Secretly, Carmen had always wanted to sit at a desk in this manner: smiling, hands clasped behind her head, leaning back with her feet up on desk. She admitted to herself that the pose was a bit cliché, a thing of movies and noir TV series. But, in this instance, it seemed absolutely appropriate.
Josh McCall, a look of shock and despondency on his face, slowly collected things from his desk and put them in a cardboard box. The cocky smile he wore when he first entered Vaughn’s office had been erased. Carmen had seen that look far too many times, and the fact that she had just seen it for the last time satisfied her even more. Not sure exactly what was said in that office, Carmen wished she could have heard. Still, she knew what was going to happen when Josh was called in by the boss. She knew Josh would be completely blindsided. It appeared he was.
Josh picked up the box and turned toward the elevators in a zombie-like state. “Oh Josh,” Carmen called out. She had stood up from her chair, walked to edge of her desk and leaned back against it. Josh turned. Carmen found his shell-shocked look priceless.
“Good luck,” she said. “I’m sure you’ll make it to the top. And, if you need a reference,” she leaned forward and lowered her voice to just above a whisper, “I’d be happy to tell anyone how willing you are to go the extra mile.” A wink accompanied her teasing smirk.
Josh’s face contorted and his mouth came open as though he wanted to say something, but nothing came out, a hint of anger replaced quickly by grief and despair. He knew he had been beaten by Carmen; he just had no idea how. His head sank and he turned back toward the elevators.
The image of Josh slinking away to the exits was all Carmen needed to see. She returned to her desk and started shopping for shoes with which to spoil herself in celebration.
Ten minutes later, Mike Vaughn rang her to request her presence in his office. She turned to face him after closing the heavy wooden door and she was surprised by how together he looked. The old man is really putting up a good front. She found herself slightly impressed by this.
“Carmen, please have a seat,” he instructed her. His voice had seemingly lost a little of its command, but to anyone not accustomed to it, he still sounded ultimately authoritative.
Carmen walked to one of the chairs in front of his desk and sat down.
“I’m going to be frank with you, Carmen. I know you’re probably pissed about some things around here,” he began, “and I gotta say I don’t blame you.” When he said that, his eyes lowered to the desk to avoid hers. But, they came directly back to her when he continued. “I’m not gonna bullshit you or try to cover my ass. I’ve suspected Josh had been stealing your reports and turning them in with his name on them for a while now. But to be honest, I didn’t say anything because I didn’t think you had what it takes to survive in this business. Yet, you’ve kept pushing through, and you proved me wrong.”
Carmen didn’t give away any emotions. But, in her head she thought, Unbelievable! He’s actually putting the blame for this on Josh! So much for ‘no bullshit’...
Mike continued, “Now, I know you are probably aware that Josh has been let go, and while I can’t give you the details, I now realize that his deceptions have run much deeper than I expected.” He leaned forward and rested his arms on his desk. “I should’ve acted sooner than this. I apologize for not doing so, Carmen.” He actually sounded sincere.
Carmen, in turn, forced her voice to sound appreciative, “Thank you Mr. Vaughn. I’m just glad that I will be able to show you how dedicated I am to this firm and continue to give my best effort.” Her smile was glad and straight, no hint of omniscience. “No apology is necessary.”
But, in her head, she sneered. Before long, you’ll be following Josh right out that door. The comment made her smile that much easier to maintain.
Mike, thinking he had satisfactorily handled the situation, smiled back. “Please, no need for formality; it’s Mike.” He paused a second for that morsel of license to sink in. “And that being said, I would like to speak to you about the vacancy left by Jacobsen’s retirement.”
Carmen raised her eyebrows, keeping with the façade.
“I’m sure you suspected that Josh was the favorite for it, but given the circumstances, specifically, since he was presenting YOUR work, I would like to ascertain your level of interest in it.”
Carmen did her best to feign an appropriate level of enthusiasm, “I would love the opportunity to interview with the board, Mike.”
Mike smiled and relaxed back into his chair.
Does he look relieved? She sensed an abundance of calmness flow through him and this forced a twinge of panic within her. Did Anthony mention my name? ... Or is he just ignorant of the true predicament he’s in?
As Carmen contemplated these two possibilities, Mike sat in silence, quietly proud of himself. He eventually reached over to his phone and punched his intercom button.
“Sarah.”
“Yes,” answered the intercom.
“Please schedule a dinner interview for Miss Abbate with the Board and myself at Sylvia’s next Thursday at 8pm.” With his finger still on the button, he looked at Carmen and raised an eyebrow.
Carmen smiled and nodded her acceptance of the date.
With that, he released the button.
“Yes, Mr. Vaughn. Right away.”
