FATE'S SECOND CHANCE

A RISKY DECISION

CHAPTER 3

YELENA.

“This is Mr Griffin's office. He asked me to bring you here, he'll be with you shortly.” She said as she graciously turned to leave.

As she reached the door, she paused in her steps like she forgot something, “I'm sorry, if you need anything, my office is just beside here.” She said pointing to the right wall. “Welcome to Griffin Tech.” And with that she smiled and took her leave.

I sat patiently in his office while tapping my fingers against the armrest. The room was quite modern, and as I took in a deep breath, I took in the scent of what I recalled to be his cologne. It was a strong yet calm scent.

Nervously I quickly reached for my phone and dialed Rose’number, thankfully she picked up instantly and I filled her in on everyone.

“So you guys kissed?” Rose' voice chuckled from over the phone.

“That's not the point.” I quickly responded,

“I'm just saying maybe that's why he asked me to show up at his company?”

Rose couldn't hide her excitement over the phone. “Just go in silly and let's see what he has to say.”

“Yeah I don't know Rose…”

“You're there already, just go in. Look I gotta go now, work calls. Talk to you later love.” Then she ended the call. I had dropped Phoebe off at school not too long ago and instantly came to Griffin Tech as Tom's message instructed me to. But he never said why and that made me slightly skeptical.

Just as I was starting to get restless , the door swung open and there he stood. My heart began to beat faster as I saw him. He looked too attractive for a Monday morning. His black hair was perfectly combed and his suit fit him perfectly. The fades on the side of his head added to his rugged charming look.

“You're here early.” his deep voice made me quiver slightly in pleasure.

“Um, your assistant, Julie brought me here.” I replied and watched him raise an eyebrow.

He then playfully scoffed, “Of course she did.”

“Anyway, I guess you're wondering why you're here.” He said, walking over to his chair to have a seat.

I nodded, “Yeah your text was pretty cryptic, all it said was to come to Griffin Tech on Monday.”

“Well I'm glad you could make it. And I'm glad I still had your number.” He teased, causing me to giggle just a little.

“I'm surprised you never lost it.” I laughed, rolling my eyes while a part of me wanted to hear his next response.

He grinned then suddenly rose to his feet, “I have a meeting soon, so I'll cut straight to the point. I'd like to offer you a job.”

For a moment, my mind instantly went blank as I struggled to believe my ears. “A…a… job?” I repeated.

He nodded with a smile, “Yes, I recall you telling me years ago you were into accounting and after you uh…lost your job. Well I thought you'd be a perfect fit for our company.”

I stood there in shock, speechless and in shock, “I… I had no idea this was even an interview.” I stuttered, “I didn't even come with my credentials.”

He waved his hand dismissively, “Those won't be necessary. I've made up my mind, and as the boss my word is all I need.”

“Thank you… thank you very much.” I said, noticing my voice starting to shake as I tried to express my gratitude to him. I was nearly on the brink of tears, I didn't expect this, not in the slightest.

“It's all good.” He chuckled, gently placing a reassuring touch on my shoulder. “I have a meeting in about ten minutes on the second floor. Perhaps you'd like to join me?” He politely asked.

It was sudden, and the only thing I could do was shake my head in response, “No, no. I don't want to intrude.”

“It's not intruding, it's with a client, and I could really use your help in the financial aspect.”

I wasn't sure, and it made me hesitate, it felt like everything was moving too fast. “But Tom, this feels all too soon and sudden.”

His laughter instantly followed as he grabbed his hair, “There's no such thing as too soon Yelena, sometimes you just gotta dive right in. Now let's go.”

With that, we walked out of the office and into the elevator. He pushed the button for the second floor, and right as the doors closed, the lights began to flicker and the elevator came to a sudden stop. Everywhere suddenly became pitch black and silent, the only thing I could hear was the faint sound of the elevator machinery.

Standing in the darkness, my breath grew heavier. I didn't tell many people this, but I had a terrible history of claustrophobia, and being in a dark enclosed elevator certainly ticked that box.

I could almost feel my chest tightening as I grabbed it tightly with my hand, trying to push the panic away, but it was no use. He must've sensed it and instantly pulled me closer and wrapped me tightly in his arms. “Sh, it's okay. You're okay, just breathe.” He whispered.

I rested my face against his suit, taking in the thick scent of his cologne all over, weird to say, but it calmed me down. His strong hand held me close while the other gently stroked my hair. I managed to catch my breath, and the panic finally vanished.

The lights flickered back on just as I began to feel better. We quickly pulled away from each other, the both of us slightly embarrassed by our intimate moment seconds ago.

