Page 99 of A Perfect Disaster

“The evaluation meeting has been moved up,” Arturo announces. “We have other matters to attend to.”

I look Helen straight in the eye and swallow the lump in my throat.

“Great, let’s go upstairs and pretend that absolutely nothing just happened here.”

· · ·

Arturo and Julianne take their seats on the other side of the table. Helen sits right to my left, but I drag my chair a few inches farther away. She picks up on it immediately, clenching her jaw.

It’s Julianne who speaks up.

“We’re sorry for the rush, but headquarters wanted to wrap things up before the ship docks in Ibiza.”

My temples are throbbing with brutal force. I can’t concentrate. All I can think about is the phone call I just received.

And Helen’s fucking betrayal.

Arturo clears his throat, taking control of the meeting.

“We’ve thoroughly analyzed your performance over the past few days. And although the initial plan was to grant a single position onshore, after reviewing your reports, regional management has decided to restructure the department once again.”

Helen looks up suddenly. I do the same, frowning.

Julianne allows herself a smile of professional satisfaction.

“There won’t be a winner and a loser, girls. Headquarters wants to implement shared leadership for the new Global Experience and Fleet Operations division. There are two management positions of equal rank: one focused on structure, security, and processes, and the other dedicated to the human experience, events, and team management. But they converge under the same overarching direction.”

The world stops for a second. Under any other circumstances in life, this would have been the moment to jump for joy, to start screaming like a madwoman, and to cover Helen with kisses.

But the news hits me poisoned, dirty, and smelling of something burnt.

“I made it very clear that I didn’t want to continue with this,” Helen blurts out suddenly.

And it leaves me frozen in my tracks.

“I’m sorry, but we couldn’t afford to lose an excellent worker like you,” Julianne tells her.

What the hell?

Helen looks at Julianne, and suddenly it all clicks in my head. Not only has she dared to humiliate me with the payment for the nursing home, but she’s also turned down the job.

I stand up from my seat and look at all three of them.

“I’m sorry. But I have no intention of working or sharing an office with a liar and a traitor,” I declare with surprising clarity.

I grab my cell phone from the table and head for the exit, without looking back for even a second. I know that if I turn to look at her, I’ll shatter into a thousand pieces. So, I close the door, leaving behind the promotion of a lifetime, and the secure future of the only woman who has been able to make me feel like the most loved and the most betrayed woman on the entire planet at the same time.

33

Helen

And that’s how the disaster began. With a decision made out of love that turned into a monumental screw-up.

“Well, I don’t know what the hell you were expecting,” Gonzalo blurts out as he walks beside me, licking his pistachio ice cream. “That she’d jump for joy and wave at you for saving her from a tight spot as if you were her fairy godmother?”

I glare at him, struggling at the same time to keep a hold of my lemon ice cream. The afternoon sun bathes Ibiza in a dense, golden light that bounces off the white facades of the buildings in the harbor, makes the palm trees shine, and draws sparkles from that Mediterranean Sea that seems to be mocking me.

I swallow hard to loosen the knot in my throat.