Dear Mister Summers

forty

When Andin walked into her building that Tuesday, the last day she needed to go to the office before she would be taking a few days off to visit her mother, a note was waiting for her at her desk. It was not signed but said, "Meet me in the office supplies room at 1 P.M. sharp." It was a rather odd request. She knew Sebastian was as cautious as she was about being seen together, and she wondered what would prompt him to want to meet her.

At twelve-thirty, while everyone else was outside getting lunch, she went to the office supplies room and figured it had to be something really important. But when she walked into the office that night, it was not Sebastian standing there in the aisles between tall cupboards filled with stationeries.

"Come in and shut the door," Maria said, a particularly smug smile flattening her glistening red lips.

Andin did not make any move. Her body was perfectly still. She looked into the cold eyes of the one person whom she even considered a friend. These past few weeks she had enjoyed having her around and being her mentor. Now looking at her hazel eyes, she felt like she did not know the real Maria Gonzales. There was cruelty in those big, beautiful eyes. "What is this about, Maria?" asked her casually as she moved further into the supplies room.

Maria grabbed a file from the shelf and threw it toward her. Andin immediately caught it midair before it hit her forehead. "First, you might want to see this. Then we can talk business."

"What? What business?" Andin opened the file and her heart slammed against her ribs as she saw what was there. Inside were photos of her and Sebastian. There were about a dozen of them, but the most incriminating picture had been snapped the night she had come out of her flat wearing nothing but her slick black raincoat. Although it had been dark outside, the photograph clearly showed Sebastian kissing her while his hand was inside her coat cupping her breast. Her stomach fell and she thought she might vomit all over the floor and the front of Maria's tight purple dress.

"Where did you get this?" Andin shook her head, suddenly feeling nauseous. "I mean, why did you do this?"

"That is not important," she answered, her smile turned creepy. Even though she was a gorgeous girl with beautiful dark hair in a stunning dress, her smile looked like one of Joker's. And for a moment, Andin found herself feeling a bit scared. "What is important is who I am going to send these to. I am sure that after I send the photos to the newspapers, you will have another nickname other than Miss Williams. Something like, I don't know, maybe whore? Or do you like S-word more?"

"What do you want?"

"It is simple. I want you to leave the company."

"I am going to leave the company at the end of this month," she asked incredulously. "What difference would it make if I leave nor or then?"

"It is not for you to know. All I am asking now is whether you leave now and these photos will not fall into the wrong hands or you wait and be persistent and you might find them on the front page of each newspaper or magazine you could find."

"I am practically a nobody." Andin chuckled. "Why would anyone care about my affair?"

"Not you, of course." Maria laughed, even her laughter sounded cruel. "But Mister Summers, the third son of Cedric Summers? That is a different story. The news will eat whatever I am giving them. And you know what I am going to say?" Her eyebrows arched perfectly on her smooth forehead. "I will tell them that he forces his way on all of his secretaries."

"No one will believe you," said Andin tightly.

"Are you sure, honey?" Maria stepped forward and pushed Andin's hair behind her ear. Andin slapped her hand away and took a step back. "Many women would come with me to testify and what do you think will happen? Would they believe your word or even Sebastian's word when there are many women who speak differently?"