An American Cinderella

“You just light up when you talk about him,” Jaqui remarked. She shook her head and smiled. “You are totally in love with him.”

“Maybe.” I shrugged, trying to play it off, but I couldn’t help but think of how I lit up when he touched me. The way he made me feel when he looked at me with those blue eyes. The way my heart sped up when he called me and the way we talked until three in the morning on the phone.

“And there’s that in-love smile.” Jaqui pointed to the smile currently filling my face without me realizing. “You’ve got it bad.”

“Maybe a little,” I admitted. Jaqui just laughed and pushed herself off the door frame.

“Remember, if he has a friend...” Jaqui shrugged and waved as she left my office.

I smiled as I got back to work. I was almost done with the research for Anastasia. I only had a few more things to add. It wasn’t my best work, but then I didn’t exactly have enough time to do my best. I had put everything I had into it, though.

Just because I wasn’t getting the credit didn’t mean I wasn’t going to do a good job.

I put another set of files into the scanner and watched as they uploaded. It was one that Audrey would most likely want. Guilt washed through me. I didn’t have any files for her. I couldn’t bring myself to do it.

My father was going to lose his reputation and it was my fault. I had to do something. I was running out of time.

I took out my phone, checked to make sure no one was walking down the hallway and snapped a picture of the file. It felt wrong. It felt like I was betraying everything I stood for. Guilt made my stomach twist and all the happy feelings I had dissolved like tissue paper in rain.

“It’s for Dad,” I told myself, putting my phone away. I wanted to delete it.

I did a another few boxes before my stomach began to rumble. I needed to eat something.

I stood up and stretched, purposefully not looking at my phone. I didn’t want to think about what I had on there.

Jaqui knocked at my door, making me jump. I yelled and put my phone in my pocket, shame heating my face. I knew she had no way of knowing what was on my phone, but that didn’t make the dirty feeling of betraying her go away.

“Sorry,” Jaqui said. “I didn’t mean to scare you.”

“It’s okay. I was just in my head.” I did my best to smile. “What can I do for you?”

“The coffee machine broke. I was going to run over to the shop and grab some. Want to come?”

“And escape from the boxes for a little bit? Yes, please!” I grabbed my jacket and purse. “Plus, I can grab breakfast.”

“You mean Henry isn’t bringing you that too?” she teased as we headed down the stairs.

“Ha ha,” I replied, rolling my eyes. Jaqui chuckled.

We both waved to Gus as we walked out. Outside, the sun was shining with hardly a cloud in sight. After the rain of the other day, it was a welcome change. I took a deep breath of fresh, cool air and we started to walk.

“I have orders for Gus, Bethany, Janet, and Bob,” Jaqui said, pulling out a small piece of paper.

“Oh, so I see. I’m the hired help to carry all these. That’s why you asked me to come along,” I teased.

“Well, you are the new hire. You get the fun jobs,” she replied. “Just be glad I don’t make you scrub toilets.”

I made a face and Jaqui laughed. She pulled open the glass door to the coffee shop. The scent of roasted coffee beans and syrup filled my nose. I looked up at the menu and decided to order one of their breakfast sandwiches. I was really hungry now that I could smell food.

Jaqui and I stood in line, chatting about our lives. My phone burned in my back pocket with the image of the file I had stolen. I kept imagining giant neon signs pointing to me with the words, “traitor” and “thief.”

I wasn’t sure how long I could do this.

We ordered our food and coffee and stood off to the side of the counter while we waited for it to be made. I looked up to see the news on a lone TV. It appeared to be breaking news, with a man in a dark suit waving off reporters as he hurried into a car.

Jaqui followed my gaze. “Oh that. It’s been all over the news all morning.”