Justice?

Sean walked me to my lawyer’s office about an hour before my mediation with Kevin. He wasn’t very talkative as we walked and I was rambling on about something stupid that I can’t even remember. When we got to the doors things got kind of awkward.

“Do you want to come up?” I asked after he lingered there for awhile.

“No, I’ve gotta go talk to Lou about something….unless you want me to stay.”

Sean sort of caught me off guard. It sounded like he was asking me permission and I didn’t know what to say. I wouldn’t have a problem with Sean being there but I knew Kevin would be there and it just seemed like it would make the lack of communication we’ve been experiencing worse. I tried to give him the opportunity to decide for himself.

“You can stay if that thing with Lou isn’t important.”

Sean paused and took in my answer.

“…I should talk to Lou.” He said starting to walk away.

“Bye.” I said before he was too far away.

I turned to walk through the doors- “Hey Faith?”

I turned around and Sean was looking at me his hands in his pockets.

“Yeah?”

“…good luck.”

Before I could respond, Sean walked away. I had an overwhelming feeling he was going to say something else and I was kicking myself for not going after him as I walked off the elevator to go meet with my lawyer, Shelby.

“Hey,” she said warmly as she offered me some coffee.

“Hi.” I said sitting down in a squashy arm chair across from her. There was a coffee table between us and her office was very sleek and modern looking. It sort of reminded me of mine, with the large panel windows and sleek accents, but her office was dripping in rich earth tones and dark wood. The carpet was a nice, professional gray and there were various plants and decorations to give it a relaxed feel.

“So, Faith, I just wanted to invite you here to kind of prep you for how things will be today.”

“Okay,” I said dumping some creamer in my coffee.

Shelby reviewed my case with me and asked questions to help clarify about the events and then her demeanor changed. It was shockingly gentle.

“Because of the nature of what happened, Faith, I think I need to prepare you for Kevin’s lawyer’s questions and strategy.”

“Okay.” I said with trepidation putting my cup of coffee down.

Shelby opened her mouth to speak but an intercom on her desk interrupted her.

“Mr. Cartwright and his client are here.”

“Damn. They’re early. Can you settle them in the conference room? We’ll meet them in a minute.”

“Yes ma’am.” And the intercom clicked off. She turned her sights back to me.

“I just want you to make sure you have your demands ready and I don’t want you to be discouraged if you don’t get all of them met.”

She was choosing her words very carefully but before I could respond she started shuffling out of her office. I followed and then stopped cold. Hannah was sitting in the waiting area and her face was fixed with an icy glare in my direction. Shelby noticed I had stopped and turned around to look at me. I had to tell her about the history Kevin and I had prior to today so she could further understand my case and she slowly put two and two together.

“Come on, Faith, we don’t want to be late.” She put her hand on my shoulder and gently guided me to the conference room while simultaneously trying to block my view of Hannah with her body.

The shock of seeing Kevin for the first time since the night in the bar was also unexpected but I took a second to recompose myself and began walking to the conference table. From the door I could see Kevin’s injuries still evident on his face from Sean’s attack. The bruises around his eyes were yellow and green and the cut on his lip had a stitch in it. It also looked like he’d gotten some teeth work done. He smiled at me and it made my stomach churn. It was a hungry, disgusting smile that took in my entire body as I sat across from him and I found it impossible to stop the spread of revulsion quickly covering my face. I took in Kevin’s lawyer quickly. He was wearing a suit that was a shade brighter than navy with a garish gold watch and his hair was dark on the sides but graying on the top. Frankly, he stunk of money and seemed to imbue all of the privilege and snobbery of the clients he serves. He probably fits in perfectly at their exorbitant parties that serve only to congratulate each other on their bank accounts. I hated him instantly.

Shelby sat next to me and didn’t waste a second getting down to business.

“You’ve looked at the case, Dick?” She asked Mr. Cartwright.

“I have. There really isn’t one.”

