Not A Bad Thing

21 - Truthful Conversations & Unforeseen Friends

Anger rushed through me. If I were a man, he would not say things like that to me. I was sick of having to deal with so much for things that a man would be glorified. "If it were you, none of this would happen. So do not pull the "you are a whore" card on me for being a woman. You are as much of a player as me. I don't see anyone criticizing you."

"Don't come with some feminist crap now, Tess," he snapped.

I thrust my arm out of his grab and snarled at him. "If you ever come close to me again, I will file a harassment complaint against you, do you understand?" I spelled out every word to him, so he could tell I was serious.

He was about to reply when we were interrupted. An interruption I appreciated greatly.

"Is everything alright here?" Jerry asked, coming in his full size, trying to look menacing.

"Lewis here is being a pain in my ass, Jerry," I snapped.

Jerry turned with a scowl to Lewis. "Back off of her," he demanded.

Lewis laughed humorlessly. "Just another one of your puppies," he bitterly said and then pushed past us.

I huffed and sat on the couch that was in my office. I was suddenly so tired. This was too much. It seemed like I was in high school all over again. "You okay?" Jerry asked as he sat next to me.

I looked at him. I had made a mistake. Dating co-workers was the worst thing one could do.

"Yeah, fine," I said in a clipped tone of voice.

Jerry nodded and stood up, apparently understanding I wanted to be on my own. It made me see him in a totally new light. If only things were different, he could have been my friend.

"Good, I'll leave you to it, then."

"Thank you," I said as he reached for the door. "For everything."

"No problem, Tess. You are great, don't let anyone tell you otherwise. I would never change a single thing about you."

I smiled. "You're such a Romeo. You'll find a great girl that deserves you someday."

He smiled half-absently and then waved goodbye with his hand and walked out. I let a sigh escape my lips and rested defeated on the couch. This job was truly exhausting, and I could suddenly see clearly my next step.

I was sure this mess had been created by my wrong decisions taken. I was ready to make better decisions and become a better person. The first step was clear for me. It would require a lot of guts but I knew I needed to get out of this vicious circle.

I grabbed my purse, put inside of it the questions and recording machine for Alec Brown's interview and then headed out. I walked –more like stomped- straight into Virginia Statter's office.

She gazed up at me, shocked. She was not used to people storming into her office. Most were too afraid to do that.

"I am done."

She crossed her arms over her chest and stood up from her chair. "You are done?"

"Yes, I will do this interview with Alec Brown, finish my part in this month's issue and then I am done."

"So, you will resign?" she mused, with a confused frown.

"Yes," I stated.

She stood up and walked to her window. Her face was unreadable.

You could see a beautiful view of New York from here. Even the Statue of Liberty could be seen. It was breathtaking. It reminded me of Andrew's office. I suddenly missed him. I wanted a hug of his, to make sure I was doing the right thing. "Such a shame," Virginia murmured after a while.