Page 9 of Together at Ruby's

Then they were gone, and Liza was alone with Tate. The two stared at each other for a long moment, not moving. Finally, Tate set the two bags of food on the coffee table and opened her arms. Liza went to her. “I’m sorry,” they said in unison, which resulted in a tentative laugh from each. “I promise to be more patient this time,” Liza said. “But I need to understand exactly what happened.”

Tate sighed, and gently pulled away. “It’s like I said,” she replied, picking up the food and walking toward the kitchen. “They brought in an outsider named Aurora Price.”

“But who the hell is that?” Liza asked, trailing behind her.

With a shake of her head, Tate gathered plates and silverware. “Nobody is sure,” she answered. “Vivian looked her up online. She’s some bigwig from Chicago. I don’t know why they think she’s qualified to be the VP of Mergers and Acquisitions here in Portland.” Liza frowned. Nothing added up. They had been so sure Tate would get the promotion only to have it pulled away at the last second.For someone else?she wondered.That we haven’t even heard of?

Opening the bags and pulling out packages of food, Liza wasn’t sure how to ask her next question without sounding argumentative, but she had to know. “Tate, what will you do about it?” she asked, and Tate paused.

“Nikki thinks I should fight it,” she replied.

“And will you?”

After a moment of hesitation Tate nodded. “Yes, I’ll talk to my boss tomorrow morning and get to the bottom of this.”

8

Tate arrived at work earlier than normal for two reasons. First, being unable to sleep because of the nerves she felt about confronting her boss and second, the desire to get a jump on the work she missed by leaving early the day before. Regardless of the outcome from her discussion with her boss, she had a feeling Aurora Price would not be going anywhere anytime soon. If that was the case, she would need to give the presentation regarding Tate’s three biggest clients. Always professional, she would take the time to develop some slides with statistics and key information. She owed it to her clients even if she didn’t owe it to the woman who took her promotion.

As she exited the elevator onto her office’s floor, she noticed some of the main lights already on. Sometimes the cleaning crew forgot to shut everything off, so she didn’t think much of it as she dropped her laptop bag off in her office. Yet when she went to the floor’s breakroom where they had a refrigerator, some round tables, and a coffee maker, she noticed there was a pot of coffee already made.Okay,she thought.I am definitely not alone here.Curious, she made her way down the hall until she realized the office with the lights on was the one that used to belong to the VP of Mergers and Acquisitions. The reminder of what she lost made her grit her teeth.What would have been my new office. She didn’t have to guess it was more than likely the person inside the room was Aurora Price.And I have nothing to say to her.

Starting to turn back toward the breakroom and grab some coffee, she hesitated. Having animosity with the new vice president would not be in her best interest, especially if the woman didn’t know the impact she had on Tate’s life.Maybe Aurora doesn’t even realize,she thought.And in that case, I can’t hold any of this against her personally.Tate should at least be cordial. Taking a deep breath, she turned again and went to the open office door. As she suspected, Aurora sat at the desk along the floor-to-ceiling windows of the executive office. Her auburn-haired head was bent as she studied some papers on her desk. Again, Tate hesitated. She simply wasn’t sure if she was ready to start a conversation with the woman.

Before she could make up her mind, Aurora seemed to sense Tate was in the doorway and looked up. “Oh,” she said clearly startled to see someone standing in the there. “I didn’t know anyone would be here yet.”

Tate shrugged. “I decided I needed to be here early today.”

“And why is that?” Aurora asked. “Is there something I should know about?”

For a moment, Tate thought about being vague with her answer. The new VP didn’t need to know everything she was doing, but then she took a deep breath. “It’s about the three clients that I am supposed to brief you on,” she said. “I want to make sure I’m prepared for our meeting.”

Aurora leaned back in her chair and steepled her fingers. “I see,” she said. “You did do a vanishing act yesterday from what I hear. I hope everything is okay.”

“Everything is fine. Something came up,” Tate said, then took a step back. “Well, I won’t bother you any longer. I just wanted to see why the light was on.”

“Wait,” Aurora said before Tate could walk away. “Since you’re here and I’m here, maybe we should get to know each other better. Come in and tell me a little about yourself.” She waved toward the chair opposite her desk. “After all were going to be working closely together.”

Walkingalong the city sidewalk in the direction of her favorite little coffee shop, Liza was glad the rain from the day before had finally stopped. She found nothing more depressing than rain in June. Portland had more than enough during the months between October and April. The summer was meant to be clear and beautiful, and luckily, the day was starting off that way. Blue skies with a warm, gentle breeze on her face felt good.Maybe it’s a sign that today will be a good day,she thought.And Tate’s meeting with her boss will go well. Nothing would make her happier if they could somehow get back to how things were even two days before.

As she reached the coffee shop door, she saw Rey through the window. Her friend was already sitting at one of the small wooden tables along the wall, looking at her phone. After all the drama from the night before, Liza was glad her friend was able to meet her before the workday started. Rey was a perfect listener and always a calming influence. When Liza woke to find Tate already gone that morning, she realized she needed to talk to someone. Pushing through the door, there was a little tinkle of bells and Rey looked over. A smile brightened her face as soon as she saw Liza walking toward her. “Am I late?” Liza asked as she navigated around the few occupied tables in the small room.

Standing, Rey shook her head before giving Liza a hug. “Not a bit,” she answered. “I was a little early and had plenty of emails to read through while I waited.”

“From your new job at the nonprofit?” Liza asked as she took a seat opposite Rey.

Her friend nodded as she sat. “They keep me busy, but I could not be happier,” she said. “The change has done me good.”

Liza smiled a little. “I love hearing that,” she said. “You deserve to be happy.”

Rey tilted her head at the melancholy tone Liza had been unable to keep out of her voice. Her eyes scanned Liza’s face. “I think we all deserve to be happy,” she said. “How are you?”

Studying her friend’s face, Liza wasn’t sure how much Allie had already told Rey. “I’m okay, I think,” Liza answered. “Although last night was very disappointing. Actually, that’s an understatement. It was horrible.”

Before she could say more, the barista called Rey’s name. “I ordered you your usual—a vanilla latte. I hope that’s okay,” Rey said as she started away from the table.

“Of course,” Liza said. “Thank you.”

Watching Rey retrieve the drinks, Liza thought about how much her friend had blossomed over the last few months. She and Marty were perfect for each other, and it showed.Are Tate and I perfect for each other?she wondered suddenly.Does Tate love me as much as Marty and Rey appear to love each other?Feeling a stab of guilt at even doubting Tate’s love for her, Liza was glad when Rey came back and handed her the latte.

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