The Beautiful People

21. Rachel

     After leaving the table, I ran up the stairs and locked myself in the bedroom to make sure that no one could follow. There was a part of me that felt pleased that I stood up for myself. Something a important as a promotion to such a prestigious position in the company should be handled as if it were a joke. After all the time I had worked there, I deserved better. It just felt so tacky. I was so angry that my future was being disrespected that I suddenly found myself declaring that I also didn't want the position, but that was clearly a lie. I do want it, but not this way. This was a legitimate fortune 500 club, and my boss was acting like this was the Apprentice. I was a clerk or a newbie right out of college. I had been working hard for Mr. Parson's company for over twelve years and that made what he was doing out of line.

     Then there was another part of me that was feeling something completely different: fear. I was afraid that I had just tossed away a promotion that I clearly could have used. I just disqualified myself and gave that bitch Angie a chance to win it by default. I sat on the bed and just went over the moment over and over again in my head. I started to cry and regret the fact that I chose to walk away rather than fight for the job. Was it cowardice, or a strategic fuck you to Angie? She sat there alone for a few minutes going over what she said repeatedly until there was a decent knock on her door.

     "Who is it?" I called out.

     "It's Jim," Jimbo called out "Is it okay for me to come in?"

     "Yeah, sure." I replied, questioning whether or not I wanted to talk to anyone.

     Jimbo came through the door, but he locked it behind him so we couldn't be interrupted. He walked into the room and rather than sit down on the bed beside me, he pulled up the chair from the corner of the room and sat down in front of me.

     "Well," Jimbo started, "What the fuck was that about?"

     "I'm sorry," I replied, "I just made a decision in the moment. I didn't mean to give up my chance to win that promotion. I should have consulted you about it first."

     "You think?" Jimbo said, sarcastically responding. "You almost handed that cunt the promotion on a silver platter."

     "Almost?" I repeated back to him, as I was clearly unaware of what he was talking about.

     "Angie wants the job," Jimbo explained, "But not handed down to her because someone else didn't want it. She got mad and stormed off right after you did!"

     "It would be a hallow promotion," I said, grinning at the thought. "No one would respect her new authority and it would be a complete disaster if anyone ever found out."

     "And they would have," Jimbo said, "Cause we'd make sure they would have."

     I sat there and sucked in a deep breath. I held it for a few seconds and then slowly exhaled. I had taken a gamble and it paid off. I was hoping Angie didn't want a hand me down. As much as she wanted the job, she didn't want to win it that way. She wants the glory of winning it.

     "This improves our chances," I said, smiling back at Jimbo. "So what do we do now?"

     "Nothing." Jimbo answered, "Everyone has called it a night. Mr. Parsons was pretty shaken up by the walk out of all three candidates. He never suspected that so it would be best if you stay up here and let them sweat it out."

     "Alright," I said, laying down on the bed, and taking another deep breath. "That was intense."

     "You're telling me!" Jimbo said, "I nearly choked on what I was eating when you started to say you didn't want the job. I know you did and that nearly floored me."

     "Sorry about that," I said, as I had regretted it the moment I made it up to the bedroom. "We should have talked about it before rolling the dice."

     "I appreciate that," Jimbo said, "But the timing was perfect. I'm no sure if that would have worked at any other time. Now we should focus about how you're going to approach tomorrow. I would recommend being humble but still a sliver defiant. Keep the strength you've shown, but be a little modest and humble. Just a tad, and that will floor him again."

     "Don't you think that might come off as desperate?" I asked him.

     "Only if you apologize for everything," Jimbo explained, "Don't apologize for what you did, merely how you did it. Let him know that you understand your message should have been made privately and not in front of others. Stroke the man's ego, but at the same time stand up for your own actions and not back down."

     "That's a fine line to walk," I said, thinking about it.

     "It is, but you can do it." Jimbo said, "I'm confident you can pull it off, especially when you consider how perfectly you nailed that exit tonight?"

     "How did Angie do with hers?" I asked, curious about it.

     "It was so lame," Jimbo said, laughing. "Your exit was so epic that her was going to disappoint no matter how hard she tried, so she appeared to not even bother. She said her peace and walked out too. Your exit is the one they're talking about, and Angie's was pathetic."

     "Good," I said, smiling at the thought. "That bitch can try to copy me, but she's got nothing."

     "I know it," Jimbo agreed, "You're the real deal. She's just a fucking brown nosing wannabe."

     "I bet she's a bad lay too." I said, enjoying talking smack behind her back.

     "No doubt," Jimbo concurred, "You can tell Josh is frustrated. I'm sure he rubs one out at least two times a week."

     "We don't have that problem," I said to him seductively.

     "I'm well aware of that too," Jimbo said as he stood up and took his shirt of and then immediately hopped into bed with me.