Stacy's Destiny (The Town of Pearl 2)

Prologue

Stacy had gotten very little rest over the past four weeks, but she was determined to land the promotion at Mercer Enterprises. This was her time. She had paid her dues and then some, working nights and overtime without pay. It was all to impress Curtis Langcaster, her boss and royal pain in the ass. He was such a damn cocky and obnoxious bastard and good looking to boot. She had actually found him charming and sexy when she started in the company nearly a year ago. Thank the good lord above that she hadn’t fallen for his fake sincerity and playboy charms. Others around the company weren’t so lucky. She had turned a blind eye to the promiscuity taking place around the workplace. There were married couples sharing with other married couples, giving the whole spouse swap a new and erotic alternative. It reminded her of high school but on a more extreme level. These were like adult cliques. There were the men and women who were married but fooled around and had affairs. Then there were single men and women that fooled around and went out drinking and partying even in the middle of the week. Then there were the few married individuals who did their jobs, never advanced, and lived a basic, monotone kind of lifestyle.

Then there was Stacy. Single, newly out of college, and trying to prove that she didn’t have to spread her legs in Mercer Enterprises in order to get promoted. Bullshit! She wasn’t going to be a whore. If she needed to make a career change, then so be it. It was bad enough that she lost her virginity to Alex in college and he turned out to be such an asshole. The sex was terrible and a one-time event that ruined her perception of sex in general. When she finally decided to give sex a try again, it was going to be because she felt overwhelmed with the urge. She was not going to be ordered to.

Clearing her mind of all the obscene reasons why she should just leave Mercer and head elsewhere, Stacy held on to the hope that today was the day for success. She pushed aside thoughts of the little secret admirer gifts and messages that had been left on her desk. She momentarily forgot about the late night heavy breathing calls from private untraceable numbers and focused on today.

Today’s meeting and this advertising contract were a success because of her. Fresh out of college and in her early twenties, she had been exposed to the true ins and outs of the business world at record speed. Trust was nonexistent. It was do or die. If she didn’t land this contract today, then she might as well look for a different profession altogether. Stacy sighed, feeling the quiver from the pit of her stomach all the way to her throat. No one was going to take this promotion away from her this time. She covered all her bases and made sure that the higher-ups saw her working on the Monroe account. She had learned the cutthroat ropes quickly enough, and her razor-sharp tongue had nearly cost Stacy her job. When Curtis cornered her in his office one late evening demanding she give him a blow job and she refused, she had gone off on him and threatened to sue him for sexual harassment. He laughed at her, but he dropped the issue and remained distant. She wondered if he was the secret admirer and just couldn’t take no for an answer. She did catch him watching her which creeped her out, but soon she noticed other men in the company doing the same thing. Knowing that she hadn’t placed herself in any compromising positions, she ignored them and their advances and focused on the job. She learned quickly that there was always someone watching and ready to offer help at a cost. The business world was a brutal place. Taking a deep breath, she straightened her shoulders and gripped the multiple objects in her hands just as she caught sight of Curtis.

Curty, as his little bimbo girlfriends called him, was smiling wide as she approached the boardroom. She carried all the materials, and she handled all the meetings and scheduling with their clients. The Monroes adored her. This was it. She would no longer be stuck working for Curty.

“Hey, there she is, my number one gal!” he exclaimed and attempted to give her a hug despite the large amount of papers and bulk in her arms. How unprofessional of him. Hadn’t the asshole learned that she was never going to sleep with him? What a moron. She had made it perfectly clear over a year ago that she would not sleep her way through promotions to get to the top. Many had before her, and sure, they were sitting pretty, damn pretty, right now with their corner offices looking over the city skyscrapers and their upper-six-figure salaries, but not her. Stacy had morals and values. She was going to be successful, and her pussy wasn’t going to be her ticket to success. She gave Curty a dirty look. Couldn’t he at least pretend that he wanted to help her? Maybe offer to carry some stuff or hold the door at least? His show was for the Monroes. He really didn’t give a damn at all.

“Here, let me help you with those,” Don Williams offered as he reached for some of her binders. He had always been a nice man. He was married with two kids of his own, and he was a gem among narcissists. He was one of the few moral, married men belonging in that particular group amongst whoremongers and chauvinists. Plus with his blond hair and blue eyes, he was the picture-perfect surfer boy. When she first met him, she was shocked that he was married and had two kids. He had told her it was love at first sight, and he couldn’t take a chance of letting his wife Eve get away. His wife was a beauty as well. Just then, the other high-ranking, self-centered CEOs infiltrated the room. Even their nasty facial expressions and fake smiles made her sick. They were decked out in their high-priced Louis Vuitton casual wear from blazers to shoes. Two of the idiots looked like they were headed to the golf course after this meeting. Her nose immediately itched from the overwhelming amount of expensive colognes attacking the air. She prayed she wouldn’t have a sneezing fit. Not now and not with her future professional life hanging on the line. Stacy was at her wit’s end. If she didn’t get this promotion, she didn’t know what she would do. This was it.

She placed everything out on the table and began to arrange the colored printouts according to her presentation. They watched her, and she didn’t have to look up to know that they stared. Self-consciously she tugged her blouse closed in fear that, due to her abundant breasts, some cleavage may have been showing. She didn’t want to give the wrong impression. She’d practiced all week. Her office mates, Teresa and Michelle, probably knew her speech as well as she did. She smiled as her confidence teetered between “set and ready” and “oh shit, I’m going to fail.”

