Eden (19 page)

The elevator opened, and I stepped
into a dark hallway. “Grant?” I called. Everything was quiet. The
sounds of the copy machine, the phones, the clicking of keyboards,
and conversation were notably absent. The nervousness I’d felt
about speaking with Grant was overshadowed by something else. My
body was on alert. Something was off.

A faint glint of blue
light trickled from under my office door. I blew out the breath I’d
been holding.
Get a grip, Nina. You bested
Claire today. Whatever is behind that door, you can
handle.

I gripped the knob and turned, trying
to keep the fear at a manageable level. When I realized who was at
my desk, I was instantly angry.

Sasha, leaned back in my chair with
her ankles crossed and on top of my desk, held the phone to her ear
with one hand, and curled a strand of her ginger hair around a
finger of the other. “Oh stop,” she laughed, slightly swaying back
in forth in my custom-made Aero chair.

I swung the door open, hoping to
surprise Sasha so much that she fell onto the floor. Instead, she
glanced at me and then continued talking without pause. “Ugh, and
did you see the shoes she wore? I thought about giving her a
mercy-nudge into that mud puddle just to cover them up!”

“
Sasha,” I said, trying to
keep my voice calm. “Hang up the phone, please. We need to
talk.”

Sasha rolled her eyes. “I need to go,
Mom. Someone needs her office for the first time this
week—coincidentally when I’m on the phone. Okay. Bye,” she said,
returning the phone to its cradle. “You have the last cord phone in
this entire building.”

“
It was my
father’s.”

“
So?”

My first reaction was to run at her
full speed and tackle her bony ass to the floor. Then she wouldn’t
be in my chair complaining that it wasn’t fit to her
standards.

I closed my eyes, took a
deep breath, and began again. “I’m not changing anything in this
office. I like it the way it is…because it is, in fact,
my
office. Which begs
the question: What are you doing here at ten o’clock at
night?”

“
What are
you
doing
here?”

“
Answer the question,
Sasha,” I replied, exasperated.

“
I was working,” she
snapped. She pulled a file off the desk and held it against her
chest as she approached me. “Trust me,
your
office was happy for the
change.”

I started to cross my arms, but forced
them to stay at my sides. “What exactly do you hope to accomplish
here by insulting the CEO of the company? How far do you expect to
get here, Sasha?” I hated how arrogant that sounded, but I was
genuinely curious.

“
Grant is the CEO as far
as we are all concerned.”

“
What you should be
concerned about is the company you’ll be applying to after you
graduate. Who do you think will sign your recommendation letter?
Who do you think will have the final say on your reference
report?”

“
You wouldn’t.”

My eyebrows popped up. “You’ve made an
enemy of me from day one. You can’t expect me to feel sorry
for—”

“
Grant has plenty of
positive things to say about my time here.”

“
Grant likes your short
skirts and that you have coffee waiting for him every morning. Even
if he did somehow notice the insignificant tasks you do complete,
he would also see how many mistakes you make. You are not the asset
to this company you believe you are, and you’re a bi—” I stopped,
catching myself.

“
I’m a what?” she
goaded.

“
A bit rough around the
edges.”

She narrowed her eyes. “I
know you’re the princess of Titan. That doesn’t mean you get
everything
.”

“
What on earth are you
talking about?” I said, wrinkling my nose.

Sasha stuck her hands on her hips.
“Oh, enough already with the oblivious routine. You may have some
people fooled, but I’m not one of them,” she said, poking her chest
with the last few words.

Frustrated, I closed my eyes, shook my
head and sighed. “If you don’t wish to resolve this, fine. But stay
out of my office unless you have my verbal permission.” I opened
the door, gesturing for her to leave.

Sasha’s arms crossed tighter, and she
lifted her chin in defiance. “Truth hurts?”

“
I honestly don’t have
time for this.”

“
You just threatened my
career. Make time,” she said, pushing the door shut.

“
What career?”

“
Better than a fake
one.”

“
Are you serious? You’re
bitter because I’m taking my father’s place in the company? As if
you wouldn’t, had you the opportunity! What father doesn’t want
their child to take over the family business?”

“
You’re never even
here!”

“
What is it that you want,
Sasha? My job?”

“
No! It’s absolutely
ridiculous that you have this huge office right beside Grant that
you’re
never
in!
What a waste of company resources! Grant keeps this company running
while you’re off doing God knows what with your
husband-slash-stalker…it’s
disgusting
,” she said, her face
screwing so tight, the skin around the creases in her face turned
white.

“
Disgusting?”

“
Yes! When you do decide
to show up, you’re so busy flirting with Grant that you
still
don’t get anything
done. What will happen to this company if Grant decides to leave?
It’s doomed!”

Sasha’s words turned a light on inside
my head, and I stood there in shock. “You’re in love with him,” I
whispered.

“
Oh, please,” Sasha said.
“You must be losing sleep again.”

“
You’re in love with
Grant.”

Sasha’s mouth fell open. “Am
not!”

I pointed at her. “You’re in love with
him, and you’ve been pissed at me this entire time because he
flirts with me!”

“
You think I’m jealous of
you? That’s just the most ridiculous…,” she trailed off, laughing
to herself. Her face turned red, and the she took a step forward.
“I don’t see what anyone sees in you. You’re not talented…at
anything…you’re not that smart, definitely not that attractive, you
have
no
fashion
sense, and you have the personality of a rock.”

“
Tell me how you really
feel,” I said, incensed. “I don’t care what Grant sees. I’m married
to the most perfect, amazing, handsome man in the universe.”
Although it was the truth, I inwardly cringed at how sophomoric it
sounded.