I was taken aback by his comment but covered my shocked expression as he leaned back in his chair like he owned the place.

“Well, we think there is. Would you like to discuss a compromise for your client first?”

“Sure. 500 hours of community service and he pays her $1,000...for damages.”

“Excuse me?” I say.

I couldn’t stop myself from blurting out in anger.

“He tried to rape me. I don’t want money! I want his ass in jail!”

To my complete and utter disgust, Kevin and his lawyer started laughing like I told the funniest joke ever. I looked at Shelby with rage clouding my vision. She stood up immediately, walked to the door, and opened it.

“Gentlemen, could you give me a moment with my client.”

Kevin and his lawyer walked out trying to stifle their giggles as Shelby walked over to sit next to me.

“Why are they laughing at me?” I practically shouted at her.

Shelby took a moment, it was clear she was trying to find a good way to phrase her next sentence.

“Faith, it’s nearly impossible to get a rapist convicted, let alone attempted rapists. Asking for jail time for what he did is never going to happen.”

I blinked at Shelby’s bluntness.

“Shelby, this isn’t the first time he’s sexually assaulted me. I need to be protected from him showing up again and actually raping me!” My voice started to become hysterical and shrill at the possibility of Kevin ever coming back into my life after today.

“Faith, take a deep breath, please.” She poured me a glass of water and handed it to me before she continued, “I understand that, I do, but if we try and take this to court, Dick is going to get the previous sexual assault dismissed as evidence because you never pressed charges. He’ll also claim that because you two were in a relationship that ended badly, you’re lying about this assault. He’ll slander you and ask you invasive questions about your sex life, life if you like dominance. And he won’t just ask you, he’ll make Sean testify about your sex life, interview your friends to see if you’ve ever expressed interest in a anything kinky. He’ll ask you what you were wearing, if you have ever fantasized about Kevin, imply that you were pissed off about the wedding invitation and are just lying about this assault happening to get back at Kevin because you’re jealous he’s not marrying you. He’ll bring Hannah into this and destroy your character completely and you will walk away with nothing but emotional distress and possibly some relationship problems with your boyfriend.”

I gaped at her with the glass in my hand before I became enraged.

“So you’re saying this is my fault because I was in a relationship with Kevin!? That’s what all of this stems from!”

“No, Faith, it’s not your fault. It’s the fault of a society that gives privileged men like Kevin a pass, slut shames and victim blames women who have been assaulted or who admit they enjoy sex except for that time they were raped, or by telling women that being drunk and being raped isn’t actually rape. It’s the fault of male privilege and rape culture that vilifies women who accuse someone of rape. This is not your fault, it’s society’s.”

I looked at Shelby for a moment before I lost all hope. She was sympathetic to my experience but she was being realistic and I wasn’t. All of my fight left me and I was on the verge of tears.

“Then why are we even bothering with this mediation? Why didn’t you just let a judge throw out the case?”

“Because, Faith, I’m used to working with Dick and his clients. All hope is not lost. Kevin is part of the old money society, now that he’s married to old money. A public rape charge and court battle would be the scandal of the century even if your case would eventually get thrown out and it would ruin everything for Kevin and his pretty new wife, who I’m sure has no idea what this mediation is actually about.”

“So…what are you thinking?”

“Well, we aren’t going to get jail time, but if there’s something else you want we might be able to get this mediation going.”

“I never want him near me again and I never want him to send me anything ever again. I want absolutely no contact ever.”

“Done.”

“And I want him to drop the charges he’s pressing against Sean.”

“I think we can get that. Anything else?”

I thought about this for a moment.

“I want a written apology…to me and Sean, and I want him to sign a contract promising everything- dropping the charges, no contact, everything. A legally binding contract that I can bring to court and have his ass punished if he doesn’t abide by it.”

“Okay then.”

