Blame it on the Christmas Tree
by
Ava LeBeau
Chapter 7 - Savasana
"Are you all right?" José touched her shoulder lightly.
"Oh my god, José, why did you do that?" Anastasia stared at him, looking bewildered.
"You were in trouble," he stated flatly and inspected his knuckles while Anastasia ushered him into one of the conference rooms. "No one should treat a woman like this. Especially not you."
Ana furrowed her brow, "What?"
Claire from HR peeked into the room, glancing at both Anastasia and the alleged culprit José, "Anastasia? I want you to stay here, please. I will be right with you."
"Sure," Anastasia nodded, her lower lip trembled.
"How can you be so calm? I mean, are you aware that I'm going to be in even greater trouble after your... your-"
"You probably need a new boss anyway, Ana."
"José," Anastasia's eyes grew wide, "what's the matter with you?"
He laughed, "just bein' the nice guy, Ana."
"Mhmm," Anastasia eyed him warily. "Are you okay?"
"I'm fine," he looked down at his hand, opening and closing it into a fist several times. "Blame it on the Christmas tree, I guess" he mumbled. Anastasia rolled her eyes.
"Good Lord, Jack," Claire from HR looked alarmed when she entered Jack Hyde's office.
"This bastard's busted my nose, Claire. It must be broken or something," Jack said, he sounded as if his nose was blocked. His head tilted back he was sitting at his desk, Hannah had already brought him a box of tissues.
"The driver will take you to the doctor right away, Jack," Claire said, standing beside him.
"I'll sue SIP. For breach of their duty of care. I was only doing my job here and got beat up by some scum. Just like that. What the fuck, Claire?"
"Calm down, Jack. Getting you to the doctor is our top priority now. Then, we're going to sort this out," she moved to help him up and guided him towards the elevator, "I'll be in touch, Jack."
After a little while Claire returned to the conference room.
Anastasia wanted to get up but Claire motioned for her to remain seated. She closed the door.
"Claire MacGowan, Head of HR," she held out her hand to José.
"José Rodriguez," he replied and shook her hand.
"Well then, Mr. Rodriguez, I take it, that you are aware that we have to involve our legal department regarding this matter. Right now, I am under the impression that you were trespassing on one of our office floors. Subsequently, you have seriously injured one of our senior employees. Would you like to comment on this matter in any way at this time?"
Anastasia blurted out, "But he was going to meet me and he checked in at the front desk in accordance with our policy. That's what he told me, Claire. Jack did- he...," Anastasia had rested her hands on the tabletop and was now looking down at them.
"Jack was badly injured and had to see a doctor," Claire said coolly.
"But he attacked Jose, I mean, Mr. Rodriguez...," Anastasia's lower lip quivered.
Claire furrowed her brow, "Jack told me that he was attacked by Mr. Rodriguez here. Is that incorrect?"
"It is," Anastasia said, her voice a barely a whisper.
"All right, we'll see. Anastasia, I may ask you to leave the office for today. Please get your things and then go home, you are hereby excused from work."
Anastasia's eyes grew wide, "but I..."
"As for you, Mr. Rodriguez, our legal department will be in touch. May I ask you to leave us your contact information." Claire pushed a notepad and a ballpoint pen across the table towards Jose. Jose nodded and wrote down his address.
"Thank you," Claire said, picking up the pad again.
"I'll call you as soon as I have further information, Anastasia," with that Claire MacGowan left the meeting room.
Anastasia face looked ashen, "But it was all completely different, José."
Tears welled up in her eyes. Together they walked back to her desk to gather her purse.
Hannah looked worried, "Are you okay?"
She took Anastasia's hand and gave it a gentle squeeze.
"I'm so glad Jose stepped in on this, I can't even begin to imagine what would have happened if-"
"I just got suspended, Hannah," Ana said quietly.
"What?" Hannah's eyes grew wide.
"I'll call you," was all Ana said as she turned to leave.
"Bye, Ana," Hannah said and returned to her desk, looking appalled.
Anastasia sat on the couch, still sobbing uncontrollably.
She was now convinced that she would lose both her job and her apartment, all before Christmas and all because of Jack Hyde.
Without her job she wouldn't be able to afford the rent any longer. And without a job she'd probably not find another apartment either.
It was a sticky situation. Tears welled up in her eyes again.
