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Walking into the room, Natalia brought a blanket of silence with her. Apparently relieved of duty, Adriana walked away, explaining the situation to the person on the phone.
“This is so humiliating,” Lola whispered like glass shattering. “I’m getting fired.”
If Carmen held Lola any closer, she’d crush her, and yet, it wasn’t enough. She had the overwhelming urge to tuck her inside her chest. To protect her in every possible way.
“She doesn’t want you here,” Natalia said as she sauntered forward like she stood ten feet above the rest of them. “Go.”
Lola’s mother took a step backward, face red and the vein in her forehead throbbing. “How dare you speak to me this way? You, of all people. She looks up to you, you know? Idolizes you. And you treat her like the bottom of the barrel.”
“If I ever see you here again, you will regret it,” Natalia said calmly, never stopping, always moving forward, pushing the other woman toward the elevator with an invisible force field.
“Are you behind this?” she replied in desperation. “Have you convinced her to believe lies about me because you want to steal my daughter away from me? She will never be yours. I gave her my body! Do you know what kind of sacrifice that is? To have a parasite growing inside of you, taking everything—”
“Having Lola in your life is a privilege you have abused.” Natalia stopped a second before the other woman’s back hit the elevator. With Adriana at Natalia’s side, the two of them corralled Lola’s mother without touching her. “Get out.”
The elevator door dinged, but Carmen was already leading Lola back through the frosted glass door.
“What the hell are you looking at?” a redhead at the head of a line of worktables snapped at the people gawking at Lola. “Get the hell back to work,” she barked before giving Carmen a stricken, apologetic expression.
“She’s going to fire me,” was all Lola was saying, like she was stuck on a loop.
“This isn’t your fault.” Carmen reached for a reason. “I’m so sorry this happened. Are you okay? Do you want me to call your therapist? Set an emergency meeting—”
“She’s going to fire me,” she repeated, as if she only had to say it enough times and it would ward off the event.
“Natalia is not—”
“Lola,” Natalia said as she strode past them in a very graceful stomp. “My office. Now.”
Wide eyes watery, Lola looked at Carmen like she was going to be sick.
“Whatever happens…” Carmen squeezed her before letting her go. “It’s going to be okay, I promise,” she vowed. “No matter what. You got this,” she added instead ofI love you.
Dazed, Lola floated away and toward Natalia’s office. Unsure of what to do, Carmen stood in the middle of Dominion until the redhead returned, introduced herself as Martina, and took Carmen to Lola’s office, where she closed the shades for her.
Stunned, Carmen had nothing to do but wait. Reminding herself over and over that Natalia wouldn’t fire Lola over something like this, she paced and prayed. No one loved their job more than Lola. Natalia knew that, right?
CHAPTER58
This is it,Lola thought as she tried to remember how to walk normally.This is your last day at Dominion.
A mass formed like a choking expanse across her chest and up her throat. Of all the things her mother had ruined, this was by far the worst. It made the time sheborrowedLola’s tuition money and failed to replace it feel like a funny prank.
Pushed to the brink, her mother had really taken everything now. Left her empty and humiliated in front of the only people whose opinion mattered. Probably made Carmen want to run instead of getting caught up in her mess. Definitely made Natalia realize that she didn’t belong there, and she needed to go.
It was over, Lola accepted with a pulverized heart. She’d been so close to having it all. To being bone-deep happy. She should have known better than to think she was the kind of person who got that kind of treatment from the universe. Should’ve known better than to trust.
As soon as she stepped into the corner office, Natalia was already lowering the shades. At least she wasn’t going to let the entire office watch her get fired. That was a small kindness.
Natalia sat in her high-backed navy leather chair. She didn’t speak until Lola sat across from her. She wasn’t sure why she needed to sit. It didn’t take all that long to saypack your shit and go.
“They say pressure makes diamonds,” Natalia started, legs crossed and leaning back in her chair. “I usually saytheyare idiots, but in this case, they’re not wrong. Just incomplete.” She looked at Lola, eyes searching but not angry like she expected or vibrating with disappointment. “It doesn’t just form diamonds — it makes leaders.”
Numb, confused, on the verge of disassociating, Lola stared. Just stared. She couldn’t even find the energy to blink.
“Whatwe overcome shapeswhowe become.” Natalia jutted her perfect chin in the air. “Those who don’t break, thrive.”
Lola furrowed her brow. If this is what thriving felt like, she sure as shit had been picturing it all wrong.