Shelby gives me an impressed look before asking me if it’s okay to bring Kevin and his lawyer back in. I nod and within seconds Kevin is sitting across from me again. Shelby slowly starts to read off my demands and Kevin begins to look green. I can tell the worst part about my list of demands for him was probably the written apology and I feel like having him drop the charges against Sean was his plan all along in exchange for me dropping the charges against him and I’m okay with that. It allows me to protect Sean from the stress and worry this has been causing him.

After Shelby lays out my demands and explains how the contract will work, Mr. Cartwright leans over to Kevin and they quietly discuss their options. Shelby and I can’t hear what is said but Kevin nods in defeat and a notary is called to draw up the contract I wanted. It takes about 30 minutes for Shelby, the notary, and Mr. Cartwright to hammer out a contract. The notary certifies two contracts and the two of us sign both of them while they witness it. I’m given a copy and so is Kevin and he goes to leave. I’m left with Shelby.

“Thank you,” I said.

“You sound pretty down.” She said.

“It just doesn’t really seem like justice was served. He’s just going to find someone else to manipulate and treat like garbage.”

“Well, maybe that doesn’t have to be his wife…”

I look at Shelby as she gives me a small smirk. I shake my head because I don’t understand what she means.

“You didn’t sign a confidentiality agreement, which means you’re free to discuss his actions to anyone you might choose. Anyone.” Shelby winks at me, waves good-bye, and then leaves for her office.

I contemplate her suggestion and I put myself in Hannah’s shoes. It seems like such a cruel thing to do. I leave the conference room to find Shelby’s waiting room empty. Kevin and Hannah are long gone and I wipe my hands clean of everything. When I get into the main entry way of the building I’m in I decide to go into the bathroom and when I come out of my stall Hannah is standing in front of a mirror applying lipstick. Our eyes meet as soon as I open it and the hatred behind hers begins to bore into me. I calmly walk to a sink and begin washing my hands and we icily stand in each other’s presence. I dry my hands and go to leave but turn and look at her.

“I know he probably told you something else, but he tried to rape me the night of his bachelor’s party. The only reason he didn't succeed was because of my boyfriend. He gave him all of those bruises. If it were me, I’d want to know.” And I walked out with the sound of my shoes echoing off the tile.

Kevin was standing near the information desk on his cell phone laughing. He saw me leaving the bathroom and I made sure to make eye contact with him. He stopped laughing and shifted his gaze a few feet behind me towards the bathroom, then looked back at me.

I smirked and lifted an eyebrow as I sauntered out of the exit; I could feel him watching me as I left.

Devolving

Over the past few days I’ve met with a lawyer to pursue pressing charges against Kevin and it looks like we’ve set a “mediation” appointment with him and his lawyer when he gets back from his honeymoon to see if we can reach an agreement without having to go through a trial or something really time consuming. To be completely honest, I really don’t know how I want Kevin to be punished, I just want him to be punished. I was walking to Sean’s apartment to tell him that everything was set but I picked up a newspaper on the way. When I opened it in the elevator there was a picture of Kevin and Hannah on their wedding day in the wedding announcement section. She looked gorgeous in a designer dress and there was an article underneath the picture that talked mostly about her big-wig job as a fashion consultant and her family’s money. Kevin is definitely on easy street now that they’re married; too bad he had two black eyes and a swollen lip in the picture. Heh. I couldn’t wait to show Sean, he’d probably find it as amusing as I did.

When I got to Sean’s apartment I heard him talking in his bedroom so I fed Murphy and then sat in the living room reading other sections of the newspaper. I could sort of hear what Sean was saying and I didn’t purposefully mean to eavesdrop but it was almost impossible not to.

“Man, what am I going to do? I don’t have the money for a lawyer. I’m going to end up in jail, Lou!”

I, honestly, was shocked. Sean had been playing it really cool for the past few days once the initial shock of being served had subsided. I thought he was handling things but I was wrong.

