Accepting Destiny (5 page)

But
when I get there my office is empty, so I breathe a sigh of relief. I’ve had a shit morning, and I really don’t want to have to deal with her.

I open my email program and scan the messages, seeing one from HR. Uh oh, they want to see me at ten o’clock. I look at my watch
, and its nine forty five already. Damn I really was late this morning. I have to nip that in the bud really quickly, because Robertson Industries doesn’t tolerate tardiness.

I walk down the hall and peek in to Tim’s office. “I have a meeting with HR, I’ll be back shortly.” He nods as he looks at me, like he knows what this meeting is about.

HR is down on the eighth floor, so I head towards the elevator and silently wonder to myself why they want to see me. I shake it off to the promotion, new benefits and things. Yeah, that’s probably it. The doors open, and I stroll down the hallway towards their office.

“Alexandra Sanders,
” I tell the receptionist, “I have an appointment at ten.”

“Yes, Ms. Sanders. Have a seat,
Leslie will be with you shortly,” she tells me, as I take a seat, my palms sweating and my fingers twisting together. At least I’m meeting with Leslie. I like her, and she’s not intimidating, but I can’t help but be nervous.

“Alexandra?” I pop my head up when I hear my name.

“Hey, Leslie. How are you?” I ask, as I stand up, walking towards her.

“Not bad this morning. You?”

“Umm, okay I guess.” I reply with a shaky voice.

“It’s okay Ally, no need to be nervous.” Gee, am I that transparent?

I follow her to her office, and she waves me in ahead of her, closing the door behind her. “Have a seat,” She says.

So I do as I’m told, like a good girl and sit. I really want to be standing and pacing, but I figure that won’t look too good.

“So, I’m just going to cut to the chase. Tell me what happened with Sally Armstrong yesterday.”

Shit, maybe I am in trouble. I knew there was a reason why I hadn’t seen her this morning. My heart is now in my throat
and I can’t swallow, but I force the excess spit down my throat and open my mouth.

“We had
an altercation in the rest room,” I begin. “She’s been nosing around in my personal life, since I went to Miami with my friend Heather, a few months ago. She keeps asking questions and wanting to know about things that don’t concern her. I’ve been putting up with it for months and months and yesterday, I finally snapped I guess.”

“I overslept yesterday for the first time in the three years I have been here
, and she just couldn’t let it go, wanting to know why I was late. I figured it wasn’t her business, and I pretty much told her as much,” I pause, taking a deep breath. “Am I in trouble, Leslie?”

She shakes her head, “No Ally, you aren’t.” She sits back in her chair and rocks in it. “Sally was terminated yesterday
, and I just needed to confirm the facts with you as she threatened an EEOC suit. You may be called to make a statement with the corporate attorney, if she follows through with her threats. I personally don’t think it will go that far, but I needed you to be aware of the situation, and, as usual....this matter is to be kept confidential amongst other employees. If someone comes to you asking questions, direct them to me.”

I nodded my head in agreement.

“That is all, oh wait. Here,” And she slides some papers over to me. “Your new benefits package. Congratulations on the promotion.”

“Thanks,
” I say, finally feeling like I will get out of this meeting unscathed.

“
Just go over the information, sign where indicated and send them back to me by the end of the week, so I can update payroll.”

“Okay, thanks,
” I stand to leave.

“And Ally? Don’t worry about this Sally stuff. I’ve had complaints about her before
, and she’d been warned, so this shouldn’t have come as a big surprise to her. Even if she files suit, she doesn’t have a snowball’s chance in hell of winning, but you let me know if she tries to contact you.”

“I will, t
hanks, have a good day!” I say on a small smile as I exit her office.

I haven’t been sitting at my desk more than five minutes before Tim walks in, quietly knocking on the open door. I look at him and see a serious look on his face. “You okay?” He asks.

“Yeah, I still have a job, so that’s a good thing,” I reply.

“Did you really think you’d be fired, Ally?” He shakes his head. “Sally had it coming for a while, yesterday was just the
final straw.”

“I know, but I still feel bad she lost her job because of me.”

“No Ally, she lost her job because of herself, not you. You aren’t the only one she bothered, trust me. She had this coming for a while. I’m just sorry that she set her sights on you, even after she had been warned time and time again.”

