Unbalanced 3: Torn

One

     Cat sat in her car taking deep breaths.
     "You can do this. You fought for this. You can do this," she told herself.
     Cat stared at the building and tried to get the nerve up to walk in. She was about to give up and start her car when her phone chimed. She opened the text message and smiled.

     Good luck, sweetie. You're going to do great!

     He always knows when I need a boost, Cat thought.

     She responded, Thanks, Myles!

     Cat gathered her things and got out of the car. She signed in at the security desk and headed for the elevators. She caught one before the doors closed. Cat tried to concentrate on the day ahead. What type of co-workers would she have? How her office would look? Instead, she was thinking about how her morning began. How from the moment she got out of bed, Dorian started in on her. They went from arguing to Dorian pushing and slapping her. To get away from him, Cat had to lock herself in the guest bedroom. Cat had to wait until he left before she could get ready for work.

     This morning only added to a long list of terrible days. Ever since she came back from New Orleans, Dorian kept his promise of punishment. Cat had to smile and pretend to be happy through business dinners and family gatherings. Sometimes she could hardly walk. Things were getting worse, and she couldn't stop it. There were times she was left lying on the floor crying and bleeding. Of course, the gifts continued. But they were no longer accompanied by apologies and his promises to never hurt her again. Cat was living a nightmare, and there was nothing she could do about it.

     "Miss? Miss, is this your floor?" the man asked.

     "Oh. Sorry. Thank you."

     Cat walked off the elevator and up to the receptionist's desk.

     "Good morning. I'm Catherine Wallace."

     "Oh. Good morning, Mrs. Wallace. Welcome to Bloomberg Publishing."

     "Thank you. I'm supposed to meet Mr. Spencer."

     "I'll let him know you're here."

     "Thank you."

     A few minutes later, "Catherine, welcome!"

     "Good morning, Mr. Spencer."

     "Around here we are all on a first name basis. Call me, Nick."

     "Okay, Nick."

     "We're about to get started with our weekly meeting, and I thought you would like to sit in."
     "Great."

     "Follow me. After the meeting, I'll get you setup in your office and introduce you to your assistant."

     "All right."

     Cat followed him down to the end of the hall and through large double doors. The room was full.

     "Good morning, everyone. This is our newest addition, Catherine Wallace. We'll do proper introductions at the end of the meeting. For now, let's get started," Nick said.

     Cat was about to head to the back of the room, but Nick pulled up a chair next to him.

     "Thank you."
     The hour-long meeting consisted of upcoming projects, new releases, and marketing possibilities. Once it was over, as promised, Nick made time for Cat to introduce herself.