and I was snapping at them. Letting my anger take control. I knew in the back of my head that it was the last thing I should be doing, and yet I couldn't help myself. Once more the part of me that was angry at Zeidner Corp., angry at Erica in particular for the way she treated me, was far more powerful than the part of me that cared about things like having a job or staying in the city.
It looked like I was going to be going home to mom and dad after all. Damn it.
Mr. Zeidner sighed and turned to Erica. Smiled. "You're right. She is feisty. We could use that."
"I told you," Erica said.
"It would've been nice if someone realized that before you sent your attack dog after me for dating your daughter. I never would've figured you for having a problem with your daughter dating another woman," I said.
Mr. Zeidner shook his head and looked at his daughter with a rueful glance.
"Why is it that everybody seems to have the idea that I have a problem with same-sex relationships? I might be older, but I'm not heartless!"
His hands slammed down on the table and the silverware rattled. I blinked in surprise. Okay, so maybe he was okay with his daughter dating another girl. But if that was the case, then…
"So what is the problem?"
He looked back and forth between us. I got the feeling from his annoyed look that this was something he'd already covered with Erica. Many times. But she just crossed her arms and looked between the two of us as well. Apparently she was more than happy to have him go through it again.
"You have to understand that Erica is going to be taking over a major multinational corporation. That there is a certain image society has of young rich heiresses. An image that I very much wanted to avoid," he said.
"An image that I've never done anything to promote, I might add," Erica said.
Mr. Zeidner held up a hand and waved her off. She pursed her lips, but stayed silent as he went on.
"Ever since Erica was born I've been terrified that her name would get dragged through the tabloids. Though I must admit that maybe I've been a little too harsh on her. She's never given me reason to doubt her, and I continued being difficult to live with, continued being too hard on her, well after she’d proved to me that she wasn’t going to go rogue."
Erica sighed. "That's the closest we’re going to get to him apologizing for being an ass to me, and to you by extension.”
"I guess that makes a certain amount of sense," I said.
It was the kind of fucked up super rich problem that I'd never have. I didn't think I'd ever have to worry about my kid growing up as a wealthy heiress or going wild as a result of that w
ealth. Though I could see why that might be at the top of a list of worries for a man who had more money than God himself. It did seem that sort of money tended to have a negative effect on kids, though apparently he'd done a good job of shielding Erica given the way she turned out, locking me in rooms notwithstanding. There wasn't an Erica sex tape out of there, for example. I'm a little girl on girl action with a woman as hot as she was would definitely terror up the papers if something like that ever did get out. Talk about salacious.
No, she seemed far more down to earth than most of the people you read about on gossip sites. Assuming gossip sites were giving those people a fair shake and not just making things up to sell copy. That might be assuming quite a bit.
"I'm pretty sure you didn't call me here to talk about your daughter's sex life," I said. "So what's really going on here?"
Mr. Zeidner glanced at Erica and back to me again.
"I thought that would be obvious. This is a job interview, after all. I'm offering you a job."
I cocked an eyebrow. "You'll have to forgive me for being a little skeptical about that. A job? Why would I go work for you after what you did to me? That entire company is fucked up from top to bottom, if Christine running rampant is any indication.”
"I suppose I deserved that," he said.
"You sure did," Erica replied.
"I can assure you, though, that Christine has been taken care of." Mr. Zeidner said.
"Yeah? What did you do? Let her off with her golden parachute?"
"Actually I demoted her to your old position and gave her your old cubicle," Erica said. "The last I saw she was sending emails out to people trying to get her work done, but for some reason everybody on that floor was having trouble cooperating with her."
I chuckled. That more or less corroborated what I’d heard from Amber. Still, it was nice to have confirmation of Christine’s misery considering how she’d treated me.
"So the new job opening is for her old job?" I asked.
"It is. And seeing as how you were already doing the job, Erica was nice enough to go through the records to point that out, it seemed only fair that I should offer it to you first."
I blinked. Stared long and hard at Erica who was looking at me uncertainly. She'd gone to bat for me? I felt a warm fuzzy feeling rising inside me despite my best efforts to clamp down on it. That sounded more like the old Erica that I knew, and not the Erica who would lock me in her room so that I couldn't overhear her conversation with her bodyguard.
I locked eyes with Erica. "I'm not taking a job because of nepotism. If I do this then it’s with the understanding that there are no strings attached. Got it?"
"I wouldn't want to mix business with pleasure," Erica said. "I read you loud and clear, though I do hope we can maybe talk after this."
I turned back to Mr. Zeidner. I’d said my piece with Erica. It didn't help that I was worried that if I kept talking with her then I was going to lose control. That tended to happen around her for some reason.
"If that's the case then I provisionally accept. I'd have to look at your salary offer and the benefits, of course."
"Take a look at this," Mr. Zeidner said.
He slid a folder across the table. I opened it up. My eyes bugged out when I saw the number written down there. It seemed like that had to be a mistake, but I played it cool. I wasn't going to undervalue myself if they were going to overvalue me. And if maybe there was a touch of nepotism involved in that figure? Well, despite all of my big speeches, despite all of my attempts to stay fiercely independent, I wasn't going to knock a little bit of nepotism if it was putting that kind of number in my bank account!
As long as it was clear with Erica that I wasn't going to dance for her because of that number. I’d made that clear enough.
"Fine. I accept," I said.
Mr. Zeidner grinned. "Great! Glad to have you back on the team, Nicole. I see great things in your future."
