The Sweetest Revenge (11 page)

I was deliriously happy that I
was wearing size eight again—of course I was— but that had not
been my goal. I actually had not had a goal. The weight had started
dropping off, discarding itself as no longer necessary. I would have
been happy at a larger size, but my body decided for me. It got back
to normal, which was size eight, the size I had worn my entire
teenage and adult life until I started gaining weight. Since I’d
thrown my scales away, I had no idea how much I weighed, and I didn’t
want to know. I was letting my body be my natural guide.

After my clothes-buying frenzy, I
stopped by the mall and visited the make-up counter for blush and eye
shadow, lipstick and fingernail polish. When October 28th rolled
around, I would be ready.

Chapter
Thirteen

On Monday, October 28th, at nine
a.m., I opened the door to the development department and walked
inside. I was wearing a cream-colored suit and aqua heels. My new
aqua leather purse was slung over my shoulder. I nodded my head at
Stacey. Everyone’s eyes were on me as I walked through their domain
and strode all the way back to the corner office, overlooking a
little courtyard.

After I was settled in my new
office, I buzzed my new secretary, Linda Beasley, and asked her to
come in. She walked through my door with a pad and pen in her hand.

“
Please sit down,” I gestured
at the chair in front of my desk. “I’d like to have a meeting of
all of the staff this afternoon in the conference room. Could you
arrange that for three?”

Linda nodded.

“
I’ve been gone a while,” I
said. “I need to be caught up on where we are with marketing and
communication efforts and annual fund and major gift endeavors. Is
there a way you can get me up to speed?”

“
I keep everybody’s weekly
reports on my computer,” Linda said. “I could print those out for
you.”

“
That would be a great start,”
I said. “And Linda, could you get some sort of snacks for our
meeting with some coffee and soft drinks? And water?”

“
Of course,” Linda said.

After Linda left, I turned to the
computers behind by desk, a Mac and a Windows. I had insisted on
both, and they were brand new. The tech guy had put all of the
necessary programs on each, and set my email back up.

I spent the morning reviewing the
weekly reports from the department heads that I was now supervising:
annual fund, major gifts, marketing. There was no report from the
director of communications because that had been me. I had told Steve
that I wanted to hire the new director.

Linda brought me a turkey
sandwich from the student center and I sat at my desk during lunch.
By three o’clock, I was ready for the meeting.

I walked into the conference
room. Everyone sat around the table, looking at me expectantly. I had
to become a leader, and that was scary to me.

Sheldon, the head of graphic
design sat two seats away from me. Blonde Ambition sat opposite from
him on the other side of the table. Carly sat on my right, and Linda
sat on my left to take notes.

“
Thank you for coming today,”
I started. “I’ve been gone for a while and I hope that each of
you will feel free to keep me informed. I’d like to have a weekly
meeting every Tuesday at ten. I would like to have your weekly
reports to me by three on Monday, so I have time to review them
before our meeting. As we move forward in this department, I hope
that we can work together for the greater good—promoting our
university in the best ways that our skills lead us. I look at all of
you now, and see nothing but talent. I’ve read your reports, but
I’d like each of you to tell me what’s going on in your area.”

And, one by one, they told me
where they were with marketing, publications, and fundraising. After
the reports, we all ate donuts and drank coffee, talking casually
among ourselves. I felt it had been a successful meeting when I got
back to my office at four thirty-five. I called Steve right away.

“
We need a director of
communications and I’d like that to be Carly Millings. She’s got
a lot of experience from that college in North Carolina, and she’s
been with us for a while now. But we’ll need to hire a
communications specialist to replace her current position.”

What else could Steve say but
okay? It was part of my contract that I could hire the people in my
department. And I was promoting Carly.

I was tired when I got home. It
had been so long since I’d kept regular hours, I was going to have
to adjust to it. I changed into my gown and fed Midnight. I made a
salad and a glass of wine. When I was finished eating I went to bed.

The next morning, I called Carly
into my office.

“
I’ve got so many different
areas to look after now,” I told her,” that I can’t focus
entirely on communications. That’s my first love, of course. But
we’ve got to have someone overseeing that department.”

“
I know,” Carly said. “I
thought they had interviewed a few people after you. . . left.”

“
That’s true. And I’ve
reviewed the resumes of those qualified candidates. But I really want
to work with someone that I know and trust. Someone that I know can
do the job we need to get done.”

“
Do you have anybody in mind?”
Carly asked. She looked so innocent as she sat in the leather chair
looking at me.

“
I certainly do,” I said
smiling at her. “You. I want you to be the director of
communications. You deserve it more than anyone else I know.”

Carly looked like she might start
crying, but she pulled herself together.

“
Are you offering me that job?”
she asked.

“
I definitely am offering you
the job. It comes with a thirty percent raise over what you’re
making now. I don’t have to tell you that it’s hard and stressful
work. You’ll have to work overtime even more than you do now.
You’ll have to attend all of the events. You’ll have to oversee
the production of every single publication that leaves this office.
Are you up for it?”

Carly stood up and looked me
straight in the eyes. “I’m up for it,” she said.

“
HR will be in touch this
afternoon,” I said. “You can go ahead and start moving your
things into my old office. It’s a pretty good place, as I recall.”

And that was my good deed for the
day. I had taken the university’s offer, but I was also on a
mission. A mission to make my workplace tolerable and empathetic.
Rewarding to those who deserved it. I didn’t have to be there, and
I was going to do the best I could to change that little world as
long as I was there.

