AllFreeNovel
Share Us
“Sophie?”
For one moment the male voice sends a shot of hope through my body. But it’s not Liam, it’s Donald. He’s looking as surprised as Lisa did, and I’m starting to realize that Michael’s been waiting for this opportunity to screw me over.
“Hello.” My voice wavers as I stand. Lisa conveniently walks over to the filing cabinets and pretends to look through one. “I know Michael told you what happened. I’m so sorry. This is all my fault. I didn’t check the email address and I should have—”
He puts up his hand. “You can explain it at the meeting. In the board room. Nine o’clock.”
“I thought it was at ten.” And that I’m not invited.
Donald shakes his head. “No, it’s definitely at nine.”
Michael. Again. Part of me wants to walk into the studio and scream at him.
But he couldn’t have been able to do this if I hadn’t messed up. I have to take my fair share of responsibility for that.
“I’ll be there,” I tell him.
“I should think so.” He turns and walks out, and Lisa puts her arm around me.
“It’s just an email address,” she says. “You didn’t kill anybody. Try to not look so scared. Listen, I have to go and do the sports update on the website, but I’ll be around. Come find me after the meeting. No matter what happens.”
I nod. “Okay.”
She’s silent for a moment, and then she squeezes me tight. “It’s going to be okay.”
It’s funny how she’s using the same words Ava did. Neither of them fill me with hope. They’re the kind of words I’d use if I was comforting somebody. And yeah, eventually I will be okay. Maybe.
But right now it doesn’t feel that way. I’ve messed everything up. I can’t believe I left Liam without saying a word.
When she leaves I pull out my phone, checking my messages, my texts, my emails. There’s nothing from him. The last message I sent doesn’t have a read tick next to it. And there’s no read receipt from the email either.
That’s when I make the decision. Whatever happens at this meeting I’m going to leave straight after. Head back to Virginia to explain to him. I just need to see him, to tell him I’m sorry.
Because I’m starting to realize something. The thing I should have known all along.
That losing my job would be terrible. But I could recover from it.
But to lose him? That would be pure and utter devastation.
CHAPTERTHIRTY
SOPHIE
I try calling Liam before I have to go to the boardroom but he doesn’t pick up. Like the meeting room, the boardroom is on the top floor of the television station, but I take the stairs rather than take the elevator, mostly because the exercise will stop me from thinking too much.
Donald is already there, next to two men who are wearing almost identical dark suits and gray ties. Michael is on his right, looking annoyed as I walk in.
“Ah, Sophie. Take a seat, please.” Donald nods to the seat next to his assistant, Rhian. I don’t know her very well because she looks permanently harassed, but I nod at her and she does the same.
I wonder if she knows how much my job is in the balance. Probably she does, because next to her is Monica from HR. My chest constricts. HR never gets called into a meeting unless something is extremely wrong.
“Let me introduce you,” Donald says. “Sophie West. She works for Michael as our meteorologist. Sophie, you know Monica and Rhian, I believe. And next to me is Charles Faulkener of Faulkener and Spring. And Robert here is his associate.”
Both men nod at me. We’re too small a station to have a permanent legal department, so it’s outsourced to a local company.
“Hello,” I whisper as I situate myself.
“Well I think we all know why we are here,” Donald says. “Sophie, maybe you can explain to us exactly what happened.”
