The next day, after I spent most of the night bawling in Nick's arms, I felt that it was time to take action. I hoped that I had gotten my emotions out long enough that I could have the strength to face at least some of the things that I needed to face.
Thank god Nick was there. And thank god for Jack, too. Bless his heart, but he was staying with us in Nick's guest bedroom on the first floor. He even said that he had taken some vacation days from his jobs, although he did have to keep going to rehearsal for his play. But, since his part was very small, and he really was just in the chorus, that didn't take up too much of his time.
"I have vacation time coming to me, Scotty," he said. "So, I'm taking these days now."
"Jack. You don't have to waste your vacation days on me."
"I have to waste them somehow," he said. "God knows I don't exactly have the money to travel to Europe. So, I might as well spend them with you."
I was happy about that, actually. I was pestering Nick to go back to work. I knew how important he was to that firm, and I didn't want him to get any more behind than he had to on my account. He reluctantly agreed.
"I don't want to leave you, Scotty," he said. "But I know that you're in good hands here with Jack. But, please, if you need me, call. I'll come home. In fact, I think I might just go into the office just long enough to clear some of my client meetings off my deck, and come home here and work. And, there's also another very important matter that I have to clear up."
I knew what the important matter was. Portia. Nick had explained to me that he wasn't going to work under the safe roof with her anymore. Which made me extremely anxious, as the last thing I wanted was for Nick to lose his prestigious partnership on my account. I had no idea what those partners would do when push came to shove. Nick had won the last showdown, but the stakes then were relatively low. Portia wanted me gone. Nick wanted me to stay. In the end, the partners sided with Nick, but only because Nick was willing to put more on the line to back his position than Portia did. Specifically, he resigned, and that made all of the partners snap to attention.
That particular showdown was much lower stakes than what was happening here. After all, I was just a lowly intern. It was easy for the partners to side with Nick in that scenario. But, here, Nick was serious about getting Portia gone. That was huge stakes. They both were so important to the firm. I really hoped that Nick knew what he was doing.
At the same time, I knew that it was necessary to have the showdown. He was not only protecting himself, but he was also protecting me. Portia had it out for me, and she would continue to have it out for me as long as she and I were both there. I just didn't see my career thriving as long as she was there.
So, that morning, I watched Nick get dressed in his suit and tie with apprehension. I felt like I was holding my breath, almost, as I watched him.
He came over and sat down on the bed. He took my hand and looked me in the eye. "I'm going back to work, but I'll be back as soon as I can. I'm not going to lie. I have a ton of work to do. I'm really behind on the Chase project now, and I have a bunch of other things coming down the pipeline at me. But most of that stuff I can do right here from home. And that's what I'm going to do. I'm going to work mainly from home. Hopefully, soon, you'll be well enough that you can return to work, too. But, for now, you're here, so I'm going to be joining you as soon as I can."
I nodded my head. I had to get stronger, emotionally. I felt like such a little girl. A little whiny girl who was threatening to fall apart at just any moment. I wanted something different for myself, and that was to stand on my own two feet and face my adversities come what may. So, I simply nodded my head and swallowed hard so that my tears didn't fall again.
"Good luck, Nick. "
He kissed my forehead. "I'll see you soon, love."
And, just like that, he was off.
Then, almost as soon as he left, Jack was up. "So, Scotch Marie, what can I do you for? Any special requests? I suppose it's too early for a cocktail, huh?"
I smiled. "A little," I said. "But you can have one. Feel free. Nick has everything down there that you could possibly want."
Jack just shook his head with a slight grin on his face. "Oh, lord, no. Drinking alone, before 9 AM? People might talk about my scandalous alcoholic ass."
"What people? It's only me here, remember?"
"Well, you and the crazy goony who lives under the bed."
"Ha ha. There's no goonies here. Well, unless you count me."
"I do count you in that, love." And then he got serious. "So, how are you feeling today? Is there anything I can do for you?"
"No," I said. "Nothing, really."
He sat there looking at me. "Well, I didn't want to say anything. But…I ran into Nick last night when he was getting an inhaler for you. That can only mean one thing. You're not doing as well as you're putting on."
I nodded my head. "Actually, it was damned lucky that Nick had one of those on hand. Did he happen to tell you why he keeps it?"
Jack shrugged. "Something about his parents always advising him to have one in the medicine closet at all times, ready to go. Because you never know when somebody might need it. Now, I think that you probably went all Lauren Bacall on him, crying and carrying on. Not that I blame you. God knows you're entitled. But I would appreciate it if you would just talk to me about how you feel."
I sighed. "I don't know," I said honestly. "I haven't quite figured that out yet. There's just too much confusion going on in my head these days. Too many horrible and wonderful things are fighting for real estate in my head space lately. Sometimes it's hard to understand exactly how I'm feeling from one moment to the next."
"Well, that's natural. I hope that you got it all patched up with loverboy, though."
I smiled broadly. "Yeah, I did," I said. "I did."
Jack looked at me suspiciously. "But…"
"But, I, uh, just started crying hysterically in the middle of it last night. And I literally couldn't stop. What's wrong with me?"
"Nothing's wrong with you. You just went through an ordeal. And then, right after that ordeal, you get whipped around and see the man that you're in love with. You feel so strongly about both things, so I would imagine that your poor little brain is quite confused about how you're feeling these days. I wouldn't worry about it, but just allow yourself to feel everything that you need to. That will help you come out of this a happy, healthy Scotty. Which is what everybody wants."
"Oh, well, then Jack, I hope to get better soon. Because this emotional roller coaster is for the birds. The pigeons at that."
"The rats with wings?" Jack said with a smile. "Scotty, my dear, you just feel everything that you need to feel. You'll get better soon, I promise."
"I hope so, Jack. I hope so."
But, as I looked at him, I had my doubts. My doubts that I would ever get better, soon or otherwise.
Saving Scotty by Annie Jocoby - Romance Novel
Re: Saving Scotty by Annie Jocoby - Romance Novel
Nick
As I drove along the usual interminable drive to my office, I wondered if I would have to go back home and paint my face with red lines. Because I felt like a warrior, and I needed war paint to go with it. In the Native American vernacular, I was going to be doing some scalping when I got to the office. And it wasn't going to be pretty.