After three weeks of work, I was
in charge of the department. We had our weekly meetings, I looked at
spreadsheets from Blond Ambition, I commented on the copy for
brochures and press releases, and I approved the graphics.

That’s when Steve called me and
said that Keith Richmond wanted to meet with me in the mountains. I
would take the necessary papers with me, and, if satisfied, Mr.
Richmond would sign them. Mr. Richmond would provide the notary.

“
Who else is going?” I asked
Steve.

“
No one,” he said. “He
wants to keep it cozy. I get the feeling he’s a pretty suspicious
person. Doesn’t trust easily.”

“
I’ll meet him,” I said.
What else did I have to do? A road trip to the mountains sounded
cleansing somehow.

“
I know it’s the day before
Thanksgiving,” Steve said.

“
It’s okay,” I said.

He’s expecting you at two at
the company headquarters.”

The next morning, I poured a lot
of dry cat food into Midnight’s bowl and gave her a Fancy Feast. I
was wearing my black suit and a magenta top. I tied it all together
with my magenta heels.

When I arrived at Richmond
Industries, a very large and exquisite log cabin, the secretary led
me back to Keith Richmond’s office. He was standing behind his desk
when I walked in and I could see surprise register on his face.

“
Ms. Sullivan,” he said
leading me to a leather couch. “I’m embarrassed to say that I
didn’t recognize you.”

We sat down and he looked at me.
“But I do recognize those blue eyes,” he said. “I’ll never
forget them.”

I didn’t know what to say to
that. “Thank you,” I murmured.

I handed him the papers.

“
Yes, they’ve emailed these
to me. I’m ready to sign them today,” he said. “It’s in
remembrance of my mother.”

He stood and called his secretary
in from his phone. He sat down beside me again and signed the papers.
His secretary notarized them, then took them off to be copied and
mailed.

“
I was hoping I could take you
out to dinner,” he said. “I know you might have Thanksgiving
plans.”

“
I have no plans,” I said. He
looked at me with surprise but didn’t question me.

“
I’ve arranged a room for you
at the lodge, if you need to stay overnight. That’s where we’ll
be dining.”

I thought about Midnight for a
few seconds, but I had left her plenty of food.

“
Okay,” I said. I couldn’t
stop looking at his silvery gray eyes.

“
You can follow me over there
and check in. I’ll come back at seven for dinner.”

He stood and held out his hand. I
took it and felt a surge of warmth and energy enter into my
bloodstream. I was almost panting when I stood up. I followed him out
of the office and into the parking lot.

“
I’ll pull around to the
front here and you can follow,” he said.

I got in my car and backed out,
waiting in the front for him. I had a few seconds to wonder what I
was doing, but before I knew it, an old Ford truck pulled up along
side my car. The green truck had seen better days. Its color was
faded and I saw a few dings and dents. Must be a workman, I thought.

And then Keith was waving at me,
trying to get my attention. He was the driver of the truck! I waved
back and got behind him. I followed him down the windy mountain road.
He turned right at the bottom of the incline and we traveled along a
forest-lined two-lane road until he pulled into a long driveway. We
were going up the mountain again.

A huge log cabin complex came
into view. Keith pulled into a circular drive with me right behind
him. He jumped out of his truck and came to open my door.

I laughed as we walked up to the
lodge’s front entrance. “I don’t even have a suitcase,” I
said. “I wasn’t expecting to stay.”

“
I’m sorry,” he said. “I
didn’t think about that. But there’s a little shop in the lodge.
Just get what you need and put it on my account.”

“
Okay,” I said. I certainly
was agreeable on this unforeseen journey I found myself on.

We walked inside to the lobby.
The vaulted log ceilings soared to a height that must have been
twenty feet. A middle-aged balding man hurried over to us.

“
Paul, please take care of Ms.
Sullivan,” Keith said. “She needs to visit the shop first, I
think.”

Keith looked at me and I nodded.
What the hell was I doing? I should be on the road back to Midnight
and a salad supper.

Keith grabbed my hand and I felt
that surge go through my body down to my very center again. I hadn’t
felt that feeling, well, ever.

“
I’ll be back at seven,” he
said. “We’ll dine in the lodge restaurant.”

“
Okay,” I said for the
umpteenth time that day since I’d met with him.

Paul escorted me to the lodge
shop, which had toiletries, books, and articles of clothing. I got
toothpaste and a toothbrush, a hairbrush, shampoo and conditioner, a
pair of underwear, and a plain white nightgown. The woman working in
the store put it all on Keith’s tab.

The room was fairly simple. The
walls were made of varnished logs. The furniture was a mixture of
primitive and early American. The iron bed was covered in a beige
comforter and a handmade quilt. The bathroom was glorious, with
marble tile and a claw foot tub.

I luxuriated in a bubble bath. I
think I could have slept there, but the bed called my name. I wrapped
myself in a towel and pulled the quilt over me. I woke up to the
sound of the phone. I glanced at the clock and it was fifteen minutes
after seven! I had slept right through the time I was supposed to
meet Keith in the lobby.

“
Amy?” Keith said.

“
Yes, I’m sorry,” I said.
“I fell asleep. I’ll be down in just a few minutes.”

I hurriedly dressed in the suit I
had worn—I had nothing else. I touched up my hair and applied some
lipstick before I felt presentable. Keith was waiting at the bottom
of the stairs. When I saw him standing there, waiting, I felt like a
princess as I descended. I could feel his eyes on me as I stepped
gracefully down the stairs.

“
I’m sorry,” I said as soon
as I was standing in front of him.

“
It’s okay,” he said. “You
must’ve needed the rest.”

“
I must have.”