Rude Boss

Quintessa

“I know this man did not buy me a jacket.”

“What are you talking about, girl?” Ella asks, swiveling around in her chair. She’s supposed to be done with work by noon on Fridays, but it’s after four and she’s still at it. That’s one disadvantage of working from home – work is always staring you in the face, and you always feel like you should take the bait.

I say, “Look at this jacket!”

“OMG—it looks expensive and since it was in a Nieman Marcus bag, I imagine it was.” Ella tries it on and says, “It’s by Alexander McQueen, too! OMG. Who bought this for you?”

“I think it was Essex DePaul. He was parked right outside of the door when I got to work this morning—almost like he was waiting for me. He asked me why my jacket wasn’t zipped up.”

“That’s a weird question to just randomly ask somebody,” Ella says.

“Exactly. I had my arms crossed because it was a little chilly this morning, and being the jerk that he is, he’s like, why don’t you just zip up your jacket if you’re cold? I told him it wasn’t my jacket. Then, when I was leaving, I noticed a bag on the trunk of my car – just sitting there.”

“Okay, the next time you find some random bag on your car, don’t put it in the car. It could be a bomb or something.”

“Yeah, not likely, Ella. This ain’t CSI Miami.”

She laughs.

“So, you really think he bought it?” she asks.

“It had to have been him, especially after the exchange we had about your jacket this morning. That would be the only feasible explanation.”

Ella finds the price tag and says, “Goodness, gracious me. This thing cost six grand! Yeah, it was him. Had to be. Ain’t no average Joe around here spending that kind of money on a jacket.”

“Why would he do that, though?” I ask. “He’s so…ugh…”

“Maybe it’s all an act, Quin. He must like you, which would explain why he’d go to such extraordinary lengths to ensure you got a job there.”

“Girl please.”

“No, I’m serious. Think about it. He came looking for you over here, then he went to Dominion where you were interviewing to make you an offer you couldn’t refuse. I’d say that’s extraordinary! He wants you to work there. It’s all so he can keep tabs on you.”

“You think a man who’s as established and as successful as Essex wants a woman who can’t afford to live in her own apartment?”

“Stop being so hard on yourself. You’re getting there, girl. Besides, you can’t judge people based on their status in life. Life is so much more than that.”

Ella takes off the jacket. I place it back in the bag and say, “It is, but I wonder what makes some people more successful than other people. There are always extremes. Some people are living in tents and the others have so much money, they don’t know what to do with it.”

“I guess Essex found something to do with his—spend it on his beautiful new hire.” She giggles. “But for real, you better be careful. Men like him don’t do the relationship thing. And who knows, he probably did this to the last new hire.”

“I wouldn’t put it past him. Zahara told me he fired the girl I replaced because she was like two minutes late. Now, I wonder if that was the only reason.”

“Yeah, like maybe they had something going on in the workplace and it was going to blow up in his face, so he got rid of her before things escalated. See, that’s why it pays not to have no workplace romances. It’s a recipe for disaster.”

I don’t tell Ella about the elevator incident. She would surely tell me to quit and I just can’t afford to do that right now. Still, I can’t deny that this jacket ordeal has my stomach in knots. Why would he buy me a jacket? Is this dude playing mind games with me or what?