Page 6 of It Was Always You

"He didn't. He just asked that I send you over as soon as you gothere."

I smiled at Shelley. "Okay, let him know I will be right there." I put my purse on the floor under my desk and quickly scanned my emails to make sure there was nothing pressing. I walked down the hall and stopped outside of Mr. Keller's office. Straightening my pencil skirt, Iknocked.

"It's open," I heard through thedoor.

Turning the handle, I peeked my head in. "Mr. Keller, Sir, you asked to seeme?"

"Tatum, yes, please come in and have a seat," he said, pointing to the chair across from him. Mr. Keller put his pen down and clasped his hands on thedesk.

"It's quiet around here for a Friday." I smiled, sitting in the chair across fromhim.

He took a deep, slow breath and exhaled. "Tatum, I am afraid I have some badnews."

I could feel the pressure building in my chest. I couldn't take much more this week. Trying to keep my breathing steady, I continued to focus on Mr. Keller and remainedcalm.

"There is no easy way to put it. The company is undergoing a restructure. Unfortunately, we have to lay some people off. I’m sorry, but your position is beingeliminated."

I didn't know what to say. I sat there, staring at him. This week had just gone from bad to worse at a speed of ninety miles perhour.

"How long?" I kept my voice steady, even though I felt like I was going to bust. I silently prayed it wouldn’t be toolong.

"Right now it looks like this will be permanent. Of course, we will provide you with a recommendation letter and hope that you will come back to us if there is an opportunity in thefuture."

Swallowing hard, I stood from the chair. I had to get out of there. "Of course. Please, give me time to gather my belongings. I will be out of the office in the next sixtyminutes."

"Of course, Tatum. Please take your time, and here is your letter." He held the envelope out for me to take, his facesomber.

Reaching across the desk, I grabbed it from him, gave a slight smile and nod, and walked out of the office. I stood outside of his office against the wall, holding onto the envelope he had given me as if it was the only thing I had left on earth. What was I going todo?

The walls were starting to close in on me when Shelley came around the corner. I stood back up, nodded at her, and made my way to my office to clear out mythings.

By noon, I had pretty much everything packed up when my cell phone rang. Dean's name flashed across the screen. After all that had happened, I was in no mood to speak with him, so I let it go tovoicemail.

Anxiety was creeping up on me faster than I wanted. My chest was heavy, my head fuzzy, and I was extremely dizzy. My world had come crashing down on me all at once; losing my job and my boyfriend all within one week was too much for me. The last time I felt like this was when Parkerleft.

The room grew dark and my breathing heavy, but I fought to gain control. Sitting down, I took a few deep breaths and sipped water from the mug on mydesk.

Shelley poked her head into my office. "Is everything okay,Tatum?"

"Not really. I’ve been laid off. I was just gathering my thoughts before I take my things and get into the car." Taking another sip of water, I stood, steadying myself against the desk. "Would you mind helping me carry these boxes down to mycar?"

"Not atall."

I smiled at her and grabbed my purse and a box while she grabbed the other one, and we walked out of theoffice.

I grabbed my mail asI walked into my apartment building and headed to the elevator. I planned on ordering Chinese and drinking a couple of bottles of wine tonight. As I approached my apartment, I saw a box lying on the floor outside my door. Getting closer, I saw it was from a local florist. The little window in the box displayed about three dozen long-stem red roses. Picking it up, I opened the card on thefront.

"Be mine again, LoveDean"

Rolling my eyes, I opened the apartment door. Once inside, I set the box of flowers on the counter and the rest of my stuff on the table. I removed my shoes and went to sit on the couch when someone knocked on thedoor.

Frowning, I checked the peephole first as I wasn’t expecting anyone. Dean stood on the other side. He knocked again. I rested my head against the door, trying to decide if I should let him in. The fear of what happened the other night was still vivid in my mind. If I let him in, I didn't want to fight, and I didn't want to get hitagain.

"Tatum, youthere?"

Taking a deep breath, I stood back and opened thedoor.

"Hey sweetie." He smiled at me and stepped inside. "Did you get myflowers?"

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