“
You don’t care? Then why
did you stick me in the bowels of the file room? I know you wanted
me out of the way!”

I wanted to tell her that Grant was
the one that cast her away, but that was more cruel than I was
capable. “You can have Grant. I never wanted him,” I said. Even the
thought of Grant, of me and Grant…ew.

“
He’s not yours to give
away!” Sasha howled. “You want to know what I can’t stand about
you? That! That right there! That snooty, presumptuous,
overconfident tone you have when you have zero redeeming qualities!
Your father thought you hung the moon, Grant thinks you can do no
wrong, your best-friend-slash-assistant treats you like a queen,
and your husband should have never given you the time of day. Now,
you’re pregnant and gloriously happy. I’m not jealous, Nina, I’m
revolted! You don’t deserve
anything
you have!”

“
Maybe you’re
right.”

“
What?” Sasha said softly,
clearly caught off guard.

“
I don’t have any
redeeming qualities to speak of. I don’t know why Grant has that
ridiculous crush on me—if that’s even what it is—and I am the first
person to admit that I don’t deserve Jared. He probably just fell
in love with me because it’s his job to be around me
twenty-four-seven, and he didn’t have time to date. He disagrees,
but I’ve always thought….”

“
Well,” she cleared her
throat, “you’re not…you’re not
that
bad. I mean, you’re not funny at all but
sometimes you make Grant laugh. And I’ve seen you be sort-of kind
to Beth. Once. No, you don’t have any redeeming qualities, but
since when does anyone need to be extraordinary to be loved? Most
people are average. Not me, of course, but it’s perfectly fine that
you are.”

I took a deep breath. “I can see why
you’re upset with me. I haven’t handled our situation in the best
way. I should have talked to you. I didn’t realize…I mean, looking
back, I knew about Grant. But I thought it was the position you
wanted, not necessarily him. Now that I know, I get it. I don’t
think he’s all that attractive, but I see why others
do.”

“
He’s very cute,” Sasha
sulked. “He really does care about this company and the employees,
and he’s so smart—and sweet. When he’s not trying to figure out how
to keep Titan on top, he’s talking about you. It’s infuriating. You
are never kind to him.”

I frowned. “I’m not. I will try to
work on that.”

“
No! Don’t do that!” she
said, shaking her head. “I just meant that...don’t go out of your
way on my account.”

“
I’m sorry. I would like
us to get along better,” I said. Now that I knew the source of her
disdain, it was easier to understand the motives behind her hateful
remarks. “You still can’t put your feet on my desk.”

“
You’re right. Totally out
of line. I apologize.”

I wasn’t sure what to say next. We had
never been civil to each other, and now that we had come to an
understanding, all that was left was an awkward silence.

“
I was, er…I was just
about to get some coffee. I’m going to be here all night
reorganizing the file room. It’s atrocious. So…do you want
some?”

“
Coffee?”

“
Yes,” Sasha said, trying
a smile.

“
Here,” I said, pulling a
twenty dollar bill from my pocket. “I can’t drink coffee,
especially not the sludge in the break room. I’ll grab me an apple
cider and you a coffee at that place on Spruce. It’s my
favorite.”

Sasha snatched the bill from my
fingers. “I’ll get it. I need a break, anyway. I just need a
flashlight.”

“
Why?”

“
I had to park four blocks
down in that parking garage because of the construction, and the
lighting is nonexistent.”

“
Why don’t you take my….”
I had to stop myself and think. Jared was surely back by now, but
he couldn’t take her in the Escalade, for many reasons. My car was
parked at the curb just outside. The only people I had allowed to
drive it were Jared and Bex, and that was only because they had
supernatural powers of precision and lightning reflexes. It was too
late, now. I’d opened my mouth, and a retraction would shake our
already fragile cease-fire. I would have to let Sasha drive the car
my father had given me.

“
Why don’t you take the
Beemer?” I said, nearly choking on my words.

“
Are you sure?”

“
Yes,” I said, holding out
the keys. “Just be careful, please.”

Sasha smiled. “What do you
want?”

“
I’ll have a large hot
apple cider with caramel. Oh, and a slice of their Lemon Velvet
cake.”

“
I know it’s summer, but I
can get you an iced coffee if you’d prefer.” I shook my head, and
Sasha’s expression changed quickly from confusion to understanding.
“Oh, right. The baby. Okay, I’ll be back in twenty.”

I smiled. “I’ll be here.”

My keys jingled in Sasha’s
hand as she disappeared behind the elevator. I leaned against the
wall, wondering if I had just made the biggest mistake of my life.
How could I trust Sasha with my most precious possession?
She
hated
me.

I bit on my thumbnail, and paced back
and forth a few times. I thought about the different items in my
car. Would she go through it? Was anything incriminating inside
that might hint at the truth about Jared? My cell phone rang in my
pocket. I quickly fished it out.

“
I’m fine,” I
said.

“
Then why is your blood
pressure going through the roof?” Jared said. His voice alone
slowed my heart rate. “I can stop her if you don’t want her to take
your car.”

I walked through my office to the
large window, looking down to the street below. “Yes, because that
won’t look suspicious at all.” The lights of Fleet Rink were bright
enough to illuminate the entire block, and I watched as Sasha
followed the sidewalk, her red hair bouncing against her silk olive
blouse. The headlamps of the Beemer blinked, and a short blip
sounded when the alarm was deactivated.

“
Her car seems in good
shape,” Jared said, trying to comfort me. He was in the Escalade
across the street, pressing the cell phone against his ear as he
smiled up at me.