The Stolen Heart

Chapter 4: Crashing down!

Monday morning was total chaos. From the moment I walked in, some were busy shooting me icy glares while others were pre-occupied with giving me pity stares. I frowned and prayed that the news about my pregnancy hadn’t travelled yet. There were already enough rumors about how I managed to get this promotion, I don’t need ‘bearing the heir of the Malcerk’s to become another one. None of them seem to care that I worked twice as hard as them or the fact that I brought the most revenue to the firm for the previous three years continuously. No! These facts they were happy to overlook.

Elena, my rival at work came to me and snickered, “Alas! Finally, they see the light.”

I raised my right eyebrow at her in confusion. People all around me was still staring at me.

“You yourself proved that you weren’t fit for the position nor can you handle any of the responsibilities that would have fell upon you. It was fun watching you bolt, leaving Justin to handle the media all by himself.”, she spit at me with venom in her voice.

My face drained color when I realized that the media event was not immediately shushed up as I was hoping it to be.

Elena had not been happy when I was chosen over her for the position and she had been vengeful towards me ever since.

She circled me like a vulture circling her prey, then whispered in my ear gleefully, “It’s about time you know your place, Merina.” 

She then knelt back, fixed me with a deadly glare and smirked. I took a step back involuntarily. She smirked at my response and I mentally chided myself. She flipped her ponytail and walked away without a second glance.

I continued walking forward, a little unhinged. The employees refused to acknowledge me. Some went out of their ways to ignore me while some snickered when I walked past them.

 I was racking my brain trying to figure what the hell had happened when Nick came running towards me with Jen close behind his heels.

“You are in big trouble, sis”, Nick said to me after coming to a halt. Jen immediately smacked his head from behind.

“Oww, what the hell was that for?” he exclaimed protesting.

Jen fixed him with a “Shut the hell up…. Right now,” look to which he firmly clammed his mouth shut.

Jen then took my hand and rushed me into her office leaving a flustered Nick behind, which I found confusing. My office was nearer so why was she making the around the way choice to go to her office instead?

She sat me down, then offered me a cup of tea. My hands were fumbling when I took hold of the cup. I patiently took a sip; then waited with heated breath for whatever was going to come, my heart beats thudding loudly.

“Your promotion has been withdrawn, Merina. The Board of directors issued the notice this morning.”, she said softly and bit her under lip, waiting anxiously for my response.

I felt like she had just slapped me in the face. No way was that happening! I had worked so hard for this only for it to be taken up away from me after working for one mere day as the CFO?

The cup fell from my hand and fell to the ground, hot tea flowing into the carpet under her table. I winced as I felt some splash on my legs but paid no attention to it. Jen got up startled and immediately rushed towards me, hugging me tight.

I let go of the tears I had been holding up and wailed into her arms like a wee baby. I felt deflated and angry and frustrated at the same time. She gently patted my head and rubbed my back, trying to soothe me down.

She reluctantly let go of me, then took a step back and analyzed my face.

“Remember the puny blonde who kept targeting you at the press conference? She is apparently one of the big shot journalists and she has written a rather defamatory piece about you in the New York Times which led several other female employees to protest against your appointment.”, she said barely able to control her anger.

Tears started flowing onto my cheeks and immediately Jen’s warm arms were around me again, holding me tightly while I wept my heart out.

“God, I miss you”, Jen sighed into my hair.

I sniffled a cry and looked at her bewildered and said, “but I am right here”

To which Jen shook her head and replied wistfully, “I miss the old you….the badass women who went with me to smash up my ex- boyfriend’s car up after he cheated on me in the middle of the night…..the woman who protected me from my father’s abuse…..you have changed Merina. Because the old you wouldn’t be crying right now, that woman would have kicked their asses into the wall and started contemplating strategies to get your position back.”

