When I got to the office the next day, the room where all the junior designers worked was eerily quiet. In fact, I could have sworn I heard a couple people sniffling and blowing their noses.
I guessed I’d missed some sort of drama. Since I’d started staying at Marina’s place in New Jersey, I usually ended up being the last person in the office in the morning. Not wanting to draw attention, I woke up my computer, settled in, and didn’t say a word to anyone.
“Kealy, can I see you in my office, please?” Forest’s voice boomed.
Shit.
Did he find out about that fabric I helped myself to? But it was scrap, and he’d always told me to take what I wanted.
Or was he going to take back the sewing machine over some perceived slight? Nah, he wasn’t petty like that.
Maybe it was related to my insistence that Muse had pirated my work…and my unwillingness to let it go? Shit, I should have just kept my mouth shut and my head down.
“C’mon in, Kealy. Grab a seat right there,” he said, pointing. “I need to talk to you about Muse,” he said.
My stomach dropped. Oh, my god, in addition to stealing my work, had he also said terrible things about me?
Forest lowered his voice since his loft office didn’t afford a lot of privacy. “You may have noticed that Muse is not here this morning.”
“Oh, no, I hadn’t noticed—I mean, yes. Yes, I noticed,” I lied.
Way to draw attention to your lateness, dumbass.
He looked confused at my indecision. “Okay. Well. I wanted to let you know Muse doesn’t work here any more.”
Huh?
“Muse? He left?” I said. It came out as more of a squeak.
He looked down at his hands. He always picked his cuticles when he was under stress. As a result, they perpetually looked like raw hamburger meat. It was the only thing about him that wasn’t perfect.
“He didn’t leave. He was escorted out. Fired.”
Fired? No, I was sure I didn’t hear that right. “Sorry? What did you say, Forest?” I asked.
He nodded slightly. “Muse is gone. Asked to leave the company. Fired.”
Oh. My. God.
“Wh…why?” I gripped the sides of my chair.
He leaned back in his chair and stretched, hands behind his head. Something about him looked tired. Weary, even.
He shook his head slowly. “He’d been working with one of our suppliers overseas. He sent them an order and when the goods never arrived here, the bookkeeper looked into it. Turned out, Muse had been placing orders with a fake company and siphoning our payments to his own account.”
I was speechless. Couldn’t think of a single thing to say. I knew Muse had stolen my work, but stolen money from the company?
And Forest could tell.
“Yeah, I was pretty shocked, myself.” He looked out his office window for a moment and then back to me. “We went through his desk and computer and not only found he’d stolen your designs, but also emailed a friend to brag about it.”
My hand flew to my mouth, and a tear slid down my face. But it wasn’t about being vindicated by the exposure of Muse’s wrongdoings. Forest had been deeply deceived, and I knew what that was like.
“I owe you an apology,” he said.
He did owe me an apology. I nodded in acceptance. But I didn’t blame him. Muse was cute and charming. He’d fooled me and Forest, and others, I’m sure.
“I’m sorry this happened to you, Forest,” I said quietly.
“Me too. Me too, Kealy.” He rose to his feet. “I’ll find some way to make it up to you. I’m sorry I doubted your story. It was wrong, and I regret it. You’re a great designer, and I should have known your work when I saw it.”
I looked down at my hands, embarrassed by his shame. “Forest, you’ve done so much for me...” But I stopped. The lump in my throat made it too hard to say any more.
“Okay. Thanks, kiddo.”
I followed him to his door, and before I left, he turned back to me. “If there is anything you ever need, anything I can ever do for you, all you have to do is ask.”
It was a sincere offer, and I knew he meant every word of it.
“Well, there is something I’d like to talk to you about…” I said.