Something About Lorelei(40)

“Hello.”

“How are you today?”

“I’m trying to be okay. I need to be for Hope. I can’t let her see me fall apart over a guy.”

“I understand, but don’t force it. If you need time to yourself to think about things or get yourself together, let me know and Sebastian and I will watch Hope for a few days.”

“Thanks, Stella, but I’ll be okay. Hey, listen, I just got to Starbucks. I’ll talk to you later.”

“Okay, sweetie. Call me and make sure you either get him the wrong coffee or spill it on his dumb ass.”

I smiled. “I will.”

I ordered his damn Americano just the way he liked it and headed to the office. My stomach was twisted and I felt sick. The anger and disappointment in his eyes last night were unbearable to see. I saw another side of Jack when we spent time alone together. He was tender and sweet. He only wanted to please me and I let him down.

As I walked down the hallway with his coffee in my hand, I was literally shaking. I prayed he wouldn’t be in his office, but he was. FUCK! I took in a deep breath as I stepped inside and set his coffee on his desk.

“Is it right this time?” he asked in an abrupt tone.

“I didn’t taste it. So hopefully, it is.” I walked out of his office and sat down at my desk.

The launch was in a few days and I needed to finish the dress I was making. I just needed to get through this day. As I was sitting at my desk, the office phone rang.

“Jack Sutton’s office.”

“Lorelei, it’s Garrett. I want you to come down to my office in about thirty minutes. Jack has a meeting to go to, so he won’t know you’re gone.”

“He told you, didn’t he?”

“Yes. Just come down to my office and we’ll talk.”

“Okay.” Click.

Jack stormed out of his office without saying a word to me about his meeting. He always told me where he was going. But not today. I could still see the anger in his eyes and it bothered me. I got up from my desk and went down to Garrett’s office.

“Hey,” I spoke as I poked my head through the door.

“Hey.” He smiled. “Come on in and have a seat.”

I sighed as I sat down across from his desk. Looking down, I played with my hands.

“How are you doing?”#p#分页标题#e#

“Not good, Garrett. I feel awful because of how he found out about Hope. I was going to tell him today.”

“Well, I want you to forget about Jack. He can be a real asshole sometimes. He’ll get over this, Lorelei. You just need to move on. Do your job and everything will be fine. He can’t stay mad at you forever.”

“It doesn’t matter if he does or not. I want you to know that I’m going to start looking for another job.”

“I don’t want to see you go. Maybe I can transfer you to another department.”

“That would make Jack even madder. It’s best if I leave the company altogether.”

“I understand, but you need to stand up to Jack. He’s not going to fire you. That I can promise. You have leverage with him and you can do some great damage to him and this company if he let you go.”

“Thanks, Garrett, but I don’t want to use anything against him. I’m not that kind of person. I’ll just start looking for another job and, if I find one, I’ll let you know.” I got up from my seat.

“Okay, Lorelei. If that’s what you feel is necessary. Hang in there. He’ll come around eventually.”

I gave Garrett a small smile and went back up to my desk. When I got back, Jack was in his office. Shit. His meeting didn’t last too long.

“Where were you?” he yelled from his desk.

“Bathroom. Is that okay or did you want me to pee all over my desk?” I blurted out.

“Get in my office NOW!” he commanded.

Shit. Shit. Shit. Taking in a deep inhalation, I walked into his office.

“Shut the damn door.”

I shut the door and then turned and looked at his angry face.

“I don’t need your smart-ass mouth. Do you understand me?” He pointed directly at me.

“Yes. I understand.”

“Is Hope the reason why you didn’t go to Paris?”

I needed to sit down because my knees were shaking something terrible.

“Yes. I couldn’t leave her.”

“So you fucking lied to me again?”

“Yes.” I looked down as I crossed my hands.

“So your mother was never sick?”

I shook my head without saying a word.

“You’re quite the little liar, aren’t you?”

Tears started to fill my eyes. Oh hell no, there was no way I was going to let him see me cry.