Cut Too Deep (17 page)

I
n the lobby, Mac greeted Hadley with a caramel macchiato in hand.

“You’re going to spoil me.”

Mac smiled. “Well, don’t get too excited. My friend owns the coffee stand.”

Hadley laughed.

As the two walked toward the elevator, Mac said, “Hey, I figured out what’s up with Mr. Jensen.”

Mid-sip, Hadley paused to ask, “Really? What?” before bringing the cup to her mouth.

“Mr. Genetti is his cousin. He’s involved in trying to bring him home. That’s why he’s missed so many days.”

Coffee spewed from the space between her mouth and the cup as Hadley choked violently.

I told Mr. Jensen’s cousin he was an ‘ass’, and Miller didn’t bother to share their relationship. Oh, God.

Mac laughed and patted her back. “Are you okay?”

Hadley nodded as the pair slipped into the elevator. Mac pressed the button for their floor, feeling his friend’s distress. Hadley sipped her candy-flavored goodness and prayed he didn’t ask.

“Okay, girl, what gives?”

Hadley turned her head toward him slowly. The doors to the elevator opened and she stepped out without answering. Mac’s feet fell in step with hers as he followed her to her desk. She put her things in the desk drawer with the impression Mac wasn’t leaving without an explanation. Miller said not to tell anyone about the phone, or their texts, but he didn’t say Hadley couldn’t mention her writing him. She knew Mac would be discreet.

“He responded to my letter, and I’ve been writing him.”

Mac’s eyes bugged out.

“You’re messing with me!”

“No, I’m serious, and I told him Mr. Jensen was an ass.”

Mac nodded, mouthing a silent, ‘O’.  “And, what did he say?”

“He agreed with me.” The air rippled with Mac’s laughter.
How can he think this is funny?
  “But, what if he tells Mr. Jensen?”

“I’m sure he won’t. I want to hear everything, but I need to get to work. Be prepared to provide deets about these letters at lunch.”

Hadley wasn’t
prepared
to
provide
anything. She remembered the plans Miller made for her.

“Oh, wait, do you have plans on Saturday?”

Mac’s head tilted with curiosity before he answered, “No.”

“Do you want to go somewhere with me?”

Their friendship had indeed progressed. Hadley never initiated their spending time together.

“Where?”

This is where Hadley knew he would be forcing her to dish details at lunch.

“Miller arranged a surprise for me and said I’d enjoy it more with a friend.”

Mac’s smile took over his entire face.

“Oh…a surprise from the G-man. I can’t wait!”

Hadley shook her head, watching her friend skip away. Mac might be more excited about the surprise than she was.

She rode the elevator to the top floor. The interior lobby of Genetti industries was as intimidating as its CEO. Whereas the lobbies in the rest of the building were mostly marble and wood, Genetti Industries lobby was a sea of glass. From the tables, to the front desk, and the artwork that adorned the walls–all breakable.

A young dark haired woman stared at Hadley from behind a center desk. Television monitors above her head were either projecting the current stock market numbers or tuned to cable television news.

“May I help you?” the receptionist asked coldly.

Hadley approached the desk on wobbly knees, though, she tried to appear confident. She cleared her throat.

“Um…yes, I’m here to see Renee.”

“Follow the stairs.”

Without another glance at Hadley, the woman extended her hand to a staircase rising at the back right of the lobby.

Great more glass,
Hadley thought.
One tremor and this place would shatter into a million pieces.

Hadley smiled at the receptionist before taking the stairs to what appeared to be another lobby. An older blonde woman sat behind a desk similar to the one downstairs. The similarities ended there. She smiled considerably warmer than the other receptionist.

Hadley started to introduce herself when the woman said, “Hello, Ms. Walker. I’ve been expecting you. I’m Renee.” She stood and held out an envelope. “This is for you.”

How does she know who I am?

Hadley smiled back nervously and took the envelope from Renee.

“Should you require anything else, my cell phone number is in there. Have fun.”

“Thank you.” Hadley wondered if she could get any useful information from Miller’s secretary, and decided to ask, “Have you heard anything about when he’ll return?”

Renee maintained her smile, but her demeanor shifted to astute professionalism.

“Nothing new, Ms. Walker, I’m sorry.”

Renee owned a place deep in Mr. Genetti’s trust circle. If she did know anything, her lips were firmly sealed. Hadley thanked her again before she returned to her desk.

