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James wrapped his arms around my waist, hugging me gently. “It’ll be fine. It’ll go one of two ways. Either he complains and lets it go or we are just here to pick up your stuff. Either way, I’ll be right by your side.”
I buried my face against him, breathing him in. “Okay. Thank you.”
The elevator chimed, alerting us to our arrival and the doors slid open. It wasn’t an overly big office. One large room with cubicles and a couple private offices over to one side. The part time receptionist, Jenny, was already there, drinking her coffee and playing on her phone. She had no interest in her job and was only there because her husband told her to get a job and start contributing or he was cutting her off. She shot me a bored look before doing a double take.
“Elizabeth! You’re back!”
I smiled politely. It didn’t matter that I had been working here for a little over a year, I never really got comfortable around my coworkers. We didn’t have a lot in common.
Luckily, my cubicle was pretty close to the entrance because my feet were already throbbing and I couldn’t wait to sit down. It was the first time I ever thought that I was lucky to sit there. Generally, it bothered me because I was so close to Mr. Doolittle’s office. Stepping around the tall grey divider, I froze.
My desk was destroyed. Papers tossed everywhere, personal items in pieces, the little plant I kept at my desk torn out of its pot and thrown on the ground. It was starting to get really frustrating that people kept destroying my things. I sighed, putting my bag down to start cleaning it up but James’s hand on my shoulder stopped me.
I glanced behind me, taking him in. He looked furious, a muscle in his jaw twitching. “Don’t touch anything. I’m going to call Liam, just wait here.” He stormed off without another word. I looked back at the mess. What would Liam be able to do?
Jenny peeked over the divider, grimacing. “Yeah, sorry about that. He went on a rampage yesterday and we didn’t want his attention turned on us. We worried he’d get violent with someone. At least you weren’t here.”
I nodded lightly. I got it. I wouldn’t want to confront a person who was acting like that either. “He’s not in yet, is he?”
She snorted. “Yeah right. He doesn’t get in before ten, you know that.”
It’s why I always got here early, so I could actually get some work done before he started demanding stuff from me. Stepping away from the desk, I limped over to the chairs by the reception area, sinking into them with a defeated sigh. Maybe the universe was telling me I own too much stuff by having people destroy it all.
James joined me, taking my hand. “Liam’s got a friend at the police station nearby. He’s on his way. We’ll do everything by the book so you don’t have to worry about anything, okay?”
I forced a smile but I felt numb and just plain tired. James petted my hair, pulling me close so he could kiss my forehead. I leaned against him, closing my eyes.
It seemed like a race between who would get there first, the officer or the asshole. I was betting on the officer but Mr. Doolittle arrived early for once. His eyes locked on me as he walked in and he sneered.
“What are you doing here?”
I stood, James at my back as I faced down the worst boss ever. “Well, I was here to work but I don’t think that’s a possibility now.”
“You should have thought of that before you decided to skip work without permission. I don’t give second chances here. Get out.”
I felt the tension rolling off James. “We will. As soon as the police arrive to see the damage you’ve done.”
Mr. Doolittle scowled at him. “It’s my office, my property. And I don’t allow visitors either so you need to leave before I call security.”
“That won’t be necessary,” a smooth voice called. A uniformed officer walked up to us, his face grim. He was handsome. Caramel colored skin, jet black hair, and eyelashes that would make any woman jealous. He was a little shorter than James but who wasn’t? His eyes were narrowed on Mr. Doolittle as he stepped up to us.
“There was a call about property damage.”
With an exaggerated roll of his eyes, Mr. Doolittle crossed his arms. “It’s my office! I can do what I want in it!”
“Not if it’s not your property. That’s not how it works.” He took down our names before introducing himself. When he turned to me, his eyes softened. “I’m Darren Michelson. Can you show me what happened?”
I nodded, trying and failing to come to my feet quickly. James had to help me. Maybe resting for a few days would’ve been a good idea because my feet seriously hurt. It didn’t help that I stuffed them into flats with absolutely no cushion in order to keep up with the ‘professional appearance’ requirement.
Darren frowned at me. “Were you hurt during the incident?” He jerked his head to Mr. Doolittle, who paled a little.
I shook my head. “I got hurt a few days ago. I took a day off yesterday in order to rest and Mr. Doolittle took issue with that.” I walked the officer over to my desk, pointing at it. “This was the result.” I honestly wasn’t overly attached to most of the stuff I had at my desk, but I did thoroughly enjoy the look on Mr. Doolittle’s face when Officer Darren glared at him.
“She took time off without permission! She disrupted the entire work day!” Mr. Doolittle screeched.
Officer Darren was writing everything in his little notebook, nodding but he seemed really tense. “So, what? She was out of sick days? Does she call out often?”
There was a snort from the reception area and suddenly Jenny appeared, peeking over the divider. “This was the first time Elizabeth missed work since she started. And company policy allots us five sick days a year.”
