by A. M. King
She took it back from him. “You’re right. I shouldn’t have. I’m going to donate this to a shelter.”
“What? You crazy witch!”
She turned around, stunned. “What did you just call me?”
“A witch! All you women are the same. You just want to have your cake and eat it too. You think I wouldn’t date other women?”
“We’re supposed to be engaged. How could you?
“I was just saying that. Come on doll, you didn't really think we’d always be together. I mean look at you. Look at me. Come on. I don’t need you to hold me back. I mean, with Amanda I can reach heights. Connections.”
“What is that supposed to mean? When I was helping you with the orientation and with the ad campaign, you didn't think anything of it back then."
“That was different. This is now."
"I can't believe you. I can't believe I had the wool over my eyes this whole time."
"Wake up doll. You’re just an average girl. You’re nothing compared to Amanda. She's beautiful and perfect and has a lot of power and connections. She really knows how to move her way up in the world. And her granddaddy is the owner of the company. She’s got everything. Hey, no hard feelings, eh?"
What?
No. Hard. Feelings?
Okay, so Amanda Harlington was perfect on the outside. Flawless smooth skin. Size 1 dress. Slim. Perfect hair with no split ends. Perfect make-up. And yeah, she was also twenty-five years old with a powerful position in the company, but that was because her granddad owned the joint. They had a lot of money. She probably grew up with governesses and trust funds.
Febe had none of that. She was the same age as Amanda and struggling to pay off student debts, had a bit of shape on her thighs, a little stomach bulge, and her hair wasn’t perfect. Neither was her make-up. And she didn’t wear designer clothes like Amanda. Her clothes were department store bargain section, sale-priced threads. Still, she was twice as nice as Amanda was. Not that being nice counted for much right now.
She didn't want to do something irrational. Her head was spinning. Amanda might be able to waltz into the Harlington offices at any time she chose because her granddaddy owned it, but Febe was still on probation. Amanda ran the show at Harlington Advertising. Staff members were terrified of her. Even her own grandfather feared her. She treated her granddaddy like a child! Amanda treated everyone as she pleased and there was nothing anyone could do about it.
Febe spun around on her heels and stormed out of his apartment, leaving the door open. He came to the door, but stood inside the doorway. He started to say something else but a gust of wind came out of nowhere and the door slammed hard while he was still talking.
That was weird.
Was there a sudden burst of wind in the building? Was there an open window somewhere? Jonathan hadn’t closed the door.
She was too upset to think about it much, but she made her way to the exit door, swung it open, and practically flew down the stairs, taking two steps at a time. She didn't bother to wait for the elevator. Before she knew it, she was already down at street level.
She stomped down the street, her hair flying in the wind. Hustling through the busy morning rush-hour crowd on the sidewalk as she walked over to the subway station to get on the train to Bay Street.
While she sat on the train, she fought hard not to cry. She was better than that. She really needed to get a hold of herself.
He wasn't worth her tears. She could not believe how foolish she was. This morning, she’d thought everything was all right.
This was her worst birthday ever.
Thirty minutes later, she arrived at the Harlington glass office building on Bay Street.
“Good morning, Febe." The wonderful security guard said to her.
"Good morning, Sam."
"You all right this morning?" He said.
He was such a sweetheart, always saying good morning to her.
In fact, he always told her that she was the only executive there who actually acknowledged him as he stood guarding the main doors.
He appreciated that she spoke to him and treated him like a person, unlike some of the other executives who were too busy to know his name.
"I'm good, thank you,” she said walking by his desk.
“Have a good day,” she said.
Why should anyone else feel the brunt of her unhappiness? Mother always taught her to be polite and be kind to people and never take out your frustrations on others. She wished everyone at work was the same, but that was another story altogether.
Right now, she felt her world crashing down on her right now.
Where did she go wrong?
* * *
Febe grabbed a coffee from the Tim Horton’s café near the elevator on the main floor.
Boy, she really needed her caffeine fix to jolt her awake for the day. She had to try hard to erase the horrible scene at Jonathan’s apartment earlier. Get out of that frame of mind and step into a new frame of mind. She played over Katy Perry’s upbeat pop tune Roar in her mind. She really needed that boost right now.
She pressed the button on the elevator to the eleventh floor.
When the double steel doors opened to her floor, she was greeted by the new company logo on the double glass doors across from the elevator.
Welcome to Harlington. Where magic happens.
Ha! That was her idea.
She came up with it during the company’s brainstorming session as they were going through a major revamp of their image five months ago.
Well, she came up with the tagline, but Jonathan told the team about it. So he got the credit.
She was new at the time, her first week on the job...
Wait a minute.
Crap.
He took credit for her work. Gosh, how could she have been so blind?
He’d used her.
He told her that he mentioned her name to the big bosses, but no one ever came to her to tell her thanks. They just used it and the next thing she knew, he got the promotion to account exec from coordinator.
Double crap!
She took another dose of her delicious hot coffee.
She needed to brace herself for the day ahead. Amanda was supposed to be at that meeting later, so...
“Hey, Febe,” Rebecca, the receptionist said.
