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Heather hung up the phone and heaved a heavy sigh. She felt like the weight of the world was resting on her shoulders. She rubbed her temples and gave Stephanie a sheepish glance.
“I hate lying to him,” she frowned regretfully.
Stephanie sat beside Heather on the couch. “Do you want some tea and soup?” She fondly patted Heather’s back, instantly giving her a sense of calmness.
“Yeah,” Heather kindheartedly smiled at her roommate. “You always know how to make me feel better.”
“I’m like the mother you never had,” Stephanie quipped with a chuckle.
“That’s the truth,” Heather exhaled sharply and slumped her body into the couch cushions. She draped a throw blanket over her legs and tucked her knees up to her chest.
Stephanie reemerged from the kitchen a few minutes later holding a bowl of chicken noodle soup and green tea. “This will help calm you down,” she said as she handed over the food and drink.
“Thanks.” Heather had contentment in her heart, but it was brief and didn’t linger as long as she had hoped.
“I’ve just been so hurt before; I can’t bring myself to go through that again.” She brought the mug up to her lips and savored the way it smelled. She took a deep breath and puckered her lips, taking a sip.
“You don’t have to do anything you don’t want to,” Stephanie reminded her.
“I know, but he’s so sweet to me...” Heather trailed off as a memory of Asher’s face between her legs flashed in her mind.
Her cheeks burned hot. She flickered her gaze to her soup so that Stephanie wouldn’t get a sensation of the private memory clouding Heather’s thoughts. She had to make choices based on her inept ability to be level-headed and not with her heart.
“Do you think I’m making a mistake for telling him I don’t feel good and don’t want to hang out?” Heather searched Stephanie’s eyes, praying she would know what to do. She always gave such amazing advice.
Stephanie took a deep breath and had a pensive expression that wrinkled her forehead and gave a rosy flush to her complexion. “What does your heart tell you to do?”
Heather pushed the blanket off her eyes and chuckled ironically. “I was trying to avoid what my heart tells me,” she admitted.
“Why?” Stephanie frowned.
“I don’t know,” Heather shrugged. “My heart is telling me to call him. My heart is telling me to see him again.”
“Did he do anything at all to make himself appear untrustworthy?” Stephanie asked.
“No,” Heather shook her head. “Not yet.”
“Maybe not ever?” Stephanie leaned in and paused, letting that prospect sink in to Heather’s mind.
“He is bold and daring and adventurous.” Heather sighed whimsically. “He’s rough around the edges to other people, but he treats me more or less like a queen.”
“Isn’t that the way it should be?” Stephanie’s eyebrow pitched.
“Probably.” Heather chuckled and crossed her legs. “I know that he would probably throw himself in front of a moving train for me.”
“I hope that would never have to actually happen.” Stephanie made a sour face.
“Yeah.” Heather nodded and pushed the hair off her cheek. “That is probably a bit of an exaggerated scenario.”
“You think?” Stephanie laughed.
Heather playfully tossed a pillow at her. “Thanks for always being a pick-me-up when I need it the most.”
“Do you feel better now?” Stephanie asked.
Heather groaned and glanced up at the ceiling. “No, not really, but it’s not your fault. I’m just an emotional wreck.”
“I know how hard your last relationship was...” Stephanie trailed off as if she was afraid to press Heather into uncharted territory.
“It’s definitely left me with a few scars,” Heather confessed.
“Surface wounds always heal faster,” Stephanie noted with a tone of empathy in her voice.
“Tell me about it.” Heather finished the remaining sip of tea and placed the cup delicately on the coffee table in front of her.
She yawned and stood up, stretching. “I think I’m going to bed now,” she said and looked at Stephanie. She glanced at the clock on the wall. “It’s later than I thought.”
“Do you have to work tomorrow?” Stephanie asked.
“Bright and early.” Heather rolled her eyes. “I can’t wait to go to my dead end job,” she added sardonically.
“Don’t talk like that,” Stephanie reprimanded gently. “You have the whole world at your fingertips.”
“Tell that to Kevin,” Heather scoffed bitterly. “He’s the road block holding me back.”
“Do you want me to kick his ass for you?” Stephanie joked.
“Maybe I should send Asher to do that for me.” Heather gave Stephanie a spirited wink before spinning on a heel. “Goodnight,” she waved over her shoulder.
When she climbed under the sheets a few minutes later, she stared out the window and into the face of the milky moon. She knew what she had to do, but it could wait until the morning.
***
THE NEXT MORNING, HEATHER left before Stephanie. Dawn was just beginning to light up the world; the city kissed with a soft, purplish haze. She got in her car and drove to the news station. She clocked in and started preparing for the morning news.
