Even After All

Part Twenty Three

Chapter Twenty Three

Dylan watched her walk away but there was no sense of victory. This was what he wanted wasn’t it? When he reprimanded her in front of everyone there was only one outcome. So why the hell had he chosen that route? He could have listened to her, gone somewhere private, but he knew he was wrong, he knew he undermined her and he was hoping that she’d back down. He sighed, but then he knew that them working together was always going to be difficult.

Had he done the right thing?

Dozens of eyes were on him when he looked up, “get back to work!” He snapped then spun on his heel back to the office.

When he got in there Louise was sat at his desk using his computer, he couldn’t speak to her now either, with a grunt he stepped back out into the corridor to see Sarah stood there.

                “She’s packing up her things...”

She was clearly waiting for him to say something, to make Matilda change her mind, but he couldn’t, he wouldn’t.          “Her choice,” he muttered. “You’ll be in charge when I’m in New York, you and Louise.”

With that he turned and stormed out, he needed to go somewhere, anywhere.

                “But Dylan...Mr Wallace...” She called out his name as he strode away, but he was uncaring.

Mattie was glad she had a large holdall in her dressing room. Three years of working there meant she had accumulated a lot of stuff; she emptied the drawers from her desk straight into it, then cleared out the shower area. There were several suits and dresses hanging on the rail, and a couple of pairs of shoes. Changing into her jeans, she managed to squeeze all her office clothes into a suit carrier that hung behind them, then the shoes fitted into her holdall. It was an effort to load both on to her shoulders, but after deleting her email and preferences from the computer, she added her own laptop to the shoulder that held the hold all then with a sigh she closed the office door behind her.

                “Won’t you think again? Talk to Dylan?”

She shook her head and smiled at Sarah, “you’ll be good, just keep your chin up. I’ve forwarded you everything I was working on, it may help. Call me on the weekend, we’ll do lunch? Catch up on the old wedding plans?”

Sarah nodded, “I’ll miss you.”

Although she was sad to leave, and would miss everyone there, she knew she’d not get over the anger of Dylan's behaviour. Only a few weeks earlier she’d been looking forward to a new start, a new job. Once she’d got out of this place she knew she’d find that optimism again, but it was still humiliating to think of the way her demise had come about.

As she turned towards the reception she saw Louise in Dylan’s office and gave her a sickly smile. She’d never have Dylan, not in the way she wanted, and that was Mattie’s saving grace.  In the reception Hermione rushed from behind the desk.

                “You can’t go...it won’t be the same, we can’t do this without you.”

Mattie sighed, accepting the hug, “you can. Sarah is more than capable. Come see me in London? We can go shopping?”

Hermione nodded tears in her eyes, then feeling like a celebrity, she made her way to the door shaking hands and hugging every member of staff who’d come to say goodbye.

                “We called you a taxi,” Martin, the manager of the reception said, he was last in the line. “And it’s charged to the hotel. It’s the least that bastard can do for you.”