Chapter 8: In which he's a jerk
The sun streaming in through my windows woke me up with a start.
I gasped and sat up as quick as I could without getting a whiplash and looked at my bedside table. The small digital clock showed 10.23AM in bold numbers.
"Shit!" I yelped, struggling to get up from my bed but I just ended up being tangled up in my covers and fell off the bed with a earth shattering yell...only to realize...that it was Saturday.
"UGHHHHHH!" I face palmed myself and fell back on the floor.
It had been two weeks since our dinner date at that fancy restaurant, with me finding out that I had a step-sister and knowing about Nathan's parents and it was safe to say that Nathan has been avoiding me ever since. I mean, we talk all the time considering my job as his PA, but he keeps using that bossy voice on me and keeps piling a heap load of work on my desk so that I was buried in my work all day. I think I went four whole days without having any lunch and I’m thankful for Tina who keeps sending me coffee or some fruity drink all throughout the day so I don’t pass out of hunger.
I guess even Tina knows just how big of a jerk our boss is. I got to know that she’s been in the company for three years already, so I guess she’s had the bad luck of knowing Nathan for a year before I did. She had worked as an assistant for Mr. Synclair’s secretary, who was prepping her to work for Nathan, so she’s had a lot of experience in dealing with the work load. She is also in charge on looking out for the other departments and the budgeting. I’d misjudged Tina when I’d first seen her. She’s actually a very competent woman and a total boss lady!
And as far as Nathan Synclair went, I was glad that I didn’t have to be nice to him all the time. It was kinda awkward that I hugged my high school nemesis all of a sudden, after he told me his story. I was wondering how I was going to face him the next morning anyway. But then I came to work to him having reverted back to his old aloof self. Just how I liked our relationship was supposed to be.
Ok, fine...maybe I wasn't that happy about the fact that one moment I felt like Nate and I might have finally gotten past our old non-existent relationship and the next he doesn't give two shits about me. What the fuck kind of bipolar shit was that? No offence to anyone suffering from the mental health issue, but he really needs to get his thoughts together…and so do I.
I quickly untangled myself from the covers and sprung up from the floor not-so-gracefully. Arranging the bed and my whole house as quickly as I could, I jumped into the shower and quickly washed up and shampooed my hair to get rid of all the dry shampoo I’d been using all week long. After drying, I wore my favourite white dress with little red flowers all around the bottom and the hem line.
I let my hair cascade down my back in waves after towel drying it and for once I wanted it to dry on its own without the help of that God awful heated air which only managed to make my hair dry and frizzy. With just a dab of eye liner and a touch of pink lip gloss, I was done. I took my red handbag, my favourite watch that my brother gave me last Christmas and my white flats and went out of my apartment, locking it properly on my way out.
I raced to the bus stand and was fortunate enough to find that the bus had just arrived, so I didn’t have to wait another half hour to catch another bus. I hopped on and took a window seat so I could enjoy the view. Bellevue was only forty five minutes away from Seattle and I could’ve taken a cab to save time, but I chose to save some money instead.
Today was a special day for me. It was my mom's birthday and if she was still alive, she would’ve turned forty five this year. She left us too early. Ever since her death 14 years ago, I always went to her grave on this very day with my best friend Florence and we would get a small cake and candles and light it up on her tombstone and let the wind blow it out.
I know it's childish but it just made me feel like my mom was still here with us, celebrating her birthday and looking over me and Sam. We don't eat the cake though; we would leave it on the stone and take a walk around the graveyard or just hang out in Florence's house. By the time of my departure, several birds would have already finished the cake like it was an offering. It always made me feel happy, like it was a blessing from my mother. It's like she's telling me that she is always watching over me even thought she is no longer with me physically.
And then there was Florence Bishop, my best friend since forever. We first met in Kindergarten and found out that our mothers were friends and we clicked almost instantly. No one has been able to separate us since then. Although during high school, Florence had to move to Ohio temporarily after her parents divorced and she went to live with her dad, but she came back on her final year, after her dad decided to get remarried and she no longer felt welcome. She came back right after Nathan left for Harvard, so she never got to meet my bully.
Florence was the exact opposite of me in both personality and looks. She had long black hair that reached her mid-back and light brown eyes. She was half-Asian as her mother was Vietnamese and her dad American. She was also the sweetest person around and we both loved each other to death. It was thanks to her and her parents that my stay at the Foster Care System wasn’t a complete hell and if their family hadn’t been going through a tough time themselves, I’m sure they would’ve adopted me.
I was snapped out of my thoughts by the sudden chime of my cell phone. I took it out of my bag and found out that the call was from none other than my devil boss. I groaned. This can't be good. "Hello?" I answered anyways.