I sighed and let go of her. She was right to a point. This wasn’t me. I hated being weak the most. All my life, I had looked down on people who self-pity themselves and don’t fight back and look at me now. My friends were tired of giving me excuses. I am tired of giving myself excuses. Everyone had put with my glum state of mind for way too long now. I never thought of how me being in this state took a toll on them too.

“I am sorry”, I whimpered.

Jen smiled, wiping the tears from my cheeks. I got up and straightened my dress.

“You know, Richard wouldn’t want you to live your life like this, Merina. It wasn’t your fault that he died. He made his own choice. Let it go and move on. Be strong.”, she said then sighed.

“I have to now, I guess. I have to be strong because now I have a reason to live.”, I replied stoically.

Jen raised her eyebrows and looked at me with a bewildered expression on his face.

“Jen, I am pregnant”, I whispered softly.

She shrieked in surprise then clamped her mouth shut with her own hand. I grinned at her.

“Oh my god. I am so happy for you”, she wailed in delight.

She started tiptoeing happily then stopped suddenly and fixed me with a stare.

“Are you okay with this? I mean, I know growing up without a father sort of messed you up and now ….”, she stopped mid-sentence, embarrassed.

“It does bother me. I feel like history is repeating itself again.”, I confessed.

She opened her mouth to protest and I immediately raised my hand and continued, ‘But none of this matter now. I will just love my baby double to compensate.”

Her eyes softened and she smiled at me.

“Who else knows?”, she asked

“Richard’s family and you. Oh! and remind me to inform my brother too. But yeah, that’s about it. I intend to keep it a secret till this s**t calms down cause otherwise it will be just like adding to the trouble. Everyone’s going to be like, oh that’s why she got the promotion because she was giving birth to their heir”, I replied.

She nodded studiously, then made a motion with her hands of clamping her mouth shut and then throwing off the key.

“How did his family take it?”, she asked curiously.

I sighed and relied, “Really well. Regina was on the ninth cloud. Mr Malcerk was elated too but Justin….”

She puckered her lower lip and looked at me with one eyebrow raised, waiting for me to continue.

“I couldn’t get a read on Justin at all. All through the weekend he had a complete poker face on. You know the face he has when he is negotiating with tough clients. He kept to himself and he went out of his way to avoid me throughout the entire weekend.” I said and sighed.

I have no idea what is going on with Justin lately. He has been doing the weirdest things. The whole weekend he had avoided me and the rare times we collided into each other; his eyes didn’t move even one inch away from Richard’s ring that I always wore around my neck. I saw raw anguish in his eyes whenever his eyes travelled down to my neck. Thinking it might have reminded him of his little brother, I had made sure that the chain stayed under my sweater all through the weekend.

Jen looked like she had something on her mind. She looked as if she was contemplating whether it would better for her to speak or to keep her mouth firmly shut.

Upon my quizzical expression, she took a deep breath and came closer. Then in a barely audible whisper she asked, “What do you think of Justin?”

Huh? What was that supposed to mean?

Seeing my confused expression, she asked again,” What do you think of him…you know as a man and not as your boss?”

“Eww…gross!! I don’t think of Justin like that at all. For god’s sake. He was my almost brother in law. What the hell is wrong with you?”, I replied, mouth open and aghast.

She looked like she wanted to say something more but then decided against it and quickly shut her mouth. It was clear as day that she was hiding something but I decided not to press it for the time being. She shrugged and smiled at me innocently.

I smiled back at her, then started heading towards the door, walking steadily while straightening out my shoulders.

“Where are you going?” a startled Jen asked from behind.

“To fix this s**t. No one gets to take away what’s rightfully mine.” I said and smiled at her shocked reaction.

Her expression changed from shell shocked to utter delight.

“Does that mean you are done weeping?”, she asked and waited for my reply anxiously.

I simply laughed and said, “It’s about time, don’t you think?”

To which she simply raised her right eyebrow and smirked as she replied smugly, “Took you long enough”.