Mike pushed away from his desk and stood. He stretched out his hand to Carmen, “I’m very glad that we were able to put this nasty business behind us. I know the future is going to be a bright one for you, Carmen. And I look forward to seeing you come into your own at the firm.” He brought his other hand to cover their shake, “We’re a family here, you know.”
Carmen smiled back, “I’ve always been a strong believer in family.”
Parking her car on the street, Carmen gathered her briefcase and stepped out onto the pavement. She closed her door, pressed the “lock” button on her key fob and confidently walked up on the sidewalk. Her arms swung a little longer to match the extra spring in her step. She was quite happy with the day’s proceedings and it showed.
Passing Willie’s, she looked through the windows. Ordinarily, she wouldn’t walk to her apartment along this route, not since her brush with her brother that night. But, today, she had everything in control, so she was no longer wary of the establishment.
To her surprise, she recognized someone in the bar. She stopped abruptly and peered through the glass. She smiled broadly and ran to the door.
Pushing the door open, she dropped her briefcase and ran as fast as her high-heeled feet would take her. “Vincent! Oh my god!”
Vincent turned quickly at the sound of her voice. He took a few steps back away from the bar, but didn’t turn completely toward Carmen. The bartender warily looked at Carmen but quickly brought his eyes back to Vincent. Before Carmen reached him, Vincent shot the bartender a look. The bartender’s wide eyes said he understood.
“You’ll never believe the day I had!” She nearly screamed as she wrapped Vincent up in a hug. Vincent returned the hug as if it was an obligation. Carmen pulled back to open a space between their chests.
Feigning anger with a furrowed brow and a terrible fake voice, she asked him, “Where have you been?” Without waiting for an answer, she raised her head to his to kiss him. Vincent oddly backed away.
“I’m sorry, Carmen,” he said, placing his hands on her upper arms, “I’m in the middle of something.” His glance caught the bartender’s eyes again before he re-focused on Carmen. “Work things.” He was obviously uncomfortable.
Carmen pulled away in complete disbelief. “What?” She shrugged her shoulders to loose herself from his hands. “Why haven’t you called me?”
Vincent took a step back and straightened his dark suit jacket.
Carmen continued questioning him, “Where have you been?” The anger was now showing on her face. “I don’t see you for days and now you tell me that you have ‘work things’?” She icily stared him down, still in disbelief in his lack of attentiveness. “What the fuck is wrong with you?” Her voice started to rise.
Vincent began to speak, but then humbly looked at the ground. He slowly turned his head, still concentrating on the floor until he brought his eyes up to two men who were standing behind him.
Carmen hadn’t even noticed the two gentlemen in her excitement. But, she immediately recognized the two Marella strongmen. One of them leaned his shoulder against one of the booths while the other stood just there. Each of them held an expressionless face on top of their over-priced suits and partially-buttoned, unpressed dress shirts.
Carmen froze as she processed the scene before her. She wasn’t completely familiar with the guy leaning against the booth, but she seemed to recall that the man next to him had just been acquitted of battery charges. Is Vincent embarrassed to be seen with me in front of these assholes?
While Carmen’s eyes narrowed as she took in the situation, Vincent sprang to life. Pulling his coat straight once again, he looked at the bartender then turned to the two goons. “All right, we got what we need. Let’s go,” he commanded them.
The two men casually stood straight and walked past Carmen on their way to the door. Each of them looked her up and down as they passed by. Carmen just stood and glared back at them. Vincent shot one last eye at the bartender before he turned and walked to Carmen. He took her arm gently in his hand. Carmen was stunned.
“I’m sorry,” he said just loud enough for only her to hear. “I’ve gotta go. I’ll call you.” And just like that, he followed the men out the door.
Carmen just stood there watching him walk away. Her eyes began to get cloudy from the tears. She hung her head, embarrassed and hurt.
When she heard Vincent push the door open, she heard one of the men ask, “Jesus, Vincent. All your bitches get clingy like that?” Both of the goons laughed loudly as the door closed.
Carmen’s head shot up in a fury, but Vincent was hurrying them into a Mercedes parked right on the street outside the door. She angrily stared at them through the window, but none of them even glanced back into the bar, not even Vincent. She fumed. Her hands balled into fists. Her head pounded with rage. She wanted to grab something and hurl it through that window. But, she couldn’t move.
The car sped away. Only after it was out of sight did she realize where she was. She suddenly became acutely aware of how rapidly her heart was beating and how heavily she was breathing. Tears left trails down her cheek. She quickly turned to see who was in the bar and may have seen everything that had happen. She only saw the bartender, yet when she looked at him, he immediately looked away. Turning away from him, she skirted toward the door. Tears began to flow freely as her anger turned to hurt. She brought her hand to her face to hide her sobs. She bent over, grabbed her briefcase and barreled through the door. Outside, she raced for the lobby of her building.