Portia doing what she did was bad enough. It really was. I would have been supremely pissed off at her, no matter what the situation. But, since her actions were what led to this latest scenario, where my Scotty was terrorized and raped by that predator, I felt like her actions could not go unpunished. She simply could not get away with doing what she did. I was going to make sure of that. If it was the last thing that I did in this world.
Truth be told, that was most of the reason why I decided to go back to work today. I was itching to get in there and roast that Barbie bitch over the coals. Slowly. Put an apple in her mouth and turn her over on the pit. That was my dark fantasy right now.
Not that I could have told Scotty any of this. At that moment, she didn't need that kind of hostility coming from me. She only needed for me to be as positive and supportive as I could have possibly been. So, that was what I concentrated on when I was with her. Making her feel loved and special and like she could count on me to always have her back. She just didn't need any negative juju right at that moment, so I tried to keep everything positive when I was with her.
But, once I left the loft and made my way to my office, my entire mind-set changed completely. It changed from being calm and nurturing to being aggressive and war-like. And I couldn't wait to face Portia down and get her ousted. Not that any of it would be easy. It wouldn't. It would probably involve a ton of litigation, not to mention a buyout of her interest in the firm. None of it was going to be pretty. The firm would probably take a major hit in terms of revenue and reputation with this move.
In other words, this was going to be a very serious matter. I would imagine that the partners of the firm would not take any of it very lightly. Yet, it had to be done.
That much was positive.
I finally arrived at the firm, and I put my briefcase down as I alighted in my office. I then called my secretary and asked her to hold all of my calls. She obliged, of course. I looked at my new schedule, which was sent over to me by Callie, my secretary, and saw that the Chase meeting was postponed until the end of the week. I groaned, inwardly, knowing that this was yet another fire that needed to be extinguished. I would imagine that they were probably not very happy with me going AWOL like that. I only hoped that George was able to sufficiently cover for me and give them a good excuse for where I was.
And then I took a deep breath and headed down to Portia's office.
I got down there, and her door was ajar. I heard laughter coming from the office, as she was talking and flirting with one of her lackeys in the firm, Fred. Fred was forever trying to score a date from the evil queen, and she was forever keeping him on a string, dangling. She had no interest in him. He was like a mouse, and she was like a cat, toying with him. Always giving him just enough hope to keep him on the line, but not quite enough that he should have actually felt that he had a chance.
I knocked on the open door. Portia looked up and I actually saw a different expression on her beautiful face. If I didn't know her so well, I would have actually thought that I saw…fear. Shame. Guilt. Remorse.
But no. There was no way that this woman was feeling any of those things. She just had a really good way of faking the emotions that normal people have. A really good way of doing this.
Fred looked at me from behind his black rimmed Elvis Costello glasses and stood up. "Uh, hello, Nick," he said. "How are you feeling?"
"Like shit," I said, looking right at Portia. "How about you?"
"Uh, fine. I guess I should, uh, get out of here. You obviously have something to talk about with Portia here." And then he eyed Portia longingly. He looked down at the floor. "I'll see you at lunch, huh?"
"Sure," she said flippantly. And then she turned her attention to me. "Hello, Nick. I see that you're feeling better."
I drew a deep breath. "Sit down," I said, as I saw her start to rise from her chair to close the door. "I'll get the door."
I got up and closed the door, and then came back and took my seat across from her.
For several minutes I just stared at her, my arms crossed in front of me. For her part, she just stared right back, her crystalline blue eyes trained on mine. She barely blinked. She was trying hard not to register fear. I knew this. But, yet, I could also sense her fear just below the surface. It showed in her eyes, which showed glimpses of terror, but only glimpses. I had to admit that she was pretty good at masking what was going on in her head.
Finally, after I sat there and stared at her for several minutes, I cleared my throat. "Portia. I know what you did. And you won't get away with it."
"Oh," she said. "What did I do?"
"You drugged me with something powerful. And toxic, I might add. Anything that's not toxic wouldn't cause a blinding headache like I had when I came to in my loft several days ago. Anyhow, whatever it was, I know why you did it. And you won't get away with it."
Portia looked at her nails insouciantly. "You have any proof of this nefarious thing that I allegedly did to you?"
Gut-check time. "No, but I don't think that I need it. Do you? Listen, you and I have been locked in a power struggle ever since I turned you down. You escalated it, and Scotty was the victim in all of that." I didn't go into detail, but Portia knew about Scotty's accident. She had to. Everybody in the office knew about it. Portia didn't need to know the other horrors that befell Scotty because of what she, Portia, did. That was a personal matter, one that was something that I was going to keep secret, because I thought that Scotty would want it that way.
Portia was still staring at her nails. "Oh, yes. I'm very sorry to hear that Scotty got into an accident on the street outside of this building. She seems rather clumsy, don't you think?"
"Clumsy. That's an interesting way to put it."
"Meaning?"
"Meaning that you were what caused that accident. You. Your actions. You knew that Scotty was going to get upset when she saw you and me together. You knew that. You played that whole situation like Yo-Yo Ma plays a cello. Masterfully. Well, it backfired. It backfired, and Scotty has a major injury because of it. And I suppose that you don't feel a single bit of remorse about that, either. Do you?"
"Of course I feel bad," she said. "I sent flowers to the hospital."
Flowers. As if that would make up for what she did to Scotty. "Oh, you sent flowers. Well, good for you. That should make up for the damage done."
"Listen, if I thought that she would have gone that ballistic, I never would have drugged you like that. It was all a lark. You know. A little practical joke. A little bit of fraternity humor to lighten up the day."
"Bullshit. You expect me to believe that for a half a second? Nobody's going to believe that. You targeted Scotty in your little 'prank.' Awfully suspicious, considering how you've been trying to get rid of her since day fucking one. Just a little coincidental, don't you think?"
"Well, you know, Scotty obviously cares more than other people do in this office. So, that's why I did it to her. To get more of a rise out of her."