Stepping out of the elevator, the next thing we heard was the commotion going on the second floor. Employees were rushing everywhere with worried and scared looks.

Tom pulled one of them closer, “What's going on?” His commanding tone asked, it was quite different from his calm tone from earlier.

“There's a man making a scene sir, he's being unreasonable.” The employee instantly responded.

We turned to the direction of the man in question's voice as he screamed for Tom. “Where is he, that bastard Thomas Griffin, show him to me.”

I recognized the voice and just as we got a clearer view of the man, I turned out to be none other than Michael to my greatest surprise.

Our eyes met, both our faces surprised as he managed to speak, “Yelena?”

“Do you know him?” Tom turned to me.

I nodded in shame as I whispered, “Yeah… he's my uh… ex-husband.”

“Noted.” He nodded with a neutral expression as he spoke.

Michael's angry stare focused on Tom, pointing his fingers accusingly. “You're the one responsible for my brother's death.”

Tom's hands slipped into his pockets with a calm expression on his face as he walked towards Michael. “I'm not sure I know what you're talking about sir.”

Michael's voice grew louder, “My older brother, Jerry, Jerry Woods. The one you fired, he killed himself after that. His job was the only thing he had left in his life and you took that away from him.”

“Oh, so you're Jerry's brother.” Tom said, understanding the situation even more.

Tom remained calm as he continued. “Well I'm sorry for your loss, but I had nothing to do with his death. I only made a business decision and fired an incompetent worker. And as for compensation, my company has a policy on place for families of deceased employees. And although Jerry wasn't an employee at the time of his death, I still approved of the compensation.”

“That won't bring my brother back.” Michael screamed as he rushed towards Tom in a fitting rage.

Tom didn't panic, but simply dodged easily, causing Michael to crash to the ground with everyone around gasping in shock.

Tom's voice still remained calm. “Look sir, violence isn't necessary , just calm down.”

“Don't you tell me to calm down, do you know what it's like to lose someone close to you?” Michael screamed. In that brief moment, Tom's calm neutral look faltered to a moment of sadness.

I tried to intervene, to stop Michael from trying to attack Tom any further. But as always, he was too blinded by his anger to listen to any form of reason.

“Get out of the way.” He yelled and pushed me aside. Tom quickly caught me from behind, softening what was supposed to be my fall as I landed against him. I was thankful, but before I could even tell him, Michael's attention turned to me.

“So you work here now uh?” He sneered, “How did you manage that, by sleeping with the boss? Just like you sleep with other men?”

His statements weren't true, but I still felt embarrassed, noticing the stares of fellow co-workers I hadn't even met. I remained speechless, unable to defend myself against his accusations.

Tom tightened his hold on me, pulling me closer as Michael ranted on. “I should've known.” he scoffed loudly, “ You've always been willing to do anything to get what you want, right? I mean that's how your bastard child came to be right?”

I flinched, even more embarrassed by his statement, it wasn't surprising though, using such a thing against me.

“Answer me Damn it!” Michael's voice rose even higher.

Angrily he walked towards me with his fist tightened, and I knew what was coming next. But just as he tried to hit me, Tom caught his blow and pushed him back. His calm expression had now shifted to anger, a side of him I'm not sure I'd ever seen.

“It's one thing to attack me.” He growled, “But if you ever touch any of my employees, I promise you, you'll wish you were dead.”

Michael scoffed just as the security arrived.

“I swear to God I'll get you Tom Griffin and I hope you have a splendid time with that hoe. But you haven't seen the last of me, I promise you.” Michael's angry voice echoed through the hallways as I watched the man I'd spent the last six years of my life being taken away.

“You all should get back to work.” Tom commanded, and a flurry of steps soon followed with workers rushing around to their various tasks while I stood there in shame.

“Are you okay?” His worried voice asked, placing a touch on my shoulder.

“Yeah I am.” I quickly responded, fighting back the tears.

“I had no idea you had a child.” He added.

A lump caught in my throat as he mentioned that, now I felt even more embarrassed. “Just let it go, I don't wanna talk about it. Can we just head to the meeting please?”

He sighed, “Of course, Let's go.”

I was a bit shaken up after the whole drama with Micheal, it made me wonder if working here was the right choice,

I needed the job but this was risky, very risky. After all these years, who knew that Micheal would bring up Phoebe's birth in front of Tom.

I knew he had no idea about it but I was still on edge, especially since he had one arm wrapped around me as he led me to the office, just like he had done that night seven years ago.