Page 73 of Return on Love

“Hayden is gone and Priscilla will most likely not continue here. I’d like to offer you the position of Vice President. You’ve done stellar work despite all the problems that were thrown at you. I’m sure you’ll do great here and you definitely deserve a promotion.”

“Thank you, Weber. Really. But I need time to think about it. Can I get back to you in a day or two?”

Shock is written loud and clear on Weber’s face. He must’ve expected me to jump around with pleasure. To be honest, I expected myself to do the same. This is exactly why I’d taken this all up. But somehow, it doesn’t feel right and I can’t get myself to say yes.

“I don’t see what’s there to think about? Haven’t you always wanted this?”

My first instinct is to nod and agree with him. “But you have to stand up for what you want.” Ryan’s words echo in my head. Do I really want this? The doubt grows bigger with every passing second. And with Weber? I remember the feeling of telling Bob how I felt. How freeing it was. I let out a deep breath.

“I had wanted this, Weber. Emphasis on had. Past tense. But you’ve treated me unfairly, if I put it in the mildest manner. You’ve mistrusted me. You misrepresented me in front of my client. I’ve worked here longer than Priscilla with years of good work and praise from clients, yet you trusted her words more than my work! Either it’s not true and you’re making this up, which doesn’t speak highly of your ethics. Or you’re telling the truth, which doesn’t speak highly of your intelligence.”

I see Weber squirm in his chair, his face going a shade redder than before. I’m astonished that I’m actually enjoying it.

I pick up a bottle of water from the side of his desk and take a few sips before going on. “If I’m honest with you, I don’t want to work with either version of you—VP or no. I’m glad you’ve recommended MooreGames for funding. They deserve it and I’m sure the firm will benefit out of it. But I won’t be here to see it through.”

Weber is shocked for a few moments. “What does that mean? Are you quitting?”

“I guess,” I say. I hadn’t really thought of it. But I’d never felt happier or lighter. I stand up and walk to the door, not glancing back even for a moment.

By evening, the basic investigation seems to be complete. Gordon, Lily’s boss, is part of the investigation team, so Lily has some information in bits and pieces about what’s going on. They’ve found proof of money transfer from Priscilla’s system, as also the email James had been told to connect with Bernard on. Thankfully, they still hadn’t figured that Priscilla’s system had a virus. I guess Ryan did a good job cleaning it out. Apparently Priscilla had been screaming that she was framed, her system was being controlled by someone else, that someone hacked into her system.

As per Lily’s version, she came to meet Gordon, and ranted for a long time. Gordon finally asked her. “We’ve checked. There’s no such virus, and our systems would never allow such viruses to be downloaded.”

“Your systems are shit. It’s easy to download a virus. I did that myself.” As soon as she uttered the words, she shut up.

“You should’ve seen her,” Lily told me, her eyes wide with excitement. “She tried to mumble her way through, but Gordon caught that. I’m sure she’ll soon be confessing to everything she did.”

Serves her right.

The rest of us are allowed to leave later in the evening. In fact, we’re expected to take the next few days off from work. All we need to do is answer any queries from any clients over the phone. Apparently, our IT system needs an overhaul!

I get a call from Ryan’s hotel reception desk while I’m on my way back to my apartment.

“Ms Eva Jones? Mr Moore has left a bag here for you before he left for the airport. When can you come and pick it up?”

A bag? Must be my dress. So he left. Without even calling me once. It shouldn’t hurt me. He and I are done. ‘We’ were just a mistake. Somehow, the win doesn’t seem all that great anymore.

Chapter 22

“Women always figure out the truth. Always.”—Han Solo

The next day, I don’t know what to do. I’ve never had a free day in LA for a long, long time. Earlier, at the beginning of my career, Bob and I used to go out to meet some friends, mostly his friends. After we broke up, I’ve been working pretty much all weekends and holidays. So now, I’m at a complete loss. I’m amazed that even after staying here for so many years, I don’t have a single friend, other than Lily, of course. It makes me wonder about the misery of this thing I call my life. Have I made work my entire life? I used to find such people boring and ridiculous, the ones who only ever had time for work. No social life, no hobbies. And now, I realize, I am that miserable person.

Ryan hasn’t even bothered to message me after yesterday evening. Not that there’s a reason for him to. Or that I want to hear from him. Not at all. In fact, I think I’m glad he hasn’t called me. His words still hurt.

Lily calls me up and I pick up on the first ring, thankful for the distraction. “Hey, you wanna come over? Don would love to spend some time with you. And honestly, I’m already bored.”

“You saved me, Lils. I’m on my way.”

There’s a pet shop round the corner. I make a quick dash there and buy a couple of toys for Don. Then I grab a coffee from Starbucks before I make my way to Lily.

Don jumps all over me as soon as I enter, and I can’t help but remember Max. The squeaky carrot that I’ve bought for him is an instant favorite and he gets busy holding it in his mouth and throwing it away as soon as it squeaks. It’s hilarious to see him play with it.

“I don’t know how you did it, Eva. But I’m glad you found out the truth about Priscilla. She’s such a snob. I’d like to see her in jail, wearing a prison uniform instead of her showoff-y designer labels. You did good.”

“Yup. Women always figure out the truth,” I say with a wink.

“What’s the wink for? Is this something from your dear Star Wars? Duh! Anyway, what d’ya plan to do now, girl? You really thinking of calling it quits at the firm?”

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