by Linda Kage
Gracen
TWENTY MINUTES LATER
Yellow had told me not to worry about her while she cried.
“It’s my form of stress relief,” she tried to explain while the tears were streaming and her nose was running.
Her cheeks were mottled with red splotches, and her eyes were puffy and swollen. Yet her main concern was to reassure me.
“Some people rage, some people drink, some people bury it deep. But I stress cry. Once I get it out of my system, though, I’ll be fine and ready to deal with life again. Okay?”
I had waved a hand and answered, “Okay, it’s fine. Don’t worry about me. Just do whatever you need to do,” and I’d backed up to sit in a chair against the wall to watch and wait.
But it went against every instinct I had not to offer any kind of comfort. I was used to hugging and stroking hair, murmuring soft words of encouragement, and fetching food or drink whenever I dealt with a crying person. That’s what Bella usually demanded of me, anyway. Yet I already knew that would be the wrong thing to do for Yellow.
She needed to feel strong about something right now. Leaning on me wouldn’t help her accomplish that. Besides, she’d just told me she was tired of men always thinking they had the right to just touch her whenever they wanted. And I had a feeling even offering a supportive hug would fall under that category at the moment.
So after handing her a box of tissues, I sat a good ten feet away, rested my forearms on my knees, and waited. And listened. And watched as she completely fell apart before quietly putting herself back together again. I felt wrecked by the time she finished and straightened, sniffing away the last of her tears as she wiped her face and focused on me.
“Okay, I think I’m done now.”
I shook my head and waved out a hand because I still needed a minute to deal with witnessing all that. “Don’t stop on my account,” I rasped from a hoarse voice. “Take as long as you need.”
But she didn’t want to cry anymore. Pushing to her feet, she smoothed out her skirt and shirt, then her hair, before lifting her chin and saying, “I need to get back to work.”
“Um, no. Nuh-uh,” I told her, remaining exactly where I was. “You’re not going back to that desk.”
“What?” Her face drained of color, and dread filled her features. “Wha—what do you expect me to do, then? I have a job that needs to be finished. Oh God, you’re not firing me, are you?”
“What?! No. I just—” Before I could totally botch this up, a knock sounded on my door. Thank God. “Perfect timing,” I announced before calling, “Come in.”
The door opened, and my other colleague, Jada, stepped into the room. It was her day off, but no one would be able to tell that from the crisp and starched pantsuit ensemble she wore with heels and her silver hair coiffed as if she’d just come from a hairstylist. To me, she looked just like Queen Leah from Descendants.
Jada commanded any room she entered, and I could see her assess the situation as I slowly pushed to my feet and slipped my hands into my pockets. Her gaze swept over me briefly before it strayed to the pretty, young blonde on the other side of the office with tear-stained eyes and a red nose.
A heavy sigh escaped her lungs. “Art’s struck again, then, has he?”
I sniffed out my bitter amusement. “Oh, yeah. Except this time, the lady actually rejected his advances.”
“Really?” Jada’s eyebrows arched in surprise as she regarded Yellow with a curious glance. Then she regally turned back to me. “Well, I suppose there’s a first time for everything.”
Bobbing her attention back and forth between us, Yellow widened her eyes before blurting, “You mean, he’s done this before?”
“Only with every secretary he’s ever hired,” Jada answered matter-of-factly. Her gaze roved disparagingly over Yellow’s form as if she deplored what she saw. Then she shrewdly added, “But apparently, you deserve a gold sticker, my dear. You’re the first to tell him no.”
Yellow blinked as if she didn’t understand. Then her expression flared with horror. “So, all the people who’ve worked in that position before I have—”
“Had affairs with him, yes,” Jada confirmed.
Mouth falling open with disbelief, Yellow rasped, “And no one thought to warn me about this?” Her gaze swerved my way, letting me know she thought that should’ve been my job.
I opened my mouth to defend myself, but I wasn’t sure what to say. I suddenly realized I probably should have warned her. But Jada saved me from what would probably have just been a really pathetic apology.