Heather didn’t mind structure and routine. It kept her sane and helped bring her peace throughout the day. She couldn’t function in chaos, which was probably the reason why her mind felt so jolted these days.
She waited until her morning break to call Asher. She walked into the breakroom and made herself a cup of coffee. Leaning against the counter, she made sure she was completely alone and called him.
She took a deep breath. Her heart pounded nervously in her chest. What if he didn’t answer? What if he was fed up with the roller coaster ride? He was rich and famous and could get any girl in the world. How far did his patience and attention span go before he eventually forgot about her or became too frustrated to care?
She didn’t have time to ponder all the worst case scenarios because he picked up on the second ring.
“Heather?” He asked. His voice was filled with concern. “How are you feeling?”
“Better, thank you. I’m sorry; did I wake you?” She asked.
“No, not at all.” He sounded happy to hear from her.
“Oh good.” She nodded and glanced at the closed break room door. “I just...wanted to apologize for yesterday. I know I was acting a little weird.” She omitted the fact that she had more or less blown him off.
“It’s okay,” he said. It sounded like he was smiling.
“Well...” she trailed off. “Can I make it up to you?”
“How?” He asked.
Heather started walking around the tables in the room to keep herself busy. “Do you want to get together after I get off of work later?” Her breath caught in her throat as she waited for his response.
“Yes. Dinner?”
“Yes!” Heather exclaimed maybe a little too loudly. “I mean, yes that sounds lovely.” She lowered her voice.
“Great,” Asher said. “Just call me when you get off work and we can plan something.”
“Thank you.” Heather hung up, grinning from ear to ear.
She had followed her heart on that phone call, but it had paid off in a big way and she had no regrets about it either.
When she walked out of the breakroom a few minutes later, she was floating through the clouds. But as soon as she crashed into Kevin, who was lingering directly outside of the breakroom by the corner, her bubble burst and she plummeted back down to the earth with a harsh smack of reality.
“Kevin,” she breathed. “I didn’t see you there.”
His sharp green eyes lashed through her like tiny, stinging whips. “You should watch where you’re going, Heather.”
She swallowed hard. She wasn’t sure if he was warning her or threatening her or both. “I’m sorry.” She tried to breeze past him, but he momentarily blocked her path.
“Where are you going?” He asked.
He hovered over her and gave her a leer that made her blood run cold. She probably should quit, but she was trapped. He’d never let her get away that easily. She would have to put up a fight. She didn’t look at him.
“I’m just going back to the studio.”
Chills raced down her spine. Why did he always creep her out?
“Just remember that your breaks should be limited to fifteen minutes a piece,” Kevin said in a bitter tone.
“Right.” Heather held her breath and waited. “Can I please get back to work now?”
Kevin studied her for a few moments. And then he moved his arm to let her pass.
She scurried all the way back to the studio, feeling unsettled but she did her best to brush it off. Kevin was always intense like that. And she was damn tired of it.
Sam was in the studio when she got there. His face drained of color when he saw her. “Heather, are you okay? You look like you’ve just seen a ghost.”
Heather nodded and cleared her throat. “I’ll be right back. I’m just going to the bathroom for a minute.”
She rushed back out of the studio. She didn’t want to face anyone. She needed a few more minutes alone to be able to compose herself. Kevin had flustered her back there near the break room. He’d shattered her happiness. He got off on that.
Heather hated the fact that he had such a grip on her. She didn’t want him to affect her in a negative way anymore. She wanted to let everything he did or said to her to roll off her back. As she closed the bathroom door, a horrible realization slammed into her mind like a freight train.
What if Kevin had overheard her seemingly private conversation with Asher? Was that why he was behaving so menacingly today? Her heart dropped with dread. She glanced at her reflection in the mirror. She looked like she needed a million years of sleep. It was amazing how she could be dripping with euphoria one minute and then filled with fearful apprehension the next.
It wasn’t uncommon for Kevin to get on her case about things, or even hound her a bit each day, but something different swam in his eyes with the way he looked at her today. Something hateful and aggressive registered in his eyes like a flame of anger.
Heather leaned her head over the bathroom sink and twisted on the nozzle. She cupped her hand over the cold water and let it spill over her hand for several seconds before she drew it up to her face. The water hit her face with a rejuvenating splash. She inhaled sharply and glanced at her reflection again in the mirror. Droplets of water dribbled down the sides of her temples and cheek.
