Chapter 94: Options
For whatever reason, Derek Haven did not want her getting a job. And he had been smooth about it too. At first, Emily had thought that she was just regular black listed. That he had badmouthed her to the point that every one in the industry would turn their noses up the moment she walked in, like she smelled bad or something.
But he had not, instead Derek had told every one that she was still working at Haven Group. When she had checked the employee listing, she was still there, and to drive the point home further, Emily had gotten paid. Her regular pay with a bit extra on top, all of her over time coming in.
Somehow, Derek had managed to wrangle it such that everyone thought Emily was on leave. She had no idea how the man had done it, and even though she was curious, she was not curious enough to go back and ask.
Sure, it had turned out that his personality had not gone from zero to cruel overnight, but what he was doing was still very manipulative, and Emily would not play into it. She was not going back, whenever the set time for the ’leave’ that she had apparently taken was over, he would have to face the music on his own. Emily wanted no part of it. But Derek had boxed her in.
Everywhere she applied, people already knew who she was. They wanted her to join their firms, but they also expressed regret that they could not have her since she was already with Haven Group. It was so infuriating that Emily had to remind herself several times a day why she had chosen not to go to Haven Group and knock Derek out with a solid right hook.
She was mad at him, and not just because he was effectively forcing her to come back to Haven, but because she wanted to go back. She wanted to go back to Haven, to her office, her desk, her chair...her Derek. She wanted to see him every day, he was the best boss that she had ever had, and she missed the work, missed him.
But that was why she could not go back.
Her nightmares were now even worse than when she had decided to quit. She forgot things as easy as k owing whether or not she had put sugar in her tea or not. Often times being halfway through the cup before she realized that it was just water. She could hide such things at home and pretend that it had been her plan all along, but at work, where she handled important accounts, she was sure to make a monumental mistake.