We crashed at my place once we were back in Ithaca and parted ways in the morning, his flight to Chicago leaving at ten. I left late for work to sneak in time together before his long week away, but it was worth the demerit. It was the perfect way to start off December, the last month we’d share in the city. With a heart-stopping kiss, we parted ways, him to his future and me to my hopefully soon-to-be past.
I strolled into the office with a little extra pep in my step after nine. I grabbed a gingerbread latte on the way in, each whiff a reminder that it would all soon be over. I was confident Reginald would reach out with an opportunity, one I would snatch up so fast his head would spin.
As I made my way to my desk, I spied a bug-eyed Lee waiting like a hawk, her attention glued to me with each step. She was usually up to her elbows in work by then, so something had to be up for her to be so frazzled.
Her arms crossed and her cheeks sucked in, waiting to unleash hell my way. “I’ve been texting you!” she hissed as I set my things down. “All morning!”
Shit. I still had my cell on airplane mode. I offered her a weak smile, scrambling for an excuse. “I’m sorry. I overslept and was rushing around to get ready. I haven’t checked it.”
She ignored my lackluster response and did a quick scan of our surroundings. “They reassigned Monica to HR. She’s some kind of assistant now.”
“What? Why?” I figured she’d be written up as usual for her antics, not moved, and HR seemed like the last place someone with her attitude should be. It’s hard to enforce policies when you break them all.
She shrugged, shaking her head. “Marty won’t say, but she didn’t take it well.”
“I can only imagine.” I turned my computer on, glancing over at Monica’s station before sitting down. Sure enough, it was cleared.
“Girl, you missed her freaking out! You picked the worst day ever to come in late! It was glorious!”
I was glad I missed it. I was much happier cuddling with Jason than seeing that psycho lose it. “Who’s taking her place?”
If we hired someone capable, I would be over the moon. Knowing that both Lee and I were looking elsewhere made proper replacements a must. I didn’t want to screw other coworkers over. It wasn’t their fault Croft sucked.
Lee blew on her coffee, nose scrunching. “No idea.”
I groaned. That meant all Monica’s stuff would hit our desks, likely riddled with errors.
“She’s on the warpath, so watch out,” she warned.
I figured she would be, but eventually, she had to own up to her own mistakes.“We didn’t do anything.”
“It doesn’t matter,” she scoffed. “You know her.”
I smirked. “Good thing she’s down the hall.”
If she wanted to rant and rave at anyone, we were out of striking range. She’d have to find new victims.
Lee cringed. “This will get ugly. She’s out for blood.”
* * *
The rest of the morning was a blur, over three-hundred unread emails waiting for attention. Most were routine, but I had a few fires to extinguish thanks to Monica.
By the time I ran to the bathroom, I felt like I would explode with pee, turning into Marty during our road trip. I was relieved to find the ladies’ room odor-free. Unfortunately, the orange-scented spray intended to freshen the place smelled more like shitrus thanks to its use, forever ruining Creamsicles and gagging me at a whiff.
As I washed my hands, I glanced at my reflection, surprised how perky I looked with bright eyes and rosy cheeks. While the morning with Jason was the likely cause, the extended time out of Ithaca didn’t hurt either.
I fingered through my hair as I adjusted my part, the pesky waves rebelling from my careful crafting. The scar was fading, but not as quickly as I hoped, still visible against my pale skin. I bought a cheap cream to help fade it, but part of me knew I should have purchased the pricier pick for faster results.
The door flew open, smacking against the trashcan, startling me out of my wits.
A raging blond appeared, heels clicking against the tile. She didn’t go into a stall; she stalked right up to me at the sinks.
“Hi, Monica,” I greeted, attempting to keep it friendly. I hadn’t been in to see anything, so hopefully, she’d vent and disappear.
“Don’t give me that, Julian!” she snapped, slamming a makeup compact down on the counter with a comb. She fussed with her hair in the mirror, glaring at me through the reflection.
So much for that. “Excuse me?”
Her eyes were like slits, pure hatred burning. “Don’t play dumb, bitch!”
“Okay, I don’t know what crawled up your ass, but have a nice day, Monica.”
“Oh, really?” she laughed.
“Yeah, really. Have a nice day.” I turned to walk away but had my wrist snatched harshly. I froze, surprised she laid a hand on me. Monica was a raging bitch, but she was never physical.
“It’s your fault I’m in that stupid closet down the hall now!” she accused, nails biting into my flesh.
“I had nothing to do with that! I wasn’t even here!” I defended, trying to twist my wrist out of her grasp. Each turn dug the nails further, stinging like crazy.
“Like you didn’t go to Marty about me?” she huffed.
“No, I didn’t, and I have more important things to worry about than you.”
Her lips pulled back in a sneer. “Oh, isn’t that funny? Someone has been whispering in his ear that I wasn’t pulling my weight. Funny, because you’ve used that phrase before.”
“Plenty of people use that phrase, and he gets a copy of the report daily. I had nothing to do with whatever happened between you two.”
She laughed, the shrieking bouncing off the walls around us. “Oh, sure! You’ve hated me since we met! Now you finally got your