“Hey, Rebecca. Any messages?”
“No, but I hear the boss is not too happy,” she said in a low voice.
Febe’s pulse hammered.
“Not too happy? Why?” Febe played naïve.
“Oh, she must’ve been at her boyfriend’s place and they got stuck.”
“Stuck?”
“Yeah, stuck in his apartment. Don’t know who that guy is, but what a dud. How could he have jacked up doors like that?” Rebecca continued typing away at her computer while she spoke to Febe.
It was very clear to Febe that Rebecca and probably no one in the office knew that Amanda the boss was with Jonathan their co-worker. She didn’t know if that was a good thing or a bad thing that no one suspected Amanda’s affair.
“Wait a minute. Tell me more about the door.”
“I don’t know,” Rebecca said, not looking up from her computer. “Something about the fire department had to go there and break the door down. It was jammed shut from the inside. Like somebody put crazy glue on the joints or something.” She shrugged.
Febe’s jaw fell open.
“Anyway, she did not sound too happy and said she might be a little late for the meeting, but to go ahead and start without her,” Rebecca continued.
“I see. Got it. Um...thanks.” Febe walked away from the reception desk, dazed.
What the heck just happened?
Her mind swirled back to the moments when she last saw Jonathan and she’d walked out of his apartment, then bam! The door slammed shut while he started to give her some sort of lame excuse and putdown about why he needed to be with someone better, like Amanda, who had connections, unlike poor little F
ebe.
Crap.
If she was being honest with herself, she did feel a weird feeling, a powerful wave of energy zap inside her body the moment before the door slammed shut.
She didn’t think anything of it at the time. She’d just thought it was heartburn or stress or something. Or shock over what she’d witnessed. Her boss and her boyfriend—fiancé—in bed. Together. It was too much for her mind, right now. She took another chug of hot coffee.
She then glanced at her opened satchel handbag and sadness filled her heart.
Peeking out was part of the packaging from the comic book she’d bought him. She really should have just let him have it.
Nah, girl. You should’ve let him have it all right, but not the comic book, a swift whoop upside his head would have been good, a strange voice swept inside her mind.
What was that?
Was she going crazy all of a sudden?
She took a deep breath and sat down at her cubicle, taking her handbag off and placing it in the desk drawer beside her. Later, when she wasn’t so angry, she’d give him the comic book. It was his present, after all.
Just then, Dave from the mail room and Rebecca the receptionist came to her desk.
“Is everything all right?”
“No, it isn’t, Febe. We all have something we need to get off our chest,” Rebecca said in a serious tone.
Next minute, a few more of her team members crowded around her desk.
“You think we didn’t know?” Rebecca said, with her arms folded across her chest.
Febe’s eyes opened wide. Oh, crap! Did they know about her and Jonathan? And now Amanda?
“Listen guys, I can explain...”
Before she could, they all broke into a wide grin and sang Happy Birthday.
Febe’s blood pressure went down a bit. She could feel it.
“We knew it was your birthday, girl. Why didn’t you say anything?” another co-worker said when they’d finished singing and handed Febe a large, creamy cupcake topped high with frosting and a single candle. That was the Harlington tradition to at least get a cupcake and a candle for whomever’s birthday it was, unless it was one of the top dogs. They got a bit more.
“Thanks so much, guys. I...I’m speechless,” she said. And she was. Good thing, she didn’t start blurting everything out about Amanda and Jonathan. Not that it was anyone’s business.
An hour later, Febe got ready for her meeting but was greeted instead by Amanda Harlington, who stood at the opening of her cubicle with her arms folded across her chest, her blond hair cascading down her shoulders, her manicured fingertips tapping on her sleeves.
“Hey, Amanda. I was just about to head to the boardroom.”
“Well, you needn’t bother.”
“Why?”
“Because,” she said, taking out a folder she had at her side. “Here is your evaluation. I don’t think you’ve got what it takes to be here at Harlington. As you know, you’re on probation and neither party has to give any notice if it’s not working out. And truth be told, we need people like Jonathan, with creative talent.”
Febe’s eyes widened in shock. There was that feeling again inside her.
“What?”
She was seriously going to fire her on her birthday? Did this woman have no heart? She stole her fiancé, now she was stealing her joy?
Just then Sam the security guard, looking apologetic, came to escort Febe off the premises, as happened whenever anybody was let go.
Febe was too stunned to speak. Emotions climbed inside her. She was dazed. Shock.
“How could you?”
“I don’t want to hear another word,” Amanda said. “I’m sure you’ll find something else more suitable for your skills.”
Was Amanda afraid of Febe blurting to the whole company how she was sleeping with a subordinate, who happened to Febe’s now ex-fiancé? Was that what this was really about? Febe was on probation, so technically, she didn’t have much power to go to HR, even though she could fight it.
Febe shot up from her desk. “I don’t need to work for someone like you,” she said with what little pride she had left. She knew this was Amanda’s company, her granddaddy’s company.
There were some battles she should fight and some she shouldn’t. She knew she would have to let the universe take over here. This was too big for her right now.
