The next morning, she had dry heaves over the impending meet and greet. Chastity couldn’t eat breakfast, and her mind was spinning. She decided to wear her black khakis; black always makes you look a little trimmer, and a dark, navy blue polo. Satisfied with her choices, she stood in the mirror. Her clothes were baggy, causing her to look like slob. As her eyes moved upward from her body, she leaned in closer and stared at her face. She looked pale, but she didn’t own any makeup to put on. Chastity pinched her cheeks, hoping to give herself a little color, and ran a comb through her hair. It hadn’t been cut since the week before she left for Colorado. Now, it was long and stringy. Sighing in disgust, she gathered her purse, not even bothering to pack a lunch.
Once she punched in at the time clock, Chastity tried to keep herself busy to dodge her supervisor. But Kayla found her anyway when it was time to go to the appointment with Cameron Barron.
“You better get up there, so you’re not late,” laughed Kayla, while patting her shoulder.
Feeling full of dread, Chastity walked to the elevator and hesitantly pushed the button for the eighteenth floor. When the doors closed, she pulled her stomach in, but what was the point? It didn’t move much. There wasn’t anything she could do to better her horrendous appearance. She just wanted to get this meeting over with, and return to her job, but the elevator seemed to be moving as slow as molasses. Once Chastity finally reached her destination, she took a deep breath and stepped out onto the plush, burgundy carpet. As soon as Jayden saw her approaching, she jumped up, ran towards her, and gave her a hug.
“Go on inside, Darlin’, he’s expecting you.” She smiled and pointed towards his office.
Chastity slowly approached the closed door. She should have practiced what to say so she’d sound somewhat intelligent. She felt her body tighten, her leg begin to fail, and her stomach fill with knots. With every bit of bravery she could muster, she cautiously opened the door and took a step inside. Just when she was about to introduce herself, he shouted.
“Good God! Get the hell out of here!”
*
Cameron Barron wanted to pull Cecil Redmond through the phone and beat his ass. He was a great accountant and had been the one to discover the embezzlement, but the guy never let the opportunity pass to rub salt in Cameron’s wounds. Since the night he’d arrived in Detroit, on a redeye, his mood was more fragile than an eggshell. If he could stop talking to the young accountant, until this disaster was over with, he would. He dialed Cecil’s number on his cell and put it on speakerphone. Multi-tasking had become his specialty.
The company’s character and ethics were being called into question now, causing him to constantly look for evidence against Mark Twiller. With so much riding on his shoulders, Cameron woke up with a headache each morning and went to bed with an even bigger one.
“You missed me already?” Cecil laughed.
“Like I enjoy talking with you a hundred times a day. When will you have the final numbers?” Cameron felt immediately irritated.
“Six months at the earliest. Don’t expect to see your home in L.A. until the New Year. There’s no way around it, Cam. Mark really screwed things up.” The calm in Cecil’s voice was sending him over the edge. “You may as well get comfortable, Mr. Barron. It might even take me a year…”
“Good God! Get the hell out of here!” Cameron narrowed his eyes and yelled. He looked up when he heard his door open. Thankfully, whoever it was, had sense enough to leave him the hell alone. “I’m not staying in freakin’ Detroit!”
“Listen, if I could trade places with you, I’d be there right now.” Cameron laughed, knowing it was another line of crap. He quickly got Cecil back on track and was given a set of preliminary numbers. Cameron stared at them in dismay, swore loudly, and tossed his cellphone into his desk drawer. He slammed it shut. As he was taking a deep breath to calm himself, his door was flung open.
“Cam!” Jayden bellowed, as she barged into his office and stood in front of his desk. She looked like a hen that had her tail feathers lit on fire. Cameron put his hand up to encourage her to lower her voice, but his effort was fruitless.
“I’m right here, Jayden, not down the block.” He shook his head, stopping himself from saying more.
“What in the heck did you say to that poor girl?!” Jayden was a very pretty, slender, blonde in her thirties, but right now she resembled a lioness, ready to pounce. She threw her hands on her hips, and if looks could kill, Cameron would be sprawled out on the floor right now.
