He smiles but there抯 some discomfort in it. 揑抦 not sure meeting them would enlighten you any. My brothers are worse than me.?
He avoided that a little too well. I stare out the window, trying not to be upset by it, but all the ways I used to console myself梩his doesn抰 mean anything, we aren抰 really together梐re no longer true, are they?
揑f you抮e willing to tell HR we抮e a couple,?I reply quietly, just as we arrive at the office, 搕hen maybe you ought to be willing to introduce me to your family.?And your friends. And invite me to your home.
揥e need to talk later,?he says. My head jerks toward him in surprise. He抯 already climbing out of the car, in a hurry. 揘ot now, though. Fields wants us all in the conference room. He's making a big announcement.?
My heart begins to race as I accept his outstretched hand. 揂 big announcement??I ask breathlessly.
He winks at me. 揂 big announcement,?he repeats.
Suddenly it seems so petty, my complaints about Ben not inviting me along tonight.
We take the elevator upstairs and walk to the conference room, where the staff is gathered. It抯 standing room only and there抯 a large cake on the table. I guess someone at the firm was a little more certain than we were the settlement would be a success.
揕et the heroes of the hour in here!?shouts Arvin, from the other end of the room and everyone claps. Once it抯 quiet, he continues. 揑've got a little announcement to make, and it's been a long time coming. Ben, get up here.?
Ben gives me a quick glance, a worried glance, and then goes to the head of the table.
揝ome excellent work was done today,?Fields says, 揳nd we give credit where it抯 due.?He pulls down a sign to reveal the new name of the firm: Fields, McGovern, Geiger, and Tate. 揝ay hello to our first name partner in two decades, who will be leaving next month to head up the San Francisco office with our newest junior partner, Craig Stanley.?
The noise is suddenly deafening, and I抦 the only one who isn抰 making a sound, who抯 standing stiff and stunned, watching as the partners surround Ben.
His gaze finds mine across a sea of people, and I see worry there, but not surprise.
Because he knew this was coming.
Of course, he fucking knew. They wouldn抰 be announcing it if he hadn抰 agreed. This is why he抯 been so weird the past few days. Why he no longer cares about going to HR, why that trip to Fiji doesn抰 matter. Because they offered him a big fucking promotion and he knew he was throwing me under the bus to get it. Maybe it was always the plan, he just didn抰 know it would happen so soon.
If he抎 ripped my heart out of my chest, I doubt it could hurt more than this moment does. Every fucking thing I抳e worked for has just been stolen from me, and he helped make it happen.
I can barely hear over the rush of blood in my ears, my breath coming too fast. My hand clings to the nearest chair, struggling to stay upright.
揑 almost forgot!?shouts Arvin over the noise, and my breath holds. 揇ebbie, start cutting that cake! It抯 not going to eat itself.?
I want to throw a fist into the middle of that fucking cake. I want to climb on the table and scream about what an absolute farce this is.
My legs tremble and my jaw aches with the effort it takes to hold it together. People offer me embarrassed smiles, wincing a little as they congratulate me on the case someone else has gotten all the credit for. I catch Terri抯 eye and her expression mirrors my own. Shock, anger, disbelief. I push past the crowd, out the door, walking blindly down the hall.
Someone runs out behind me, and I want it to be Ben. I want him to tell me it抯 a misunderstanding and that he really thought I was making partner, but I turn to find Terri instead, still looking as shellshocked as I am.
揋emma,?she gasps, 搕his is bullshit.?
It is. I cannot believe I just won one of the biggest gender discrimination settlements in the country, and did nearly all the work, and I'm not going to get any fucking credit for it. Ben and FMG will get the credit. Ben梬ho just screwed over a female colleague梐nd FMG梬hich doesn't have even one female partner梐re now positioned as champions of women in the workplace.
But the worst part is what Terri doesn抰 know: that Ben was in on it. That I抎 convinced myself he was everything, but in the end, he was every bit as cutthroat and Machiavellian as Kyle or my father. He made me believe I was being paranoid, thinking the worst of him. That I was damaged梐nd maybe I am damaged, but if so, then he just made it a thousand times worse. I don抰 even care about making partner right now. I just want to make sure I never lay eyes on Ben again.
I turn to Terri, blinking away tears. 揟hat's it,?I tell her softly. 揑'm done. I'm out.?