I walked into the office the next morning feeling lighter than I had for days. Apparently, the change was also noticeable from the outside.
"Izzy, that dress is to die for and those shoes are a sexy pop of color." Tyler commented as I walked by his desk. I was wearing a gray sleeveless sheath dress that stopped just above the knee and a pair of red heels.
"Thank you, Tyler." I smiled and leaned against his desk.
"That is the first genuine smile I've seen from you in a while." He observed.
"Yeah, you're probably right. I'm feeling a little better." I told him. I placed a Starbucks cup on his desk. "Grande caramel light frap, no whip…did I get it right?"
"Perfect. Thanks, Izzy." I knew that he understood it for what it was, a small gesture of appreciation for his concern while I was acting a little…psycho.
"No problem." I said. I went to my desk and got to work. I had really been unfocused that week so I had some catching up to do. We had a small party as a sendoff for the interns. I pulled Leah to the side while everyone else was chatting. She was a pretty girl with long black hair parted in the middle framing her perfectly tanned skin.
"So do you think this is something you would be interested in doing after graduation?" I asked her.
"I could really see myself doing this. Do you think I would be good at it?"
"I do. You are a wonderful writer, you take constructive criticism well, which is extremely important, and you are a team player." I handed her one of the business cards I rarely used.
"I wrote my cell phone number on the back. If after you graduate you are still interested, give me a call."
She grinned at me. "Thank you, Izzy. I really appreciate it."
By six, I was standing in front of Wings and Things, waiting for Emmett. We were at the end of August and the heat had backed off a bit, but it was still very humid. I was standing under the restaurant's awning, out of the sun, doing deep breathing exercises to relax. Rose was right, I needed to tell Emmett what was going on and let the chips fall where they may. If Aro really followed through with sabotaging Emmett's career then maybe Emmett could get a head start at looking for another job with a different company.
Emmett greeted me with his customary peck on the lips and we went into the restaurant together. Thank goodness we weren't seated in Lauren's section because I don't think I could deal with her questions about Edward. As soon as we both had beers in front of us and had ordered our meals, I inhaled, exhaled and started talking.
"Em, I have something that I need to tell you." I started. He motioned for me to continue.
"When were at Felix's retirement dinner, Aro propositioned me. He told me that if I slept with him then he would guarantee that you got the promotion, but if I didn't then he make sure you didn't."
"Huh?" Emmett's thick eyebrows were knitted together in confusion.
"Of course I said no and that's when he had you placed on leave and escorted out. When I agreed, he had HR call you and say that putting you on leave was a mistake. I don't want you to lose your promotion or the respect of your colleagues, but sleeping with Aro is out of the question. I was thinking that if Aro is hellbent on ruining you, then maybe you should leave that company and maybe…"
"Wait, wait, wait." He interrupted. "You mean to tell me that Aro is blackmailing you to get you to sleep with him?"
"Yes."
"I don't believe you." He said simply.
"What?" I cried, a little louder than I intended.
"I told you, Aro is a genius at business. What would he have to gain by doing this?"
"Emmett, what would I have to gain by lying about it?"
"Attention."
"Attention? What kind of sick person would make up a crazy story like this for attention?"
"I don't know. Maybe the kind of person who is scared that her boyfriend moving up in the company would take time away from her and was jealous."
"After all of this time, after all I've done for you, that's the kind of person you think I am?" I asked, incredulous.
"I didn't, but it seems strange to me that as soon as I am on the cusp of the biggest moment of my career, you come to me with this far-fetched story about an executive from my job that wants to fuck you. What, you want me to go beat him up so I can lose my job and then you can have me all to yourself?"
"You are, without a doubt, the most narcissistic person I have ever met in my life." I said, shaking my head in disbelief.
He chuckled. "You actually expected me to believe that he wanted to fuck you so badly that he would go through all of that? I've fucked you and trust me, it's not worth that."
"Fuck you, Emmett." I stood up, not caring that all of the customers in our section were staring. Tears sprung to my eyes as it hit home just how little he thought of me. I choked them back, not wanting to give him the satisfaction of seeing me cry. Never again would I let him have any part of me.
"I'm getting the promotion; if we're going to be together, you're going to have to get over your jealousy."
"You're delusional. And we're not going to be together." I told him, gathering courage that I didn't know I had and saying what I should have said a long time ago. I grabbed my beer and poured the contents on his head, ignoring his shouts. It was childish, but boy did it feel good.