“Please enlighten me as to why you find it necessary to yell.” He couldn’t understand her hostility. He’d gone out of his way to be kind and patient with Jayden, allowing her space to process what had happened with Mark. When she was busy, he never interrupted her, unless it was urgent.
“What did you say to her? She wasn’t going to take up much of your time, if that’s what you were worried about. She only wanted to say hello!” Jayden was breathing heavily. If he wasn’t trapped between her and the walls, Cameron would leave, and let her cool the hell off.
“Jayden, I know you’re angry, that’s quite obvious, but who are you talking about?” Cameron kept his voice as calm as possible so he wouldn’t tick her off even further.
“Chastity Newberry. She works in the mailroom.” Jayden crossed her arms over her chest, while staring at him like a scolding mother.
“That’s good. I don’t know who she is, but I’m sure she’s doing great in the mailroom…wherever that is.” Cameron was tempted to roll his eyes, but he refrained. Performance reviews were something he never handled, unless it was for upper management, and he had no intention to start doing them now.
“She won the dance, Cam. This morning she was scheduled for a meet and greet with you, until you blew it and sent her running away with tears in her eyes!” Jayden leaned over the desk. Anytime now, she’s going to rip my throat out, he thought. If she wasn’t so important, he’d be reacting much differently.
“Dance? I don’t dance.” He shook his head and stared blankly at her. He could understand her outburst if he’d royally screwed up something important, but a dance? Cameron let out a small chuckle. “Listen, Jayden, I don’t know what you’re talking about. I really don’t.”
“The annual Dancing Beneath the Stars event. It’s been going on for the past eight years! I sent you an e-mail. Well, three to be exact, and I’ve placed copies of the memos on your desk, right in front of your face!” Jayden turned around and began to stomp out of his office.
“Come here and sit, please.” Nothing was going to get accomplished today with her being this close to killing him. “Explain everything to me, so we can resolve this issue and move along. I don’t want you feeling upset.” Jayden hesitated for several seconds, before she sat in the chair across from him. Cameron pushed aside a stack of papers, that had been accumulating on his desk, before Jayden could have a chance to comment about those damn memos again.
“Like I said, her name’s Chastity Newberry. She was hired almost a year ago.” Jayden’s jaw was still tightening.
“Okay, that’s a start.” He smiled, but she didn’t return the pleasantry. “You mentioned something about the mailroom?” I should be taking notes, thought Cameron. If he forgot even one detail about what Jayden was saying, she’d lunge.
“Yes, she works in the mailroom. It’s located in the basement, in case you missed it during your tour of the facility…” Her eyes met his, and she cocked her head to the side. Her sarcasm was obvious.
“The tour? I didn’t get a tour, Jayden. I was given keys and escorted up here. Seriously, do you think me spending time in the mailroom should be a priority during this nightmare?” Now, he was the one becoming defensive. Being pulled in a hundred different directions wasn’t fun, and it happened daily. The minute Jayden would step away from her desk, folks pounced on him like vultures, causing him to keep his door shut at all times.
“This isn’t about the mailroom, Cameron. Each year, the event commit
tee randomly draws a name, from all the females who’ve entered the contest. The winner gets a dance with the CEO, during our Dancing Beneath the Stars event. But because Mark is sitting in a jail cell, you’re the one who has to step up. You can’t not do this! Whatever you did, or said, to Chastity, the winner, devastated her! Why would you do something like that?”
“Let’s resolve this, without yelling, shall we?” This was going to drag on and on, and he still had no idea what the hell happened. “To keep the peace, call her up here again, Jayden. I’ll do whatever you want…meet, greet, smile, but I don’t dance. I’ll pick her up in a limo, sit with her during dinner, buy her flowers—Why do women have to overreact to things that only exist in their imaginations?” Cameron picked up his pen and nervously began clicking it. He didn’t know where that comment had come from, but Jayden, he was sure, would shove her black high heel shoe in his mouth.
