Stubborn Love - A Contemporary Romance: Falling for Him (Falling for Him Contemporary Romance Series Book 6) (8 page)

Clara woke up in the wee hours of the morning and rushed for the bathroom. She was horribly sick, running a slight fever, her entire body ached something fierce, and her head was throbbing in time with her heartbeat.
I have the stomach flu that’s been going around the office! Great!

Kaylee had been the first employee to come down with the illness, and two other employees of
Bella
had also fallen ill. Rather than a twenty-four hour bug, this one seemed to hang around for several days and Clara groaned in defeat.
There’s no way I can go to work!

She got dressed and then headed to the building next door. Her friend had left her a list of emergency services, and a general practice doctor happened to have an office in the ground floor level of the building next door. According to the note by her friend, he welcomed walk-ins and was reasonably priced.

Clara didn’t care so much about the cost; she just hoped he could give her something to help lessen the nausea and stomach cramps. She’d already taken something for her fever and the body aches, but even now her stomach was threatening to rebel the intrusions.

The doctor turned out to be a kind older gentleman who agreed with her assessment of the stomach flu. He wrote her a note excusing her from work for the next three days, and then ordered her to go straight back to bed.

Clara wasn’t able to stand on her feet for a long time anyways, so it was easy to follow the doctor’s orders. At the apartment, she called Nigel’s secretary who wished her well and said she’d let everyone know.  A few hours later the medicine for the nausea had finally done its trick, and even her fever was down slightly, but she still felt like she had been trampled beneath the feet of a dozen horses.

In bed, she thought about the night before, smiling wanly as she realized she’d done an excellent job with the moderation. Unfortunately, her mind soon turned to her last interaction with Nigel and then the good-looking guy she had left with the night before.

He’d been cute, but when they’d arrived back at the apartment, she hadn’t even been able to kiss him goodnight. She’d sent him away, her thoughts and heart still on Nigel.
They were always on Nigel.

Throughout the day, she received several text messages and phone calls. She let the first few go straight to voicemail and didn’t grab her cell phone until noon. When she did, she was startled to see all of them had been from Nigel.

She took her phone back to bed with her, but when it rang again an hour later, and caller I.D. showed Nigel’s name, she just let it go again. Today she just didn’t have it in her to deal with Nigel. When the phone rang again and again, she the ringer to silent, rolled over and went back to sleep.

Clara still felt horrible, and she spent the next two days either sleeping or watching movies on TV. She didn’t answer the phone calls, nor did she return the text messages. She had firmly resolved not to have anything to do with Nigel ever again.
That road only led to heartache! No thank you!

Three days later when Clara returned to work, she still hadn’t spoken to Nigel. She was nervous about seeing him, but the secretary informed her straight away that Nigel had been called away on a business trip and would be out of the office for the rest of the week. Clara was relieved and smiled for the first time in days.

The first person she met once she entered the office space was Kaylee. If she’d been a bitch before, she was now in Über Bitch mode.

“Nice of you to finally deign us with your presence.”

Clara looked at her in shock, wondering what had crawled up her ass! “I’m feeling much better, thanks for asking.” She wasn’t letting this woman destroy her good mood.

“I understand you did a passable job at the event.”

Passable? Really?
“Oh, I think I did at least as good of a job as you would have done. I trust you’re better now?”

“Of course. And did you really compare your mediocre job as moderator to my skills? Please! Someone definitely thinks highly of herself.”

Why is she such a bitch?
Clara was totally confused. She continued to wonder that throughout the morning as Kaylee found a reason to bash her work at every turn. It wasn’t until lunchtime that Phoebe shed some light on Kaylee’s motives.

“She’s just jealous. The first thing she heard when she returned was what an awesome job you did in her place. I can tell you, she was really pissed off. You couldn’t have picked a better time to get sick.”

“Why’d she be upset that the event went well?”

“I think she’s threatened by you. Your designs are so much better than hers. I mean, you’re truly gifted. Much more than the rest of us.”

