Heartaches
365 Words
The day their secret was exposed felt like the world crashing down.
"Karen!," it was the Secretary. "You are needed in the board room right now ma'am".
Karen's heart skipped. She had always thought she would be prepared when the day came but it was obvious she wasn't. Her knees buckled beneath her as she tried to stand up from her seat.
"I'll be right there in a minute," she responded quickly.
She took a deep breath and walked to the board room.
She saw Mark standing by the window. He seemed lost in thought. Her manager and a few people were seated. The atmosphere seemed a bit tense. It seemed like it was more than just their relationship secret that had been exposed.
"Karen", her manager called back her attention to the matter in the room. She looked at her manager as he spoke.
"I am sure you understand why you were summoned. Your productivity has dropped by a mile. You have been carried away by your affairs going on with Mr Mark, our Current CEO. So the board of directors here has decided that your services will be no longer needed here."
"You are fired Karen"
Her world spinned so hard she thought she would fall. Reality and every single emotions was hitting her at that moment. She was still trying to form words in her dry mouth when she heard Mark speak.
"I'll resign instead", he said as he walked out of the room.
"Congratulations! Miss Karen, you just got your job back but you will be suspended with no pay for two weeks," a man whom she recognized as a member of the board said smiling at her.
The meeting was dismissed but she remained in the room thinking about what just happened. Mark took full responsibility, resigning to shield Karen from the fallout. His decision left Karen devastated, not just because she missed him, but because she blamed herself for his sacrifice.
Her days became a blur of work and heartache, the once-vivid colors of her life fading to gray. It wasn’t until she found the letter he left for her that a spark of hope reignited in her heart.
- Writer