“So what are we going to do about this?” she asked, glancing between me and Yellow. “I assume you wish to file charges against him first before anything else.”
“Charges?” Yellow’s back straightened with alarm. “I, uh, no. No, I don’t think that will be necessary.”
“What do you mean, no?” I boomed. “Your boss just sexually harassed you, Yellow. Of course, you’re going to file charges against him.”
“Yellow?” Jada murmured in surprise, while Yellow frowned at me in irritation.
“If every aide he’s had before me has willingly had sex with him, then not even I can blame him for assuming I might too. It’s not really a crime to let someone know you’re interested in them, and that’s basically all he did. But now that he knows I don’t return the sentiment, won’t he—I don’t know—leave me alone?”
Art? Leave a woman alone? Hmm. Didn’t seem likely. But Jada had just said there was a first time for everything.
“Whatever he said to you caused you to punch him in the throat,” I reminded her. “That seems like he did more than let you know his interest.”
“The throat?” Jada echoed with admiration. “Wow. Impressive.”
But Yellow only flushed with mortification. “I—I think I might’ve overreacted a little with the throat punching. I’m sorry. I really shouldn’t have gone that far. I was probably just trying to make up for how badly I underreacted the last time I was propositioned.”
“Last time? You mean, this has happened before?” Jada asked in outrage as she glanced between us.
“Different guy, different place,” I told her, waving her question to the side as I kept studying Yellow. “And it doesn’t matter if you over or underreacted. It matters that he put you into an uncomfortable, intimate situation that made you cry all over my office for twenty fucking minutes straight. That can’t be tolerated, not in any company, and especially not in one I partly run. Neither Jada nor I have enough funds to buy him out, so the only way I can think to make this fucker pay is to press a suit against him that you file.”
“I'm confused,” Jada said. “Do you two know each other personally?”
Both Yellow and I ignored her as we studied each other, my expression determined and Yellow’s filled with panic.
“Can’t we just wait?” she whispered the plea, her lashes turning damp with tears. “He didn’t know I’d be unreceptive. But now that he does, he should at least have a chance to behave and leave me alone before—before we get embroiled in some big, he-said-she-said office scandal that really wasn’t that big of a deal to begin with.”
“It isn’t a he-said-she-said situation,” I argued. “Because I witnessed the whole thing. And how can you say it’s not a big—”
“He made a pass, I made my no obvious, so now he deserves an opportunity to respect my wishes. Until such time that he doesn’t respect them, I really don’t want to turn into hot gossip that makes everyone give their opinion about how much of a slut I am or not. Please don’t make me go through that again.”
Again?
My lips parted. Was she talking about the thing between her and Bella? Or something else?
My brow furrowed as I wondered if there was more to the story with my sister that I didn’t know about. It was probably just my heart hoping she was less guilty in the Ethan—Bella situation than I’d always thought she was, but was she less guilty than I’d always thought she was?
>
“If you’re absolutely certain you don’t wish to press charges...” Jada started, speaking directly to Yellow and ignoring me when I sent her an incredulous glance. “Then I have an idea of how to bluff him into hopefully behaving when it comes to you.”
“I accept,” Yellow told her immediately, bobbing her head emphatically.
I snorted. “You haven’t even heard what her idea is.”
Yellow frowned my way. “If it helps me keep my job and keeps what happened here today discreet, then I’m all in.”
“You’re impossible,” I muttered, as Jada opened the door to my office.
Who the fuck cared about discreet? She had been wronged. She deserved justice.
“Oh, Art,” Jada called, only to pull back and add, “Ah. There you are. Could you step in here for a minute with us, please?” She swept out a welcoming hand as she held the door open wide.
A second later, Art—the Ass—Draper stepped inside, sending a glower Yellow’s way before briefly touching the base of his throat.
No one bothered to ask if he was okay.
He instantly went on the defensive. “Look, I don’t know what she told you I did, but—”
“Hush!” Jada hissed as she closed the door behind him and clasped her hands together in front of her. “So here’s what’s going to happen,” she announced as she narrowed her eyes on Art. “Ms. Nicksen has agreed not to press any charges against you if—”
“Against me?” he exploded in disbelief. Digging a finger into his own chest, he blubbered, “She’s the one who attacked me.”
“She defended herself after you put your fucking hands on her,” I ground out, stepping threateningly toward him.
He lurched back and eyed me warily before turning to Jada. “I didn't do anything wrong.”
“You absolutely did,” Jada countered. “But we’re already beyond that point. So tell me, do you want to spend all your money on legal battles where you’ll essentially lose and be forced to give over your portion of the company to Gracen and myself? Or would you prefer to keep this quiet after allowing a few minor changes to the roll call?”
“What kind of changes?” he asked leerily.
“Well, for starters, Ms. Nicksen will need a new position. Letting her go because of your lewd behavior is out of the question, but it wouldn’t be wise to keep her around as your secretary either. And after what you’ve done, we can’t rightfully trust you with any woman for an aide, so—”
When she glanced my way expectantly, I knew exactly what she wanted me to offer.
“You’ll take mine,” I said, already regretting having to let go of Price as my personal assistant. He was the best help I’d ever had.
But for Yellow, it wasn’t even a question. Sacrifices would be made.
“The fag?” Draper exploded in horror.
Gritting my teeth, I shook my head slowly. “Insult him again, and you’ll have two lawsuits on your plate, buddy.”
Draper immediately sealed his mouth shut and glared.
Yellow peered up at me with large, worried brown eyes as if she thought I’d charge her with a fate worse than death, so I decided to announce her new position next. “Nicksen will go to Jada,” I added. “And then I’ll take on Jada’s assistant, Magda.”
“Wait. What?” Jada straightened in confusion, blinking at me as if I’d lost my mind. I knew she’d wanted me to trade the two assistants straight across the board, but then, that would mean Yellow would become my secretary, and there was no way I could handle that, so I’d just had all three of us shift.
Jada didn’t gainsay my announcement, but she didn’t seem too pleased by it either. The way she narrowed her eyes told me I owed her big for this. But hey, she owed me for causing me to lose Price.
I couldn’t say I was entirely pleased by the arrangement either. I had just ended up with a great-grandma who should’ve retired a decade ago, couldn’t hear all that well anymore, was behind on all forms of technology, and did everything at the speed of a sloth.
I was really, really going to miss Price.
The only person in the room who appeared in any way pleased by the whole situation was Yellow. And she was the only one I cared about helping right now, so that was all that mattered.
“And if you ever go near her again, or talk to her, or look at her in a way she finds offensive…” I started, stepping intimidatingly toward Draper again.
But he lifted his hands before I could continue. “I won’t. Jesus. Fine. I agree to those terms. You guys win. Take the bitch and give me the queer.”
“Great,” Jada answered with a studious nod, choosing to ignore his crude language. “Then we’re all in agreement. The switch in assistants starts immediately. Good day, gentlemen.” Her attention veered to Yellow and then narrowed icily. “Ms. Nicksen,” she added. “I’ll see you at eight o’clock sharp on Monday morning. I don’t tolerate tardiness and expect a steaming cup of black caffeinated coffee sitting on the northwest corner of my desk, precisely six inches from either edge when I arrive at my office.”
“Yes, ma’am,” she murmured, bobbing into a curtsy. “I’ll see you then.”
As Jada turned and strode from the room, Draper sneered at both me and Yellow before he too hurried to escape, following at her heels.
Yellow lingered after they were gone. Then, without looking at me, she said a quiet, heartfelt, “Thank you.”
I sniffed. “Don’t thank me yet. Jada’s a ball-breaker. She won’t go easy on you.”
She turned to me, her brown eyes intent. “As long as she doesn’t sexually harass me, I can handle it. I am actually qualified for the position I was hired into.”
I sent her a nod of respect. “Good to know.”
She studied me a moment longer. I think she was waiting for me to say something.
I felt like a disappointment in so many ways; I wasn’t even sure where to begin, so I remained mute.
Realizing I wasn’t going to speak, she nodded and turned away to leave.
But just as she reached the door, I squeezed my eyes shut and whispered, “Wait.”
I almost hoped she hadn’t heard me, but when I opened my eyes, she’d paused and was coming back around, her eyes wide and hopeful.
I drew in a deep breath. “Are you certain you’re okay with all this? If you change your mind and want to file a lawsuit—”
“I won’t,” she assured me. “I liked this outcome.”
“Okay.” I nodded, then finally said, “In other news, I owe you an apology.”
Her brow furrowed in confusion. “For what?”
“I wrongly assumed you already knew what Art was about when he hired you. I thought you would be the same as all his other secretaries. I mean, after everything that went down between you and Bella and that asshole, I didn’t think you would object to—”
“But Mr. Draper’s married,” she spat incredulously, gaping at me as if I were insane for even suggesting what I was suggesting.
I cringed even as I shrugged. “And Bella was engaged,” was all I could think to reply. “Why would I assume it’d be any different?”
Face immediately draining of color, she bowed her head and pressed her hands to her stomach. “I guess I can understand your reasoning.”
“The point is…” I stressed, shamefully glancing down at my hands. “If I’d known you weren’t aware of his intentions—if I’d known you wouldn’t welcome his advances—I would’ve warned you. Fuck, I should have warned you anyway. And I’m sorry. But when you came out of his office after your interview, and he announced you were going to be his secretary, it all just came flooding back to me again. Everything you did with Ethan, how it affected Bella, and I just…”
I bowed my head and closed my eyes in shame. “I really don’t have problems with what people do with their lives. But with you, it was—Christ, I was starting to like you, starting to forget that you—that that’s how you are. And when I remembered, I just felt so betrayed. Because I’d been thinki
ng of you as something you’re not, something I wanted you to be. Which is my bad, not yours. And I shouldn’t have done that. I’m sorry.”
Sighing heavily, I turned away and rested my hands on the windowsill as I stared sightlessly outside. “That’s why I’ve been freezing you out since you started here. I was mad. Mad at you. Mad at myself. Mad about the entire situation. And feeling like an idiot for perceiving you as this certain kind of person I wished you were when I shouldn’t have. So I’m also sorry about that, as sorry as I am that I didn’t warn you about Art. I could’ve helped you avoid this whole shitshow we went through today if I’d just said something.”
“No one else warned me either,” she answered as if excusing me.
I glanced across the room at her. “But I should have. And I want to apologize for that.”
She studied me for a moment. Then said, “Okay.”
As simple as that, she merely forgave me.
I didn’t answer, just shoved a hand into my pocket and bowed my head, knowing I didn’t deserve it. She didn’t leave the office though.
“Gracen,” she whispered.
I looked up.
Wringing her hands at her waist, she took a deep breath, even as she looked as if she might pass out any second. “I just—I wanted you to know that maybe—maybe I’m not so different than you think I am. What your sister assumes I did to her, I—I didn’t. I didn’t do what she thinks I did.”
I blinked. “What?”
Her voice trembled and she looked down. “I-I didn’t—you know—I didn’t—”
“But she caught you,” I blurted, blinking in amazement over the fact that she would even say this to me. “Naked. In his bed.”
She lifted her face, and her eyes went desperate as she shook her head. “Sh-she doesn’t know what she saw.”
“But he was there with you. Also naked. Hell, then I saw you with my own eyes a week later, coming out of his apartment with your fucking bra in your hand. How can you say you didn’t—Yellow?”
I leaped forward in concern when she wavered on her feet as if she might pass out. But then I stopped as she drew in a deep breath and closed her eyes before opening them again. When I stepped toward her more hesitantly, she lifted a hand to stop me and shook her head, gulping for fresh air.
