Shattered: A Salvation Society Novel Bella Emy (best ebook reader for laptop .TXT) 📖

My co-workers stand next to me, with others behind me, poking out their heads so she can get some pictures of us. I take at least five with the whole company in them, and a bunch of single shots with the people I’m closest to.

Once I’ve blown out the candles and everyone enjoyed a piece of cake, people start coming up to me two by two, wishing me the best and saying good-bye.

As the crowd in the conference room begins to shrink, I go up to Mr. Elmers and thank him for the wonderful opportunity he gave me here at his company and for everything else he’s ever done for me. He wishes me well once more and leaves for the evening.

I’m about to grab the basket from the chair and then go back to my desk to pack my bag and take off when I suddenly freeze in place.

“Lexi,” a voice that has always made me cringe booms from behind me.

I slowly turn on my heels and dread for the moment when my eyes meet with his. “Hey, Mark,” I finally say.

His dimpled smile takes over his face as he runs a hand through his thick, blond hair. “Couldn’t let you leave without saying good-bye. Come here, girl.”

Mark doesn’t wait for me to answer or go up to him. Instead, he grabs me and takes me in for a tight embrace. I shiver as my chest crashes into his and I hear him groan in delight. Ugh.

I pull away. He’s always given me the creeps. Mark has been wanting to sleep with me for the past two years when he started working here as a salesman for the company. He’s always been so forward and even asked me out after two weeks of him starting here. I politely declined, and you’d think that would have stopped him from trying.

But it didn’t. He would try whenever he’d get the chance, and each time I’d turn him down.

Everything was fine until last year’s Christmas party when he drank a bit too much and started getting too touchy-feely for my likes. I didn’t report him to HR or even let Mr. Elmers know about it. But his hand on my thigh at the bar that night made me super uncomfortable. I’ve kept my distance from him since.

His eyes take me in from head to toe, and once again, I’m getting the creeps. So gross. Okay, so he’s definitely not a bad looking guy. On the contrary, he’s actually really good looking, but he’s just not someone I’d want to pursue. Something about him just turns me off.

Again, he runs a hand through his hair and then chuckles. “So, I know you never wanted to go out with me before because we used to work together, but now that you’re leaving this place, maybe we can grab a drink or dinner some time.”

Yeah, like that was ever the reason.

I’m about to turn him down for the millionth time when Jo comes up to me with the basket from Mr. Elmers and whisks me away. “Sorry, Mark. I have to go over some particularly important things with Lexi before she leaves, and I know her boyfriend is probably waiting out front for her, too.”

“Boyfriend?” he mouths. His expression dumbfounded.

Thank you, Jo.

I want to kiss her right now. Thank God for my friend. No, I don’t have a boyfriend, but I’m so glad she said that to get me away from Mark.

She flips her head around as we’re about to leave the conference room and says to Mark, “Just make sure you sign the card for her on the desk over there and leave your number so she can call you sometime.”

I look back at Mark who’s smiling nervously. He goes looking for the card to sign.

Turning back, she chuckles, and we walk toward the front of the office. “Don't worry, girl. There’s no card back there. There’s only the one we already signed from Mr. Elmers, which should be the one in this basket. You’d think Mark would have remembered. He signed it just a few hours away.”

I giggle as we reach my desk. “What would I do without you, Jo?”

She smiles back and leans against my desk. “I don’t know, but thankfully, we’ll never find out. I’m going to kick your ass if you don’t keep in touch.”

“You know I will.”

She tilts her head with a playful smirk. “Good, now let’s get your car loaded up.”

After all my things are in my car and we’ve said good-bye for the twentieth time, I take a look at the basket sitting next to me on the passenger’s seat. I grab the white envelope and pull out the card.

As I open it, a check for five thousand dollars sits nestled in between it.

“Holy shit.” I look through all the signatures on the card, and on the bottom right side, I see Mr. Elmers’ words.

Dear Alexa,

Thank you so much for all your years of dedication and time spent at Elmers & Elmers.

You will always be part of our family, and should things not work out for you at your new endeavor, know that you are always welcome back and we’ll take you in with open arms.

Please take this little token as a sign of our appreciation and a little something to help get you started on your exciting journey.

Sincerely,

Edward Elmers

Well, that was incredibly sweet, and oh my God, five grand? I don’t even know if I can accept this much money from him.

I put the card down and turn my head around to look about the parking lot. Shit. I don’t see Joanna’s car parked in her spot anymore. She must have already left.

I grab my iPhone out of my pocket and hit the button on her number to call her.

“Damn, you miss me already?” She picks up on the first ring, chuckling.

I laugh lightly. “Jo, you took off already?”

“Girl, yeah! You think I want to stay around any