But still, Ana had decided against calling Ray to ask his advice or if she could live with him for a while. Ray was still recuperating and she didn't want to alarm him. Unsure what to do next she glanced at the Christmas tree and started crying again.
Why did all of this have to be so complicated and why did it have to happen now of all times, a few days before Christmas? And moreover through no fault of her own...
Anastasia gulped back a sob and glanced at the Christmas tree again. Maybe she was wrong and it was best to drive home to Ray tonight. He always knew what to do, plus she could busy herself with chores around the house.
She was just about to blow her nose for the umpteenth time when her phone rang. Letting out another sob she reached for it.
Christian.
She blinked away several tears and cleared her throat, trying to sound calm, "Hi."
"Anastasia? Just wanted to check in and see if everything's all right."
"I- I'm… fine," she lied, sniffling, "You?"
"Arrived in Washington an hour ago."
"I- I see. Hope you had a… a pleasant flight?" she didn't know what else to say and pressed her lips together.
"Yes, thank you."
Neither of them spoke for a moment but she could hear voices in the background on his side. Another sob escaped her.
"Anastasia? You're not crying, are you?" he sounded concerned, making her sob even more.
"No," she wailed, "Not-not really."
"All right, tell me what's wrong."
"I- nothing, it's just..."
"Do you want me to send someone over?"
"No, Christian, please..."
"All right, Ana, what happened? You're having me worried here..."
Anastasia felt a pang of guilt.
"Work stuff. Everything's goin' to-to be... fine..." she sobbed again.
What a big fat lie.
"I'm sorry, but I don't believe you."
"All right," she sniffed, "There was an... an incident today. At the office."
"An incident?"
"Yes," she reached for the tissue.
"Was Hyde involved?" his voice sounded serious.
Ana sobbed.
"Anastasia, was it Hyde?"
"Yes," she pressed out.
"What did he do to you?"
"Nothing, really... He was just ... just upset."
"Upset?"
"Yes."
"And then what?"
"It... it escalated. Listen, Christian, I- I don't want to keep you. I-I got this, okay?"
"You're not keeping me, Ana, and I'm aware that you are perfectly capable of managing this yourself. I just want you to be safe. Okay?"
"Mhmm," tears welled up in her eyes again, she wasn't sure if she'd manage.
"I could send someone over to make sure you're safe," Christian tried again.
"There's no need to..."
"You sure?"
"Yes."
"Then what can I do to make you feel better?"
A small smile ghosted across Anastasia's features. She wished he was here now.
"I'm glad you called. It really means a lot to me, Christian," she said.
"No worries," Christian said. "Promise me to call if you need anything."
"Promise," she replied.
"Are you going to come to Aspen with us?"
"I don't know... my father's just back home from hospital... I should probably stay with him..."
"I wish you'd join me."
"Christian, I-"
"It's all right, don't worry. Just sayin'."
Anastasia could hear a voice in the background.
"Just a minute, please, Taylor," Christian said.
He continued, "Ana, I have to go. Message me if you need anything. Any time. Okay?"
"Thank you, Christian."
"Everything will turn out all right. Trust me."
"Mhmm," Ana nodded, not sure.
"Sleep well, Ana. Bye."
"You want me to tell Roach to fire him?"
"No, I don't. Just tell them you'll bring in Douglas Winter."
"What?"
"Bring in Doug. Tell him he's here to help with the… workload."
"But he hates his guts."
"That's what we want, don't we?" Christian laughed, "Make him leave... As for Mr. Rodriguez. I don't want SIP to press charges."
"All right."
"Oh and, call Ms. Steele. Tomorrow. Tell Roach I want this settled by the end of the week."
"Of course."
"Thank you, Claire."
"Good night, Christian."
Christian swiped his thumb across his phone's screen to type a quick message.
Miss you already.
At home, Anastasia stared down at her phone and his message and smiled.
A crazy week had come to an end and Anastasia was relieved that everything had turned out all right. Just like Christian had predicted.
Claire had called and asked her to come back to work.
She had also informed her that Mr. Roach didn't want to press charges against José.
Douglas Winter, preeminent in his field of market research, had joined their team and had helped her with the first report for Mr. Roach regarding the assigned project.
Also, Jack Hyde was as sweet as honey with her at all times.
Everything will turn out all right. Trust me. Anastasia could hear Christian's voice echoing in her head.