Jayden stood up and gave him an evil grin. He became the trapped mouse and she was the cat. “I’ll tell you what, Mr. Barron,” she spoke slowly and overly enunciated her words. “I’ll ask Chastity to return to your office. Then, you can tell her she didn’t win the contest. You can tell her that her name was drawn by mistake. While you’re trying to save your face, instead of your behind, maybe you can come up with something that’ll hurt her so badly, she’ll leave the state!” Jayden stormed out of his office, closing the door with more force than necessary.
Cameron sat there in shock. This is exactly why I don’t do serious relationships with women. They’re only fun for about six hours. After that, you’re apologizing for everything. He stood up from his chair, loosened his tie, and started to leave his office, but he stopped mid-step. It was important, very important, for Jayden to stay focused and on task right now. Cameron could picture her sitting out there seething; the mere sight of him would cause her fangs to come out. Maybe he should find the mailroom, make an appearance, and offer to take this Chastity out for a nice dinner tonight. On second thought, that wouldn’t fly unless she wanted to eat super late. He’d brainstorm in the elevator. Cameron continued towards the door, but he remembered he had to walk past Jayden’s desk to get to the elevator. The situation almost made him laugh, until he imagined her setting up a tripwire in the hallway.
Chapter Three
Jayden Borski examined her broken fingernail. She pulled a nail file out of her desk drawer, but quickly replaced it so she wouldn’t be tempted to stab her boss. If Cameron Barron had seen Chastity’s face, as she took off to the elevator, he’d be upset too. Or maybe he wouldn’t be; she hadn’t known him for very long. Though he seemed like a really nice guy, Jayden was worried his demeanor was only a front. No matter how much charm he poured out, how many times he flashed those pearly whites, she wasn’t going to go easy on him. If her boss didn’t fix this situation, there wouldn’t be a shovel big enough to dig himself out of this shithole he’d created.
Taking a deep breath, Jayden picked up her phone and called the mailroom. Images of Chastity played in her mind as it rang. She was grateful when the supervisor picked up.
“Hi, Kayla, this is Jayden. Could I speak with Chastity Newberry, if she’s free?” Jayden understood how busy the mailroom was, so she skipped the pleasantries.
“Sure, I’ll go get her.” Jayden was put on hold for a few minutes, before Kayla returned. “I’m sorry, Jay. She’s probably delivering mail.”
“Well, thank you for checking for me. If you do see Chastity, could you ask her to call my office?” Jayden drummed her nails on the desk and looked at her watch.
“I sure will,” replied Kayla. “She should be down here soon.”
At two o’clock, Jayden still hadn’t heard a word. She called the mailroom again, in case Kayla had forgotten. The supervisor admitted that no one in her department knew where Chastity was. Jayden’s heart began to sink.
“I’m really worried,” admitted Kayla. Jayden was glad she wasn’t the only one. “I’ve had staff walk off the job before, but Chastity likes it here. She seemed okay this morning, but we haven’t seen her since she headed upstairs for her meeting with Cameron. This isn’t behavior I’d expect from her.”
Jayden tried her best not to show her anxiety. “She’s probably in the building somewhere. I’ll have her paged.” The second she hung up, she attempted to contact Chastity every way she could think of. After no success, she called security to do a walkthrough of the building. Some years ago, while at a different firm, a filing clerk disappeared during her shift. They’d found the young mother of three dead in the bathroom, from a ruptured aneurysm. Jayden was working that day, and she never wanted to go through such a tragedy again. She tried not to let her past experience send her into a panic. If that happened, she’d lose all control of the situation. But when security called to inform her that Chastity wasn’t on the grounds, she could feel her chest constricting.
“I’m ordering Chinese. Want anything?” The sound of Cameron’s voice made her practically jump from her chair. He stood in the doorway staring at her, waiting for a response. She didn’t care about food, and neither should he. The longer Chastity went missing, the angrier she was becoming at the man who caused it all.
“No, thank you,” she tersely replied. “Chastity still can’t be located, by the way. I thought you’d like to know…” She couldn’t stop scowling at him.