“I can’t go to jail, Lou! It will ruin my life; I’ll have to stop playing music-”

“Don’t be ridiculous, the band can’t wait for me if I’m convicted, we’re just starting to get some awesome reviews and opportunities. Plus, this guy s out to get me, man, he’s going to demand I serve time, I just know it.”

There was a long pause.

“No. No, absolutely NOT. I am NOT calling Paul. No way, man. I don’t need him to come and bail me out, just because he’s my brother doesn’t mean he’s going to do this pro-bono.”

“I think we should probably start looking for a new guitar player, to be honest. I’ll let you know what happens, but I gotta go.”

A few seconds later Sean opened his bedroom door and acted like he was completely fine. I tried to look like I was nonchalant and absorbed with the paper.

“Hey, you.” I said as he kissed my forehead and sat next to me.

“How’s the noggin?” He asked.

“Better, the doctor gave me a clean bill of health at my check-up today. You have to see this,” I said handing the paper to him with the picture of Kevin and Hannah on it.

Sean smiled and then took out the music section of the paper before handing it back to me. I let silence fall between us to see if Sean would say anything about the phone call to Lou but it didn’t seem like he was going to. I don’t think he knew I overheard him.

“So, how is everything going?” I tried to ask as nonchalantly as possible.

“Fine. Karen was able to do damage control and get us a few more gigs at that bar as well as some others at larger venues. It’s weird; she used the whole incident to kind of build up our cred as musicians but also downplayed it so we weren’t seen as a bunch of monsters.”

“That’s good,” I said, unsure of what to say without giving everything away.

We sat there and read the paper together until Sean had to go to another gig. I waited until he was gone before over analyzing everything and freaking out for him. How did everything get to this point?

Served

I wasn’t really able to sleep much last night so it was a relief when Guy called me at the crack of dawn to let me know that he and the rest of the guys were waiting for Sean to have his bail set. Zoey helped me pack up my stuff while I was on the phone.

“Zoey and I are on our way down there, Guy.”

“Faith, Sean doesn’t want you to come down here.”

“What!? Why?”

“He doesn’t want you to see him like this. Once we get him released I’ll take him back to his apartment but he practically begged me to convince you not to come down here.”

“Okay,” I said a little hurt, but I understood Sean’s reasons for it, “I’ll have Zoey take me to his apartment, then.”

Zoey and I finished packing all of my stuff and then headed out to Sean’s.

“Are you sure you don’t want me to stay until Sean gets home?” She asked me once we’d gotten everything settled back into Sean’s place and Murphy was dozing in a window.

“No, I’ll be fine. It’s okay; you have to go to work at some point Zoey.”

She nodded and gave me a hug before she left. I had called Veronica earlier to tell her I wasn’t going to be at work for the next couple of days citing my concussion as the problem and, to be honest, the doctor said I shouldn’t go to work anyway, so I, thankfully, have some time to kind of figure things out and let everything die down a bit before Steve, Suzy, and Dina bombard me with questions about how I got the concussion.

I was in Sean’s apartment for about an hour, unpacking my clothes, putting away Murphy’s toys, etc. when he finally walked in the door.

“Faith!?” He called when he walked in.

I came out of his bedroom and gasped when I saw him. He had a black eye and swollen lip that looked horrendous.

“Oh my God!” I said moving toward him.

“It looks worse than it feels.” He said once I had closed the gap.

We stood in Sean’s foyer awkwardly, unsure of how to greet each other. I don’t think either of us really knew what to expect in regards to the other’s feelings so we just stood there for a few seconds before I gave in and hugged him. He wrapped his arms around me and inhaled deeply. When we pulled apart Sean met my eyes.

“I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have gotten into that fight. I never meant to put you through all of this, -I”

“What? If anything I should be apologizing to you. If I hadn’t come to see you this never would have happened.” I said.

“It’s not your fault, Faith. It’s his, he should never have put his hands on you like that, he could’ve raped you! It’s not your fault, do you understand me?”