Hadley opened her e-mail to a request from Mr. Jensen to meet with him at 9:15 in his office to discuss her employment. Her heart skipped a beat as she considered what he wanted to see her about. She never met with Mr. Jensen. All of her assignments came through Mac or one of the other designers. She answered him quickly that she would be there.

As she read over the e-mail again, her stomach twisted, and she realized she was probably about to lose her job. Miller obviously got word to her boss that his employee had been bad mouthing him to clients. The more Hadley thought about Miller’s reaction to her statements about Mr. Jensen’s demeanor, it didn’t make sense that he would share her opinion. Miller not only agreed with her assessment, but claimed he would not tell, and she believed him. Why the impromptu meeting then? She was about to find out. It was 9:14, and if she didn’t hustle, she was going to be late. With no time to dig into the envelope from Renee, she placed it in her purse and set her curiosity aside.

Lydia, Mr. Jensen’s receptionist, walked Hadley into Mr. Jensen’s office. With a phone to his ear, his back was to her. The sun reflected off his head through his thinning hair. After informing Lydia that she didn’t need any water or coffee, Hadley stood at the door and waited for her boss.

“Would someone please explain to him how delicate this situation is? It’s extremely urgent that he gives these people what they want, so he can return home. She doesn’t want to be found and risking his life is asinine.”

His voice lowered. Hadley no longer heard him, but assumed he was talking about Miller.  When her boss spun in his chair, Hadley averted her eyes to the window, appearing to be uninterested in his conversation. She wondered who the woman was Miller would risk his life for. Insecurity snaked its way around her heart. She didn’t want it to squeeze tight and make her doubt letting him in, but it did.

Hadley hushed the ugly voice trying to tell her,
I told you so
.

She brought her gaze around, meeting the dark eyes of her boss before he slammed the phone down. He grumbled an apology and waved at Hadley to sit.  With her notebook clutched to her chest, she quickly took her place in one of the chairs in front of his desk. She sunk into the soft leather and crossed her legs. Her heart pounded furiously while she waited for her boss to speak. Mr. Jensen raked his hand over the top of his head through what little hair he had left. He looked exhausted.

Finally, he leaned back in his chair, tenting his hands before he said, “How do you like your job here at Jensen?”

The color drained from her face. Miller definitely told him. Hadley was about to lose her job, and with thoughts of Mr. Duwatski’s recent visits, she felt bile burning her throat.

“Mr. Jensen—I—can explain.”

“No need to explain, Ms. Walker.” Paul leaned forward, resting his forearms on his desk, his fingers still tented. “It’s apparent you’re no longer happy in your position.”

Hadley felt pain in her eyes when they widened in horror.

“I need this job, Mr. Jensen…please, don’t fire me.”

Confusion descended across his rumpled brows. His fingers reached up to stroke his chin. “I’m not going to fire you, Ms. Walker.” As relief flooded her, she relaxed into the chair and hugged her notebook close to her chest. “Quite the opposite, actually. I’m promoting you to a Senior Creative Director. You’ll have several accounts, including our largest client, Genetti Industries.”

Relief no longer described how Hadley felt. She sat stunned, with her mouth practically in her lap as she struggled with how to respond.

“I don’t know what to say.”

“Thank you would be a good start.”

“Thank you.”

“You’ll start immediately. Lydia will show you to your new office. You can move in as soon as you leave here. She’s drafting the specifics of your promotion now, including your new salary and benefits, which I’m certain you’ll be satisfied with. We can go over them after lunch. Mac and Patricia will now report to you, along with Michelle, Pete, and two interns of your choice.”

Hadley started to stand, and then sat back down to address her boss.

“If you don’t mind my asking, why me? Certainly there are other designers with more experience who’ve been here longer.” The expression on his face confirmed her suspicion. Her gaze fell to her lap. “You did it because of Mr. Genetti?” He nodded. “Mr. Jensen, I want nothing more than to accept your offer. For over three years, I’ve worked extremely hard, hoping you would take notice. I’m certain I would do a damn good job as a Creative Director, but I want to earn a promotion on my own merits, not because you’re related to someone I hardly know, and simply because he requested it. For that reason, I cannot accept your offer.”

Hadley stood and squared her shoulders in a show of confidence, or perhaps blatant stupidity.