I felt my breath inhale. I was going to keep calm. That was the only way to take her down. Keeping calm.
But what I really wanted was to slap her. Hard. I was just too much of a gentleman to do such a thing, even though she sorely, sorely deserved it.
"Okay. You have to listen to me, you rotten excuse for a human being. You are going down. On my watch. Today, if possible."
"Oh, Nick? And what, pray tell, do you mean by that?"
"I mean that I'm going to get you ousted. Today."
"You can't just get me ousted. I'm a partner."
"Be that as it may. I read the firm's constitution. Any partner may be ousted at any time for 'high misconduct.' I would think that drugging another partner would qualify as that."
The look of fear in her eyes flashed again. But the flash was gone as soon as it came. "Nick. Even if you have proof of what happened, which you don't, but, even if you did, my doing that to you would hardly be considered to be 'high misconduct.' That term generally means embezzlement or some other kind of misdeed that affects the entire firm. Playing an innocent prank like what you think that I did wouldn't qualify as that. So, nice try."
"I understand what you think. But that term is not defined. And, all that I need is a 2/3 majority of the other partners agreement, and you'll be gone."
"2/3 majority?" she said, as if she had never read the constitution herself, and had no idea what it said. "Good luck with that." She laughed. "You'll be lucky to get a single vote for something like that. Sorry to disappoint, but I'm way too valuable to this firm."
"Portia. Do you remember the last time that you attempted to challenge me? In that whole debacle regarding Scotty's ouster for allegedly stealing from the firm?"
"Of course. I stay awake nights thinking about how I could have won that one. I thought that by blindsiding you with it that you would not have the ammunition to fight it. I underestimated you, I admit. But what does that have to do with this situation?"
"Well. If you can recall, all that I had to do was threaten to resign, well, actually tender my resignation, and almost everybody in the firm voted with me. I say almost, because you had a few loyalists. Very few."
Portia nodded her head. "Don't remind me. God, everybody let me down on that one. But, again, what does that have to do with this? I mean, I guess that what you are getting at is that you're going to threaten to resign unless I was ousted, and you think that everybody will magically fall in line. But it won't happen like that. The stakes on the Scotty situation were much, much different then than they are now. Nobody is going to want to lose me as a partner. Nobody. Except maybe you. So, good luck."
"We'll see," I said. And then immediately felt apprehensive for doing things in this manner. I should have blindsided her, just like she did me. That way, I couldn't have given her a chance to campaign against me and for her, like she surely was going to do. But, at the same time, I felt that seeing her and telling her what I was planning to do was morally right. To stoop to her level would be contemptuous, to say the very least, and I didn't want to be associated with that kind of behavior. My parents raised me to be a gentleman. I didn't always behave in such a fashion, and, more often than I would like to admit, I behaved as something less than a gentleman. But I was better than behaving low and under-handed. I wanted to be above-board.
Portia was staring at me. "So, I guess you want to have a meeting today. I doubt that there are enough partners here to constitute a quorum. It will just have to be another day, and, by then, I will have worked my magic on everybody here. You won't stand a chance."
I didn't waver. "There doesn't have to be that many partners here to constitute a quorum. Just 50 partners have to be present for there to be a quorum. And you know, as well as I do, that there are at least that many partners present on any given day. There might be about 10 missing on any given day, because of traveling schedules or vacation days, but that's it. So, nice try."
Portia looked surprised at that. It was becoming apparent that she had never read the firm's constitution, as she seemed to not even know how many partners have to be present for major decisions to stick.
But she did attempt to bluff her way through. "Well, with something as major as this, you need a 2/3 majority of the majority of the partners. So, 50 won't cut it for something like this."
"Nope. Nice try. I read the firm's constitution when I first got this position, and I re-read it yesterday, cover to cover. 2/3 majority of a quorum is all that is required. That's it. You wanna counter with anything else?"
She shrugged. "No. I'm not worried. At all. These partners here either fear me or love me. Very few of them feel neutrally about me. So, not worried. You call your little meeting today. Go ahead. You're going to look like a fool. Especially if you decide to pull your 'I'm going to resign' act, and the partners essentially say 'go ahead.' At that point, you're going to look like an idiot when you say 'I didn't really mean it.' And, that means that you will no longer have that threat in your arsenal. Everybody will know that it's empty. Which means that the next meeting, where I propose firing your girlfriend again, you won't have the teeth to fight me. You'll be firing blanks. Is that really what you want?"
I had to admit, she was good. She was playing chess, here. Very strategic chess. And, what she was saying was partially true. I mean, I didn't want to give up this partnership. At all. I loved my work. It was a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity. With the body of work that I was getting at that firm, I could very well be considered one of the legends one day. Corbusier, van der Rohe, Wright, and me. Well, not quite in their league, but there wasn't a doubt that I could very well be considered one of the top architects of all time when I retired. If I kept on the pace that I was on with this firm. That was important to me. It was important that I get the chance to not only design buildings, but also influence future generations. I wanted to be studied in the top architectural schools.
So, I held my breath. Because Portia was 100% correct about something else as well. And that was that I couldn't threaten to resign if it was an empty threat. I had to back it up by actually resigning. And that would leave all my projects in the lurch. The Chase people would be furious, and they very well might blackball me in New York City. I had many, many projects that were coming down the pipeline this year, most of them high-profile, with very well-known clients. All of whom would be apoplectic that I would just leave the firm, and leave them scrambling. I would look foolish and unprofessional.
I had to do another gut-check. But I knew that this was going to be one of my most nerve-wracking moments of my entire life. It was very well possible that today would be my last day at this firm, and that it could very well end my career. I mean, not totally end it. But it would end it as I knew it, and that, after today, I no longer would be considered to be the rising star in the architectural world. I doubted that I could get the same caliber of clients without the backing of this firm.
But it was something that I absolutely felt that I had to do. I would pick up the pieces if the partners chose to allow me to resign, as opposed to ousting Portia. I would still have my position at Columbia, and I hoped that I could still get a foothold in the New York City architectural scene. But probably not.