Sean held my shoulders and refused to drop his gaze until I slowly nodded in agreement. We hugged again and then went to sit on Sean’s couch.

“Why did you come to the bar last night?” He asked once we were snuggled up.

“I went to my apartment to pick up a few things last night after hanging out with Molly. I got something in the mail that freaked me out and I wanted to tell you about it immediately.”

“What happened?”

“I got an invitation to Kevin’s wedding.” I got up and pulled it out of my duffel bag in Sean’s bedroom so he could look at it. I handed it to him when I sat back down.

He looked at it for a couple of seconds before lightly tossing it on his coffee table.

“Did you tell anyone about it?”

“I told the officer last night, they said they would pass along the information to the detective working on my break-in case, but I haven’t heard anything since then.” I said.

“I thought you said the person in your apartment was too short to be Kevin.”

“I’m almost positive that they were but he seemed like he could have been the mystery person last night. I mean showing up at the bar you were playing at the same night I got that invitation seems a little too-”

“Wait. What?”

I saw Sean stiffen quickly.

“What did I say?” I asked, confused.

“The guy in the hallway was Kevin!?”

“I thought you knew that, I thought that’s why you were so upset.”

“No! I was upset because some dude almost had his hand down your pants and was pressed against your face! If I’d known it was the bastard you dated before me I would never have stopped hitting him!”

Sean was visibly upset and I wasn’t sure what to say to make him feel better.

“It’s okay, Sean, I’m going to press charges against him. This is never going to happen again.” I said rubbing his arm.

“He’s the person who was in your apartment. The fact that he just happened to be at the bar I was playing at the same day you got his invitation, and so soon after the break-in. It’s him Faith, it has to be! He’s probably been keeping tabs on you since you broke up with him. What a sick son of a bitch.”

“I still think the person was too short to be him, but this seems like it’s impossible to just be a coincidence.” I said, “You know, I thought it might be his fiancée but I have absolutely no evidence to back that up. She found out about me right before I ended it with Kevin and if he’s been keeping tabs on me and she found out about it then maybe this is something she did to make it look like it was Kevin.”

“Yeah, but why would she want to get him in trouble right before her wedding?”

“Touché.” I said, “You know it’s possible we’ll never find out who it was.”

Before Sean could respond there was a knock on his door and he got up to answer it.

“Yes.”

There was a guy standing outside in a courier uniform.

“You’ve been served.” The courier handed Sean a packet of papers, had him sign something, and then left.

“What’s that?” I asked.

“Kevin is pressing charges against me for assault and battery.” He said.

Sean was as white as a sheet as he stared at the papers.

Thought-Full

I tried to go to sleep in Zoey’s spare bedroom but I was so scared still and I ended up actually crawling into bed with her, instead, just to feel somewhat protected. My phone rang a few minutes after I fell asleep and it was Guy.

“Hey, Faith, we can’t get Sean out of jail. He needs to have his bail set and that can’t happen until tomorrow.”

“What does that mean?” I asked groggily.

“It means he’s gotta spend the night but we’re going to get him out tomorrow morning as soon as his bail is set.”

“Okay.” I said and then hung up.

I couldn’t fall back asleep so I made myself some tea and tried to watch some horrible reality television but I couldn’t turn my thoughts off. It also didn’t help much that my concussion headache was back in full force, either. I’ve decided to write out my thoughts on these past events since I can’t turn them off and Zoey’s computer happens to be available.

Overall, I think I’m still in shock. In the aftermath of the incident in Kevin’s office I was so insistent to my friends and Sean that he wasn’t dangerous and that he didn’t know what he was doing then but I was so, so wrong. I feel like I’ve been fooled majorly by someone who has done nothing but manipulate me and I just let him manipulate me at every turn. In hindsight, I really can’t believe how stupid I’ve been. I should have taken Kevin’s previous behavior more seriously and pressed charges the first time. Zoey was right and I know she’ll never say ‘I told you so’ considering how shaken up I am right now, but she would have every single right to wave that in my face.

