Forever Lies

3

A heavyset man paced in the center of the room, phone held to his ear, arm waving animatedly in the air as he broadcasted his conversation for the world to hear. Living in the city, many residents learn to ignore the constant presence of others and carry on as if they were in a room by themselves. My parents ingrained a sense of propriety in us girls that made it impossible for me to forget the myriad of people around me. This man clearly had no such inhibitions.

As my eyes wandered toward the front of the lobby, they were instantly drawn to a man in a deep blue suit, striding purposefully away from the security post. At first, I glanced around half expecting a movie crew to be filming him. He was masculine beauty personified—dark hair, perfectly styled back, closely cropped on the sides, a dusting of dark hair on his angular jaw, and deep-set eyes that didn’t stray from his intended destination across the lobby. The man’s suit fit his form without any extra length in the legs or sagging in the shoulders—it had to have been tailor-made. The fabric had a hint of a sheen, giving the suit an expensive look even from a good distance away. He didn’t wear a tie, just a white dress shirt with the top button undone. His gait was deliberate but not hurried, easy confidence wafting from him like steam from a rain-soaked summer street. I had never seen the man before. I’d come to recognize many of the building’s occupants, but there was no chance I would have forgotten this man. My eyes were glued to him as he strode a dozen paces between the escalators and passed the man on the phone. I was so enthralled in his sight, I didn’t notice the end of my ride and stumbled forward as my foot hit the solid floor at the end of the escalator. I would have been mortified if he had noticed, so I didn’t dare look back. Instead, I lifted my chin and continued on, hoping to exude the same sense of poise and control I had just witnessed in him. Once I was out on the sidewalk, I shook my head, unable to stifle a laugh at my own expense. I might as well have been a child gawking at the toys on display in the window of an FAO Schwarz. I hadn’t been that captivated by a man in … I wasn’t sure I’d ever been so entranced by a man. It was a shame, too. So many eligible options in the city, and so few were of interest. I walked the block over to where I had plans with my cousin, Giada, for lunch. She’d been my best friend for as long as I could remember. Our mothers were sisters-in-law, and we were born one month apart. Where she was the oldest of three girls, I was the middle, but our personalities had always been perfectly suited. It was as if we were born to be close friends—soul sisters. We ate lunch together at least once a week, often at the same deli where I was currently headed. It was close to my office and had the best Kaiser rolls around. I reached the place first after moving up our lunch so unexpectedly. Grabbing one of the four tiny tables inside, I played a game on my phone while I waited. I’d never been big on social media. My parents didn’t let us girls get on Myspace or f*******: when we were younger, and now that I was on my own, it had never felt all that necessary. Outside of Giada, I didn’t have a ton of friends, which was fine with me. I had two sisters and three female cousins—that was plenty of girl drama in my life. “Hey cuz, what’s going on? Hope you didn’t have to wait long. I got here as quickly as I could.” Giada plopped down in the seat across from me, impeccably dressed, as always, long auburn hair falling in thick waves down her back. “Hey G! Not long at all. Sorry to spring the time change on you.” “Not a problem. I hope everything’s okay.” “Yes and no. Let’s grab our sandwiches, and I’ll tell you about it over lunch.” “Please tell me it’s not your dickhead of a boss again.” I rolled my eyes and grabbed her hand. “Food first, then talk.” We ordered and took our food back to the table as the deli slowly began to fill with people on their lunch hour. I quietly relayed the events of the morning, attempting to keep the conversation just between us in a restaurant the size of a shoebox. Giada was fuming by the time I finished. She was the only person I had told about my lascivious boss and knew about each of his disgusting antics. “Al, I know you want to be respected at work, but you can’t let that man keep doing this shit.” “I know. I realize it’s not going to stop if I don’t do something about it. You know how hard I’ve worked to make a name for myself at Triton. Even then, there are still people who whisper that I’ve gotten where I am because I’m the boss’s daughter. I wanted to handle the situation on my own and not have to raise a stink, but I’m out of options.” “You don’t have to raise a stink, just tell your dad. He’ll fire that guy’s ass in a heartbeat—no one has to know why.” In theory, her suggestion seemed like the easy answer; however, life was rarely so simple. “You remember in high school when Mindy Jenkins kept trying to fight me and bullied me every chance she could get?” “That b***h made your life hell—of course, I remember!” “Then you should remember that not long after it started, I tried to get my dad to help me. There was a planning meeting after school for an upcoming dance, and I tried to avoid going so I could stay away from Mindy. Not only did my dad refuse to help, he insisted I go to the meeting. He told me there were always going to be hard situations in life, and if he went around fixing things for me, I’d never learn how to handle them on my own. I know he’d want me to deal with Roger myself, so that’s what I’ve been trying to do. Clearly, not effectively, but I was trying. Plus, if I run to daddy for help, everyone in the office will see me as a spoiled kid.” “What does it matter what those people think?” “It matters because they’ll never respect me if they think I didn’t earn my job.” “They don’t have to respect you.” Her bright red lips lift in a smirk. “They just have to work for you.”