The stakes couldn't be higher.
Yet, I knew that I was doing the right thing. I knew it as sure as I knew anything in my entire life.
Portia and I could no longer work together. She was dangerous and delusional. Worse than that, she would not rest until she destroyed Scotty. She proved that. So, I had no choice. I had to make a stand, and I had to do it quickly.
As I drove along the usual interminable drive to my office, I wondered if I would have to go back home and paint my face with red lines. Because I felt like a warrior, and I needed war paint to go with it. In the Native American vernacular, I was going to be doing some scalping when I got to the office. And it wasn't going to be pretty.
Portia doing what she did was bad enough. It really was. I would have been supremely pissed off at her, no matter what the situation. But, since her actions were what led to this latest scenario, where my Scotty was terrorized and raped by that predator, I felt like her actions could not go unpunished. She simply could not get away with doing what she did. I was going to make sure of that. If it was the last thing that I did in this world.
Truth be told, that was most of the reason why I decided to go back to work today. I was itching to get in there and roast that Barbie bitch over the coals. Slowly. Put an apple in her mouth and turn her over on the pit. That was my dark fantasy right now.
Not that I could have told Scotty any of this. At that moment, she didn't need that kind of hostility coming from me. She only needed for me to be as positive and supportive as I could have possibly been. So, that was what I concentrated on when I was with her. Making her feel loved and special and like she could count on me to always have her back. She just didn't need any negative juju right at that moment, so I tried to keep everything positive when I was with her.
But, once I left the loft and made my way to my office, my entire mind-set changed completely. It changed from being calm and nurturing to being aggressive and war-like. And I couldn't wait to face Portia down and get her ousted. Not that any of it would be easy. It wouldn't. It would probably involve a ton of litigation, not to mention a buyout of her interest in the firm. None of it was going to be pretty. The firm would probably take a major hit in terms of revenue and reputation with this move.
In other words, this was going to be a very serious matter. I would imagine that the partners of the firm would not take any of it very lightly. Yet, it had to be done.
That much was positive.
I finally arrived at the firm, and I put my briefcase down as I alighted in my office. I then called my secretary and asked her to hold all of my calls. She obliged, of course. I looked at my new schedule, which was sent over to me by Callie, my secretary, and saw that the Chase meeting was postponed until the end of the week. I groaned, inwardly, knowing that this was yet another fire that needed to be extinguished. I would imagine that they were probably not very happy with me going AWOL like that. I only hoped that George was able to sufficiently cover for me and give them a good excuse for where I was.
And then I took a deep breath and headed down to Portia's office.
I got down there, and her door was ajar. I heard laughter coming from the office, as she was talking and flirting with one of her lackeys in the firm, Fred. Fred was forever trying to score a date from the evil queen, and she was forever keeping him on a string, dangling. She had no interest in him. He was like a mouse, and she was like a cat, toying with him. Always giving him just enough hope to keep him on the line, but not quite enough that he should have actually felt that he had a chance.
I knocked on the open door. Portia looked up and I actually saw a different expression on her beautiful face. If I didn't know her so well, I would have actually thought that I saw…fear. Shame. Guilt. Remorse.
But no. There was no way that this woman was feeling any of those things. She just had a really good way of faking the emotions that normal people have. A really good way of doing this.
Fred looked at me from behind his black rimmed Elvis Costello glasses and stood up. "Uh, hello, Nick," he said. "How are you feeling?"
"Like shit," I said, looking right at Portia. "How about you?"
"Uh, fine. I guess I should, uh, get out of here. You obviously have something to talk about with Portia here." And then he eyed Portia longingly. He looked down at the floor. "I'll see you at lunch, huh?"
"Sure," she said flippantly. And then she turned her attention to me. "Hello, Nick. I see that you're feeling better."
I drew a deep breath. "Sit down," I said, as I saw her start to rise from her chair to close the door. "I'll get the door."
I got up and closed the door, and then came back and took my seat across from her.
For several minutes I just stared at her, my arms crossed in front of me. For her part, she just stared right back, her crystalline blue eyes trained on mine. She barely blinked. She was trying hard not to register fear. I knew this. But, yet, I could also sense her fear just below the surface. It showed in her eyes, which showed glimpses of terror, but only glimpses. I had to admit that she was pretty good at masking what was going on in her head.
Finally, after I sat there and stared at her for several minutes, I cleared my throat. "Portia. I know what you did. And you won't get away with it."
"Oh," she said. "What did I do?"
"You drugged me with something powerful. And toxic, I might add. Anything that's not toxic wouldn't cause a blinding headache like I had when I came to in my loft several days ago. Anyhow, whatever it was, I know why you did it. And you won't get away with it."
Portia looked at her nails insouciantly. "You have any proof of this nefarious thing that I allegedly did to you?"
Gut-check time. "No, but I don't think that I need it. Do you? Listen, you and I have been locked in a power struggle ever since I turned you down. You escalated it, and Scotty was the victim in all of that." I didn't go into detail, but Portia knew about Scotty's accident. She had to. Everybody in the office knew about it. Portia didn't need to know the other horrors that befell Scotty because of what she, Portia, did. That was a personal matter, one that was something that I was going to keep secret, because I thought that Scotty would want it that way.
Portia was still staring at her nails. "Oh, yes. I'm very sorry to hear that Scotty got into an accident on the street outside of this building. She seems rather clumsy, don't you think?"
"Clumsy. That's an interesting way to put it."
"Meaning?"
"Meaning that you were what caused that accident. You. Your actions. You knew that Scotty was going to get upset when she saw you and me together. You knew that. You played that whole situation like Yo-Yo Ma plays a cello. Masterfully. Well, it backfired. It backfired, and Scotty has a major injury because of it. And I suppose that you don't feel a single bit of remorse about that, either. Do you?"
"Of course I feel bad," she said. "I sent flowers to the hospital."
Flowers. As if that would make up for what she did to Scotty. "Oh, you sent flowers. Well, good for you. That should make up for the damage done."
