Chapter Six
Day 3
The theme from Halloween chirped away on the smartphone on the bedside table, rousing Kayleigh from what was a restless sleep. The desire to hit the snooze button was strong, but she knew that she needed some coffee in her before she hit the road to take April and Sean to work. She toyed with the idea of staying in her pajamas and going back to bed when she returned home but quickly dismissed the idea. The whole idea of taking the week off was to work on her Instagram page and interact with her followers. Kayleigh lifted the clothes she had worn yesterday off the top of the hamper, gave them a sniff, and decided that they were still fresh enough for a second wearing.
When she opened the bedroom door, the smell of brewing coffee immediately hit her full force, shaking away the last of the cobwebs. The sound of the shower running in the bathroom reminded her that her bladder was begging to drained, so she hustled downstairs and took care of business in the half bathroom.
Kayleigh plodded into the kitchen and squeezed April on the shoulder as she headed for the coffee pot. “Good morning, sunshine. How did you sleep?”
“Not well,” April sighed. “Between thinking about what happened to you and Sean snoring, it was a long night.”
“You can always catch a little shut-eye at work,” Kayleigh joked.
“Don’t even say that. My numbers have been terrible this past couple of months. Gallagher is probably looking for any excuse to get rid of me.”
“No way, Apes. You’re the prettiest damn thing in that building. No way he is going to move you out.”
April batted her eyelashes and put on her best duck face. “Why, thank you, Miss Barnes. You know how to make a girl feel special.”
They sat and chatted about the latest entertainment gossip while waiting for Sean to come downstairs. He was always the last one ready, making every day a bit of a mad dash to get to work on time. That they had never been late arriving at FinaCol was something of a minor miracle.
At the sound of the bathroom door closing, April hopped off her chair and poured the remaining coffee into a travel mug. She added cream and sugar, stirred it up, and left it sitting on the edge of the counter so that Sean could pick it up on his way out the door.
“You are too good to him,” Kayleigh said.
“He treats me right. You know that. I’ve never had a boyfriend treat me as well as he does.”
Sean came bounding down the stairs, water still dripping off his hair, and said, “Are we ready to roll?”
“We have been for the last twenty minutes, as always,” Kayleigh snapped.
With a shrug, Sean picked up his coffee and made for the door, the laces of his Doc Marten boots united and threatening to trip him up.
“Shall we?” Kayleigh said to April, motioning towards the front door, which was now hanging open.
As the car pulled out of the parking stall in front of the townhouse, they all failed to notice the robed figure sneaking out from the side of the building, waving goodbye to them.
AFTER KISSING SEAN goodbye when he got off the elevator on his floor, April rode the rest of the way on her own. She would never admit it to her roommates, but she hated the idea of working without Kayleigh in the next cubicle for a week. The only reason she stayed with the company was that she had her friends there, but April knew that if she didn’t start delivering better numbers soon, she would be out the door.
The elevator pinged to signal that it had arrived at her floor. Exhaling loudly, April put on her best smile and stepped out into the office space, waving to some of her co-workers as she headed to her cubicle. She had barely logged into her computer when Stacey, Gallagher’s assistant, popped her head around the corner. “Good morning, Stacey. How are you,” April said, smiling despite suddenly feeling ill.
“Fine, thank you. Mr. Gallagher would like to see you in his office right away.”
“Of course. I’ll be along in a moment.” April leaned out of her cubicle and watched Stacey head back to her desk, situated out in front of Gallagher’s office. Fighting back the tears, April looked at all the personal items on her desk and corkboard, wondering if they would all fit in the box that security would hand to her before marching her out the building. She had known this was coming, but when FinaCol fired people, it was usually on a Friday, so the timing was something of a surprise. Not wanting to delay the inevitable, April stood, smoothed down her dress, and marched to the office, head held high.
“Go right in. Mr. Gallagher is waiting for you,” Stacey said without taking her eyes off her computer monitor.
Rapping on the glass, April stepped inside and said, “You wanted to see me, sir.”
“Oh, I think we can dispense with the formalities. Please call me Michael,” Gallagher said, standing and motioning her to the seat at his desk. He waited until April sat before easing himself back into his high-backed leather chair. “How was your weekend?” he asked.
“Um, it was nice. Nothing too exciting.”
“Well, that’s no good. You are young. You should be out having fun with your friends.”
“I...I did a little bit...a little bit of that,” April stammered.
“You are friends with Miss Barnes, is that correct?”
“Yes. We are roommates,” April responded, wondering when he was finally going to get around to putting her out of her misery.
“That’s what I thought. I see you both together here quite often, and I noticed from your files that you share the same address.”
“Our files?”
“Yes. April, if you don’t mind me saying, you look as though you are about to leap out of your skin. Please, relax. There is nothing to be concerned about here.”
“Mr. Gallagher. I know...”
“Micheal, please,” Gallagher said.
“Yes. Michael, I know that my performance level has not been what it should be for a while, but I promise you I will do better if you’ll give me the opportunity.”
Gallagher flipped open a folder lying on his desk and quickly scanned the contents.
“From what I can see, your numbers are more than adequate. Not great, not like Miss Barnes, but certainly better than most here.”
“Oh...then...”
Closing the folder, Gallagher steepled his fingers and tapped them against his lips. “I’m not sure if Miss Barnes told you, but I am looking to move her into a management position as soon as possible.”
“She did mention that, yes.”
“Good. Then I was hoping that you could help me.”
“What would I need to do?” April asked.
“You are a very good friend to Miss Barnes and perhaps even an influencer of sorts. Maybe you could talk her into thinking more seriously about taking the position that I am offering.”
“She’s quite stubborn, Michael. I’m not sure she’d listen.”
Gallagher nodded slowly and leaned back in his chair. “She might listen if she knew that you would be her assistant when she takes the job.”
“I’m not qualified for...”
“Trust me, Miss Navarro, the job is not that complicated. Look at Stacey,” Gallagher said, pointing to his assistant outside the office. “She is not the brightest bulb in the batch, but she is excellent at her job. You are far more intelligent than she is, so I am sure you will excel.”