Stacy rubbed her damp hands over the soft material of her skirt. She was dressed modestly but professionally in her flare, blue floral skirt and classy cream-colored blouse. Her breasts were large, but she hid them the best she could. She was also petite, and a lot of the men and women she worked with were tall. Those women who weren’t were certain to wear some of the highest heels around. She didn’t. There was no way she would get through the day in them. Especially being at the bottom of the totem pole and at Curty’s near beck and call. But all that was going to change today. It had to.

As the introductions were made and the Monroes entered the room, the sucking up began. Then out of nowhere came Debbi Dogstire, wiggling into the room with her inappropriately short red skirt and matching red blouse that just happened to be cut so low that her brassiere and lacey red camisole showed. Stacy swallowed hard. She knew she had better breasts than Debbi, but she didn’t show them off.

The men in the room sucked in their breath at the sight of her. Stacy felt that pulling in her gut that something was up. Why the hell were the Monroes talking to Debbi? How did they know her?

The meeting began, and Stacy did most of the selling with Curty, adding in his lies about her ideas being his ideas. Before long Debbi was adding a few points that Stacy hadn’t even gotten to yet in her presentation and stole the Monroes’ attention and the CEO’s attention. From there on out, it was a disaster. It appeared that Curty, Debbi, and a few others in the room had sabotaged Stacy. They made it look like she did all the minor planning and creating on the job while Curty and Debbi did the major work and came up with all the ideas. Stacy was devastated and sick with shock. How could this be happening? It was like some bad scene out of a movie. But this was no movie. This was her life.

Son of a bitch! Thirty minutes later, and Stacy understood exactly why Debbi Dogstire earned the name throughout the company as Debbi Dogstyle. She had been so busy bending over desks to gain promotion that she finally landed the number one spot in the Mercer Enterprises advertising department. By the looks from the faces around the room, Debbi did every one of those guys except for Don Williams.

* * * *

Her blood felt as if it were boiling as she slammed the door to her small office that she shared with Teressa and Michelle.

“Oh no, what the hell happened?” Michelle asked immediately.

“I don’t think she got the promotion,” Teressa added.

“Fuck no, I didn’t!”

“Oh no,” Teressa replied.

“What happened?” Michelle asked Stacy.

“Two words, ladies…Debbi Dogstyle.”

Both Teressa and Michelle covered their mouths and gasped.

“No,” Teressa exclaimed.

Stacy nodded her head as she paced the office. She looked at her desk and all the crap from the Monroe account. She cringed just thinking about all the hours she spent working her ass off to get the promotion that she deserved. She missed parties, visits with her best friend Anna, and time exercising or doing what she wanted to do. All because she thought she was a shoo-in for the promotion.

“So what happened? What did that bitch do, steal your fucking promotion?” Michelle asked, sounding just as outraged as Stacy. However, before Stacy came into the office, Don had shared some inside information with Stacy. He told her that Michelle and Teressa had helped Debbi gain access to Stacy’s information on the Monroe account. Apparently Debbi had called the Monroes and told them that all the ideas were her own not Stacy’s and that Stacy had stolen them from her. Of course Curty was in on it, that little weasel, and Stacy was fed up.

“Why don’t you all tell me, ladies? Considering that the two of you have been sneaking around my desk and stealing information to give to Debbi and Curty.”

The two women turned a bright shade of guilty red, and despite the upset, Stacy felt drained. She just couldn’t stand the anger and upset any longer.

“Stacy, we didn’t.”

Stacy turned toward Michelle and gave her the meanest look, and immediately Michelle closed her mouth. The two women looked at one another then left the room.

Stacy was furious. A thousand thoughts went through her mind. What am I going to do now? I can’t take the lying, the cheating and backstabbing, and all the bullshit associated with the business.

There was a knock at the door, and before she could tell the person to enter, the door was opening. In walked Barry Weiner, the CEO of Mercer. Fucking A! This wasn’t good at all.

“Hello, Miss Porter. I believe we have some things to discuss.” He stated then crossed his arms in front of his chest. The man was feared by the entire staff at Mercer. He rarely even acknowledged her presence in the past year working here until recently. He knew damn well that she was the one who landed the Monroe account and did all the work. Maybe he was here to help her and tell her that he was on her side.

“Sure, Mr. Weiner, come on in.”

He closed the door behind him and smiled.

Taking a few steps forward and closing the space between them, he now stood a few feet in front of her.

“I am disappointed in you, Ms. Porter. I had high hopes for you in my company.”

Stacy felt instantly sick to her stomach. Her last bit of hope just evaporated in front of her.

“But, Mr. Weiner, I can explain what happened—”

He raised his hand up for her to go no further. His fancy cufflinks sparkled against the rays of sun shining through the small window. She swallowed hard. The man had so much money it was insane. Even his shoes cost more than her shitty monthly rent.

“I don’t want to hear it. Curty explained how Debbi was the one working on the Monroe project all this time and how you tried to steal her ideas.”

“That’s a lie! I was the one working on the account. I was the one who spent weeks preparing all the materials and ideas for the advertising contract. Look at my desk.”

Stacy directed her hand toward her desk for him to look, but his eyes never left her. She was so upset that she was shaking as she begged the tears not to fall. She wasn’t going to act like a weak, blubbering woman. Men like Barry Weiner despised such behavior. She had to remain strong, but as she began to explain her side of the story, her emotions were getting the best of her. She carried on and was nearly in tears by the time she realized that Mr. Weiner was holding her hand.

“Calm down, Ms. Porter. Maybe there’s a way that we can work this out.”

Stacy tensed up at the look in her boss’s eyes.