Accepting Destiny Read online

  I set the microwave for three minutes and head to the bedroom, slipping out of my clothes and starting the bath water. I’ve decided to opt for a bath tonight instead of a shower.

  A few minutes later, I am soaking in my tub holding a glass of wine and my Hot Pocket. This is my idea of gourmet dining at its finest. I pop the last bite in my mouth and wash it down with the wine, cringing at the taste and then staring at the floating crumbs in the tub. Nice.

  Once my fingers and toes become prune like, and the water is cooling, I decide to get out and get ready for bed. As I’m drying off, my phone goes off again. Damn it! Can’t people leave me alone for one night?

  I head to the living room and locate my phone, pressing thehomebutton.

  H - What time did u say?

  A - Geez, H. Seven thirty - be prompt please

  H - Ok

  That girl will be late for her own funeral. Whatever would she do without me?

  Then I look at the next text, which is from Chase.

  C - You make it home ok?

  A - Yes, thx. Sry for earlier

  C - No prob. He’s a bit intense huh?

  A - You have no idea

  C - Well, good nite, cya soon

  I think at first, that he was being nice. But then, I wonder if I don’t have another persistent man in my life. Nah, not Chase. He’s just being a cop, and after what I went through, I’m thankful that he cares, considering I have not heard from Jackson since I left him standing in the parking lot at the dealership.

  I laugh out loud. He looked pitiful, like he had no idea how to handle a woman telling himno.Well, if he keeps this shit up, he’s gonna hear it a whole lot more. Arrogant bastard.

  Sleep comes quickly for me and before I know it, the alarm is going off signifying the end of my slumber. Here’s hoping Heather doesn’t let me down, cause I really don’t want to have to call a taxi, to take me to work. She’d be in super trouble if she did that to me, again.

  Heather isn’t always together. She’s a true blonde, and her picture should be next to the definition in a dictionary. You have to tell her to be somewhere, an hour before just so she makes it in time. She hates it, preferring to be fashionably late, but today she will have to be on time. I send her a quick text, making sure she is awake and getting ready, reminding her that I will meet her in the parking lot at seven thirty.

  I get ready and grab my purse, digging in, making sure my Blackberry is there and my personal cell. Shit, I forgot to charge it and it’s down to thirty percent battery. I glance at the clock, and see that it’s seven fifteen, so I plug it in for just a few minutes to get as much charge as I can.

  I stand at the counter, eating a banana, watching the phone as it charges. Why? I have no idea, but maybe I can will it to charge faster if I stare at it. I toss the peel in the trash, grab the phone and charger, then head for the door.

  I reach the end of the breezeway, and turn towards Heather’s building. I don’t see her waiting and my heart starts racing. I scan the parking lot for her car and see it parked in the same space she parked it last night, so I know she’s home. I pound on her door at the same time I am calling her. Nothing. She doesn’t answer her phone and she doesn’t come to the door.

  “That’s it, Heather! I’m done with you! I can’t rely on you to do anything except, let me down,” I yell at the closed door, meaning every damn word.

  I walk back down towards my building as I try and locate a taxi service on my phone, but before I can get Google open I feel a strong presence. You guessed it. Bentley.

  “What are you doing here?” I ask in a huff.

  “You need a ride to work don’t you?” He says as he cocks his head to the side.

  “And what are you, my knight in shining armor? I’m pissed at you and now really isn’t the time for your demands. I’ll call a taxi, go home...or to work, or wherever it is you need to be, Jackson. I’ve got this.” I toss over my shoulder as I walk back to my door.

  “Alexandra,” his deep voice growls at me.

  “What?” I turn, stomping my foot like an errant child.

  “Get in the car,” He says as he opens the door to his BMW. Figuring it’s cheaper than a taxi, I move to get in the car.

  “Fine, but this is the last time you pick me up for work. I’m a big girl and can get myself around just fine. and I’m tired of you telling me what to do.”

  I slide in to the supple leather seat, resting my head on the headrest and closing my eyes. No, I open them right back up and send Heather a scathing text.

  H - Dmn U!