"Listen, if I thought that she would have gone that ballistic, I never would have drugged you like that. It was all a lark. You know. A little practical joke. A little bit of fraternity humor to lighten up the day."
"Bullshit. You expect me to believe that for a half a second? Nobody's going to believe that. You targeted Scotty in your little 'prank.' Awfully suspicious, considering how you've been trying to get rid of her since day fucking one. Just a little coincidental, don't you think?"
"Well, you know, Scotty obviously cares more than other people do in this office. So, that's why I did it to her. To get more of a rise out of her."
I felt my breath inhale. I was going to keep calm. That was the only way to take her down. Keeping calm.
But what I really wanted was to slap her. Hard. I was just too much of a gentleman to do such a thing, even though she sorely, sorely deserved it.
"Okay. You have to listen to me, you rotten excuse for a human being. You are going down. On my watch. Today, if possible."
"Oh, Nick? And what, pray tell, do you mean by that?"
"I mean that I'm going to get you ousted. Today."
"You can't just get me ousted. I'm a partner."
"Be that as it may. I read the firm's constitution. Any partner may be ousted at any time for 'high misconduct.' I would think that drugging another partner would qualify as that."
The look of fear in her eyes flashed again. But the flash was gone as soon as it came. "Nick. Even if you have proof of what happened, which you don't, but, even if you did, my doing that to you would hardly be considered to be 'high misconduct.' That term generally means embezzlement or some other kind of misdeed that affects the entire firm. Playing an innocent prank like what you think that I did wouldn't qualify as that. So, nice try."
"I understand what you think. But that term is not defined. And, all that I need is a 2/3 majority of the other partners agreement, and you'll be gone."
"2/3 majority?" she said, as if she had never read the constitution herself, and had no idea what it said. "Good luck with that." She laughed. "You'll be lucky to get a single vote for something like that. Sorry to disappoint, but I'm way too valuable to this firm."
"Portia. Do you remember the last time that you attempted to challenge me? In that whole debacle regarding Scotty's ouster for allegedly stealing from the firm?"
"Of course. I stay awake nights thinking about how I could have won that one. I thought that by blindsiding you with it that you would not have the ammunition to fight it. I underestimated you, I admit. But what does that have to do with this situation?"
"Well. If you can recall, all that I had to do was threaten to resign, well, actually tender my resignation, and almost everybody in the firm voted with me. I say almost, because you had a few loyalists. Very few."
Portia nodded her head. "Don't remind me. God, everybody let me down on that one. But, again, what does that have to do with this? I mean, I guess that what you are getting at is that you're going to threaten to resign unless I was ousted, and you think that everybody will magically fall in line. But it won't happen like that. The stakes on the Scotty situation were much, much different then than they are now. Nobody is going to want to lose me as a partner. Nobody. Except maybe you. So, good luck."
"We'll see," I said. And then immediately felt apprehensive for doing things in this manner. I should have blindsided her, just like she did me. That way, I couldn't have given her a chance to campaign against me and for her, like she surely was going to do. But, at the same time, I felt that seeing her and telling her what I was planning to do was morally right. To stoop to her level would be contemptuous, to say the very least, and I didn't want to be associated with that kind of behavior. My parents raised me to be a gentleman. I didn't always behave in such a fashion, and, more often than I would like to admit, I behaved as something less than a gentleman. But I was better than behaving low and under-handed. I wanted to be above-board.
Portia was staring at me. "So, I guess you want to have a meeting today. I doubt that there are enough partners here to constitute a quorum. It will just have to be another day, and, by then, I will have worked my magic on everybody here. You won't stand a chance."
I didn't waver. "There doesn't have to be that many partners here to constitute a quorum. Just 50 partners have to be present for there to be a quorum. And you know, as well as I do, that there are at least that many partners present on any given day. There might be about 10 missing on any given day, because of traveling schedules or vacation days, but that's it. So, nice try."
Portia looked surprised at that. It was becoming apparent that she had never read the firm's constitution, as she seemed to not even know how many partners have to be present for major decisions to stick.
But she did attempt to bluff her way through. "Well, with something as major as this, you need a 2/3 majority of the majority of the partners. So, 50 won't cut it for something like this."
"Nope. Nice try. I read the firm's constitution when I first got this position, and I re-read it yesterday, cover to cover. 2/3 majority of a quorum is all that is required. That's it. You wanna counter with anything else?"
She shrugged. "No. I'm not worried. At all. These partners here either fear me or love me. Very few of them feel neutrally about me. So, not worried. You call your little meeting today. Go ahead. You're going to look like a fool. Especially if you decide to pull your 'I'm going to resign' act, and the partners essentially say 'go ahead.' At that point, you're going to look like an idiot when you say 'I didn't really mean it.' And, that means that you will no longer have that threat in your arsenal. Everybody will know that it's empty. Which means that the next meeting, where I propose firing your girlfriend again, you won't have the teeth to fight me. You'll be firing blanks. Is that really what you want?"
I had to admit, she was good. She was playing chess, here. Very strategic chess. And, what she was saying was partially true. I mean, I didn't want to give up this partnership. At all. I loved my work. It was a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity. With the body of work that I was getting at that firm, I could very well be considered one of the legends one day. Corbusier, van der Rohe, Wright, and me. Well, not quite in their league, but there wasn't a doubt that I could very well be considered one of the top architects of all time when I retired. If I kept on the pace that I was on with this firm. That was important to me. It was important that I get the chance to not only design buildings, but also influence future generations. I wanted to be studied in the top architectural schools.
So, I held my breath. Because Portia was 100% correct about something else as well. And that was that I couldn't threaten to resign if it was an empty threat. I had to back it up by actually resigning. And that would leave all my projects in the lurch. The Chase people would be furious, and they very well might blackball me in New York City. I had many, many projects that were coming down the pipeline this year, most of them high-profile, with very well-known clients. All of whom would be apoplectic that I would just leave the firm, and leave them scrambling. I would look foolish and unprofessional.
