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It would have made all the difference if she'd got that promotion, but when they made Gillian Winterson head of marketing, it was the last straw.
Sara had put in endless hours for that promotion, she wanted it so bad, but needed the extra money the most.
Mod
Yes - he owed her, didn't he? For the humiliation? So why shouldn't he make it up to her now?
Besides, she had no choice. Every time she closed her eyes, the happy smiling faces of her little sister and brother flashed before her eyes. Since her parents had died in the car accident, she was all they had.
Right. She mentally rolled up her sleeves, opened the document headed "resignation letter", and hit "send".
She released a breath she didn't even know she was holding after she hit "send". A number of feelings coursed through her mind with relief being the most prominent of them. She didn't need to work in a place where her hard work and dedication wasn't appreciated.
She stared at her computer screen for the next several minutes, waiting for the expected response. Would he be pissed? Would he beg her to stay? Questions raised in her mind as she sat in fear.
Fear of not knowing where life would be leading her. She'd been standing at the precipice...and the second her finger had pressed 'send' she had leaped...into her doom?
Well, it was no use sitting here staring at the screen any longer. No use just putting off the moment when she'd have to face Jason and tell him she was going to take that job after all. And that was something she'd have to do in person.
Just thinking about facing him after so many years...after what he'd done to her...she broke out in a cold sweat. No, she scolded herself, I will not be intimidated.
I can do this, she thought. Steeling her mind, and backbone, she gathered her belongings and walked away. Towards what she didn't know. What would it be like to see Jason again?
His new offices were just down the street, so it wouldn't be long before she found out.
Pushing through the door of the building she would forever be leaving behind, she felt a profound sense of relief. Soft, warm gusts of wind caressed her skin as she stepped over the threshold into the street...into a new life.
At least Jason would understand her need for promotion, for more money. It was all he'd ever wanted, after all. To be wealthy, to get on. It was one of the reasons why he'd left her.
Even now, she remembered the look in his eyes before he'd turned around and walked away, dismissing her and everything the'd built together.
And she'd thought they'd been a team! That they'd face the world, and all it could throw at them together. How naive she'd been back then. Well, she knew better now.
She knew better than to believe in fairy tales and happily-ever-afters...no matter how much she would have liked to!
So - she was taking a job from Jason. That didn't mean she would ever again do anything stupid like depend on him. This was just another step up the career ladder. Another item to put on her C.V. He would be her boss, not her partner. So long as she kept that straight in her head, she'd be fine.
Walking up the street at a brisk pace, determined to see this through, she reached the complex of buildings Jason worked at, entered one of them, and soon after pushed the elevator button for the 7th floor.
She gave herself a pep talk. Be cool and calm. Act professional. Behave as if nothing happened all those years ago. This is nothing personal, just business; and then the elevator doors opened.
Sara gazed at the long, narrow hallway stretching out before her. She could hear the faint but unmistakable buzz of voices coming from opened office doors.
And then, "Sara? What on earth are you doing here?" It was Jason, looking at her as though she was the last person he expected.
A tall leggy gorgeous blonde stepped from behind him, eyeing Sarah curiously..but also checking her out. She said " Jason, you didn't introduce us"Completely befuddled, Jason gathered his wits and said, " oh I am sorry, Megan this is Sarah, Sarah, this is Megan, my fiancee. "
Sara's jaw dropped before she could do anything about it. And, of course, Jason and 'the blonde' noticed!
Great. Just great. One more layer of humiliation to add to everything she'd already had shovelled on her at her last workplace.
A gorgeous, leggy blonde ― of course he would marry her!Arrggh, men, she thought angrily, momentarily overcome by an irrational, but oddly satisfying urge to rip his hair out. Better not, she decided and calmed back down, pasting a much too wide and bright smile on her face.
"I've come about the job you offered," she said. "You know, the one you said I'd be mad to turn down?"
"Uh..yeah..I am afraid now is not a good time; we were just heading out.. today's my last day at work actually, that is before the wedding and the honeymoon ..I'll be back after two weeks." Jason replied. Sara's face paled a little but she covered it up quickly " Of course! I could always make an appointment.. Anyway, Congratulations to both of you! I guess I'll see you later then.." and Sara hightailed it out of there through the stairs. She detested the thought of going along with them in the elevators.
"Who was that, Jason? And why did she look so distressed when you mentioned the wedding?" Sara heard Jason's fiance ask in a loud, suspicious sounding voice just as she reached the staircase. Shortly after, a large, strong hand grabbed her shoulder and spun her around. "Why did you just run away like that?" Jason asked in a low, slightly shaking voice.
"Come on, you made it clear you didn't want me around," said Sara, shaken to the core by the heat of his hand on her shoulder. A hand that was lingering. Squeezing slightly.
"That's not how it was, and you know it," he replied in a low, rumbling, and slightly heated voice as his body leaned toward hers. He was suddenly so close, Sara had no choice but to retreat until her back was up against the wall.
Sara sighed. This wasn't supposed to go like this, she thought. She needed to make it clear to him. "Jason, what we had is over the day you left me..you are getting married for heaven's sake! Look, I just want the job if you are still willing to offer it to me, other than that, it's best that things stay professional between us. I'll call you after two weeks, okay? and yeah, congratulations, I really mean it. " She escaped from him hold and started walking down the stairs, a strange sense of relief washing over her. She could use these two weeks as a small vacation she thought. God knows she needed one.
Reaching her apartment an hour later, she set the grocery bag with the ingredients she'd just bought on her antique wooden dining table, kicked off her high heels, and sat at the table for a moment.
Two weeks. She had two whole weeks to kill. How on earth would she fill it? Taking a vacation was all very well in theory, but normally she'd be taking her brother and sister somewhere they wanted to go. And she couldn't very well just take off and leave them alone. She was just wondering whether to use the time to clear out the closets, when her phone rang.
"Hello?" Sara answered, slightly out of breath, having once again chased after the sound of the ringing phone. Why couldn't she just remember to set it back down on the receiver? "The honeymoon is off. You start tomorrow, 9 a.m. sharp," Jason's curt voice reached her ears; then he just hung up.
Mod
Today is the day. The day she set for handing in her resignation, time to start living life for her and to move on from foolish hopes.