More Than She Can Chew | Book Two ✔

Chapter Thirty-Four

It was Tuesday morning when Alissa finally worked up the courage to schedule a meeting with Noah. He was busy most of the week, so she wasn't able to meet with him until Thursday afternoon.

Trying to keep a straight face as she double-checked Perry's work was difficult that morning as the hours drew near to their meeting.

She would have thought all this time she'd have spent figuring out how to break the news to him, but every time she'd thought about it, she felt like she was going to vomit.

At lunch that day, she had no appetite. The only thing she was able to stick in her mouth were her fingernails, which were dwindling in length as more time passed by.

Finally, it was 3 o'clock. Alissa walked into Noah's office and sat down in one of the leather chairs in front of his desk. She placed her hands with her desecrated fingernails on her lap as she waited for him to finish reading a report.

He looked up at her with a bored stare, "What? Did you miss me so much you had to formally schedule a meeting? I am the head director of marketing, you know. I can't always be available for you." He smirked.

"That's not the point of this meeting," she paused. "Well, it's related."

He stared at her, waving his hand forward to tell her to continue. She sat up straight, took a big breath, her shoulders lifting as her lungs filled to the brim, and then let it out loudly.

"I don't think what we have is considered professional anymore."

She was winging it.

He stared at her waiting for her to continue.

She bit the inside of her cheek then swallowed. "Well, I think we should go back to what we were before. Professional, yet friendly."

"You know that's not going to happen." He dismissed her as he looked back down at the report in front of him.

"Noah, I can't continue doing this with you," she said with an authoritative tone.

"Well, it looks like you have a decision to make, then." He looked back up at her and intertwined his fingers atop his desk.

Alissa's heart rate sped up as his eyes bored into hers. She bit the inside of her cheek waiting for him to continue.

"Are you sure you want this to end?" he asked with a slight frown.

She nodded, "Yes, I'd like to go back to us only as a boss and an employee. Nothing else."

"Very well, then."

She was a bit caught off guard by Noah's swift response.

"You can gather your things and see yourself out." He pointed to the door to his office, then looked back down at the report.

Alissa sat there in silence staring at her empty hands before swallowing and repeating, "Gather my things?"

"Yeah, you're no longer an employee at Elixir Marketing. Goodbye, Ms. Adams."

He didn't even look back up at her as he spoke. She stared at his dark brown head of hair dumbfounded.

After what felt like a few minutes passing, she slowly stood up and left. She felt in a haze, as if a puppeteer were controlling her limbs, forcing her to walk to her cubicle and grab her coat and purse.

Perry watched her, but didn't say a word. Hwan looked up from his cubicle as he heard her zipping up her coat.

"Where you are going? Is it five already?" he asked.

She looked at Hwan and saw his perplexed expression. That was when her eyes started to water.

"Alissa?" he paused, "What's wrong?"

She didn't know what to say. She feared if she spoke, she'd break. She shook her head then briskly walked towards the elevators with her belongings.

Hwan chased after her as she reached the elevators.

"Alissa, tell me what's wrong. Why're you leaving?"

She sucked in a shaky breath, "Noa–Mr. Wilmington let me go."

"What? Why?" he exclaimed.

The elevator doors chimed as they reached the twenty-sixth floor and opened for her. Liberty stood up from her reception desk with a shocked expression.

Alissa walked into the empty elevator just as Sarah reached them. "Alissa, wait!" Sarah said.

The doors closed and she leaned against the back wall. She allowed herself to break. She slid down the wall until she sat on the dirty tiled floor. Tears streamed down her cheeks. She couldn't think. She wasn't able to process what had just happened. All she knew now was that her career at Elixir Marketing was over.

~~~

The next morning, Liberty called asking her stop by the office and pick up the picture frame she had left at her cubicle. She quietly mentioned an apology for how things had ended for her because she thought of them as friends, but that it was fair of Mr. Wilmington to fire her for trying to seduce him into a promotion.

What? Alissa thought to herself. Seduce him into a promotion? What nonsense had he been telling everyone?

Alissa made her way to Elixir in dark navy jeans and a plain white tee. She didn't work there anymore. It didn't matter that she was way underdressed for the office. Once she reached the twenty-sixth floor and the elevator doors chimed open, Liberty greeted her.

"Follow me," she said as if Alissa didn't know where her own cubicle was. She wanted to roll her eyes.

Alissa walked into the massive office space and noticed everyone was sneaking glances her way. Her stomach grew queasy. Did they all think she tried to seduce Noah into giving her a promotion? She ignored them and walked over to her old cubicle. Hwan was standing there holding the picture frame she had of her and her family posing on the dock of Great Sacandaga Lake the summer before she started college six years ago.

He stuck it out to her with his eyes downcasted in disappointment.

"Thanks," she said as she took it from him.

He ignored her and went back to his desk.

Just as she was about to turn around, Sarah called her name. She sounded pissed.

"How could you?" Her nose scrunched up in disgust.

"Excuse me?"

Sarah let out a fake laugh, "After we judged Samantha and said all we had said, you go behind my back and make the same ridiculous mistakes? But worse! For a promotion?" She tossed her hands up in the air. "And now, look where it's brought you. You've lost your job, and it looks like you've lost your friends as well," Sarah said with a smirk that faltered into a slight frown.

"Sarah, wait." Alissa reached out to her but she quickly turned around and walked back to her cubicle.

"You should go," Liberty said, grabbing hold of her elbow. "Mr. Wilmington wouldn't want you causing a scene."

Alissa sighed as she let Liberty guide her back to the elevators.

How could things have fallen apart this bad? she thought to herself.

~~~

A/N: Big stuff happening to Alissa. How could Noah do that to her? The final chapter is next! Please vote and share your thoughts! xo