“Still, it’s hard enough to find a job nowadays, and now she has this on her record. I feel sorry for her, really. She spent so much time trying....heck, I’m not sure what she was trying to do. Whatever it was didn’t work, so maybe this is for the best.”

“Well, it’s over, and now we get to interview people for your assistant, and Mr. McKinley as well, since he needs a new one too. That being said, I have a few interviews this afternoon, so clear your schedule. First appointment is at two o’clock, right after lunch,” he says, as he hands me a sheet of paper. “I know you’ve never interviewed before, so here are some sample questions to ask. Read over them and pick the ones you like.” And he stands to leave. “We’ll meet them each in the conference room. Carly, will call us as they arrive.”

He leaves
, and I ram my head in to my desk. What a day this has been and it’s not even eleven o’clock yet. Can it get any worse? Shaking my head I think, yeah it probably could. When it rains, it pours, and I still have to figure out how I’m getting home. That makes me think of Heather and I get angry all over again.

I grab my phone out of my purse
, and I see I have a text from her. Do I really want to read it, or just discard it, and move on? She’s been my friend for so long, but she has really stepped over the line, and I’m not sure I can forgive her this time.

However,
curiosity always kills the cat, so I swipe the unlock screen and read the text.

H - Sry abt this morning!

Really? That’s all she has to say about standing me up? Bile rises in my throat, and the anger becomes almost unbearable, but I refrain from throwing my phone across the room. I need this phone, and damned if I want to have to go buy another one. I search my desk, looking for something else to throw, but everything else belongs to the office. All I need is to get in trouble for destroying company property.

So I toss the phone back in to my bag without responding, slamming my desk drawer closed. Hey, my mother taught me to not say anything
, if I can’t say something good, so I let it go. For now anyway, I’ve been here two hours already and accomplished nothing and I need to get to work.

I have to get ready for these interviews, but I have a slew of emails to go through as well. As I quickly go through them, deleting what’s not important and filing the others away in folders, my desk phone rings.

“Ally Sanders,” I say as I pick up the phone to hear Carly on the other line.

“Hi Ally, it’s Carly. You hav
e a delivery; want me to bring it back?”

“Sure, thanks!” I say, replacing the phone in the cradle. Great, what could this be? I’ve gotten more deliveries in the past few days than I have ever had in my life. I can only imagine that it must be from Jackson, because he’s the only one that sends things. Almost like he has an issue with delivering them in person for fear of me turning it down. About that time my stomach growls, maybe it’s another food basket?

Carly taps on my door and steps in, holding a small box wrapped in white paper with a bright blue bow. Jewelry? Surely not, but that’s the kind of box it is. “Any idea who it’s from?” I ask her.

“Nope, courier delivered it with no sender information.”

“Okay, thanks,” I say as I take the box from her. She stands there waiting and watching. “Thank you, Carly. That will be all.” I tell her as she sulks and leaves the office.

I stare at the box for a few minutes, but I finally figure out it’s not going to open itself. I remove the paper and lift the lid
, while squinting my eyes, almost afraid to look inside. All I see is a cotton pad covering whatever is inside. Lifting the cotton, I see a key fob. No key, just a fob, and a small envelope.

“What the hell is this?” I say to myself as I look over the fancy lookin
g
keychai
n
with the word
,
NISSA
N
on it. Oh no he didn’t!! I pull out the note, and slip the small piece of paper out of the envelope.

Parking garage, spot 6C. - J

“What the hell?” I say to myself, as I head towards the elevators. I meet Tim in the hallway. “I’ve gotta run downstairs real quick, I’ll be right back,” I tell him as I keep walking.

“Ally, is everythi
ng okay?” He asks, concern filling his eyes.

“I’m not sure. I’ll
let you know when I get back up,” I say, as he steps into the elevator with me.

“I’ll come w
ith you, you look kinda spooked,” he says, and I nod, because he’s right, I am spooked.

The elevator doors open
, and I step in to the parking garage, Tim at my heels. He’s staying so close to me, that when I stop and turn around, he almost hits me. “Tim, really? You don’t have to walk so close to me,” I say with a chuckle. He backs off, but not by much.

I walk up row C and stop dead in my tracks in front of parking spot 6. There sits a shiny black Nissan Maxima
, with one Jackson Bentley leaning against the driver side door, looking as smug as ever.