Smiling to herself she lay down on her back, turning her palms to face upward at the end of her yoga routine.
Savasana.
Anastasia just lay there, breathing steadily, feeling her body unwind completely.
The sound of her phone ringing drew her out of her quiet and relaxation.
"Ana?"
"Back in Seattle, Mister?"
"I am indeed. Miss me?"
"Maybe."
He laughed.
"You could've called." Two days and no message from him.
"I was busy, Ana."
"I see," Anastasia had curled up on the sofa, not really satisfied with his vague answer.
"How's everything at SIP?"
"Fine. Just handed in my first report."
"Glad to hear it, Ana."
Neither of them spoke for a moment. For the last few days she had wondered if he was behind all those changes at SIP, but she assumed she'd never know.
"Get dinner with me."
"Can't."
"Why's that?"
"I'm with my dad," she lied.
"I see. I hope he's feeling better?"
Ray was on the mend indeed.
"He is, thank you."
The doorbell rang.
"Christian, hang on, there's somebody at the door."
"Okay."
There was now a knock on the door and she hurried to open it, peeking outside she froze,
"Christian?"
"Mhmm," he ended their call.
"What are you doing here?"
"I guess I could ask the same?" he laughed, "Not with your dad then, are you?"
"No, not really," she could feel embarrassment creeping up into her cheeks, making her blush.
"Well, can I come in?"
"Sure," she bit her lower lip and opened the door for him, glancing at the bags he was carrying.
Walking straight to the kitchen he said, "I have pizza and stir-fry, wasn't sure what you'd like better."
Anastasia laughed as she followed him into the kitchen, "You shouldn't have."
"You look happy, Ana."
"Well, you are here. With me," she beamed at him and opened a cabinet to take out two plates for them, "Aren't you supposed to be with your family?"
"Not tonight," he watched her, leaning against the kitchen counter.
Anastasia furrowed her brow, "Do you want anything? Water? Wine?"
"A kiss," he said, making her chuckle.
"Oh," she turned around to look at him.
Christian took her hand to pull her to him, wrapping his arms around her when she stood right in front of him.
"I've missed you," he said and leaned closer to kiss her cheek.
"Missed you too," Anastasia said in a low voice before their lips met, soon opening into a kiss.
She wrapped her arms around Christian's neck while he kissed her again, a wave of joy was washing over her.
"Dinner's gettin' cold," she mumbled against his lips after a little while.
"Don't care," he claimed her lips again, making her chuckle.
"Come on, let's eat," she tried again, reluctantly Christian let go of her.
After dinner they had cuddled up in front of the TV and watched a movie and while Christian had professed that he was not into 'hearts and flowers' as he had called it, making Ana wonder what he even meant by it, he had sat through the whole romantic comedy, both of them using every chance to inch closer until Ana had ended up in his arms, snuggled up against his shoulder.
It was almost midnight when Christian shifted in his seat and said, "I think I'd better get going then. I just wanted to make sure that you were doing OK."
He leaned closer to kiss her hair.
"You can spend the night if you want," Ana suggested, hardly wanting to move.
"Stay? Are you sure?" Christian furrowed his brow and his reluctance surprised her.
They hadn't been dating for very long but she trusted him enough to want him to stay over.
"Yes. What is it? Snoring badly? Fitful sleep?" Anastasia arched her eyebrow and laughed.
"Listen, we don't have to talk about it and you don't have to stay if you don't want to."
"No, Ana, I'd love to it's just..."
"You can take the bed I'll sleep on the couch if you-"
"No. No," he protested.
"It's fine," Ana continued.
"No, let me sleep on the couch. I'll feel bad," Christian insisted.
"All right," Anastasia said and shrugged, slipping out of his embrace to get some sheets and pillows from her bedroom for him.
Moments later the couch was covered with a sheet, fluffed up pillows and blankets on hand for him.
"There you go," Anastasia said and smiled.
"Thank you," Christian pulled her into his arms to kiss her.
"You can watch TV if you like. I sleep through almost anything," she smiled against his lips, "but I suspect you'll probably check your emails instead," she laughed and pulled away.
"Mhmm," he said in a low voice, taking her hand to kiss the back of it.
"Night night," Anastasia said and walked to her bedroom.
"Good night, Ana," Christian said and spread out one of the blankets.