Chapter Three

Eleanor's POV

By the next morning, the hurricane had skimmed past the coast and headed north, and the office opened like any other day.

I'd just reached the break room door when I heard the whole room buzzing.

A few coworkers were crowded around Lacey, looking at the Instagram story she'd posted last night. She was wearing the sailboat hoodie and posing in front of a floor-to-ceiling window, with a dark gray suit jacket draped over the chair behind her.

"Wait, there's no way that ocean view is from your tiny apartment."

"I know that jacket. Mr. Kent wore it all last week!"

"Did you stay at his place last night?"

"Isn't that a couple's hoodie? I've seen the ads. They sell the men's and women's as a set!"

"I told you guys he treats her differently. On your first day, he personally walked you around to meet every single team. When has he ever done that for anyone else?"

"And last month, when your blood sugar dropped and you got a little dizzy, the snack bar was stocked with protein bars and juice the very next day."

My fingers went stiff against the doorframe.

That day at noon, I'd been helping Lacey double-check the numbers for a pitch deck and got so caught up that I skipped lunch. In the afternoon, I went to the break room for some water. Everything went black, and I slid down the side of the fridge to the floor.

Harrison happened to walk in right then.

I saw him take a step toward me, then go right past me and catch Lacey, who was standing behind me looking pale. The worry on his face didn't look fake.

Later, when I gave him the silent treatment, he acted like I was the one overreacting.

"You've got me to take care of you. Lacey doesn't know anyone here. If something happened to her at work, what was I supposed to tell you?"

"The only reason I look out for her is because she's your friend."

"She's your best friend. Why are you making this a competition?"

I pulled my hand back and walked away before the laughter inside died down.

Ashley from the front desk came hurrying down the hall with her coffee and almost ran into me. "You guys, you guys! I've got huge news!"

She squeezed into the break room and lowered her voice, but she couldn't hide how excited she was. "I just walked past Mr. Kent's office and heard him on the phone with a jeweler, asking if the ring had been resized yet!"

The squealing inside went up a notch.

"And that's not all." Ashley dragged it out on purpose. "The promotion list is out, and it's someone on your team!"

Everyone turned to look at Lacey.

"Oh, come on, that's obviously you. You're the new team lead!"

"Once it's official, you owe the whole team a round of drinks!"

Lacey blushed and waved them off. "Stop it. Eleanor's been here way longer than me."

I didn't stick around for the rest. I turned and headed to HR.

Marjorie, the HR director, had already read the resignation email I sent last night. When I walked in, she frowned. "Your pitches and your client retention numbers are the best on the team. Why would you just up and leave?"

"I just want to know one thing. Am I on the promotion list this time?"

She didn't answer.

The people who'd started the same year as me had either made account director or were running big clients on their own. I was the only one still spinning my wheels after three years.

Every year, Marjorie put my name forward, and every year Harrison found a reason to shoot it down. A presentation that ran two minutes over. An email where I forgot to cc one person. The excuses got flimsier every year.

Marjorie sighed. "Is there some kind of misunderstanding between you and Harrison? Maybe you two should sit down and actually talk it out?"

I forced a small smile.

There was no misunderstanding. I'd just spent three years in a relationship I wasn't allowed to talk about.

Seeing my face, she didn't push it. "For regular employees, resignations just go through HR. He doesn't need to sign off. If you've made up your mind, I'll take care of it."

Not long after I left HR, a notice for an all-hands meeting popped up.

Harrison stood at the front of the conference room, looking grim. "In last week's pitch, the client caught a data error right there in the room. Which team put that together?"

His eyes landed on me. "Eleanor, that's your team, isn't it?"

"If the acting lead can't handle the team, we'll find someone who can. Your bonus for this quarter is canceled. Starting today, Lacey's running the accounts team."

Some people bit back smiles and winked at Lacey. Others gave her a thumbs-up under the table.

I stared at the botched chart on the projector screen.

Lacey had put those numbers together. All I'd done was stay up two nights with her checking the formatting. Harrison knew better than anyone whose client that was.

My nails dug into my bandaged palm until it hurt.

She'd made the mistake, and I took the fall for it. Then, as if that wasn't enough, my position got handed to her like an afterthought.

After the meeting, Harrison called me into his office.

"I know Lacey's the one who got the numbers wrong. But you're the acting lead. When someone on your team screws up, that's on you."

He paused. "Do you have a problem with how I handled it?"

I stood up straight, like I was reporting to any other boss. "No. You're the CEO. It's your call."

His frown deepened. He opened his mouth, but in the end he just waved me out.

I'd barely gotten back to my desk when Lacey came over holding a pastry box. She took out a peanut butter cupcake and carefully set it on the corner of my desk.

"I went downstairs and got some for everybody. I saved this one just for you."

I pushed the cupcake back toward her. "I'm good."