Tim is behind me
, and I can’t speak. Jackson just looks at me, smiling, and I struggle to make my lips work. Tim nudges me from behind, and I finally find my voice. “What is this?”

“It’s a car, Ally. The one you were looking at last night.”

“I can see that, but why is it here and why are you here?” I ask, knowing the answers to my questions. Still, I need to hear him say it, because we all know what assuming does.

“Click the re
mote and unlock the doors, Ally,” Jackson tells me as he pushes off of the door, stepping back. I click the fob, and the lights flash, indicating the doors are now unlocked. Jackson opens the driver side door, and motions me forward. “Get in. See how it feels.”

“Why would I do that Jackson?”

“Ally, don’t be silly. This is your car. I bought it for you.”

“You what? Why? I told you I could do this on my own
, and I don’t need you saving the day. Jesus, doesn’t anyone listen to me anymore?” I scream out, turning to Tim, hoping for a little help, but he’s disappeared and I see him getting back on the elevator. Great. “Thanks for your help, Tim!” I holler towards him, as the elevator doors close. I know he heard me, but he made no effort to come back.

“Get in, Ally.”

“No. I’m not accepting this, Jackson,” I say as I reach my hand out, holding the key fob in my hand. “I will do this on my own, you can keep it.” But he doesn’t take the key from me.

“Yes, you will ac
cept it. Consider it an apology,” he says.

“Really? If you wanted to apologize, then apologize! Send flowers
, or a note, but a fucking car? I can’t believe this.” I say as I turn my back to him, running my fingers through my hair. He comes up behind me, wraps his arms around me, and pulls my body against his, but I struggle free and move out of his arms. His touch makes me weak, and right now I need to be strong.

“What’s the catch, Jackson? No one buys someone a car as an apology. I’m not accepting it, I can’t.” I tell him
, while shaking my head, my fingers fiddling with the key fob. “I won’t feel obligated to you, or anyone else, I am not a charity case. I make good money now, and can afford my own car, damn it. Even Tim walked away from this cluster fuck, Jackson. Thank you, but no thank you.” I tell him as I try again to hand him the key, but he’s not reaching out to take it. So, I take the mature way out and throw the key at him, the clinking sound echoing throughout the parking garage, and I walk away.

There. That ought to show him.

My heels clicking on the concrete deafen me, pounding in my ears. Or is that my heart beat? I can’t be sure, but I continue my march towards the elevator doors, alone. Jackson is not following me, and he’s said nothing. My face is hot, and I’m sweating I’m so angry. Maybe I need to take some anger management classes, because this is getting ridiculous. After the sweet, hot night, Jackson and I had, I thought things were changing for the better, but then he goes and does this. I can’t handle it.

I get back to my desk
, and start working, though my mind is all over the place. I decide to skip lunch, even though my stomach is rumbling. I can’t imagine I would be successful keeping anything down right now. I’ll grab some crackers later.

As I’m finishing up a spread sheet, Tim walks in
, and sits down. “What was that all about, Al?”

“You know, I could have used your help down there
, Tim. But you took the cowardly way out and left me there hanging.”

“It seemed like a personal matter. I didn’t figure you’d want me around during that. What happened
, by the way?” He asks.

“What do you think happened? He wouldn’t take the key back, so I threw it at him
, and left. I’m not taking the damn car.”

“Why would he buy you a car
, anyway?”

“Heck if I know, he said it was an apology. For what? I’m not sure, there have been so many infractions
, that I don’t know what the apology is actually for, and I didn’t stick around for him to tell me. I thought he was.......” I fade off, not sure how to continue. “We’ve got this...love, slash, hate, relationship, I think. He says he loves me,, and I think I hate him.” I laugh at that. “I really don’t hate him, I just hate what he does sometimes.”

“Is he violent towards you, Ally?” Tim asks, concern written all over his endearing face.

“Oh no way, if anything he’s the exact opposite. He’s possessive, demanding and totally adorable. Gosh I am such a mess.” I mumble, placing my head in my hands, tears threatening to spill out all over my keyboard.

“Sounds like he’s got your heart tied up in knots, Al. Maybe you should give him a chance to explain.”

I shrug my shoulders, more confused than ever, since it was Tim that once told me to stay away from him while pushing me to have dinner with him. He hasn’t helped matters much.

