“Can I come in, dear?” she asked softly. I got to my feet and opened the door. When she walked in, I turned to the sink and grabbed a tissue in an attempt to clean up my face. I looked up into the mirror. Oh God! I blew my nose and attempted to clean the lines of black from under my eyes. Jesus, I looked like Alice Cooper.

Madeline handed me her compact. I took it as the tears started to flow again at her sweet gesture.

“Oh darling, what is it? What happened?” She brushed a piece of my hair behind my ear.

“I had a fight.” I sniffled.

“With who, dear?”

“Drew.”

“That charming young man who was with you at the gala?”

I nodded in response, willing the tears to stop. Madeline was being so nice. She could have just told me to suck it up and get back to work, but she was comforting me and seemed so genuinely concerned that the dam burst and it all just came flooding out of my mouth.

“I’m so in love with him, Madeline, but he doesn’t feel that way about me. I went out with someone else to try to get past my feelings for him so we can stay friends. He found out, we fought, and we said some really hor-horrible things last night. I was so insensitive, and he was so ang-gry,” I blurted, bringing the tissue to my face to wipe at the newly fallen tears. I took a breath. “Then I get here and find out that he is going out with Gwen to hurt m-me like I hurt him.” I hiccupped. “She will never be happy until she ruins me, and she will do anything to make it happen. But going after Drew like this is too hateful, even for her.”

“You let me worry about Ms. Stevens, okay?” She dipped her head to meet my eyes, wrapping an arm around me. “Now, about your young man, have you told him how you feel?”

“No, I can’t,” I said in a quiet voice. “I can’t risk losing him. He’s all I have.”

She pulled my head down to her shoulder. I took comfort in the familiar cloud of Chanel that enveloped me. I took a deep breath. She turned me to face her and placed both hands on my cheeks.

“Listen to me, Alexandra.” She held on to my face firmly but gently and looked straight into my eyes. “If I have learned anything from my life, it’s that anything worth doing comes with some risk. Now, the boy I met at the gala cares for you greatly. I’m sure you can fix whatever unkind words were said.” I started to shake my head, but she stopped me.

“Ah, he knows you didn’t mean it and I’m sure he didn’t either,” she continued. “If you love him as much as you say you do, then you need to be honest with him. You cannot tell for sure what is truly in his heart. Only he can tell you that.” She smiled down at me and dropped her hands. “So, take as long as you need to compose yourself and we will get on with our day, shall we?” I nodded. Madeline squeezed my arm and turned to leave.

As she opened the door, I spoke up. “Madeline?” She turned and looked at me. “Thank you.”

She smiled, opened the door, and left me alone. I took a deep breath and washed my face, trying to get the rest of my emotions under control.

After a few minutes of deep breathing, I put myself back together enough to leave the bathroom. I returned to my desk just in time to see Gwen storm out of Madeline’s office.

“Just wait ‘til my father hears about this. You will be ruined! Do you hear me?” she screamed in Madeline’s direction.

Madeline was standing in her doorway, casually leaning against the doorframe with her arms crossed against her chest. “I doubt that very much, my dear.” She remained perfectly composed and professional. “Do send Senator Stevens my best.”

She was perfectly calm as Hurricane Bitchface raged back to her desk and snatched up her few personal items, not caring if she knocked over anything in the process.

Once she had her bag full of glitter pens and hot pink Post-it notes, she lifted her chin with a huff. I gaped at her from the doorway. I couldn’t believe what I was seeing. Madeline fired her.

She stomped toward the door, stopped in front of me, and pointed her sharp, acrylic claw in my face. “You will regret this,” she said, then shouldered past me, knocking me back into the wall.

She clomped her way out the front door. I watched her stomp down the hall as people stuck their heads out of their offices to catch her dramatic exit.

I turned to Madeline, my mouth wide open. She let out a hoot and did a little shimmy. I was floored. What did I just witness? Did she really fire Gwen? When she finished her dance, she pressed a hand to her chest, her breathing heavy. “My God, that felt good!” She wore a breathtaking smile.

“Did you…?” I asked, raising my eyebrows.

She waved her hand dismissively toward the door. “Oh please, darling. I only hired her as a favor to her father. I have been looking for an excuse to get rid of her for such a long time.”

I wanted to hug her. I tried to hold back the tears that threatened to start again. She saw my face begin to crumble and stepped forward, pulling me into a hug.

She pulled away, keeping a strong grip on both of my arms, and looked into my face. “If there is anything I will not tolerate, it’s a bully.” She stared into my eyes until I nodded my understanding. She stood up and straightened her perfectly ironed blouse. “Now, let us discuss the Parker proposal.” She pointed a perfectly manicured finger in my direction. “You’re going to have a lot of extra work on your plate now that Ms. Stevens is no longer with us.”

I couldn’t believe this was happening. Gwen was gone. I was finally rid of her. I hurried around my desk to get to work. Before I took my seat, I looked up at her and narrowed my eyes. “Are you sure about this?”

This all seemed too good to be true, and a small part of me—granted, a very small part of me—felt bad for Gwen.

“Of course, dear! You are vastly more talented then she could ever dream of being. Did you see her last proposal? Velvet leopard print.” She made a stink face and, with that, she turned and headed into her office.

I sat down in my chair. I couldn’t stop smiling. Gwen was gone. Finally, my days of being passed over for the senator’s daughter were over. This was an opportunity of a lifetime. I couldn’t believe it.

I pulled out my phone, immediately starting to text Drew the big news, and then it hit me. I couldn’t text him. My shoulders slumped. I had the biggest news of my career and I couldn’t share it with my best friend. I put the phone back into my purse and got to work. Time to focus on me and my career.

***

By Saturday afternoon, I still hadn’t heard from Drew. I spent a good part of Friday night and all of Saturday morning staring at my phone, willing it to ring. I took it with me everywhere I went so I wouldn’t miss it if he called, even the shower. I finally put on a Gilmore Girls marathon to pass the time.

I went to the kitchen to make some tea when I heard my phone Ping, ping. I raced to the living room and lunged for my phone on the coffee table, stubbing my toe on the edge of the couch. Oh so gracefully, I limped the rest of the way and picked up my phone.

Peter: Sent you the address. See you tonight.

Damn, our date! I totally spaced. Why do I keep forgetting about him? That was so not a good sign.

I was going to his loft to talk about design ideas. Luckily, I had some samples with me, although I had a feeling Peter wasn’t so interested in looking at fabric. I really wasn’t in the mood to go, but I told him I would and I shouldn’t bail this late.

***

At seven I headed over to Peter’s place. I went for a casual look with skinny jeans, my black studded ballet flats, and my favorite purple flannel shirt. His apartment was in an old industrial section of town that was being revamped. It was a quiet neighborhood, kind of artsy with cute little galleries nestled comfortably between the Starbucks and cell phone stores.