I also feel like everything I did to try and protect Sean from having to choose between the band and our relationship was all a waste of time. He assaulted Kevin and that could put his place in the band in serious jeopardy. It makes me sick thinking that I could be the reason Sean loses such an important part of his life, especially after seeing how much Guy, Lou, Eddie, and Jake all care about him…and me. They really are a family and knowing that now, makes me hurt even more over everything that’s happened.

The one thing that bothers me about all of this, however, is not the giant mess it has created but the invitation. Was it just a coincidence of timing that it showed up in my mailbox so recently after the break-in? I was so sure the person in my apartment wasn’t Kevin but now that I’ve realized my vase was smashed instead of knocked over I’m wondering if Kevin might have done it and then sent the invitation in retaliation to show that he, too, was moving on from our relationship. If it is just a coincidence then I don’t understand why Kevin would send it in the first place. We haven’t had contact in months, it just seems bizarre. I mean, I know that he has a history of doing things that are supposed to make me uncomfortable but this just seems odd considering the last thing I got from him like this was months ago when we were still working together. Part of me wonders if it might have been Hannah behind all of it but she doesn’t strike me as that kind of person and she’s marrying Kevin, I don’t think she’d want to try and frame him or get him in some kind of trouble lest it ruin her perfectly planned out wedding. She also has too much to lose by doing it.

Not knowing who was in my apartment is driving me nuts. I don’t know if I’ll ever be able to be comfortable in it again without at least knowing who it was.

The pain meds are starting to kick in and they’re making me drowsy so I’m going to have to continue my thoughts some other time. I’ll update what happens soon.

Talk Back

I went in to talk to Hugh about what happened and to give an official statement for the paper’s records. When I walked into the office everyone was staring at me and it made me really uncomfortable. It was like I was making a walk of shame to the conference room where Hugh was sitting. He looked up from some papers and a voice recorder as I entered and shook my hand. He asked how I was and after the pleasantries we started.

“First, Kevin will not be anywhere near you for the remainder of your time with us. And I just want to let you know that, although I understand you’d want to leave after what happened, your job will be open if you change your mind.”

“I appreciate that Hugh, but quitting was something I’d been thinking about before what happened last week. My decision to quit was not influenced by any of it.”

Hugh looked relieved and we moved on to recording an official statement.

“So can you tell me what exactly occurred on the date in question.”

“I went to Kevin’s office to have him sign some forms for my two-weeks’ notice as dictated by our policy. After he signed them I asked him if he’d been drinking. Once I told him that I’d have to call security, as building policy demands, he attempted to grope me. I slapped him on the face and tried to leave. At that point Kevin pushed me up against his desk and tried to take off my shirt. While doing this he continued to grope me, that’s when Herb and Wesley came in to pull him off.”

“What prompted you to file the sexual harassment claim?”

“The nature of Kevin’s approach and actions were deliberately sexual and I felt the paper would want a record of what had happened.”

“Is there anything else you’d like to add?” Hugh asked from across the table.

“Yes.” I paused and became uncomfortable.

“Go on.”

“Kevin and I were involved in a romantic relationship from January to about March. We ended things about a month and a half ago. I chose to end the relationship due to issues I had with him being my boss as well as some personal reasons. Since then Kevin has been monitoring my work and looking to get me fired while I have tried to remain professional and cordial. I wanted to tell you so you know the full extent of Kevin’s and my relationship and heard it up front.”

Hugh looked a little shocked. Dating my boss wasn’t something he expected of me and I could see his disappointment. It wasn’t against the rules or anything but there’s a stigma to it. He absorbed what I had said and continued with the statement.

“Thank you, is there anything else you would like to include for this statement?”

“Yes, I will not be pressing charges against Kevin or the paper in any way.”

