He smiles. “You just said the right thing, darling.”
I sniffle. “I did?”
“Well, you made my night. Come on, let’s go inside. You shouldn’t be out in this neighborhood.”
He leads me inside, past the security guard. The room is full of round tables. It’s dark, and a small stage has a microphone sitting on a stand.
A lady sits at the bar. She has on a red pencil skirt suit and reddish-brown hair.
“Dawn, this is...” He turns back to me. “What’s your name, sugar?”
“Harper.” I stick out my hand.
“I’m Marilyn on stage, but Cody in real life. This is Dawn.”
“Nice to meet you. Thank you again for helping me.”
“Sure. Dawn, Harper is lost. Someone stole her bag, and she left her phone in the pawnshop next door. She’s from out of town and staying somewhere in the downtown area but not sure where.”
She raises her eyebrows. “I see. Tell me what you remember about where you’re staying.”
I give her all the details then say, “I’m watching my niece Hope while my brother and his wife are on their honeymoon. I dropped her off with my friend Vivian, and she’s probably freaking out. I’m sure Chase will kill me, too,” I add.
Her face lights up. “Vivian and Chase Monroe?”
“Yes, do you know them?”
“Sure do.” She pulls out her phone and hits a button then hands me the phone.
Vivian’s voice comes through the phone. “Dawn, I can’t really—”
“It’s me, Harper.”
“Harper, where are you? We’re all worried sick.”
“I’m sorry. It’s a long story.”
“Where are you?”
“At a bar called Something Different.”
“Something Different? That’s on the southside of town in a horrible neighborhood. How did you get there?”
“It’s a long story, but my purse got stolen, and I left my phone in the pawnshop,” I blurt out.
“Pawnshop? Why were you in a pawnshop?”
My gut drops as I realize what I just disclosed. “Can you—”
“Harper, are you okay?” Steven’s voice booms in my ear.
Oh God.
“Yes, I’m fine. Just lost.”
“Stay put. I’m coming to get you now.”
My stomach twists. I quietly say, “Okay, thanks.”
I hang up, hand Dawn her phone, then force myself to smile. “Guess I got lucky meeting you two. My ride is coming.”
Marilyn steps behind the bar. “Let me get you a drink, honey. What do you want? Wine? Beer? A shot?”
Give me ten shots to hide from my embarrassment.
“I’ll take a glass of cabernet. Thanks.”
“Is Chase coming to get you?” Dawn asks.
“No. My sister-in-law’s brother, Steven.”
“Is Jamison your brother?”
“Yes. Do you know him, too?”
“Sure. And Quinn and Steven, too. They all do a lot with the charities I support. Vivian and I work closely on things surrounding her foundation.”
I wince some more. Now I’m embarrassing not only myself but my family and friends, too.
And they are business contacts.
“Well, thank you so much for helping me.”
“Sure. Chicago can be confusing if you don’t know your way around.”
Marilyn hands me a glass of wine. “Drink up, sugar. It’s going to be a while before they get through traffic.”
“Thank you.” I take the drink and try to be polite and continue the conversation, but all I feel is shame.
And when Steven comes racing in, demanding to know how I got into this situation, my self-loathing only grows.
13
Steven
Earlier That Day
When I get to work, Shira comes into my office an hour earlier than normal.
She knocks, and I look up from the project I am engrossed in. “Why are you here so early?”
“Do you have a few minutes?”
I point to the seat. “Sure. Sit down.”
She crosses her legs. Her back is straight, and she folds her hands in her lap.
“What can I do for you?”
“I wanted to discuss my role here.”
I lean forward. “Go on.”
“I don’t think you appreciate my talent.”
She cannot leave me. I will be screwed.
“Shira, why would you think that? I totally appreciate you. It’s why I’ve made sure you kept working with me for the last eight years. And I tell you all the time, thank you, don’t I?”
“Right, but I could be doing more. In my last review, you said you were going to start delegating more responsibility to me.”
“I have.”
Her face hardens. “No, you haven’t.”
My gut drops. “I haven’t?”
She shakes her head and sternly replies, “No. You take on everything, and half the stuff you do, I could be doing. Instead of working all these hours, you could cut it way down, and I could handle things. But you don’t trust me, and I told you in my review, if I didn’t start getting more responsibility, then I would need to leave. My brain is capable of more.”
“Don’t quit. I’m sorry. I’ll delegate more.”
She sighs and tilts her head.
“I will, I promise. Please, don’t leave. I’d be lost if you left.”
“You promised me in my review, and it’s been five months.”
I scrub my face. “Shira, I’m sorry. It’s not that I don’t trust you. I do. And you totally saved my ass yesterday. I wasn’t joking about adding the zero to your bonus.”
“I need to keep advancing.”
“I agree.”
“You’ve been a great boss, but—”
“Today. Pick whatever you want off my task list and have at it.”
She pauses. “Really?”
“Yes. Carving out some hours from my work day wouldn’t be a bad thing. Choose what you want.”
“I get to pick?”
“Yes.”
“Pull up the organizer, then.”
I hit a few buttons and tilt my screen so we can both see. She takes a third of my items off my plate. By the time five comes, I’m already working on things scheduled for the following day.
I go out to her desk. “Do you need help with anything?”
“Nope.” She beams. “Everything is done. I sent my work for your review.”
“I already saw it. Flawless.”
“Thank you. I just emailed you what I want to do for the rest of this week’s list.”
“Okay. Have at it.”
“You don’t want to look?”
I glance at my watch. “If you’re going to get me out of here around five every day and do the level of work you did today, I’m good with whatever you want to take off my plate.”
She raises her arm in the air in a victory pose.
I laugh. “I’ll see you tomorrow.”
“Have a nice night.”
I leave the building and get into my car. Harper didn’t take my noon call and said she was busy. At three, she was short with the text message, which threw me for a loop, but I’m happy she’s having fun.