A Curve Ball Called Love

“Yeah, all you have to do is go down to HR and sign the paperwork. I already called ahead,” Virginia said. “You’ll be happy to know that your new contract includes a nice bump in your pay too.”

Tiffany smiled and forced a laugh.

“That sounds great… thank you.”

“Thank Mr. Ingram here. He had a lot to do with your new appointment,” Virginia said as they exchanged a look with Douglas. “Everything that has been happening since he joined the company has all led to this.”

Tiffany noticed the awkward look Douglas gave Virginia.

“Don’t get me wrong. There has been an adjustment period but I think we can all agree that it’s all worked out for the better,” Virginia said quickly. “I mean, you’ll definitely need a new department with you personally handling Douglas Ingram.”

At this point, Tiffany was even more concerned.

“What do you mean personally?” she asked.

“It’s quite obvious that you’re the Douglas Ingram whisperer. It only makes sense that you handle my PR needs,” Douglas explained. “You have, after all, proven to be quite good at it.”

“Well…. Thank you so much. I don’t really know if there’s anything more I can say,” Tiffany said with a smile. “I believe that this is the big break my career has been headed towards.”

“Great. Then we’re all done here,” Virginia said, grinning. “You can also have a pick at your new office if you want. Something bigger and better. Maybe something with a view.”

Tiffany forced out a laugh and shook her head. She’d just heard too much information to process.

“Wow… everything is just happening so fast. I just don’t know how to handle all this information,” she said.

“The job is yours, as is the office.” Virginia pushed a lock of hair behind her ear. ”Let HR know when you want to make the move and I’ll have some temps help you move in. The only thing left to say is congratulations.”

Tiffany shook her boss’ hand.

“Thank you very much. I promise I won’t let you down.”

“Yeah, Congratulations Miss Meyers,” Douglas said.

***

Tiffany was not so sure what she felt as she walked back to her office after her meeting with Virginia and Douglas. Going into the meeting, she was almost a hundred percent sure that she was fired. That was why she was thinking of setting up her own shop. She knew that it wouldn’t have been easy but she was ready to take the risk. But walking out of her boss’ office, everything had changed.

She was still trying to wrap her mind around what had happened when she got to her office. She sat down and leaned back in her seat, wondering if it was a coincidence that Douglas was at that meeting. She couldn’t understand what had just happened. She was still sitting in silence when Ian knocked on her door.

“Douglas Ingram to see you,” he said and Tiffany looked up at him.

“Let him in.”

The fact that Douglas hadn’t simply barged into her office should have given Tiffany the idea that something wasn’t quite right. She took a long, deep breath as Douglas walked into the room and slowly walked towards her desk.

“Did you know?” she asked when he sat down. “Did you know that Virginia was going to offer me that job?”

Douglas took a long time before he answered. She could see on his face that he was calculating. Thinking of how he was supposed to answer her. What words to use.

“Well, did you?” Tiffany pressed and he nodded.

“Yes.”

Tiffany buried her face in her hands and sighed loudly.

“Good Lord!” she whispered loudly.

“I had a talk with her yesterday—before I came over—and I told her that I was going to pull my investment if they didn’t give you a full-time position.” He shrugged. “I wanted to tell you last night. That was why I came over to your place. Well, that and to return your car.” He smiled. “How do you leave without your car? I mean, it isn’t a purse or anything like that.”

She shook her head.

“I’m not in any mood to joke, Douglas. This is serious,” she said. She wasn’t so sure if he heard the urgency in her voice or not. “You think last night would have happened if I knew what was going on… your deal with my boss?”

Douglas took a long, deep breath.

“Tiffany, I did that for you,” he said in a soft voice and she shook her head.

“Well, I didn’t ask you to. And if I knew what you’d done…” She pulled the pin that held her hair up and the straightened mane fell on her shoulders. “What the hell were you thinking? I mean, what was last night about anyway?”

Douglas shook his head.

“I was just showing you what I feel about you.”

She pressed the button under her desk that closed the blinds.

“When I started this job, I knew I had to work harder than everyone to keep it and even after all this time, they were still ready to write me off even though I’ve singlehandedly brought in some of the biggest advertisers this publication has ever known… I even had to get myself this desk out of pocket. The blinds? I had to get those too, out of pocket because they only gave me a glass box in the middle of the office that no one wanted. So, I made it the office I wanted it to be and now, I sleep with someone and suddenly, I have the corner office with a view which is much better than this but it feels cheap, Douglas.”

“That wasn’t my intention, Tiffany. You have to know that.”

She shrugged and forced a smile.

“This job is important to me, Douglas. I’ve worked too hard to just let it go without a fight… and I have to work for this because one day I want to have a family of my own. And this…” she looked around. “This is what I’ll have for my children. What I’ll have achieved here is all I’ll have to show for all those years of scraping the bottom…” her voice trailed off and she stood up. She paced the office for some time before she looked at him. “This cannot happen, Douglas. Me and you… whatever that was, it’s over.”

There was a long silence before he found the courage to speak.

“I understand,” he said in a soft voice. “I would hate to be the one to stand in the way of your dreams and career.”

She choked back a tear as he stood up and walked to the door.

“I’ll give you your space but I have to say that I won’t stop trying to earning your respect. And your love,” he said before he walked out, leaving her standing over her desk, confused about the whole situation.