I had to do another gut-check. But I knew that this was going to be one of my most nerve-wracking moments of my entire life. It was very well possible that today would be my last day at this firm, and that it could very well end my career. I mean, not totally end it. But it would end it as I knew it, and that, after today, I no longer would be considered to be the rising star in the architectural world. I doubted that I could get the same caliber of clients without the backing of this firm.
But it was something that I absolutely felt that I had to do. I would pick up the pieces if the partners chose to allow me to resign, as opposed to ousting Portia. I would still have my position at Columbia, and I hoped that I could still get a foothold in the New York City architectural scene. But probably not.
The stakes couldn't be higher.
Yet, I knew that I was doing the right thing. I knew it as sure as I knew anything in my entire life.
Portia and I could no longer work together. She was dangerous and delusional. Worse than that, she would not rest until she destroyed Scotty. She proved that. So, I had no choice. I had to make a stand, and I had to do it quickly.
Re: Saving Scotty by Annie Jocoby - Romance Novel
Scotty
I laid in bed that morning, and Jack and I played cards and watched low-brow television. Real Housewives was on that day, and we sat there and half watched it and half played cards while we talked. It was about 8 in the morning.
"So, Scotty, do you mind telling me what's going on with you? I mean, really?"
I sighed. "Well, Jack, it's kinda weird. I mean, Mr. Lucas put me through hell. More than he ever did before. He's more sadistic than he has ever been. Even crueler. I think that Elle divorcing him sent him even more over the edge. I never remembered him getting such pleasure out of hurting me before. But he did. He loved to see me writhe in pain and cry." I paused. "But I'm handling it better than I thought that I would. I think because I have already processed his violating me, because it happened so often before. It's horrible that it happened again…but, at the same time, there's not a lot that I haven't raged about regarding him. So, I think that I can psychologically handle it. I think."
Jack nodded his head. "That makes sense. But there's something going on. Something is happening in that pretty little head of yours, and I want to make sure that you're straight with it."
"I know. And I appreciate that. I just hope that Nick is going to be okay. I think that he's forcing the partners to choose between him and Portia, and that makes me nervous, to say the very least. I mean, what happens if the partners just say 'okay, Nick, go ahead and walk. We can't lose Portia?' He's going to be screwed if that happens. Because of me."
Jack gave me his bitch please look, and laid down some cards. "Gin. Now, Scotty, how many times do you have to be told that none of this is your fault? That you didn't make that woman the cray-cray bitch that she is? You didn't force her to have the hots for your loverboy. You didn't make Nick the hot, beautiful stud that he is, which means that women are wetting their panties in his presence constantly. None of that was your doing. So, Portia acting the way that she acts has nothing to do with you. If Nick loses his position, it's because of that insane clown posse Portia, not you."
"I know that intellectually. But I'll still feel responsible."
Jack sighed. "Okay, then, let's appeal to logic, shall we? If Nick had never met you, would Portia still be insane?"
"That's a dumb question. Of course she would."
"Okay. Now, if Nick had never met you, do you think that Portia would be full of dirty tricks that are designed to hurt Nick?"
I nodded my head.
"Okay, then. Take yourself out of the equation. Nick would have to force a showdown regarding Portia no matter if you're in the picture or not. So, again, Scotty Marie, IT'S NOT YOUR FAULT!" And then he smiled and said "My deal. What's your pleasure?"
"Let's play some hearts."
At that, Jack started dealing the cards.
I took a deep breath. "Okay, Jack, you make logical sense. It's not my fault. But how do I stop feeling guilty?"
"I'd say long-term therapy, but god knows you don't have the money for that. So, if you don't listen to Dr. Jack here, then maybe you need to read some books on the subject. I'll find some for you in the library. Anyhow, I do know one thing, because I've read about it myself. Sexual abuse survivors tend to feel inappropriate guilt. Not sure how to deal with it, though."
"Inappropriate guilt. Sounds like the story of my life."
"Well, you need to just think things through before you start feeling guilty about something that you had nothing to do with. God gave that woman the cray. You can't feel bad about anything associated with her at all."
"Okay," I said, but I felt unconvinced. "There's my trick," I said, laying down some cards.
Jack smiled. "Speaking of tricks," he said, laying down some more cards. "I think I might have a date this Saturday night. And I don't think that he's a closet case, either."
"Oh, do tell? Is he a Wall Street type?"
"No. I'm done with those. I read somewhere that most of those Wall Street types are psycho, you know?"
I smiled. "Yes, I'm aware of that study. There are a high percentage who fit the criteria for having anti-social personality disorder. Which makes sense if you think about it. But, go on. Who's this new guy?" I didn't want to refer to the new guy as a "trick," even though that was probably what he was going to end up being, knowing Jack. "Do tell."
"Well, let's see. He's a model for Burberry, and he's a skinny little twink with an attitude. So not like my usual burly boys. And he's way gay. Way gay. Here…let me get a magazine. I'll show you!"
At that, Jack got up and ran down the stairs and came right back up. He flipped through the Esquire magazine interestedly. "Let's see, here…" And then he came upon a Burberry ad and showed me the picture of an angelic-looking boy who looked to be around 19 years old. The boy had big blue eyes, full pouty lips and a mop of uncombed brown wavy hair. He had the typical look of a Burberry boy -contemptuous yet sexy. With his perfect pale skin, long eyelashes and red lips, he looked like a porcelain doll come to life.
"So, what do you think?"
"I think he's the prettiest boy I've ever seen in my entire life. How old is he?"
"22, so just five years younger than me. What else do you think?"
"He looks….pouty. Pretty and pouty. At any rate, I can't wait to meet him!"
"Oh, I want you to meet him. He's very pretty, but he seems like a nice guy. I met him through one of the actors on the musical I'm working on. We haven't gone out yet, but I'm looking forward to Saturday for sure."
I nodded my head. It was so difficult to get excited for Jack and his men, just because, well, I had been there so many times before. There was the college football player. And the manager of a Walgreens. And then there was the struggling musician. After that was the waiter/actor/model. That was all before he decided to look for "Wall Street types," because he was tired of always having to pay his date's way. Which was getting expensive, and Jack, while he was better off financially then myself, couldn't afford that. Jack, to his credit, did manage to snag a few of those "Wall Street types," before deciding that they were either boring or too closeted. And now there was Burberry boy. I hoped that Burberry boy would be something other than a boy who was passing through Jack's revolving door, but I was not holding my breath on that one.