“There’s nothing to explain, Tim. He bought me a car, for Pete’s sake. A car! He could have sent a card
, or just told me he was sorry. I’m not sure he knows how to explain anything, he just does things thinking his overbearing methods will make it all right, when it only makes things, worse.”

“Well, don’t give up on him just yet. If he bought you a car, then he has some strong feelings for you. Hell, I didn’t even buy my wife a car
, until we’d been married for three years,” he chuckled. “What does Heather say about all of this?”

Flashes of light blink in my vision
, and I almost get dizzy over it. “Haven’t told her, because the bitch stood me up this morning.” I say as I pop my hand over my mouth. “Sorry about that, she just made me angry this morning, and I haven’t spoken to her all day. She’s another one that likes to interfere too much. Do people really believe that I can’t take care of myself?” I ask him, truly wanting an honest answer.

“I don’t think that’s it, Al. I think people want the best for you. You’ve worked hard to get where you are
, and you deserve to be happy and cared for. Don’t think too much about it, and just go with it. But be careful, I don’t want to see you get hurt.”

“I think that’s what the problem is. What they’re doing hurts
, and when I ask them to stop, they just keep going. Last night I was with Chase at the dealership looking at cars......”

“Wait, who is Chase?” Tim asks.

“The undercover cop that Jackson had hired to protect me, when all that mess with Madison Stone was going down. Jackson was helping investigate the drug runners that supplied her with the fatal dose. He came to see me yesterday as I was leaving, and he took me to the dealership since my car died. We were looking at cars, when Jackson showed up, thanks to Heather.”

Tim just sits there, nodding like he knows exactly what I’m talking about. Course, I know he doesn’t
, but I guess when you have nothing to say, it’s best to keep your mouth shut. Seems I have that problem too, whenever Jackson is involved, but I continue.

“There was a showdown in the parking lot
, and I called Heather to come get me, leaving Jackson standing in the parking lot. Then, this morning Heather was supposed to bring me to work and she never appeared, but Jackson did. They seem to be working together, and it’s driving me crazy. Maybe Heather and Jackson would be a better couple, because I can’t handle it.”

Tim laughed at that thought. “Maybe.”

My phone rings, and its Carly advising us our two o’clock appointment is here. Tim and I get up, and head to the conference room, while Carly shows them into the conference room.

After three interviews and no prospects, I sit back down at my desk prepared to call a taxi
, to take me home. Well, not home exactly. I need to go buy a car,since I ever so politely turned down Jackson’
s
littl
e
gift. About that time, Carly comes flying in to my office, to tell me someone is here to see me. The look in her eyes told me exactly why she didn’t just call. “Send him in, Carly. I guess I need to face the music.”

A few short minutes later
,Carly arrives with Jackson in tow. The look in Carly’s eyes tells me she’s smitten with him and extremely jealous. One of thos
e
“You go girl!
”
looks. I roll my eyes back at her and her sneaks off, back to her desk. Or at least I hope she goes back to her desk, because I have a feeling this conversation is about to get ugly.

Jackson closes the door
, and proceeds to sit down in the chair opposite my desk, while looking around the small room, taking it all in. “So, this is your office huh?” He asks, his eyes locked on a generic piece of artwork on the wall. “You’d think it would be designed better, considering this is a design firm.”

“Yeah, well. I just moved in
, and haven’t had time to do anything with it yet. We’ve been interviewing all day and between that and the Perimeter project, I have no time. Once construction begins, I’ll have time to put my own personal touch in here.”

He sits there quietly as he places
the key fob to the car on my desk.

“Jackson, I’m not.....”

“Ally, please. After all I’ve put you through, with the investigation and the danger that put you in, please, accept this as my apology and a congratulations. I want to do this, and I’d really like for you to accept the car, no strings attached.”

“Strings? Of course there are strings, there always are. I just.....” And I drift off
, because that’s all I’ve got at the moment. I’m tired, stressed and done with this day. But then, the light bulb goes off in my tiny brain.

“I’ll
accept the car on one condition.” He looks at me with his brow raised, like he can’t believe I just issued a challenge. “I make payments to you, until it’s paid for.”

And he actually laughed!

“No, no conditions Ally. The car is yours, titled to you, and paid for in full.”

“But....”

“No butts, Ally. Unless it’s your bare butt in my hands.”

Whoa. Where did that come from? “Shhhh, I am at work you know. They just fired a girl yesterday for harassing employees, I don’t need to be next.”