Brothers of Paradise Series

I make sure to shut the door behind me and thank whoever designed this building that his office is an entire corridor away from the open landscape, currently filled to the brim with judgement.

I put the paper down in front of him. Henry grows still as he looks it over, an angry flush creeping up his neck. “So that’s why Kyle resigned this morning.”

“That’s what Terri thinks.”

“The fucking asshole. I should have fired him a long time ago.” The paper crumples in his hand, knuckles white. “I’m assuming everyone has seen this.”

“Yes.”

He looks up at me. “I’m sorry. I’m so sorry, Faye.”

No. No, no, no. I can’t stand the sympathy in his eyes, the apology, the acknowledgment that we did something wrong. I pace in front of his desk. “I’m ruined. Again.”

“Not at all. Faye, you’ve done nothing wrong.”

“Will anyone believe that? Think about the way it looks to everyone else! It looks like you pulled Kyle from the project for my benefit, and that I’ve been sleeping my way to the top!”

Henry is standing now, reaching out to me, but I don’t want to be touched. I throw my hands up. “This job was a godsend, and I mess it up not two months in.”

“You haven’t.”

“Really? Isn’t everything Kyle said true?”

Henry pauses, eyes hardening. “Nothing Kyle is insinuating is true.”

“Really?”

“No. I didn’t give you the job because I was interested in you. I didn’t pull Kyle from the project for you. And I never wanted our personal relationship to affect our professional one. You have to believe me, Faye.”

I look at him, my insides at war, fear and hope and humiliation taking up arms. I said I’d never regret what we did, but right now, I can’t think of anything beyond the destruction it’s wrought. “I really want to believe that.”

His mouth hardens. “I’ll fix this. I don’t want you to worry.”

“There is no fixing it. You don’t think word will spread? My career is over, and it’s my own fault.” I put my head in my hands and fight the urge to cry for the second time of the day. I need to get my head in the game, to figure out a game plan, but I can’t stop feeling nauseous with embarrassment. “This should never have happened. How could I be so stupid?”

I’d applied to all the big firms in New York months ago, after Elliot Ferris. They hadn’t wanted to touch me with a ten-foot pole, and then I’d only lacked a reference letter and been tainted by Elliot’s tentacle-like influence. This time, I look like a woman who uses her body to get ahead career-wise. I’ll never be hired again.

A warm hand lands on my shoulder, like he’s afraid I’ll shake him off. I don’t.

“It’s not all over,” he says, and his voice is vibrating with emotion. If I’m despairing, Henry is furious. It rolls off him in waves. “It might feel that way now, but it’s not. And Kyle won’t get away with this. Not in a million years.”

“Can I sue for slander?”

“Potentially. I’ll look into it.”

Right, I thought. Henry’s name is being dragged through the mud as well. Both of us come out of this looking bad, and the unnamed thing between us looks crude in the harsh light of day. I take a deep breath and try to pull myself together. His hand drops as I stand, smoothing down the wrinkles in my skirt.

“Why did your previous assistant quit?”

“Why do you ask?”

Something inside me sinks at the question, at the wariness in his eyes. “Someone just told me that she was in love with you. Did the same thing happen earlier?”

He rubs his neck. “No, Faye, it wasn’t similar at all.”

“Right.” I take a step back, unable to handle this discussion any longer, unwilling to hear whatever damning thing he’ll say next. My chest feels painfully tight. “Well, we didn’t exactly come out of this looking good, did we?”

“We will,” he says, with far more conviction than I feel. He’s already back at his desk, shoulders wide with tension and purpose, picking up his phone. “I’ll make this disappear. Don’t worry, Faye.”

I take a few steps toward the door and watch him in action. Thick hair and a strong jaw. In the corner, the model of his opera house is resting, covered by the sheet. I’d been naive enough to hope I could have it both-my dream job and the man of my dreams.

I should have known that was too good to be true.

Henry

I adopt my most friendly of tones. “Of course, and I wouldn’t ask you to. But I felt it was my obligation to let you know the reasons behind his dismissal.”

“And I appreciate that,” John Keys says, one of the architects on Elliot Ferris’s team. “We offered Kyle a contract just a few days ago. In light of your allegations, we might re-assess that.”

“Do whatever you feel prudent,” I say. “I just know that on my end, slander and misuse of personal files is a serious offense. I’d call Mr. Ferris directly, but I’m sure you’ve heard…” I trail off, hoping he’ll catch on. The feud between my dad and Elliot is well-known and has never been easy for me to navigate.

“Ah, yes. I understand. And slander is a big deal for us too. Thank you for calling, Henry.”

“Anytime, John.” In truth, I hadn’t spoken much to him after architecture school-and even less after he started working for Elliot.

John pauses delicately on the line. “Now that I have you on… How about golf one weekend? It’s been a long time since we played.”

I resist the urge to snort. We hadn’t played together since we were seniors. “Absolutely,” I say. “Shoot me an email and we’ll set up a time.”

I stare at my phone for a long time after we hang up. So Kyle had gotten a job at Elliot Ferris’s firm, the snake, which was why he felt confident enough to pull this kind of stunt. I have little doubt he was offered the contract on Elliot’s instructions, specifically to score a point against us. But if my call can turn even one of the architects at Kyle’s new job against him, it’ll be worth it.

Kyle Renner, snake extraordinaire, would never get a recommendation from us-instead, he would get a warning, a call to every future employer. There was no cocktail party I’d go to now where I wouldn’t mention his name. Asshole.

I rub my temples against a headache, and the image of Faye in my office reappears, as she has so often over the past couple of hours. Maybe this whole thing was a mistake, she had said.

Fuck. This weekend had been one of the best of my life, and everything was-for once-perfectly on track. And then this happens. What had we said, just yesterday? That we wouldn’t let work get in the way? We might as well have jinxed it.

I force my hand to relax from its death grip on my armrest. One part of me wants to find Kyle Renner-I have his home address at my fingertips-and kick him senseless for hurting Faye like this. Another part of me wants to kick myself instead, for moving too fast. She’d promised she wouldn’t have any regrets, but that was exactly what had been on her face this morning.

You have to believe me.

And her response, broken and hurtful. I really want to.

We’d barely spoken since then, her at her desk and me at mine. Every feet of distance between us felt heavy.

I send an email to Melissa in recruiting and ask her to come by my office this afternoon. The question of how Faye’s application got into Kyle’s hands is still unanswered. I want to order her to my office right away-I want to hold people accountable for this-but the anticipation will make it worse for her.This text is © NôvelDrama/.Org.

Faye’s voice comes through the intercom. “Rykers is here for you.”