AllFreeNovel
Share Us
Jessica looked up and saw Brian standing an arm’s length away. He was holding her cotton candy. He had given her enough space so that she could have this conversation alone, but he was still watching her.
Did he know that they were trying to reach her? That Ms. Prince wanted her to present the findings? Did that mean that Ms. Prince had made a decision about who she would be throwing her support behind to be the interim CFO? Not even two weeks ago Jessica would have been dancing for joy at this call. Now it was like a big needle, and it just burst the bubble of happiness she had constructed.
What had happened to the Jessica Tingles who wanted to get the position and not be looked over any longer? It seemed as though everything that she had been working for was finally going to be offered to her. It would be a validation of all the years that she had been passed up by other people. Even if it was just an interim position, it would still be enough to prove to others that they had been wrong to not give her a chance.
“Ms. Tingles, are you there?”
“Yes, I'm sorry, there seemed to have been a disconnect on the phone,” she said in a slow voice. She looked up and there was Brian. She said the first thing that came to her mind. “I don't know if I'll be able to make it because I'm not sure we'll be done with our work.”
“If your work isn't done, you can bring what you have and go back later,” Ms. Cruz said. “I understand that you may feel as though you are in an awkward position. I know that you were sent there in order to assist Mr. Cholan. However, I want you to know that the final decision will be made by Ms. Prince. It is in your best interest to make sure that you are here on the third.”
“Isn't the third next Wednesday?”
“Yes it is. That's when Ms. Prince has called a meeting with the board, and it is also her first availability.”
“Why don't I look at how much work is left and then I'll give you a call back.”
“Now, I don't think you understand, Miss Tingles. Your CEO is telling you to be somewhere on the third. You make whatever arrangements that you need to but do make sure that at 10:30 on the third you are in this office to attend her meeting. If you find yourself short of funds or need something else in order to make that meeting, please feel free to send me an email and I will address all of those needs.”
All the while Ms. Cruz was talking, Jessica was looking at Brian. What was she going to say? Was this going to ruin today and anything else they might have had? Was she willing to go ahead and throw away everything she had been working for at Butler?
“Thank you, Ms. Cruz, I'll take care of that.” With those words, Jessica hung up the phone and stood up to go to Brian.
“Is everything okay?”
“Okay? Oh, you mean because of the phone call. It was a meeting I'm just not sure about. We don't want to be late for dinner. Why don't we head back now okay?”
“No problem. Remember, it's anything that you want, Jessica. Whatever you want to do and whatever works best for you, that's what we'll do.”
She heard him say the words but if he knew what Ms. Prince was planning, would it matter? She was scared that the carte blanche card wasn’t applicable when it came to their careers. She just wanted to get back to the hotel. This might all end soon, and she wanted to have the memories just in case.
* * *
He knew something was wrong. Brian didn't need a fortune teller to let him know that the phone call had disrupted his happiness. What made it worse was he didn't know who was on the phone call. He couldn't fight something he couldn't face or talk to.
Up until that very moment everything had been going to plan. They had found a way to socialize, be with each other period. Jessica had been able to talk to other people and actually let loose when she got to the checkers and chess board games. Then when they had been walking along arm in arm, it was as if they had been doing that forever. In that moment he saw not only that day but their future and how they could be. This was the deal of his life, and he didn't want to blow it. Jessica had said she would give him the day so he could show her a new way they could live. She kept to her word and up until that moment, he thought that everything had been perfect.
Now they were back in the hotel room. Jessica was talking but he felt as though that she was talking just to fill the space.
“I thought the golf cart was really nice and the coloring was amazing, too. Did you see the way that they maintain all the carts and keep them in the back? I wonder if they will go ahead and hire someone to do that. I wonder if —”
Brian walked up to Jessica and put his hands on her shoulders and then began to massage them. “I wonder if you trust me enough after today to tell me what happened on the phone call?”
A small gasp escaped from Jessica, and she shook her head. “I told you it was about a meeting.”
“You know what, I don't doubt that it is about the meeting. I just think there's more to it than it's just a meeting. I thought we were making progress and so much closer than us telling lies of omission.”
Everything in Brian wanted to take the words back and tell her that it didn't matter. However, he could tell from the look on her face that whatever had happened on that call hadn't just affected her, but it had affected them.
“Just because you were nice to me and just because things seem like they're going in the right direction, doesn't mean that it's true. You know lots of things could go wrong. People who have more in common than we do break up and things just go south,” she stammered. “Look, why don't we make a deal? I won't ask you about your phone calls and you don't ask me about mine, because that could be a little much.”
“Jessica, I'm not going anywhere. There's nothing you could say that's going to push me away.”
“You don't know that,” she answered him in a small voice.
Brian smiled. “I know that, Jessica. All good relationships are based on truth and honesty.”
“Why can't you wait for me to give you the truth?”
