Page 2 of The Proposal Pact
It's at the tip of my tongue to point out that he,indeed, should’ve done this program himself. It washisassignment, forhislevel of position. Instead, he let it lay around his desk formonthsbefore dumping it on me because he’s too clueless to even detect viruses on his own computer. Let alone lead a whole department, but hey, not all of us are as capable at fucking the CEO, so what do I know?
Hemorrhoid should’ve never got the promotion that was rightfully mine. The one I worked my butt off for, lost any semblance of personal life, sleep, orfreaking magic! I gave this job my all and what do I get in return?
Típota! Nada! Absolutely nothing, unless you count the ulcer I had to go to the hospital for last year.
Yet there’s nothing I can do about any of it. I can’t lose my job. I can’t! This is all I have; all I’ve worked for. I lived on my brother’slumpy couch through half of my schooling to get to where I am today. I lost precious time with my mom, my family to be where I am. To have the financial security and independence. Not to mention, all that money Vassar paid for my education. I can’t let all that go to waste!
So I grit my teeth, swallow all of my murderous thoughts, and kill a little bit more of my magic when I smile and say, “I’ll write an overview of the program for you to present in an hour and I’ll try to have the whole thing done by the end of the month,” I tell him.
“Fine,” he spits out. “And there is notry. You will get it done by the end of the week. Not the month, or I’ll make sure you don’t touch the computer for the foreseeable future.” And with that, Daniel spins on his shiny loafers and speeds away to his office.
Prick.I scoff to myself. A program of this magnitude takes at the very least three to four months. Yet, in an hour, Mr. Hemorrhoid picks up the overview I pulled together as I gear up for a long night of work. Nights. I mean nights. Plural. Many plurals.
Because I’ll never allow myself to fail. No matter how impossible the task is and how much more of my own life I’ll be sacrificing for it. I just can’t. This is my livelihood. This is what makes or breaks your career, and I need to make it. I must make it.
Our parents gave up everything they knew, their home in Greece, their family, for Vassar and me to live in America, to have the futures we deserved, to be financially stable and not worry about what scraps we need to find to make dinner that night.
So, forgetting my wet, stained blouse, the dinner I was supposed to have with Vas and his family this week, and everything else, I get to work.
It will pay off. It will. I know it.
A week later…
“Daniel, wow.” The door to the conference room opens. I’m not in the direct view of it, but I tilt my head a bit and catch the three figures standing there. “I’m blown away! This is…well, I’ve got no words.” Mr. Hart, the client I wrote the program for says with a broad smile, clapping Daniel on his shoulder. “I had high expectations coming into this, but you’ve overachieved every single one of them.”
Adrenaline mixed with pure joy and glee surges through my body. Oh my God. Overachieved every single one of his expectations? Me?
“Thank you, sir. That’s what I’m here for. Anything you need, come to us and we will get it done.”
“What he said,” our CEO, Scott, says with a secretive smile aimed at Daniel.
“Oh, you bet I will! I went through three other companies before coming here and not one of them could do what you did.”
“Well, none of them are me,” Daniel says smugly, and I taste distain on my tongue.
“I’d love to meet your team that worked on this project,” Mr. Hart says, and I’m about to push away from my desk and move toward them but stop.
“Oh, I’d never trust a project of this importance to just anyone. I worked on it all by myself,” Daniel answers, and my jaw drops.
What. The. Fuck?
“Well, my boy, then I’ll make sure to put in a good word for you with your boss.” He winks at Scott. “You deserve a nice raise and a few bonuses.”
The three men standing together share a laugh and a few more handshakes before Mr. Hart and Scott leave.
Alone. He’s done it all alone.
I’m still sitting here in shock, and don’t notice Daniel passing by. “What the fuck is wrong with you?” His voice jars me, but not enough to fully come back to life. Slowly, I look up at him. “Why are you sitting there like an ice statue? Get to work! You only have two months to get me the new program, so don’t come crying to me later that you can’t finish because you’re sitting here doing nothing. I swear I work with idiots.” He sighs but I just blink.
“Alone? You’ve done the program alone?” I hear myself ask.
Daniel cocks an eyebrow. “So, not just an ice statue. You’re an eavesdropping ice statue.”
When I remain seated, saying nothing, he clucks his tongue. “You should be thanking me, you know.”
“For what?” I blink again.
“For not throwing you under the bus. Your program had a ton of mistakes I had to fix. It was complete crap. Now you can say thank you and get back to work. Make sure this one is done on time, yeah? I don’t want to look like an idiot at the next meeting, presenting them a half-cooked overview bullshit.”
