Chapter 5
Janet’s lips puckered in a pout. “I did it, worked on it all night.”
Walter’s mouth hung open, words failing him.
He was the one who had brought Janet in as an intern, figuring some experience would make her next job hop smoother.
Janet’s lip quivered, her eyes glistening with unshed tears. “Walter, I’ll fix it…
“If Melissa hadn’t insisted it was due today, I wouldn’t have rushed it. Maybe I shouldn’t have taken this job.”
With that, she clutched the proposal and made for the door.
Walter lifted a hand to halt her, but his thoughts were hijacked by the image of another
face.
Melissa was never the type to look so down and out. She was always so composed, always sure of herself. No matter how tricky the problem, she had a knack for figuring things out, not moping around with a gloomy face.
Whenever there was a clash of ideas, she would break it down, piece by piece, making her
case.
Like that time he was all gung–ho about bringing Janet on board, Melissa had a whole list
of reasons why it was a no–go.
She was right after all. She ended up burning the midnight oil, cleaning up the disasters
Janet left in her wake.
Walter thought about all that and just waved his hand dismissively. “Out you go.”
Janet tried to get a word in, but one look from him and she clamped her mouth shut, biting her lip.
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“Start over on this proposal.”
Janet had no choice but to walk out.
The secretarial crew had had enough. They snapped a picture of the boot–out and zapped it to their group chat.
[Check it out, the sun is doing somersaults—she actually got the boot. I’m dying here!]
Back in the big boss’s office, Walter was glued to his phone, bombarding me with texts and calls.
From getting ghosted at first to hitting a dead end with a powered–down phone, he got
zilch.
He figured maybe I just needed some air.
However, me, late or ducking out early? Not once in all my years.
Once he wrapped up his paperwork, he could not shake the feeling and buzzed the secretarial squad.
“Mr. Jones, what’s up?”
“Where’s Melissa?”
Walter took a swig of his desk coffee.
The colleague blinked, then came out with it.
“Ms. Long? She checked out for good–handed in her notice yesterday.”
“What’s that now?
“No way, she couldn’t have quit without my signature.”
Walter racked his brain but could not remember approving any resignation.
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“You approved it yourself yesterday. I assumed you were aware.”
Walter hastily booted up his computer and navigated to the approvals page. There it was,
the resignation request he had unwittingly greenlit.
The name ‘Melissa‘ stood out on the document.
“Where is she now?”
“She hasn’t been back since she completed her resignation.”
Outside the office, Janet entered the president’s office with a file bag in hand.
“Mr. Jones, you’ve got a delivery.”
Walter tore open the package to find a divorce agreement staring back at him. He gripped
the papers so tightly that his knuckles turned white, and a chill ran down his spine.
Walter asked to use the secretary’s phone to call me, but it went straight to voicemail.
“Find out where this package came from.”
Once the office was cleared out, Walter sat alone in the president’s office. After some time,
he opened his Messenger app and checked my social media feed. The cover photo, once a
snapshot of us together, had been swiftly replaced with something else.
I first crossed paths with Walter eight years ago at a press conference.
Our research team was presenting our findings, and I was chosen to speak.
From the audience, Walter watched me with eyes full of admiration.
Most people thought I was dull and lifeless, hardly fitting for a date.
However, that was the life of a researcher–mostly confined to the lab.
Since that first encounter, Walter kept showing up in my life.
When I was conducting experiments, he would wait outside.
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When I attended classes, he would be there at the door.
It took us two years to go from dating to saying ‘I do‘.
He planned so many unforgettable trips just to pop the question.
I could still see the excitement in his eyes when I said yes,
all red and teary.
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However, as time went on, our love started to show its cracks, like it was past its prime. We
were not as close as we used to be.
Even his friends, who saw our romance unfold, dropped hints about our issues.
However, he thought I was the one stirring things up with his friends, and that just pushed us further apart.
Instead of listening, things just got worse.
Looking back, if he had only tackled those problems head–on, maybe things would not
have ended like that.
8 years had passed, and all I was left with was a heavy heart.
Walter was zoning out when his secretary walked up.
“Mr. Jones, here’s the address.
“It’s quite a trek, and you’ve got a bunch of partner meetings lined up at the company.”
Walter just waved it off. “Push them back.”
Nothing else mattered to him at that moment. He grabbed his coat and bolted for the airport.