“And oh, happy birthday,” Amanda said with a snarky tone.
Her co-workers looked as stunned as Febe did when she marched pass them with the security guard and a box with her belongings from her desk.
She could not believe she was having the worst birthday ever!
She no longer had a fiancé, she was penniless waiting for another paycheck that would never come, and now she was about to be homeless, too, because she could not afford to pay her rent.
Aside from waking up this morning, what the heck went wrong? This was a nightmare. It couldn’t be happening.
She really needed to get a new life. It couldn't get any worse than that. Katy Perry’s Roar started playing harder in her mind now. They hadn’t seen the last of her—or had they?
Chapter 3
Later that evening, after walking around the city trying to figure things out, Febe stood in her kitchen getting Meow Mix for Ebony, her furry, four-legged baby. It looked as if they would both be eating cat food soon if she didn’t find another job, pronto.
“Ebony, come here, baby.”
Her beautiful black Bombay cat curled her soft tail around Febe’s ankle which brought warm feelings inside her. Ebony was the only friend she could count on right now.
“Baby, it looks as if you and Mommy are going to have to find a cheaper place to live while I try to find a new job.”
Her kitty purred gently and she scooped her up and hugged her close to her chest.
Ebony was a bit fussy, then Febe said, “Oops. I almost forgot your favorite tune.”
Her little, black Bombay cat loved to listen to Black Cat by Janet Jackson. It was like her kitty’s anthem. Funny thing was Ebony responded almost like a real person rather than a cat sometimes. Or maybe it was Febe’s overactive imagination.
Febe touched the iPod and it came to life. The song crooned through the Bose sound dock system and Ebony started getting playful. It was the first time since morning that Febe smiled.
Just then her open laptop made a sound. It was an incoming call.
Crap.
She almost forgot her family was supposed to FaceTime her from Blackshore Bay to wish her a happy birthday. They usually did that around this time of the year. The women huddled on grandma’s old sofa in that old Victorian house on the cliff where Febe had spent many memorable childhood summers. She wished she could go there and hang out, but she couldn’t. They always acted a bit strange toward her.
Blackshore Bay would be the perfect place to regroup and take a much-needed stress-relief break from the big city. It was a cozy small town nestled near cottage country just an hour’s drive north of Toronto.
Well, aren’t you going to answer it? A voice inside her said.
Of course, I am, she answered back in her mind, thinking she really needed to take a break or she was going to go insane, talking to herself like that.
She sighed deeply.
As much as she didn’t want to speak to anyone right now, she was always taught that friends could come and friends could go, but your family will always be your family.
She placed Ebony on the kitchen floor, went to her computer, and sat down on the couch.
“Hey,” she said as cheerfully as she could after she pressed the accept call key.
“What in Sam’s name is wrong with you?” Aunt Trixie said.
Aunt Trixie was the aunt who always spoke her mind. She was a spitfire in the family, but she was always there for her kin, no matter what.
“What?” Febe said, stunned.
“Trixie!” Aunt Eartha said, playfully tapping Aunt Trixie’s arm. “It’s the girl’s bir
thday. Have some manners.”
Aunt Eartha was like Mother Earth. Motherly, loving, always there. She was the wise one of her aunties.
“Sorry, darling,” Aunt Eartha said, apologizing on her little sister’s behalf. “How are you by the way? Happy blessed birthday!”
“Thank you, Aunties, and no worries.”
“Vannie, are you coming?” Aunt Trixie called out.
“Yes, yes, I’m here. I’m coming.”
Her Aunt Vanity, whose real name was Vanessa but everyone called her Vanity because seriously, she was always into herself. Always had a mirror, obsessed with her looks, her status and how everyone else saw her.
“Happy Birthday to you. Happy Birthday to you. Happy twenty-fifth birthday. Happy Birthday to you,” they sang out of tune so badly, it almost gave Febe a warm, sentimental smile. Well, at least something was back to normal in her life.
Her late mother’s older sisters Aunt Eartha, Aunt Trixie and Aunt Vanity were each there singing their dear hearts out. Bless them.
“Thank you,” Febe said and burst into tears.
“Hey, what’s wrong sweetie,” Aunt Eartha said soothingly. “I’m sorry it wasn’t in tune, you know how...”
Febe shook her head and waved them on. “No. No it’s not that.” She couldn’t contain her emotions any longer.
Heck, if she couldn’t be herself around family, what was the point?
“I lost my job and my fiancé today, and I’m going to lose this apartment.”
They froze.
She dabbed her eyes with a tissue from the box on the side table while she sat, legs folded, opposite the laptop on her coffee table. Ebony was busy nibbling on her treats in her kitty bowl.
When she looked back up at the computer screen, she saw them all huddled around the computer with looks of shock and pity on their faces. It was the first time she saw them speechless. Really speechless.
Then when she peered closer, she realized they weren’t saying anything or moving. She leaned closer. What was happening?
Then she realized the computer screen had frozen.
Crap.
She pressed on a key and another one but nothing happened for a moment. Just then Ebony, who had finished her kitty meal, strutted across the table and curled up on Febe’s lap.
