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"In that case, I vote you try to forget about all of this for a little while and just relax. We can watch a movie with Addy. Girls night!"
"As long as that comes with a big glass of wine, sign me up."
* * *
The next morning,I head into work but don't push the button on the elevator for my usual floor. I trail my fingers up to the highest number and suck in a deep breath as it takes off.
"I'm going all the way to the top today," I mutter to myself, full of determination. But no matter how determined I am, I had really hoped I would be going up to the top floor someday in the distant future for very different reasons...like a promotion or special recognition. Not to plead with Sturgill to not let Ashford fire me for no good reason.
The moment I step off the elevator on the top floor of Bardot, I see a look of recognition wash over the receptionist's face. She must have suspected I'd show up here like this, because she quickly scrambles to call security. I break into a sprint just in time to hang up the call before she can connect with them.
"Are you out of your mind?" she barks.
"Not usually," I reply. "But you know how it is with men. They make us act a little crazy from time to time. Surely you can relate." She softens just enough to let me know she understands. "I'm sure you can also relate to how hard it is to make it in a male dominated industry. After years of working my butt off, I finally got my foot in the door here…only to find that the worst ex of my life was already one of the higher ups at Bardot. First, he tried to stop them from hiring me. I talked some sense into them, and now he's planning to fire me for no reason. Well…at least not for any professional reason."
The whole time I'm talking, the woman listens carefully - chewing her gum and hanging on my every word. We're both so wrapped up in my nutshell of a story that we don't notice when the door to Sturgill's office opens.
"Sheila, she's fine," he sighs, waving to me. "Come on in, Dr. Lopez."
Sheila and I flash each other a look. Just before I walk off, she silently mouths to me, "Good luck."
"Sturgill, I am so so sorry for just barging in on you like this," I offer as he shows me into his office. "I didn't know how else I'd ever get an opportunity to explain myself. Thank you so much for seeing me."
"Sit down," he barks with an unreadable expression.
I clear my throat and do as he says, nervously clutching my bag in my lap with sweaty palms.
"I heard everything you were saying out there," he tells me.
I nod, swallowing hard. "So…then you know Dr. Ashford is trying to get me fired."
"Why don't you start by telling me what it is you came here to say today?" he counters.
"Okay." I pause, taking in a shaky breath and releasing it again.
I proceed to tell him absolutely everything - the good, the bad, and the ugly. I tell him all about how on the same day I found out my sister didn't have much time left, I also caught Ashford cheating on me. I confess that I lied to him about being a reporter just to get Ashford to face me and tell me why he was trying to sabotage this for me. I make it clear that I truly did feel discriminated against when I threatened to sue them.
"It just so happens that…well, I wanted this job more than I wanted vengeance or justice," I explain. "So when you offered it to me, I was more than happy to let the past be the past. But with all due respect, Mr. Bardot, it was unreasonable to force me to work with Dr. Ashford so closely after what he did, after me reporting him like that. If he had been abusive or at risk of harassing or assaulting me…just imagine how bad this could have been."
"Are you saying this isn't going to spiral into a harassment or assault case?" he asks.
"No. Because that's not what happened," I reply. "I would never lie–" He gives a stern accusing look, forcing me to backtrack. "I would never lie…about that. Look, I know I'm not perfect. I've made my mistakes in this, but so has this administration. You forced us to work together, and we apparently weren't strong enough to keep the past in the past. I know it was wrong for us to get involved again, but it was mutual. I don't think I should be fired for something we both consented to and participated in. I shouldn't be fired just because Dr. Ashford is too scared of what was happening between us outside of work."
He nods thoughtfully, then rubs his head like he's fending off a headache. "You're right," he sighs. "And you're not getting fired for it."
"I'm not?" I puzzle. "You…you're not going to accept Ashford's letter of termination? I…I saw it on his desk."
"I gave him a choice. I told him it was you or him. One of you had to go. I'll spare you the embarrassing details, but suffice it to say…your little encounter in the lab didn't go unnoticed."
Shit. My heart drops to the pit of my stomach as I instantly realize what he means. Of course there must have been cameras in the lab. How could we have been so careless?
My cheeks turn bright red and it's 20 times harder to face Sturgill now that I know he has very likely seen me having sex with Ashford on camera. I can only pray that he didn't watch all of it.
"Dr. Ashford put in his resignation this morning," he explains. "And now we know he made the right choice. Because with your confession today…we would have fired him anyway."
I breathe a deep sigh of relief as I lean back in my chair. I'm not fired. And Ashford is going to be okay...even if he is moving on from here.
"So…what happens now?" I ask Sturgill.