  I don’t even wait for an answer before I toss the phone in my purse, really not giving a damn what her response would be, cause it won’t mean anything. She has screwed me for the last time, and it didn’t even feel good.

  I don’t speak all the way to the office. I can see Jackson glancing at me as he drives, both hands on the wheel at the typical ten and two position, but his right hand is twitching, like he wants to move it. He’d better not touch me right now or I will explode, and not the good kind of explosion. The people in my life really need to lay off and let me live it. And Heather.......well, I’ve got news for her.

  Jackson pulls up to the building forty five minutes later, and I get out of the car, not waiting for him to walk around and open it, but he opens the back door and hands me my briefcase. “Thanks. And thanks for the ride, but not again. Okay?” I say as I turn towards the door.

  “Alexandra. Why are you so pissed?”

  Oh no, he did not just ask me that!

  “Really,Jackson? Where should I start, huh? First of all, you show up at the dealership like you own the place, then you get in to a pissing contest with Chase because he washelping me!Then you show up at my apartment this morning demanding I get in the car with you! Don’t you see how this looks? Come on Bentley, I know you’re smarter than that!”

  “Alexandra, I.....” He looks down at his feet. “I don’t know what to say, except I’m sorry. This is new to me and I need you to give me a chance to make this right.”

  “There’s nothing to make right, Jackson. You want to try and run everything including my life. Well, I can do that on my own! If you want get to know me, then you have to try and GET TO KNOW ME! Don’t keep jumping in and trying to save the day. I don’t need a super hero.”

  “You’re too damned independent for your own good, Ally. Do you know what happens when women go to purchase a car on their own? They get taken advantage of and end up paying more for a car because they don’t know any better”

  “Did I hear you say I don’tKNOW ANY BETTER?Are you kidding me? I was with Chase! Oh wait.....THAT is really the problem here isn’t it? The fact I was with another man and not you. Jealousy really doesn’t become you, Jackson. He’s a friend.....hell, you’re the one that introduced us months ago.”

  “I’m sorry, I just want you to myself Ally. I don’t share what’s mine.”

  “Oh okay, here we go again with the possessiveness. So, this morning I’ve already seen your demanding arrogance, now I have to deal with possessiveness? Not today, Jackson. As I said earlier, I am not in the mood! Now, go.....do whatever it is that you do, I need to get inside.” And I turn on my heel to go inside, alone.

  I leave him standing on the curb, a befuddled look on his face. He just doesn’t get it! But I don’t have time to try and analyze it now, I have work to do and I’m already late.....again. Shit.

  I rush to the elevators and thankfully, the doors open as soon as I walk up. So I jump in and press the fourteen for my floor, but it feels like the elevator is taking forever. “Go!” I yell at the buttons, like they will listen, and press the accelerator.

  I walk around the corner and stop, realizing this isn’t my cubicle anymore. Great, I’m so angry this morning I forgot where my office is. I turn to go back down the hall and meet Tim.

  “Good morning, Ally. Running late again?” He raises an eyebrow out me.

  “Sorry, car died on me last night and I had t
o catch a ride.”

  “So, what are you doing here? Forget about your new office?”

  Chuckling, “Yeah, I guess so,” I say as I look around. “I’ve been here so long, that it just came naturally to me.”

  By this time I am laughing uncontrollably, my belly is aching and tears are streaming out of my eyes. Tim is just looking at me, like I have lost my mind. Maybe I have? Then I think, nope....can’t lose what I never had.

  “I’ll just be going...to my office,” I say on one final chuckle, but Tim is just standing there with his brows raised and a smirk. I feel really stupid now, but I shuffle my feet around him, and head back around to my office.

  I drop my purse in my bottom drawer, and head to the kitchen to make coffee. I walk in, and the room is empty. I expected to see Sally here this morning, lurking in the corner, waiting for me to come in, so she can pounce. But all is quiet. I make my coffee and grab a honey bun out of the vending machine, stopping one last time to look back in to the kitchen. Nope, no Sally. She won’t let this go, so I expect to see her stalking this way, or even waiting for me at my office.

  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, thanks, 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 an
d I need to get to work.

  Chapter 5

  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 have 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 lookingkeychainwith the word,NISSAN 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