"I want you in my office within an hour." Came his curt reply.
I think I just sat there opening and closing my mouth like a goldfish for 5 minutes straight. Well at least long enough for an old lady in the front seat to give me a disapproving look. That snapped me out of my shock.
"What? NO!" I almost yelled in despair.
"Savannah, I don't have time for this. My office, now! We have a very important meeting with our sponsors tomorrow and we have to finish their report by tonight. Tina is out of town on a family emergency and you have all the details of the Robertson contract with you.” He sounded agitated.
"It's Sunday for God's sake! And I have things to attend to, very important things!" I was pissed. This went against all kinds of laws and he couldn’t force me to go to work on my mom’s freaking birthday!
"More important than keeping your job?" His voice grew hard.
"Y-you wouldn't..." Did he just threaten to fire me? Seriously?
"Savannah just because we are acquaintances, doesn't mean that I'll be giving you any special treatment. You are my employee and I'm your boss. So if you want to keep your job then you better be on your way. You’ll be paid for the extra hours." With that, the line went dead.
I stared at the screen for a while, tears welling up in my eyes, making my vision blurred. I closed my eyes and sighed. I had to go. This was more than just a job. This was my chance at making my father pay for everything he had done. And Nathan and Synclair Inc. were my only hope now.
'I'm sorry mama, but I'm doing this for you. Please forgive me."
Thankfully the bus hadn't gone that far so I got down on the next stop and caught a taxi back to the jerks office. I wouldn’t have reached within the hour mark otherwise and he was paying me for overtime anyways.
Once I got off the elevator, I entered his cabin after a brief knock and was surprised to see that for once he wasn't in his suit jacket and pants but instead had a teal coloured tee and an old pair of jeans on. For once he looked just like the old Nathan from high school, one who was a major jerk and bully. Guess things haven’t changed all that much.
Thankfully, there were two other people inside the office, a girl from the supply management and a guy from legal, who looked just as thrilled to be here as I was. I’d seen both of them around but I didn’t know their names.
I didn't bother with pleasantries as I strode right up to one of the chairs in front of his desk and sat on it. I had the pleasure of seeing his eyes widen a bit at my attire. It wasn't everyday that I wore a dress to work and I only had a set amount of shirts and trousers that I had gotten from a thrift store. I hated wearing pencil skirts because I didn’t have killer legs like Tina and it meant I could skip shaving for the most part.
"Let's get this over with," I snapped, when I saw that he was still staring.
Nathan broke out of his trance and started explaining everything in details. I didn't speak to Nathan unless it was absolutely necessary as I handed him the contract papers and took notes of what changes were being made. Tina joined via video call, but since she didn’t have all the documents ready, she couldn’t be of much help. At lunch time he asked me to go out to have lunch but I stayed back to take care of the contract with a member of the legal team and the supply team. In the end, Nathan decided to stay back as well and ordered lunch for everyone, including me. By the time everything was done, it was 9.56 at night.
I packed up everything and bid goodbye to Sarah and Daniel, but as I got up to leave, Nate stopped me.
"I'll give you a lift home," he said, gathering his belongings.
"I'm not going home," I gritted out.
"What?" he asked puzzled. "Then where are you going at this hour?"
I spun around to face him and fixed my most deadly glare at him. "Oh, now you ask?" I yelled, outraged.
"Watch your tone, Savannah.” Nate gritted out. “That’s not how you talk to your boss.”
I took a deep breath to calm my nerves. "Seriously Nate, I can't keep up with your mood swings. Two weeks ago, I thought we were doing just fine. We weren’t best buddies or anything but I thought we could have a normal boss-employee relationship while leaving the past behind. But after dinner at the restaurant, you did a whole 180° and started being a jerk to me all over again. Even today, you didn't even ask me if I had plans, just ordered me to get here straight or lose my job."
"I didn't mean to, Savannah. You know how it-"
"I don't care, Nate!" I snapped, cutting him off. "There's no need to pretend to be nice anymore; let’s just be how you have been the past two weeks...just like high school." I whispered the end.
"Savannah, I-" He tried again but I cut him off this time as well.
"Goodnight, Sir." With that I turned around and left.
I needed a ride and fast. But calling an unknown cab at past 10 at night was out of the question. But I couldn’t call Sam either and the last bust had also left by now. It looked like the universe was against me.
What to do? What to do? Wait...
"Take this, in case your boss gives you a hard time."
Of course!
I looked around my bag while standing on the sidewalk and finally found what I'd been looking for. The name stared back at me with bold letters.
Nikki.