Julieta
Icheck the time again and see that I’m still on track. Nothing irritates my boss more than being late. Not only that, he thinks anything that’s not completed five minutes before the scheduled time is late. I’ve made it a habit to have everything ready for him twenty minutes prior to the deadline so there aren’t any issues. Except his coffee. That would make the coffee too cold for his liking then. It’s always the last thing that I do.
Today I came in even earlier to prepare the conference room for a meeting. Mr. Lawson has been working on the Four Stones deal for a while. I have all the portfolios printed out and bound together to make it as easy as possible for everyone to go through. We’ve been working on this deal for over a month now.
I think it’s actually the biggest one I’ve seen pass through Lawson Enterprises since I got here. Of course they’ve had bigger, but this is the first one of this caliber that I’ve been a part of. I’ve only been here a little over nine months now. That was after I did an internship here for three months prior.
Once my internship ended, I was offered a position as one of Lawson’s assistants. He has a handful of us that all do different things. I handle more of the busy work that is handed off. I got the position because one assistant was fired, and I happened to be standing next to her when it happened. He looked at me, asked my name, and said the job was now mine. And then he clarified his statement by saying it was mine until I messed up and then he would fire me.
I do everything I can to make sure that doesn't happen. The pay here is beyond good, even for my low spot on the totem pole. Plus, the benefits are great. It’s also well known that if you are able to get a few years under your belt working as one of Ivan Lawson’s assistants and manage not to get canned, that you could practically work almost anywhere. It’s like having a giant gold star next to your name on your résumé.
That’s something I desperately need if I want to return to Charleston at some point. Jobs can be a bit harder to come by there if you’re brand new out of college with no family name behind you. Growing up in the foster system, no place ever felt like home really, but Charleston did to a degree. But more importantly, Rae is there, and she is the only family I’ve ever known. She might not be my blood, but if you grow up the way I did, blood relations don’t mean shit.
Once I have the conference room all set up the way I want it, I check the time again and realize that Mr. Lawson will be here any second. I dart out of the room and down the hallway to the small breakroom to make his coffee. I fight a yawn, feeling worn out already. Each day seems to drag by. This is my third year in Seattle, and I hate it. I often ask myself if this was worth it.
I transferred out here three years ago for college. I received a full ride for my junior and senior year. The scholarship had come from an essay I’d written that was only offered to kids who grew up in the foster system. I couldn’t turn it down. I promised Rae when I graduated I’d be back, but I’m still here. It’s hard to walk away from good pay when you’re not used to having any kind of money. But every day sucks here. I hate it. Worse, I’m lonelier than I’ve ever been in my life. I’m even missing Travis some.
“Ms. Jones?” I spin around to see Mr. Lawson standing in the doorway of the breakroom. That brooding, irritated expression is already on his face. Then again, maybe it’s not an expression, maybe that’s just how his face always is.
I bet he’d be handsome if he smiled. He used to actually scare me a bit. His size alone is intimidating. But I’ve learned that while Mr. Lawson can be a real asshole with no emotions, he's not cruel, and he’s always professional.
I’ve never once felt uncomfortable around him even when I’ve had to work late and it was only him and me left on this floor. He’d even tell me to call down to the front desk on nights we worked late and have one of the security guards walk me out. It wasn’t a suggestion, either. It was an order. Everything he says is an order, actually.
“Sir?” I ask.
“I’d like my coffee, and your phone is going off at your desk. Are you trying to give me a headache already?”
“Sorry.” I grab his cup off the counter and hand it to him. He steps back to allow me to slip past him to rush over to my desk to grab my phone. Rae’s name lights up the screen.
“You’re on my time,” Mr. Lawson says as he walks past me and into his office. If it was anyone else, I’d clear the call, but something must have happened. She knows how my boss is and knows my hours. She wouldn’t be calling unless it was important.
I flick the phone over to silent so it stops ringing. I spot a folder on my desk that wasn’t there before. There’s a note on the front that says to add the sheets inside each of the binders. I grab it and scurry back over to the conference room. I close the door behind me and answer Rae’s call, putting it on speaker so that I can talk to her as I add the papers to the binders. I try to go as quickly as I can, knowing the meeting is starting very soon.
“Hey. Everything okay?” I ask, setting the phone down before popping open the first binder to add the paper to the back. “Rae?” I freeze, all my attention going back to the phone when she doesn’t immediately answer.
“I’m here. I just—”
“Just trying to get your voice leveled out so you don’t sound like you’re crying?” Who is she kidding? She can’t hide shit from me. She’s terrible at it and the world’s worst liar.
“I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have called when you’re at work. I just don’t know what to do. Travis really did it this time.” My heart sinks at the mention of her brother’s name.
Oh no. This has been my fear from the very beginning when I left Charleston. You never know what you might get with Travis. Sometimes he does great. Other times he goes off the rails and finds himself in a mess.
I tried to talk Rae into coming with me, but it wasn’t realistic. I was staying on campus since it was paid for. Plus, Rae couldn't leave Travis, which I get. She always thinks she has to take care of him because she’s the older one. Even if she’s only two minutes older than him.
“How bad?”
“I need you to come here—or maybe I need you to hide. I don’t know. There is this man, and Travis stole from him, but he had to or else he’d be in trouble with this other man who is just as scary, but now Castillo is saying we can fix this, and no one has to get hurt, but you have to come, and I—”
“Breathe,” I say, cutting her off. She sucks in a breath, letting it out slowly. All her words are coming out rushed, and I think they are jumbled together because I’m kind of confused. Because what the heck does any of Travis’ stuff have to do with me? I wait for her breathing to even out more. The last thing I want is for Rae to have a panic attack. It’s been a long time since she’s had one. Once I can tell she’s a bit better, I push for more so I can figure out what the hell is going on. “Can you tell me more?”
“They’re going to hurt him. Even if Castillo just pressed charges and sent Travis to jail, I think they can still get him in there. I can’t lose him, JJ.”
“I’m coming,” I tell her.
I have no clue what the hell is going on, but she needs me. Rae never asks for anything, and she loves unconditionally. I don’t think I would have made it in the foster system if not for her. She’s always this bright light even in the darkest of times. I hate hearing her so freaked out. It’s not like her.
“You’ll come?”