“Sit down, and lower your voice, please.” His stern tone had her sitting immediately. Hadley had crossed a line. By the look on his face, she would be lucky to keep her current position, let alone the promotion. “Let’s get the facts straight here. I’m not promoting you because Mr. Genetti requested it.”

“But, you said…”

“No, I simply nodded when you asked if it was ‘because of Mr. Genetti’. Yes, we did have a conversation about your employment. He asked some questions about your performance I couldn’t answer, and it led me to review your history with the firm. Truthfully, your accomplishments here have been nothing short of stellar, and I’m slightly ashamed of how I’ve treated you. You’re a damn good designer, and you should have been promoted long before now. Mr. Genetti may have brought you to my attention, but, I assure you, the promotion is based completely on your track record with this firm. I hope you will reconsider and accept my offer, along with an apology from me for not recognizing your talents sooner, because you earned them both.”

Successful confrontation with a man wasn’t something Hadley had any experience with. She expected to be fired for questioning him and, instead, received an apology.

“I’m sorry for my outburst, Mr. Jensen. I value my independence, and I need to make certain that I’m not receiving any special treatment as a result of my relationship with Mr. Genetti.”

“I understand, and I assure you that isn’t the case.”

“Then I graciously accept the promotion as well as your apology.”

“Very good then.” Hadley stood from the chair smiling. “Oh, and Ms. Walker…” They made eye contact before he asked, “What exactly is your relationship with Mr. Genetti?”

Though she wanted to, she lacked the courage to tell her boss the nature of her relationship with Mr. Genetti was private.

“Honestly we’ve exchanged a few letters and are getting to know each other.”

“Why did you write him?”

She felt compelled to answer, though justifying her private life to her boss frustrated her.

“I didn’t. I mean… I did, but it was mailed to him by someone else, and truthfully, I was shocked he replied.”

“So was I.”

The point when Hadley learned her boss didn’t think she was good enough for his cousin had finally surfaced.

Mr. Jensen sighed loudly.

“Look, Miller is my cousin—by marriage. I’ve known him for many years, and, in that time, he’s been through some things that have jaded him. I should tell you, he dates many woman, and…”

“You think he’s using me for sex, don’t you?”

The appalled expression creeping over her boss's face had Hadley wishing she could reach out and yank back every word.

“No, I was going to say that I’ve never seen him so taken by any of those women.”

“I’m sorry. That was very insensitive of me.”

“Do you think he’s using you for sex?”

Hadley blinked several times as if to determine if she was actually having this conversation with her boss.

“I did at first. Now I’m not sure why he’s writing me. He can have any woman he wants.”

Mr. Jensen smiled at the women he’d obviously underestimated.

“Yes, he can, but I can tell you based on our talks, he very much wants more from you than a casual affair.”

Her heart sang. As much as Hadley wanted to press for more details about Miller’s feelings, she preferred to know how he was doing. “You’ve seen him, and talked to him?”

“I’ve been the one to play courier, so yes, I’ve seen him.”

“How is he? Have they hurt him? When will he be home?”

“He’s a little banged up, but don’t worry, he’s tough. I wish I could tell you when he’ll return. He has an item his captors want, and the stubborn S.O.B. won’t give it to them.”

“What is it?”

“I’m afraid I can’t tell you. I don’t know, and I’ve told you too much as it is. Please, don’t share with him that we had this conversation. He’d be very unhappy if he knew I spoke with you.”

“No, of course not.”

“Good. You should get back to work. You have an office to move into. Oh, and, Ms. Walker, I think you two might be good for one another. When he gets home, go easy on him, please. His heart has been through some rough times.”

Hadley could relate.

“I will.”

She rushed back to her desk and opened the envelope from Renee. Inside, she found two tickets to the New York City Ballet for A Midsummer Night’s Dream, along with Renee’s cell phone number. Tears welled in her eyes. Hadley dreamed of attending the ballet in person since she was a little girl and couldn’t think of a show she would rather see. She wiped her cheeks before placing the tickets back inside the envelope. In that moment, she wanted to hug Miller and kiss his face and thank him a million times for making one of her dreams come true. But, that wasn’t possible. Their budding relationship existed through words, distance hindering any affection, which was for the best. His physical presence would only intimidate her into an awkward and unaffectionate thank you.