Chapter 92
My mouth fell open and my head began to spin. Was this really happening?
“Well, I’ll leave you two to get acquainted,” Logan smiled at us then went into his office.
Sabrina stuck her hand out in front of her, with the fingers pointed downward, like one does when they want someone to grab and kiss their hand. I awkwardly grabbed the tips of her fingers and shook them up and down.
“Hazel!” She said, her voice dripping with fake sweetness and enthusiasm. I had flashbacks to high school when the cheerleaders were only nice to me so I would write their papers for them. “It is soooo nice to meet you. Get me a coffee, would you? No sugar, no cream.”
“Uh…okay,” I said. I looked at Maria and gave her a slight nod to follow me. We started walking towards the pantry.
Unfortunately, Sabrina noticed and turned to Maria. She cleared her throat. “I’m so sorry, and you are?” She said to her.
We froze and turned back.
“Oh, uh, Maria,” she gave a small wave.
“I think Hazel can handle this on her own, hmm? I’m sure you have plenty of work to do yourself,” she said.
Maria looked at me, then back at Sabrina. “Right,” she walked back towards her desk.
“Are you just going to stand there or what?” Sabrina said to me, her words now completely devoid of any sweetness.
“Sorry,” I muttered, not sure what else to say. My mind raced as I turned and walked towards the pantry.
How could Logan do this to me without letting me know? Why would he do this? I didn’t need someone to hold my hand, I could do this job just fine on my own. And to bring in someone from the outside like that as well to be above me? That one really hurt. I’ve been here for years, I know this place and this job even better than Logan did.
As I poured Sabrina’s coffee, I had the sudden urge to spit in it. I never would, but the thought that I totally could was slightly comforting. I put a lid on the disposable cup and carried it back. Sabrina was sitting in Logan’s office when I returned. I knocked on the door, and she stood to answer it.
She leaned in close to my ear. “We were having a meeting, Hazel, it’s rude to interrupt,” she whispered.
My face burned, more from anger than embarrassment.
“Did you offer Logan anything?” She asked.
“No,” I said. Somebody was rushing me, I thought bitterly.
She shook her head at me then turned to Logan. “Logan, can Hazel offer you anything from the pantry?” She asked.
“Oh, uh…no, I’m good,” he said.
She turned back to me and lowered her voice. “Well, you heard him. Don’t just stand there, get back to work.”
She started to shut the door and I heard her say, “Wow, Logan, I can see why you needed my help.”
She slammed the door in my face. I stood fuming for a brief moment, then walked around to sit at my desk.
Elena, who had avoided me at all costs since she returned from her suspension, came sauntering over.
“I like this new girl,” she smirked at me. “Who is she?”
“Sabrina,” I said, staring at my computer screen. “I’m sure you two will get along great.”
She looked through Logan’s office window. Sabrina was leaning forward in her chair and smiling wide at Logan.
“Aw, is someone no longer the CEO’s favorite?” Elena jutted her bottom lip out at me. “That’s too bad.”
She kicked the leg of my office chair.
“Hey!” I said angrily, finally facing her.
“Just too damn bad,” she winked at me and walked back to her desk.
I looked in the office at Logan, who was blissfully unaware of the new fresh hell he’d just released on my life.
Logan glanced out of his office window as Sabrina droned on about…he wasn’t even sure, he’d stopped listening about ten minutes in.
He hated how sad Hazel looked, slumped over her keyboard. Sabrina was just the first person the temp agency had recommended. He felt he had to find someone quickly to help the two of them actually keep their distance. If Sabrina was going to be this nonstop verbose, however, he wasn’t sure how long he’d be able to put up with her.
He wanted to reach out to Hazel, let her know how sorry he felt about this solution, to let her know she hadn’t done anything wrong, but that might just make things harder on the both of them. No, he had to make a cold, hard cut of what their relationship had become.
“Sabrina,” he said suddenly, interrupting her.
“Yes?”
“Let’s ask Hazel to find a desk for you. Um, outside of my office. As quickly as possible, please,” he smiled at her.
“Yes, sir,” she said and left the office.
He watched her talk to Hazel, then Hazel, looking defeated, stood and slumped away towards the supply closet. Sabrina bounded back into his office.
“She is on it,” she happily reported.
“Great. Could you uh…get me a coffee, please? You remember where the pantry is, right?” He asked.
“Oh, but I thought that was Hazel’s job?” She cocked her head to the side.
“It is the job of whoever I ask,” he explained firmly, starting to second guess his decision to hire her.
Her face fell. “Yes, sir,” she said, her demeanor suddenly agitated. She turned to the door.
“Sabrina?” Logan called after her.
She turned, looking hopeful.
“I take my coffee black, thank you.”
I shuffled down the hall, not eager to return to Sabrina or Logan anytime soon. I thought maybe I could get away with hiding in the supply closet for a few minutes. I stepped inside, looked around the hall to make sure no one was watching, and shut the door behind me. I leaned against one of the shelves and let out a sigh.
The door handle jiggled a few minutes later. I jumped and turned to face the shelf and busied myself with a stack of yellow notepads. When the door opened, I turned. I breathed a sigh of relief.
“Oh my god, Maria,” I said. “Can you believe that woman Logan brought in?”
She stepped through the door and closed it behind her. “Do you mean Elena 2.0?” She said. “What is the deal with that?”
I shrugged. “I don’t know, but I don’t like it.”
“Me neither,” Maria said. “She better hope she never meets me in a dark alley after the way she spoke to both of us today.”
The door knob jiggled again, and we both jumped and grabbed whatever office supplies were closest to us. It swung open and an intern named Chip walked through the door. He jumped when he saw us.
We side-eyed him the whole time he was in there. He kept nervously glancing over at us as he picked up a couple reams of paper from one of the bottom shelves. Then he scurried to the door and shut it behind him.
The door opened again immediately.
“Dammit Chip!” Maria said, jumping again.
But it wasn’t Chip. Sabrina threw open the door and crossed her arms.
“Oh, I knew the two of you were going to be trouble,” she narrowed her eyes at us.
“Because we’re grabbing office supplies?” Maria said snarkily.
Sabrina scoffed. “I’m sure Logan would be very interested to know why Hazel has been gone so long and still has not found a desk for me.”
She turned on her heels and stormed off down the hall.
“Is she…tattling on you?” Maria looked at me, stunned.
My heart dropped. “I think so.”