“She probably clocked out, Jayden. I wouldn’t worry about it. Hey, can you cancel my six o’clock? I’m not ready for the meeting. I’m still waiting on more numbers from Cecil Redmond.” Cameron disappeared behind his closed door.
“Wait!” Jayden called out. Her boss opened the door and poked his head into the hallway.
“Yeah?” He looked impatient, but she didn’t care.
“She hasn’t even been seen since she rushed from your office. Doesn’t that concern you?” Jayden rose from her chair and took a couple of steps towards him. “I had security check inside and outside the building, and they couldn’t find her either.” She had to force herself not to scream at him.
“Like I said, she probably got super busy, then went home for the day.” His irritation was evident.
“Cameron, Chastity’s supervisor hasn’t seen her, and her timecard hasn’t been stamped since this morning. What happened when she came to meet you?” Jayden raised her voice a little. “Tell me exactly what you said to her.”
“Meeting? I didn’t meet with her. Someone came into my office, but they left before I could acknowledge them.” Cameron shrugged and began walking to his desk.
Jayden was nowhere near done with him. She’d be damned if she would allow him to minimize what he’d done. She was right on his heels. “It’s very obvious how upset Chastity was when she practically ran to the elevator. I’ll give you her number, so you can call her and apologize—”
Cameron shook his head and held his hand up, as if to interrupt her. “I don’t mean to be disrespectful, Jayden, but if you’re spending the entire day on this, then you’re not doing what you’re being paid to do.” He looked at her sternly, but she was unfazed. She turned around, hurried to her desk and returned with a piece of paper.
“Here,” said Jayden, as she handed him the paper. “This is Chastity’s number. Call and tell her you’re sorry,” she glared.
“I’m not dealing with this,” he snapped. He tried to hand the paper back to her, but she refused to accept it.
Jayden returned his tone. “Unlike you, I’ve gotten to know her. She’s a really sweet girl, who doesn’t have it easy. Though she has some physical challenges, she is more efficient than most. It will be a big loss to your company if she quits.
“If she quits over something that never happened, so be it. We can easily replace her,” he chuckled, as if he was mocking her.
“Fine. I see how little you value loyalty—” Now Cameron laughed even harder.
“So you think the mailroom governs this company? Do you know how easily she can be replaced? Easy!” He turned, clearly dismissing her.
“Really? You think everyone on the street would jump at the opportunity to work for your arrogant self? Well, let’s see how easily you can replace me…” Jayden turned her back on him and briskly returned to her desk.
“What?! You’re quitting? Don’t even try it, Jayden!” he barked.
Without hesitation, Jayden pulled her purse from the desk drawer, tossed her office keys beside the computer, and walked away. She could feel his eyes trying to burn holes through her.
“Bloody hell!” she heard Cameron yell, as the elevator doors opened.
*
Chastity hobbled to the elevator as fast as her right leg would allow, while fleeing from Cameron Barron’s office. When she arrived at the basement floor, several people began congratulating her on winning the Dancing Beneath the Stars contest and asking her what she thought of Cameron Barron. News about the meet and greet must have gotten around. In a panic, she grabbed her purse and sweater from her locker. As she was stepping into the elevator, a voice called out behind her.
“Hey, Chastity! How’d your meeting go with Cameron Barron? I haven’t met him yet, but I saw him once, and he’s gorgeous!” Chastity stared at the redhead who she recognized from the cafeteria. She thought she’d burst into tears. She nervously adjusted her polo when she realized the girl was also getting in the elevator. Chastity ignored her and headed for the stairs. Climbing them up to the first floor wasn’t easy. Pain shot through her leg, but it didn’t stop her. Pulling on the handrail to help her up each step, she finally entered the lobby. She desperately needed to rest, but getting away from Barron National was her only objective.
The bus didn’t run for thirty more minutes, and Chastity couldn’t risk being spotted on the corner, so she continued up the sidewalk. It didn’t take her as long as she thought it would to get home. When she reached her apartment, the muscles in her leg felt like they were being shredded. She went directly to bed, while listening to her phone ring and the answering machine blare:
