I caught Scotty’s eye again. Now she was smiling bigger than I had ever seen it. She hobbled over to me, and sat down. Then she wrapped her arms around me, and I did the same to her. She was crying hysterically.
To my surprise, I started doing the same.
Chapter 35
I got back to my office with Scotty. All that I wanted to do at that point was hold her and make love to her, like we did earlier. But, I knew that I couldn’t do that just yet. There were too many people stopping by to congratulate me.
Pete came by my office. “It’s like the scene in the Wizard of Oz where the wicked witch was killed and all the mean guards started to celebrate. All of her lackeys are saying that they’re really glad that she’s gone.”
I smiled. I wasn’t surprised. Portia had everybody by the balls around here. I would imagine that everybody would be able to breathe easier from that point on.
Others came in to congratulate me, even a few of the guys who voted against me.
“Hope you aren’t offended,” said Ron, who was one of the “no” votes. “I gave Portia my word, although I really did want to vote with you.”
“No offense taken,” I said, thinking that the ass-kissing was going to be in full-swing soon from the partners who voted “no.” It occurred to me that, now that Portia was leaving, I would be considered to be one of the most prominent members of the firm. Not that I flexed my power in that meeting. No, sir, my feeling was that if it weren’t for Fred coming through in the clutch, I might have been gone.
Maybe.
Then again, maybe it would have gone my way no matter what. I would like to think that would have been the case. I would like to have believed that the firm found me important enough to keep, no matter what. But it wasn’t looking good earlier today.
George stopped by the office, too. “Hey, Nick, I just wanted you to know. I took an informal head count earlier today for you. While most of the guys around here wouldn’t give you a commitment, I still think that you would have won this, even without Fred. Most of the guys were more than willing to give you the benefit of the doubt, and almost everybody believes that you’re too valuable to let go. Fred just made it a little bit easier for them to get to yes for you.”
“Thanks, George,” I said. “And, uh, thanks for your vote.”
“Well, I thought about it. And voting no would have just been wrong. You’ve been a great ally. Eh, Portia’s probably going to tell my wife about my dirty little secret, but I thought about it, and maybe it’s for the best that she knows. That way we can deal with it. Everything happens for a reason, you know.”
Even Gregory, William and Richard came down, en masse, to try to make nice. “Hey, Nick,” Gregory said. “No hard feelings, I hope. Portia has always been a part of our tight alliance, so you gotta do what you gotta do, even when it’s distasteful. For the record, I believe you about what happened.”
William and Richard said in unison “I do too.”
Yeah, right, sure you do. “No worries,” I said. “I would think that Portia would have had your balls in a glass jar if you would have let her go down in flames.” I raised my eyebrow, knowing that I just insulted all of them, but not really caring. They could really kiss my ass with their newfound coming to Jesus.
Finally, Portia herself came by. She had a large box in her hands, and she was ordering, over the phone, some moving men to come by and get her things out of her magnificent office. There was a ton of stuff in there, including many priceless artifacts, so I was surprised that she would just call a moving service to retrieve these things.
She hung up the phone and put the box down on the floor. “Well, Nick, you finally won. I have to hand it to you. Didn’t think that you had the cajones to follow through.” And then she looked at Scotty. “Scotty, just wanted to let you know. I think you’re incredibly talented. Sorry for my bad behavior. Keep your chin up. You’re going to go far, I just know it.”
And then she turned on her heel and walked away without another word.
I looked at Scotty, and she looked like she had sympathy for Portia. She blinked away some tears. “Oh, why did she have to say that? I was so happy to see her leave, and now I just feel bad,” she said.
I walked over to her, and put my arm around her. “Scotty, honey, I think that was probably the reason why she said it. Manipulative people know just how to push buttons. Although I will say that she had privately told me the same thing – that she thinks that you’re very talented. But she probably only told you that to your face because she wanted you to feel bad.”
Scotty looked unconvinced.
“And,” I said. “Whenever you start to feel badly for Portia, just remember Mr. Lucas, and how you never would’ve ended up on that island if it weren’t for Portia’s despicable actions.”
At that, Scotty nodded. “That’s true. Portia is a dangerous woman.”
I looked at Scotty longingly. “Stay right here,” I said. “I want you more right now than I ever have. But I need to pay a visit to somebody.”
She nodded. “Yes. You do need to see Fred.”
I smiled. Scotty was starting to know me so well.
∞
I walked down to Fred’s office and knocked on his open door. He was sitting there at his desk, looking over some blueprints, his head in his hands.
He looked up when I got there, and motioned me into his office. “Hi N-Nick,” he said. “Come in.”
I sat down. “Listen, Fred, I just wanted to thank you for what you did today. That took a lot of balls, and I admire you thoroughly for coming through for me like that.”
His face got red, and he seemed uncomfortable, as he usually does with me. But he did seem more at ease than when I first appeared in his office, as his speech was more fluent than it was.
“It’s okay, N-nick. Sometimes you have to do what’s right, even if it hurts.”
I smiled at him. “Well, thank you. Losing Portia hurts you, though, doesn’t it?”
He nodded his head. “I never had a chance with her, I know, but a guy can dream.” Then he shrugged his shoulders. “But maybe it was for the best after all. Perhaps I could find a real woman now that my fantasy one is gone.”
I was looking for a way to show my appreciation, and it struck me on how I could do that. I would find him a woman.
“Hey Fred,” I said. “I know of a few women that you might like to meet. You really have a lot to offer somebody, even though I get the feeling you don’t think so.”
He looked at me with gratitude in his eyes. “Uh, really? You would introduce me to a few women?”
“Sure,” I said. “There’s a lid for every pot, they say.”
He shook his head. “Nobody has ever done something like that for me. I’m too, uh, awkward to meet women on my own. So, thanks.”
“Not a problem,” I said. “Let me make a phone call or two, and we can go on a double date.”
He smiled. “That would be great, uh, Nick. And, really, I’ve been meaning to say, congratulations on getting somebody like Scotty. She’s really somebody special. She’s always, uh, been really nice to me. She’s one of the few women who talk to me and really seems interested in what I have to say. So, you’ve got a good one there.”
I smiled. Scotty going out of her way to be nice to Fred surprised me, but it really didn’t. She was always drawn to the underdogs. She explained that to me by saying that she always felt that she was an underdog herself, so she wanted to make other underdogs feel less shunned.
And one thing was for sure. Fred was absolutely right when he said that I got a good one.
I couldn’t agree more.
Chapter 36
Scotty
I felt like I had once again been put through the emotional wringer, just in the past few hours or so. I didn’t feel right when I left Nick’s office this morning. He looked so ill at ease, and I had never before seen him look that way. It was almost as if he was very fearful about something, and I knew what that some
thing was.
I thought that he was thinking that he was going to lose today.
So, Charlie brought me back to the building, and I made my way up to Nick’s loft, with Jack’s help. But I was feeling so bad about seeing Nick like that. I couldn’t shake it.
“So,” Jack said, as he helped me get from the lobby to the elevator. “How’d it go?”
“Fine,” I said. “But I’m really worried about Nick.”
“Why, love?”
“He looked scared and doubtful. He’s usually so confident and such a bad-ass. But not today. I didn’t like the look in his eyes.”
Jack waved his hand dismissively. “Scotty, he’s got this. If there’s one thing that I know about that boy is that he’s always in control. Ain’t nobody gonna bring him down. So don’t worry about it. Let’s just go back up to the loft, order a pizza and watch girly movies all day long. Take your mind off of it. And I know the one movie that you watch when you’re depressed or upset, and I got it all ready to go.”
“Oooh, The Way We Were?”
“Bingo. Let’s watch the movie and then the movie with the director’s commentary. We’ll open up a bottle of wine and get under the covers and have a ball today.”
That brought my spirits up considerably. Leave it to Jack to remember how much I loved that movie, and how much I watched it when I was depressed. Yeah, the movie itself was kinda depressing, but, yet, there was also something about it that made me think of true love between opposites. Like Nick and me. And the way that Hubbell looked at Katie at the end of the movie – it was heartbreaking, really.
Jack and I popped some popcorn and got the movie out. It would have been perfect if it were raining outside, but, alas, it wasn’t. Still, I didn’t feel guilty doing this because my leg was broken. I also hadn’t had the chance to start school, even though it began last week. That concerned me, but I was waiting for Nick to take me to campus so that he could talk to my instructors and get my assignments for me that I missed. So, my life was about to begin again in earnest, once I got back to school and working. I felt that this was going to be one of the last truly lazy days for a while.
We watched the movie, but I didn’t partake of any wine. I couldn’t shake the feeling that Nick needed me. He didn’t say as much. But I wondered if he was still trying to protect me when he didn’t invite me to the meeting. I also wondered if there was any way that I could help out.
After the movie was over, Jack said “now, let’s take a little break before watching it again with the director’s commentary.”
I nodded my head and said nothing. For some reason, the movie didn’t take my mind off of my issues. I was still lost in thought.
“Scotty. Earth to Scotty,” Jack said.
“I’m sorry, were you saying something to me?”
“Yes. I said that I wanted to take a break and get something to drink. I don’t think that you’re in the mood for an adult beverage, so I was going to bring you some orange juice.”
I nodded again. “Sure, Jack, bring me some.”
Jack stared at me. “Oh, okay. We’ll have to do this some other time.”
“Why do you say that?”
“Because you’re completely checked out. Now, you best be going over to the firm and giving your two cents. Otherwise, you’re going to be mad at yourself, and nobody wants to be around Scotty when she’s mad at herself.”
“Do you really think that I should do that? I mean, Nick didn’t ask that of me. Would I be intruding?”
“No, Scotty, you wouldn’t be intruding. Anyhow, you probably need to give your story to the partners. Nick certainly can’t give his story, because he was passed out when it happened.”
My heart started racing, but I knew that Jack was absolutely right. I needed to give my side of the story to the partners, and I needed to do it quickly. The meeting was at 4, and it was already 3:15. It was heavy traffic, so I was afraid that I wouldn’t make it on time.
“Okay, then. I need to call Charlie and get my rear end over there.”
“Already on it,” Jack said, reaching for his phone. He called Charlie and then looked at me. “He’ll be downstairs in about five minutes.”
“Thanks, Jack. What would I-“
“Do without me? Oh, your life would be so much less colorful, that’s for sure. Now, let’s get you downstairs and into Charlie’s limo and you go and give those boys hell. Show them what for.”
Which was how I ended up at Nick’s firm just in time. He was surprised to see me, of course. I tried to text him when I got in the limo, but he apparently didn’t see it. And, when I got to the conference room, I saw that Nick looked a little bit besieged. I was glad that I could help, but the room seemed hostile.
But when Fred got up and gave his testimony, I knew. Nick didn’t know, but I did. Fred, even though he was somebody who wasn’t very well respected at the firm, was also somebody who was unfailingly honest, and everybody knew that. He wasn’t somebody who would make stuff up, so when he said that he heard Portia saying those things, then he really did hear it. Nobody in that firm doubted it. I looked around the room while Fred was talking, and nobody was looking like they were about to call bullshit.
Still, I felt badly for Fred. He obviously was terrified of being up there, and I could just imagine what Portia was thinking. She did look like she wanted to murder Fred slowly and painfully. But he didn’t waver. Good for him. I always did like that guy. He was socially awkward, but always so nice to me, so I tried to go out of my way to make him feel just a little bit less of a pariah at the firm. And now he was coming through for Nick, so I liked him even more.
I did wonder why Portia was dumb enough to admit to Nick that she did that. I figured that she would deny it all, but, apparently, she thought that there was no way that she would get into trouble for it because it would be impossible to prove. So, she didn’t try to deny it, and Fred heard her admission.
Funny how things go sometimes. Just goes to show that you really can’t plan things that much. You can do all you can to prepare for life’s little adventures, but, in the end, things like this just come down to luck. In this case, Nick and I were damned lucky that Fred was being nosy and that Fred had the courage to actually present his case to the partners. He didn’t have to rise to the occasion, but he did. And I would be forever grateful to him for that.
I was happy that Nick was going to thank Fred personally, which was only the right thing to do.
At some point, Nick came back into the office. He shut the door and sat down on the couch next to me. “So, I have a project now. Find Fred a real woman.”
I couldn’t contain my smile. “Oh, that would be so sweet. He really needs that. Somebody who treats him better than Portia did.”
“You’ve forgiven Portia, haven’t you?”
“Yes. But how did you know?”
“You said her name instead of referring to her as ‘that woman.’”
“Yeah. Well, I feel badly for her, actually. She obviously has mental issues.”
“The only issues that she has is that she’s entitled. She feels that she has to have anybody or anything that she wants, and, if she can’t get them legitimately, she has to get them in some other way. I don’t feel sorry for her, although I don’t think that she’s necessarily evil. She’s just very misguided. Very misguided.”
“And how,” I said. “Anyhow, I feel that I’m going to be able to breathe when I come to work. God, how I dreaded working with her. She made me feel incompetent like nobody ever has. Even my mother in her most drunken state didn’t say the things to me that Portia did.”
Nick smiled. “I love that you’re going to be able to thrive here now. Nothing is going to hold you back. Just don’t end up schooling me. That would wound my manly ego.”
I smiled. “Don’t worry about that. I’ll never be able to school you. Nobody will be able to. You’re going to be a legend one day, you know that.”
“One day?” he said with a laugh. “
Just kidding. Well, thank you. And, thank you for showing up. I didn’t want to involve you, but it does mean the world to me that you cared enough to get involved yourself.”
“Of course, I had to get involved. What kind of a girlfriend would I be if I just sat home watching movies with Jack and eating popcorn, while you were here in the lion’s den? I had to help out. I mean, look at what you went through to save me from that pervert on the island. If you go through those kinds of lengths for me, the least I can do is help you out when you need me.”
At that, Nick wrapped his strong arms around me tightly. I had my head in his chest and could smell his aftershave and cologne. He always smelled so good – freshly showered and slightly woodsy. I could also feel his heart beating.
“Oh, Scotty, what would I do without you? I really don’t even remember the time when you weren’t in my life, and we’ve only been together for a matter of weeks. Weird, huh?”
I nodded my head. “I feel the same way. It’s like we are linked inextricably together now, so whatever affects the one affects the other.”
And then he led me by the hand to the couch. “I know that we just made love a couple of times earlier,” he said, “but I want nothing more right now than to be inside of you again. So, wait right here while I go and lock the door.”
I got excited as I saw him get up to lock the door. I always anticipated being with him in an intimate way, because it was always so good. I never in a million years thought that I could be with somebody, anybody at all, without fear, after all that had happened in my past. I thought that Mr. Lucas had permanently damaged me to the point that I could never have a normal relationship. Yet, Nick had managed to show me that there are decent and kind men out in the world. Men who could be trusted never to hurt me.
Which was another reason why seeing Nick and Portia together had devastated me beyond measure. It had made me question whether or not there would be a decent man for me. To do something like that after I had opened up completely – that would put me past the point of no return. It was such a relief to find out what had really happened.
Saving Scotty Page 19
