Chapter Twenty-Four
It was D-Day, AKA Decision Day.
Olivia didn’t leave for Palo Alto until Sunday evening, but today was her last day working at PHC this summer, which meant she had to tell Michael whether she was ending her relationship with Sammy.
Her heart thudded against her chest as she knocked on his door.
“Come in.”
She entered, her eyes roaming over Michael’s book-lined shelves and the neatly organized mahogany desk. She’d only worked here for a few months, but it felt like she’d been here for years. It would be strange diving back into her classes at Stanford.
“Please, sit.” Michael gestured at the seat opposite his.
She did, folding her hands in her lap. The pounding in her chest intensified.
They made small talk—when she was leaving for Palo Alto, what her second-year schedule looked like, blah blah blah. Olivia responded robotically, too distracted by the elephant in the room to elaborate on any of her answers.
Finally, they got to the point.
“I’m happy you’ve made a decision.” Michael smiled. “I admit, it took longer than I’d expected, but you’ve always been thorough in your analysis.”
Uh-uh. He might sing a different tune once he heard what she had to say. “Thank you for your patience. I did think this through carefully, and—”
“I’m so glad you’re sticking with PHC. It’s the right move for your career, and I’m happy to say your request to transfer to San Francisco is officially granted.” Michael’s smile broadened. “As I mentioned during your review, we’ll reconfirm in March. Otherwise, we’re all set.”
Olivia stared at him, baffled. “What?” She shook her head. “I’m sorry. That’s great news, but I thought you wanted to hear my decision first.”
A puzzled frown eclipsed his smile. “I did. I received your email this morning.”
Her heart started pounding again, this time in triple-time. She hadn’t sent Michael an email that morning. “I see.”
Michael shot her a strange look. “Anyway, I wanted to approve the request in person and thank you again for your contributions this summer. Ty Winstock is delighted with your performance. We’ll shift his portfolio to Cassidy while you finish out your year at Stanford, and it’ll shift back to you after you graduate, per his request.”
When Winstock had heard that Olivia would be taking a leave of absence from PHC, he’d asked her thoughts on who should take over his account while she was in school. She’d recommended Cassidy; apparently, he’d taken her recommendation to heart.
“That sounds great,” Olivia said woodenly. She was still stuck on “I received your email this morning.”
Her mind flashed back to earlier that day. She usually checked her email before she left the house so she could delete the spam and flag the important messages requiring her attention. Today hadn’t been any different. She’d left her laptop and bedroom door open while she showered, as she always did. Sammy must’ve snuck in and sent the email.
She wanted to throw up.
She mumbled her thanks and some platitudes about how great it’d been to work with Michael before she hauled ass to her desk and pulled up the Sent Messages folder in her account.
There it was: from Olivia Tang to Michael Berman, 6:45 a.m. PDT.
She scanned through the email, the bile rising in her throat the more she read.
What. The. Fuck.
* * *
“Sammy!”Olivia stormed into his house after work, so angry steam practically poured out of her ears. He was home; his car was in the driveway. “Get your ass out here!”
Two seconds of silence, followed by the sound of a door opening and the shuffle of Sammy’s footsteps.
He entered the living room. “I had to do it.” He didn’t ask what she was pissed about; he already knew.
“No, you didn’t.” Olivia planted her hands on her hips. “It wasmydecision, not yours. How could you do that? How could you sneak behind my back and email my boss?It wasn’t at all what I’d wanted to say.”