Page 84 of Diluted Truths
“I never dropped the case. I knew there was more and you didn’t believe me. I-I just wanted to show you there was more. Goldie andOliver helped make sure I stayed off your radar at work. They believed me. I have been following leads since.”
Fai stared at me for a moment. He sighed heavily before speaking. “First, I need to apologize for how I reacted to your news about you and Will. That was uncalled for.” He turned to Will before continuing. “I apologize to you as well. I have things I need to work through and I treated you in ways you didn’t deserve.”
Will scoffed in response and I shot him a glare. Will did have a right to be upset. He had been on Fai’s shitlist for years, but now wasn’t the time.
“Thank you, Fai,” I said.
He nodded in acknowledgement. “Jackie, I love you.Fuck, I love you so much. But I’m your boss and you spent weeks using work time to work on this case which I told you to drop. I-I’m sorry, but I have to let you go from Fibonacci Files.”
I stared at him in shock. He looked so disappointed in me. I had never seen him this upset before. It was as if feeling this way about me was hurting him. I had never meant to hurt him.
“Faizal! You can’t fire her,” Sarah proclaimed as she rose to her feet.
“What the fuck, Fai?” Will yelled at Fai.
I said nothing, but just stared at the man I thought was my greatest supporter. I knew I could never earn my parents' love, but I thought I would always have Fai’s. I guess I was wrong. I felt the tears before I registered they were coming from me. He just stared back, ignoring the other two in the room as well.
I would always remember the look he gave me when he found me on the bench after I ditched out on the AA meeting. It wasn’t pity I saw but understanding. He knew exactly what I felt. He just wanted to help.
Yes, it was me that put in the work to be sober, but it was him who held back my hair as I puked from withdrawals. He was there when I goteach of my chips. He was there when I published my first article. Fai was my brother, my protector, my friend.
Now, he was breaking my heart.
“I’m sorry,” I whispered. “I just wanted to make you proud. Show you I was worth it.”
“Jackie,” Fai sighed. “You were always worth it.”
“Then why?” I asked. “Why fire me?
“The second call I received,” he explained. “I would have been okay if you followed the case. I trusted your judgment to chase the cases and the stories that needed the truth told.”
Trusted?
Did he no longer trust me?
“Who was the second call?” I asked.
“Griffin Whitley.”
Fuck.
“Why did he call?” Will asked confused.
I should have told him about the first call. And the second I received the next morning.
Fai ignored Will and continued to speak to me. “He couldn’t get a hold of you at home, so he decided to try your work number. He was curious why you stopped answering. He was curious if it had started. Didn’t explain what that meant.”
“Fai, I-I’m sorry. I didn’t mean for it to escalate this far,” I whispered through my tears.
“What the hell is he talking about, Jackie?” Will asked.
“Griffin called me after we got back from New York. Wanted to know if I liked the drawings,” I explained.
“What drawings?” Fai asked. He turned to Sarah. “Do you know what drawings?”
She nodded her head yes. Fai only sighed in response. I couldn’t imagine how hurt he must have felt. Everyone was lying to him and we had been for a while now.
“Why didn’t you tell me?” Will asked me.