Jack laid down some more cards. "Now, Scotty, I can read your mind. You think that this one is going to be a temporary trick like all the rest. And, what can I say? You're probably right. But Babe Ruth once said that every strike brought him closer to his next home run. It would do well for you to remember that."
I smiled. I had never heard that quote before, but it was a good one. In life, it was always good to remember that every failure brings one closer to success. Kinda like Thomas Edison doing thousands of experiments before inventing the light bulb. He, too, said that every failed experiment brought him one step closer to success. I often wondered what the world would be like if Edison had given up after the 999th try, if the thousandth one was the successful one.
"You're right," I said, putting down another trick. "Every new boy brings you closer to The One."
"Well, we can't all be as lucky as you. Hitting the home run on your first at-bat with Nick."
"Yeah. Lucky, that's me," I said. "Anyhow, let's total up our points and move on to the next hand."
Jack was studying me. "I meant what I said," he said, as he shuffled the cards. "You are lucky. Nick is your very first boyfriend, and what a phenomenal first boyfriend he is. You didn't have to go through all the broken hearts that the rest of us have to."
"No, but I went through years of Mr. Lucas. I think I paid my dues." I was starting to get a little bit irritated with Jack. Usually he wasn't this insensitive. Well, he was, but it was all in good fun and he usually picked up on my non-verbal cues a little bit better. "Now deal. Time's a-wasting."
Jack shook his head at me. "Tut tut. I think little Scotty is getting just a wee bit cranky. I'm only telling you to appreciate the positives in your life, instead of dwelling on the negatives. And I think that not having to go through crappy relationships to get to your prince charming is one of those positives in your life. That's all I was getting at."
I sighed. Jack, as usual, was right. Sometimes I did need to appreciate the things that go right in my life, instead of dwelling on what had gone wrong. Glass half full and all of that. And Nick was definitely something that had gone right. Thus far, anyhow.
"So," I said. "Where are you guys going to go?"
"I think we're going to try that new restaurant in Chelsea. At least, that's what he said. And then, who knows?"
"Well, don't give away the milk for free. See where it gets you to make your boys wait for once."
"Oh, but Scotty. That's my calling card. I'm just that good."
"Well, maybe so, but it's gotten you exactly nowhere so far. I'm just saying to try something different for once. You know, don't give a facial on the first date." And then I felt myself blushing for saying something so crude, even to Jack. "I mean. Well, you know what I mean."
Jack was trying to hold back a smile. "Scotty Marie. What porn movies have you been watching?"
And then I gave him a look, and he immediately looked embarrassed. After all, the only porns I had seen were the ones that Mr. Lucas had forced me to watch for "educational purposes." Which was where I had learned about facials in the first place. Personally, I found them disgusting, and hoped that Nick never wanted to give me one.
"Sorry about that," Jack said, looking chastened. He sighed. "Sometimes I can be such a boob."
I smiled. "Sometimes?" And then I started cracking up, in spite of myself.
Jack started laughing too. "Touché, little one. Touché."
Then we played another hand in silence. I was concentrating on my hand, and also concentrating on what was going on right at that moment. I looked at the clock, and it read 10 AM. I felt my heart racing as I thought about the possibility that Nick was summoning the partners right at that moment….
I laid in bed that morning, and Jack and I played cards and watched low-brow television. Real Housewives was on that day, and we sat there and half watched it and half played cards while we talked. It was about 8 in the morning.
"So, Scotty, do you mind telling me what's going on with you? I mean, really?"
I sighed. "Well, Jack, it's kinda weird. I mean, Mr. Lucas put me through hell. More than he ever did before. He's more sadistic than he has ever been. Even crueler. I think that Elle divorcing him sent him even more over the edge. I never remembered him getting such pleasure out of hurting me before. But he did. He loved to see me writhe in pain and cry." I paused. "But I'm handling it better than I thought that I would. I think because I have already processed his violating me, because it happened so often before. It's horrible that it happened again…but, at the same time, there's not a lot that I haven't raged about regarding him. So, I think that I can psychologically handle it. I think."
Jack nodded his head. "That makes sense. But there's something going on. Something is happening in that pretty little head of yours, and I want to make sure that you're straight with it."
"I know. And I appreciate that. I just hope that Nick is going to be okay. I think that he's forcing the partners to choose between him and Portia, and that makes me nervous, to say the very least. I mean, what happens if the partners just say 'okay, Nick, go ahead and walk. We can't lose Portia?' He's going to be screwed if that happens. Because of me."
Jack gave me his bitch please look, and laid down some cards. "Gin. Now, Scotty, how many times do you have to be told that none of this is your fault? That you didn't make that woman the cray-cray bitch that she is? You didn't force her to have the hots for your loverboy. You didn't make Nick the hot, beautiful stud that he is, which means that women are wetting their panties in his presence constantly. None of that was your doing. So, Portia acting the way that she acts has nothing to do with you. If Nick loses his position, it's because of that insane clown posse Portia, not you."
"I know that intellectually. But I'll still feel responsible."
Jack sighed. "Okay, then, let's appeal to logic, shall we? If Nick had never met you, would Portia still be insane?"
"That's a dumb question. Of course she would."
"Okay. Now, if Nick had never met you, do you think that Portia would be full of dirty tricks that are designed to hurt Nick?"
I nodded my head.
"Okay, then. Take yourself out of the equation. Nick would have to force a showdown regarding Portia no matter if you're in the picture or not. So, again, Scotty Marie, IT'S NOT YOUR FAULT!" And then he smiled and said "My deal. What's your pleasure?"
"Let's play some hearts."
At that, Jack started dealing the cards.
I took a deep breath. "Okay, Jack, you make logical sense. It's not my fault. But how do I stop feeling guilty?"