Those words were nice coming from the CEO and all, but in that moment I had eyes only for Erica. She stared at me, and the way she stared sent a chill running down my spine. That was a stare that was filled with smoldering heat, and not the look of somebody who was excited at recruiting a new employee. Or recruiting an old employee, as it were.
The point is she was sending off vibes and I was picking up on them. And I suddenly had a feeling that despite everything that had happened at her apartment that night, despite her crazy security guard, things weren't over between Erica and I.
I had no idea where they were going, but I knew they were far from over.
21: Making Up
Talk about awkward. There was so much that I still needed to go over with Nicole. I'd recovered the business side of things, it looked like she was going to get a happily ever after for now as far as her career was concerned, but that still left a big hole in my heart. It pained me to see her sitting there looking so prim and proper as she ate her meal and pointedly avoided looking at me.
And here dad was not taking the hint. Refusing to leave. I wanted to growl in frustration, but of course that wouldn't be appropriate.
No, that was my old way of thinking. I'd always tiptoed around issues with my dad, but he’d made it absolutely clear that wasn't what he wanted. I'd had the most success recently when I just took the bull by the horns, as it were.
Maybe it was time for me to do that with Nicole as well. And so I gave my dad a not so subtle kick under the table. He turned and looked at me. Raised an eyebrow. I moved my eyes over to Nicole and then to the door. His eyebrows lowered in confusion for a moment and then he seemed to realize what I was getting at. Recognition dawned on his face. He picked up a napkin and started dabbing at the corners of his mouth even though he wasn't anywhere close to being done with his meal.
Not that it mattered. Everything would go on the expense account for the company anyways. It would probably result in a tax write off at the end of the year as well.
"Right," he said. "I have some important business I need to be attending to. So if the two of you don't mind?"
He looked between the two of us, but I only had eyes for Nicole. I stared straight at her. Dad cleared his throat once and then made his way out of the small private dining area.
"So this was all about getting me alone?" Nicole asked.
"It was about setting things right," I replied. "It wasn't right what my dad did to you. It wasn't right what Christine did to you."
"It also wasn't right what you did to me. Did you ever stop to think about that?" Nicole asked.
I sighed. "I suppose I deserved that."
"Hell yes you deserved that! What the hell were you thinking? Locking me in your room?"
"I was afraid of what Morgan might…"
Nicole slammed a hand down on the table. I blinked. Apparently I wasn't the only one who was getting a little more assertive in my professional and personal life. That was a far cry from the shrinking violet who went with the flow that I'd met when I first started my internship. I kind of liked this new more assertive Nicole.
"I don't give a damn what some crazy ex of yours is saying. She's a crazy ex. They say crazy ex things. What really annoys me is the way you tried to lock me in your room as though that was perfectly okay. You can't treat people like that!"
I glanced at the curtain separating us from the rest of the dining area. It wasn't exactly a soundproof curtain. I prayed the dining room was still pretty empty on the other side. Otherwise we were making one hell of a scene. Not that I cared too much. No, all I really cared about was talking to Nicole. If we had to do that screaming at each other at the top of our lungs, if that's what it took to repair the damage I’d caused, then I would gladly pay that price.
Besides, it's not like this place was going to revoke my membership. The company spent far too much money here for them to do anything of the sort.
"So I was an idiot! Is that what you want to hear?"
Nicole calmed down almost immediately. She took another bite of her stea
k. I smiled. I’d been absolutely right about the meal choice.
"That's a start. You really hurt me, you know? I never felt this way about a girl before, then you come along and I think things are going so well and then…"
"I know how you feel. I already said I was an idiot. I just panicked. I wasn't thinking straight."
Nicole stabbed her fork in my general direction. "I want you to remember this. Because if you ever pull something like this again while we’re dating…"
The implied threat was pretty damn obvious. Especially with the way she was wielding that fork. But I wasn't focused on her threatening use of cutlery. No, I was far more interested in what else she'd said.
"So we're dating?" I asked, hope coming to my voice.
Nicole grinned. "I suppose I should give you a second chance. You really went above and beyond here for me, after all. Even if you did act like a butthead with your bodyguard."
"No worries there. She’s been relocated to our Singapore office.”
Nicole cocked an eyebrow. “We have a Singapore office?”
“Oh yes. Very nice as long as you don’t like chewing gum. I’m sure she’ll do just fine out there.”
Nicole kept up that serious look for the space of a breath and then devolved into a fit of giggles. I couldn’t help but join in. This felt good. This felt like how things used to be between us. Things felt right, and I wanted them to stay right between us. I reached out and took her hand. The giggles disappeared and things got serious for a moment.
“I promise I'll be on my best behavior from here on out," I said. "I was just afraid. Afraid you wouldn't like me for who I was. Afraid that when you found out about the money, the bodyguard…"
Nicole waved a dismissive hand. "The money doesn't matter. You should know that. I was falling for you when I thought you were a dirt poor college intern, though we are going to have a little bit of trouble moving forward…"
Fear seized me. Trouble? I went from elation to terror. It was a yo-yo of emotions. Something I definitely was not used to. I was used to being the aggressor and then leaving girls. Loving and leaving was my modus operandi until I met Nicole. Partly because attachments could get messy given who I was and partly because I use the first bit as a convenient excuse to have fun. I realized that now. The point is I wasn't used to actually having to worry about things like long-term prospects. Only I very much wanted to worry about those things with Nicole.
