The Valentine's Day Mini-Mystery Compendium
Page 14
She was not the type to wallow in self-pity for too long. She had to get back to business. That always made her feel better. Most everything in business was black and white, but relationships were in the gray area. The wall that had slowly been crumbling came up again. She could and would be hard again and not care about anyone else. That way this would never happen to her again. In truth, besides having a broken heart, she was so, so embarrassed that she had fallen for Kevin’s little tricks. It would never happen again. She would not trust anyone. She was determined go back to work and be tough, tougher than ever, and behave as if nothing had ever happened. She would not let him or anyone else get one over on her.
The day passed slowly, and she purposely concentrated on business she had been putting off for the past few days. She had plenty to keep her busy and decided she should step up her efforts to get that next promotion sooner. That is all she would focus on now. If she never got married, she could still be successful and have the luxuries in life. She thought about Kevin and wondered if he intended on just sending her to the restaurant to be devastated, or if he was actually there, waiting to watch and gloat when he saw her world collapsing. How could someone think that was funny? She sure turned the tables on him. He would surely have a new respect for her for figuring out his little game. She didn’t think he would be so ready to tangle with her anymore. She was far superior to him in intellect and hoped he knew that now. If he said one word to her, she would put him in his place for good.
The last week had taken a toll on her, though she pretended she was fine. She was ready to give Kevin a run for his money if he had one word to say. She saw him when she first arrived at work and shot him a dirty glance but he cocked his head to the side as if he didn’t understand. He might as well not play innocent with me. I am savvier than that, she thought. He does not know who he is dealing with. After lunch, she began making her way back to her desk, when Kevin stepped in line and began walking with her. She proceeded to sit down, ignoring him, but he just kept standing there. He knew that she knew. He stood there for a second and then took off like he suddenly remembered something he had to do. She did not see him the rest of the day and she was glad.
The week passed without incident, but Kevin seemed different, like he didn’t know how to act around her. He must know that I know. He doesn’t know how to react. She enjoyed this, although she felt guilty about it, but not too guilty. He deserves to squirm a little. She relentlessly immersed herself in her work to keep busy over the following weeks and it paid off. She got the promotion she had wanted. At least she would be out of that office, away from Kevin, and get to work with Robert again. Since business always came first with them, they would be an incredible asset to the company.
Working with Robert turned out to more uncomfortable than she remembered. He was very distant and acted like he just didn’t like her. They did make a good team, but even though they were successful, they were both lonely. Though her thoughts would sometimes travel back to the months before when she believed that someone might really be interested in her, she made sure to never dwell on any such ideas and to erase them from her mind as soon as they appeared. She had learned her lesson.
A knock at her office door brought an unexpected guest one day. It was Kevin. He stood there with a goofy look on his face. He was the type to play up to his superiors. She knew she could make him jump through hoops if she wanted. He stood there like a lump of clay, ready to be shaped to her desire. She let him stand there, shuffling his feet like an idiot, until she began feeling guilty. She didn’t want her dislike of him to go too far. It would not be businesslike. Besides, she wasn’t completely sure if he knew that she knew he was the one behind the cruel practical joke. She just stared at him, still trying to make him uncomfortable. Kevin was not his arrogant self since she had been promoted. He nervously walked to her desk with some papers from his office.
“Hello, Kevin. How are things with you?”
His eyes darted back and forth. “Fine,” he said.
She could tell he had more to say, so she sat back like a queen with her court and waited for him to begin. Even though she had never paid much attention to him before the incident, she had been outright rude to him before her promotion, and he knew they had parted on bad terms. He needed to get on her good side again. The day of reckoning had finally come. This was what she had waited for.
“I wondered,” he continued, “if I did something to make you mad when we worked together?”
She gloated, “As a matter of fact you did, Kevin.”
He looked puzzled. “I know I can be annoying, but I didn’t think I did anything out of the usual.”
“Really,” she said. “Well, did you do anything unusual around Valentine’s Day?”
His mouth dropped. “No.”
She couldn’t believe he could lie with such a straight face. She sat up straight in her chair and said, “I saw you.”
Kevin looked like he was ready to bolt out the door.
“Don’t you have anything to say for yourself? I have never seen you at a loss for words,” she said very sarcastically.
“Are you going to fire me?” he whined.
“Leave him alone,” she heard a voice say. It was Robert.
“This is none of your business. You don’t know how unprofessional his conduct has been. “
“Yes, I do. I put him up to it.”
“You? What do you mean?”
She couldn’t believe what she was hearing. Why would he do this to her?
Against her wishes, Robert told Kevin he could leave. Before she could protest, he was already out the door.
“I put Kevin up to the whole thing. It is not fair for him to be fired for my unprofessional conduct.”
“You mean all this time you let me believe Kevin did this awful thing and played such a horrid practical joke on me?”
“We didn’t know that’s what you thought. All we knew was that you didn’t show up that day. I thought you must not be interested.”
She thought for a moment. “I was right. Your name was spelled out in the cards. I thought Kevin had picked up on my feelings for you and was making a fool out of me. The letters that were capitalized in each card spelled out Robert… R in Romance… O in Only you… BE in BE mine… R in Roses… T in Together. I was so happy. Then I saw Kevin put it on my desk and I thought it was a cruel joke.”
“No, not at all. The simple truth is I was out of the office that day. I am sorry I put you through so much. It didn’t even cross my mind that you would think it was a joke,” he said apologetically.
“I have to admit, I was very happy when I thought that I had figured it out and it was you, but I never dreamed you had any feelings for me.”
“How could I not? We’re just alike, or used to be, except for one thing. When I got this position, I was not as happy as I thought I would be. I realized that I wanted more out of life than just a career. It seems like business is your whole life.”
“No, I do want more. I was ready to change everything I had ever believed in when I thought it was you, but then I saw Kevin put the card on my desk. I thought it was him and that it was all a prank. I vowed I would never be hurt like that again.”
Relief flooded his face, erasing away the worry lines. “When you didn’t show up at the restaurant that day, I still had hope. But when you were promoted and we starting working together again, I began to think there was no chance for us. You only seemed to care about your job. I don’t want things to be the focus of my life anymore. I want you to be.”
She looked at him and smiled. “What now?”
He smiled back at her. “I think you owe me a date.”
The End
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