"I'd say long-term therapy, but god knows you don't have the money for that. So, if you don't listen to Dr. Jack here, then maybe you need to read some books on the subject. I'll find some for you in the library. Anyhow, I do know one thing, because I've read about it myself. Sexual abuse survivors tend to feel inappropriate guilt. Not sure how to deal with it, though."
"Inappropriate guilt. Sounds like the story of my life."
"Well, you need to just think things through before you start feeling guilty about something that you had nothing to do with. God gave that woman the cray. You can't feel bad about anything associated with her at all."
"Okay," I said, but I felt unconvinced. "There's my trick," I said, laying down some cards.
Jack smiled. "Speaking of tricks," he said, laying down some more cards. "I think I might have a date this Saturday night. And I don't think that he's a closet case, either."
"Oh, do tell? Is he a Wall Street type?"
"No. I'm done with those. I read somewhere that most of those Wall Street types are psycho, you know?"
I smiled. "Yes, I'm aware of that study. There are a high percentage who fit the criteria for having anti-social personality disorder. Which makes sense if you think about it. But, go on. Who's this new guy?" I didn't want to refer to the new guy as a "trick," even though that was probably what he was going to end up being, knowing Jack. "Do tell."
"Well, let's see. He's a model for Burberry, and he's a skinny little twink with an attitude. So not like my usual burly boys. And he's way gay. Way gay. Here…let me get a magazine. I'll show you!"
At that, Jack got up and ran down the stairs and came right back up. He flipped through the Esquire magazine interestedly. "Let's see, here…" And then he came upon a Burberry ad and showed me the picture of an angelic-looking boy who looked to be around 19 years old. The boy had big blue eyes, full pouty lips and a mop of uncombed brown wavy hair. He had the typical look of a Burberry boy -contemptuous yet sexy. With his perfect pale skin, long eyelashes and red lips, he looked like a porcelain doll come to life.
"So, what do you think?"
"I think he's the prettiest boy I've ever seen in my entire life. How old is he?"
"22, so just five years younger than me. What else do you think?"
"He looks….pouty. Pretty and pouty. At any rate, I can't wait to meet him!"
"Oh, I want you to meet him. He's very pretty, but he seems like a nice guy. I met him through one of the actors on the musical I'm working on. We haven't gone out yet, but I'm looking forward to Saturday for sure."
I nodded my head. It was so difficult to get excited for Jack and his men, just because, well, I had been there so many times before. There was the college football player. And the manager of a Walgreens. And then there was the struggling musician. After that was the waiter/actor/model. That was all before he decided to look for "Wall Street types," because he was tired of always having to pay his date's way. Which was getting expensive, and Jack, while he was better off financially then myself, couldn't afford that. Jack, to his credit, did manage to snag a few of those "Wall Street types," before deciding that they were either boring or too closeted. And now there was Burberry boy. I hoped that Burberry boy would be something other than a boy who was passing through Jack's revolving door, but I was not holding my breath on that one.
Jack laid down some more cards. "Now, Scotty, I can read your mind. You think that this one is going to be a temporary trick like all the rest. And, what can I say? You're probably right. But Babe Ruth once said that every strike brought him closer to his next home run. It would do well for you to remember that."
I smiled. I had never heard that quote before, but it was a good one. In life, it was always good to remember that every failure brings one closer to success. Kinda like Thomas Edison doing thousands of experiments before inventing the light bulb. He, too, said that every failed experiment brought him one step closer to success. I often wondered what the world would be like if Edison had given up after the 999th try, if the thousandth one was the successful one.
"You're right," I said, putting down another trick. "Every new boy brings you closer to The One."
"Well, we can't all be as lucky as you. Hitting the home run on your first at-bat with Nick."
"Yeah. Lucky, that's me," I said. "Anyhow, let's total up our points and move on to the next hand."
Jack was studying me. "I meant what I said," he said, as he shuffled the cards. "You are lucky. Nick is your very first boyfriend, and what a phenomenal first boyfriend he is. You didn't have to go through all the broken hearts that the rest of us have to."
"No, but I went through years of Mr. Lucas. I think I paid my dues." I was starting to get a little bit irritated with Jack. Usually he wasn't this insensitive. Well, he was, but it was all in good fun and he usually picked up on my non-verbal cues a little bit better. "Now deal. Time's a-wasting."
Jack shook his head at me. "Tut tut. I think little Scotty is getting just a wee bit cranky. I'm only telling you to appreciate the positives in your life, instead of dwelling on the negatives. And I think that not having to go through crappy relationships to get to your prince charming is one of those positives in your life. That's all I was getting at."
I sighed. Jack, as usual, was right. Sometimes I did need to appreciate the things that go right in my life, instead of dwelling on what had gone wrong. Glass half full and all of that. And Nick was definitely something that had gone right. Thus far, anyhow.
"So," I said. "Where are you guys going to go?"
"I think we're going to try that new restaurant in Chelsea. At least, that's what he said. And then, who knows?"
"Well, don't give away the milk for free. See where it gets you to make your boys wait for once."
"Oh, but Scotty. That's my calling card. I'm just that good."
"Well, maybe so, but it's gotten you exactly nowhere so far. I'm just saying to try something different for once. You know, don't give a facial on the first date." And then I felt myself blushing for saying something so crude, even to Jack. "I mean. Well, you know what I mean."
Jack was trying to hold back a smile. "Scotty Marie. What porn movies have you been watching?"
And then I gave him a look, and he immediately looked embarrassed. After all, the only porns I had seen were the ones that Mr. Lucas had forced me to watch for "educational purposes." Which was where I had learned about facials in the first place. Personally, I found them disgusting, and hoped that Nick never wanted to give me one.
"Sorry about that," Jack said, looking chastened. He sighed. "Sometimes I can be such a boob."
I smiled. "Sometimes?" And then I started cracking up, in spite of myself.
Jack started laughing too. "Touché, little one. Touché."
Then we played another hand in silence. I was concentrating on my hand, and also concentrating on what was going on right at that moment. I looked at the clock, and it read 10 AM. I felt my heart racing as I thought about the possibility that Nick was summoning the partners right at that moment….