Clara was flattered. Deep in her heart she knew Phoebe was right. But that didn’t make it less annoying.

During the next few days, nothing worked. Clara began to get desperate. All of a sudden she lost things; sketches disappeared, or she found them ripped up in the trash can. The ones that reappeared looked odd. Almost like someone had altered them.

She was worried that she had come back to work too soon.
Maybe the fever affected me more than I thought.
But it got worse; finished garments disappeared, and later showed up with large cuts or rips in them. One dress had a large cut right down the middle of the expensive fabric. Everything was going to hell in a hand basket and she had no idea of what was happening.

Maybe the flu had somehow messed up her brain? Is it possible to develop a mental disorder from the stomach flu?
Maybe I’m just exhausted and need a few more days rest.

Those thoughts persisted for the first few days, but then she began to consider seriously that someone might sabotage her at work. There were too many things happening.

She needed someone to confide in, but who? Surely not Kaylee. And Phoebe was nice, but she’d heard her in the break room tearing down other junior designers and that had made her wonder what she truly thought of her. There was simply no one at
Bella
she trusted enough to voice her suspicions. No one.

Friday afternoon finally rolled around, and she breathed a sigh of relief as she headed home. The week had been trying, and come Monday, Nigel would be back. He’d given up sending her text messages, but she knew there’d be no way to avoid seeing him at the office. She was proud of the fact that she’d made it through the week without answering him, though she’d been tempted a million times.

But next week would bring the acid test to her determination. Could she resist him?

Clara entered the office Monday morning, listening to the office chatter. As soon as she’d stashed her purse in the small desk she used, her desk phone rang.

It was him, “Clara, please meet me in my office.”

She swallowed, “Sure. When?”

“Right now.”

Clara stared at the phone for a moment and then sighed in defeat.
I so don’t want to do this.
She figured Nigel wanted to confront her on not answering any of his phone calls or text messages.

She had deleted all of them without even reading or listening to them. Now that her rage had decreased, she wondered if that had been a good idea.
I wish I’d at least read a few of them. What if it was important?

Squaring her shoulders, she decided to let him direct the conversation and take her cues from there. Her only excuse was that she had acted stupid and overly emotional.
Couple that with a good case of stomach flu, and surely I could be given a little leeway. Right?

Clara approached his office with trepidation. To make matters worse, she had to wait outside, because he was currently in a meeting with Kaylee. As she sat in the chair right outside his office door, she could overhear their conversation. Every. Word.

“Nigel, I’m telling you. I worked with her all of last week and she simply doesn’t have what it takes to be successful in this business.”

“Explain what you mean,” Nigel asked.

“She’s a complete mess! Her sketches are pathetic, with mistakes that a high school kid wouldn’t make. And the ones she managed to turn in last week were smudges or ripped up.”

“What do you mean the ones she managed to turn in?”

“Well, I wasn’t going to say anything, but there were two days where she didn’t finish anything at all. She claimed that her sketches had disappeared from her desk while she was at lunch. But no one in this office would dare touch someone else’s work. You know that.”

Nigel didn’t say anything and Kaylee continued talking, “And several of her first-run garments look like someone took a pair of scissors to them. What a waste of fabric. And time. And money!”

“Kaylee, that doesn’t sound like Clara.”

“Well, I was here last week and you weren’t. I don’t want her working under me any longer. I want you to fire her!”

She wasn’t able to hear Nigel’s reply as the secretary walked in at that moment and began talking to her. Sweet as ever, she wanted to know how Clara liked the city, and if she’d done any more sightseeing.

Clara tried to be polite, but found carrying on a normal conversation beyond her at the moment.
I need to get away. Now!

With the excuse that she needed to fetch some urgent work, she left the waiting area and rushed down the hallway. She tried to stem the falling tears but couldn’t.

She paused in the middle of the hallway, trying to decide what her next move should be, when Phoebe entered the hallway and spotted her. With one glance at Clara she registered the and invited her for coffee. Away from the office.