She turned off the faucet and patted her face dry with a dry paper towel. She could get through the rest of this day. When it was over, she had something to look forward to. She couldn’t wait for her date with Asher.
Heather pulled the bathroom door open leading back into the hallway. She was staring at the floor, so she didn’t notice that Kevin was right in front of her again. She gasped and reeled back.
“Kevin? I didn’t see you there—”
“I need to talk to you.” He set his jaw. “It’s extremely important.”
Heather flickered her gaze to the studio. Should she make a break for it? Impossible. Avoiding Kevin would only make things worse for herself.
“Right now?” She stalled.
“Yes.” He gave her a determined gaze. “It can’t wait.”
Heather swallowed hard. “Do you mind telling me what this is in regards too first?” Heather asked, trying to keep her tone measured and professional. She couldn’t reveal any kind of weakness to Kevin, or he would pounce on it in a split second.
“This is about your performance review,” Kevin said harshly.
“My performance review?” Heather frowned and shook her head in confusion. “Janetta told me that it’s not until next week.”
“It’s today.” Kevin grinned like a snake.
“But Janetta isn’t here today,” Heather argued.
“She doesn’t need to be here,” Kevin said. “I am your boss. I’m the only one that counts.”
Heather knew that was a lie, but she decided to follow him anyway. It wouldn’t do her any good to stand there and bicker with him back and forth.
She knew what this was about. The phone call she’d gotten in the middle of the night. The threat. The command. The bad thing she’d agreed to. And now she was going to pay for making a deal with the devil.
Kevin was the type of jerk who got his way and would plow down whoever got in his way in the process without a single ping to his conscious. Kevin didn’t have a conscious. He was a sociopath on a single track to take down the world and crush it between his hands.
Heather noticed how several people were looking at her with pity while she walked to Kevin’s office. Her cheeks burned with embarrassment. Why was she so scrutinized every time she walked with him anywhere?
When they arrived at Kevin’s office, he closed the door as well as the blinds.
“That’s not necessary—” Heather began, but Kevin cleared his throat to silence her.
He sat down at his desk and sighed. “Please, take a seat,” he gestured.
Heather reluctantly sat down in the chair beside his desk and waited. She kept her posture straight and her shoulders high and proud.
Kevin fumbled through a few papers on his desk and picked a few up, pretending to inspect them even though Heather knew they were not her performance review ratings.
“Now Heather,” he began in a lecturing grumble. “I’m sorry to say that your numbers are not favorable for this quarter.”
Heather’s heart raced. “Is this coming from Janetta?”
Kevin wouldn’t meet her gaze. “Among others...” he mumbled and trailed off. Heather knew he was lying. She could feel it in her gut.
Anger surged through her. “Can I see those documents?” She tried to reach her hand over the desk and grab them, but Kevin swatted at her and moved them away.
“These are confidential.”
“But they are from my performance review,” Heather protested. “They are about me, which gives me the right to look at them. Aren’t I supposed to sign them too?”
“Not today.” Kevin cleared his throat and adjusted his tie. He was full of it and she knew it.
Heather folded her arms over her chest defiantly. “I’m sorry, but if I can’t see what’s written on those papers, I am going to have to go back to the studio and get to work.”
“That is exactly the type of thing I’m talking about,” Kevin hissed. He leaned over the desk. “You are my subordinate; you cannot talk to me that way.”
“Kevin...” Heather trailed off and gave him a pitying glance. “You need to stop picking fights with me. If you brought me in here to chew me out for something you made up, it’s not going to work this time.”
Heather didn’t know where her sudden boost of courage came from, but she wished she could retract her words. Kevin eyed her viciously as if she were a bug he wanted to crush under his boot.
“If you speak to me, your boss that way again, you are fired.”
Heather swallowed hard and stood up.
“I’ll be speaking to Janetta about this.” She folded her hands so he wouldn’t see them shaking. Expecting him to bark a retort, she could feel the burn of his stare instead. Taking this as her opening, she briskly left the room. Her composure hadn’t caught up with her by the time she entered the studio.
Nothing was worth this kind of emotional torture, not even threats of being blacklisted in the industry if she quit. Tomorrow night, she would start the search for a new job. Her dream didn’t have to die. Maybe she could find a news station in another city where Kevin didn’t have connections. There were possibilities out there for her; she just had to be strong enough to pull the trigger on them.
Heather kept her emotions in check for the remainder of her shift, but by the time she got into her car after her shift ended, she was fuming. She hated the way Kevin was able to get under her skin. She wished there was a way she could get out from under his trap.
At least for tonight, she’d try to enjoy her time with Asher and give herself a mental break.