We finished the statement and Hugh apologized for what happened. He can’t disclose what happened to Kevin but I’m sure he’s been fired. Dina told me that he cleared out his office and that Hannah came by to help him. When I think back to meeting Hannah for the first time I was so jealous of her. Now, I just feel pity for her. She knows the person she’s dating is a creep but she doesn’t want to leave him; the excuses, the lies, they’ll wear on her eventually and she’ll realize she’s better than Kevin in so many ways. He doesn’t deserve her and she’ll hopefully realize that sooner rather than later.

Detective Faith

I got it! The news station job! It’s mine! They called me a few hours ago and I just got back from celebrating with Zoey, Elise, and Anna. After we ordered dinner at our favorite Italian place and a super expensive bottle of wine we settled in and I told them all about my job and what I’ll be doing in about a month.

“So the editor and I make up a hiring team for writers, we’ll be doing the interviews for about two weeks after they sign me on to start getting writing staff going before they launch the paper. I’m responsible for weeding through the unqualified candidates, background checks, that kind of stuff. While the editor reads their samples and goes through people that way. Basically I send him the people I think are qualified on paper and the editor chooses the final candidates on talent.”

“That’s so cool, Faith!” Zoey said taking a bite of her garlic cheese bread.

“Seriously, it’s good you’ve found something like this, it seems like a better fit.” Anna said sipping some wine.

“And you don’t have to be around Kevin anymore.” Elise blurted out.

“That’s definitely a perk,” I said laughing, “That reminds me…” I said pulling out my cell phone, “I know this borders on creepy and completely inappropriate, but I have a hunch. Can you guys look at this photo and tell me if she looks familiar?” I said showing Elise, Anna, and Zoey the picture I took of Hannah the other day.

Elise, Anna, and Zoey all looked at each other shrugged their shoulders and looked at the picture. There was a pause when they all confusedly looked at me.

“Uh…we know who that is Faith, this is weird. How did you know we’d recognize Hannah Fitzgerald?”

“You know her NAME?” I said a bit angrier than I wanted to sound.

Elise looked at me while putting sugar in her tea, “Hannah is pretty influential in the fashion world, Faith, she works as a fashion consultant for Vogue and goes from magazine to magazine, fashion show to fashion show, judging the work and artistry and reports back to Vogue.”

“What does that mean exactly?” I said blank-faced.

“She writes about designers or magazines that she deems fashionable, it can make or break a designer or a new publication, she’s ruthless.” Zoey said dipping her garlic bread in the marinara sauce, “She recently came to visit our magazine; we’ve all been really worried about what or if she’s going to write about us.”

The pieces started to fall into place. “Faith? Why did you think we’d recognize her?” Zoey said putting her napkin down and taking a sip of wine.

“Oh….every time I see her she’s wearing the latest and most expensive clothes and her hair is always flawless, I figured you guys might have seen her working or shopping in a designer clothing store because I know that sometimes Anna has to shop for the magazine and sometimes you guys go along. I never realized she was so influential in your world.”

We let the issue drop and changed the subject. After awhile, Anna had something to say.

“I have an announcement,” Anna said putting her silverware and napkin on her plate, “Theo and I…we had sex last night.”

Zoey, Elise and I shared a smiled. I rubbed Anna’s arm and Zoey gave her a side hug while Elise reached across and grabbed her hands. Anna smiled and started turning bright red.

“Things have been going really well. I don’t really know what made Theo want to work so hard for me-“

“Because you’re worth it,” Zoey said.

Anna smiled and looked down.

“I too have an announcement,” Elise said, “I have four tickets to a night club with an up and coming band coming to town with your guys’ names on it. Next weekend. We’ll get dressed up and wear dangerous high heels and short skirts. It’ll be fun, we can flirt with boys and get tipsy.”