Clara agreed, not caring that Nigel would wonder why she wasn’t waiting for him. Not caring that Kaylee would have yet another reason to complain. She needed someone to talk to and Phoebe had made herself available.

Poor girl!
Clara unleashed her worries on Phoebe, telling her everything that had happened the week before and then the conversation she’d overheard Kaylee having with Nigel.

“Clara, you know that Kaylee had made it her mission to destroy you?”

She nodded her head slowly, “I’m beginning to understand that. But why?”

“She might even be the person sabotaging you. In fact, I’m almost sure of it. Everyone else in the office genuinely likes you.”

“Thanks. At least I’m not going crazy!” She paused. “What should I do?”

Phoebe looked at Clara incredulously and laughed, “With your talent, I wouldn’t stick around here. Kaylee hates you. Nigel doesn’t appreciate how good you truly are. If it were me, I’d be gone.”

“But…” she broke off, not sure what to say.

“Clara. Get a letter of recommendation from Nigel. After you have it, quit and find another design house to work for. You made a great impression on many important people at the event last week. Reach out and grab your destiny in your hands. You owe it to yourself!”

When Clara didn’t say anything, she continued, “Look, in two weeks we have the big fashion show to present the new line. Make sure you do your best work ever. With those designs on the catwalk, everyone will want to hire you.”

Clara took Phoebe’s advice and determined to make the best of a rather dismal situation. She already had several designs slated to be displayed on the catwalk. She’d use those as her entry card into another job.

Kaylee could hate her all she wanted. And Nigel could let his principles keep him company at night. She was going to take the opportunity before her and make something good happen.

Nigel wasn’t completely convinced after his conversation with Kaylee. She’d always behaved very sweet when dealing with him, but he’d also heard the rumors about how she treated others in the office.
Was she showing her true colors?

Pushing Kaylee’s accusations aside, he exited his office expecting to see Clara waiting for him. He asked his secretary where she’d gone, and she informed him that Clara had to leave urgently to fetch some last minute work.

Was Kaylee right?
Doubts crept in. What could be more important than his request to meet her? Did she have to cover up another mistake she made?

He waited for twenty minutes, and still no Clara! His blood neared boiling level and he clenched his fists. Why would Clara miss a meeting with him? He’s the owner of the company! She hasn’t even answered his calls and texts. 17 calls and 23 texts to be accurate!
This woman has the guts to ignore me! I am done apologizing to her!

There it was again. His pride and former disappointments with other women came rushing back, making him doubt his feelings for Clara.
Maybe Clara had been using him after all? Maybe the late plane and the coffee spilling was nothing more than an elaborate setup?

A part of him realized he wasn’t even close to being reasonable, but he pushed it aside. He was hurt. Angry. Furious.

He told his secretary to inform him when Clara arrived. Nigel called down to her desk, but one of her co-workers answered. “Sorry, Nigel. I have no idea where she is.”

By the time Clara arrived back at the office, he’d planned out his strategy. He’d get rid of her. She wouldn’t break his heart. And she wouldn’t take advantage of him either.

He’d terminate her internship. Not right away, because he feared Sara’s sharp comments. Sara would see through him and cut right to the chase. She’d tell him he was stupid denying his true feelings for Clara. He suspected she’d known it from the first moment she saw them together, right here in his office.

But after the fashion show in two weeks. If it was a success, he could claim that he needed a more experienced person.

“Enter.”

Clara entered his office and took a seat. Nigel got right to the point, “Clara, I’m sorry, but I have to terminate your internship after the fashion show.”

“But…I thought you were happy with my work?” she asked, a little wobble of emotion in her voice.

“It was okay. My priorities have changed, and I need someone with much more experience.”
What a stupid excuse, Jacobs!

When Clara simply nodded her head and didn’t try to change his mind, it made him feel even worse. As he watched her, she seemed relieved to know that she wouldn’t be working for his company much longer.

That thought hurt more than he imagined.
Off course, she just used me! She came here to take advantage of me, but now that she’s been caught, the game is over
.