I had a twinge of unease about that idea. I had gotten over Kevin pretty easily because of his behavior at work and how he treated me but I wasn’t sure I was really ready to go out and be seen and flirt with anyone. I got lost in my thoughts as my three friends carried on conversation. Something was taking precedence over the fear-inducing night out and that was Hannah. Something still wasn’t right. She has a fabulous job, why would she want to slum it as a secretary? Then it hit me.

Hannah

I saw a blonde streak cross my office door and didn’t really give it an extra thought until I heard yelling coming from Kevin’s office. He had shut the door before anyone could figure out what the fight was about but Hannah had definitely arrived. I decided to close my door and mist my plants to relax. By the end of the day, she was still there, but they weren’t fighting, she was just sitting there in his office staring at him while he did work. I looked at Scott who shared a dismayed look and made a beeline to where I was standing.

“I need to talk to you.”

“Okay, let’s go to my office.”

“Is this normal?”

“Is what normal?”

“Um…how can I put this delicately…the blonde psycho that’s sitting in Kevin’s office.”

“You mean does she come by often?”

“Yeah!”

“Well, she’s been here before, but she’s never been so angry before.”

“It’s not just that…I have to field her calls ALL the time and recently Kevin told me to ignore them which is why I think she’s here. Do I need to fear for my life?”

“I think Kevin’s the only one who needs to fear for his life. You’ve been doing a great job Scott, is there anything you have questions about or anything I can do to help you out?”

“Can you get rid of Hannah?”

“No, but security can. If this happens again, maybe you could consider calling them.”

Scott laughed and said goodbye. There was something weird going on with Hannah and the secretary job and just everything surrounding the whole ordeal with Kevin and that new position. I grabbed my bag and jacket and looked at Kevin’s office, I could see Hannah’s face and took the whole view in. She was really fashionable. Too fashionable. She was wearing designer clothes and had an extremely expensive haircut. All of that was great but there was something Kevin once said to me about Hannah: That he was using her to get everything he wanted. Why would a woman who isn’t even qualified to be a secretary be Kevin’s ticket to a new life? It was clear she came from money…but she was also educated. I decided to look into this more and sneakily took a picture of Hannah with my camera phone. I knew just the people to show it to.

Talking to Plants

I went to work on Monday with a new outlook on the Kevin situation: Avoid. After running to my office to avoid being seen, I ate lunch in Dina and Suzy’s office….alone, and when I left for the day I contemplated the merits of leaving through my window rather than the front doors. Apparently the window was the better option because as soon as I started to walk across the lobby, Hannah walked into the doors. My immediate instinct was to hide and I found one of those extremely large lobby plants that hid me completely. She stopped in the middle of the lobby and took out her cell phone.

“Where are you? …. Do I need to go upstairs? …well then how long are you going to be? ….FINE.”

She sighed and angrily shut her phone and shoved it into her designer purse. Then she started walking toward my direction. I started to panic and began looking for an escape route frantically. She sat on a white and gray modern couch right next to the plant and flipped through a magazine. I was hiding for so long that I ended up sitting between the plant and the wall; it must have been at least 45 minutes before Kevin showed up. He came up behind her and gave her a kiss but she wasn’t in a very good mood, I guess that’s expected when you catch your boyfriend cheating.

“What were you doing upstairs?” She asked suspiciously.

“I was working Hannah, I had a meeting with the board, you know, the one about them hiring me.” Kevin grabbed her hand and started walking her towards the exit much to my relief and confusion. The board doesn’t meet on Mondays, which meant Kevin was blatantly lying about what he was doing upstairs. Besides, I schedule those kinds of meetings for the board members and I know for a fact it’s on Friday MORNING. He couldn’t just say that he was working because that wouldn’t be a good enough excuse for Hannah, but if it was an important meeting about getting George’s job….she’d apparently accept an excuse like that.

I waited for them to leave and started to collect my things when I saw a woman’s shadow peak around one of the elevators across from me. I immediately ducked for cover. I couldn’t tell who it was, but I knew Kevin was definitely not telling the truth about having a meeting with the board. Things might have just gone in my direction….