style="font-size:15px;"> Keira sighed deeply. She’d known before she’d even left Bryn’s apartment that she wasn’t going to find anything resembling romance on this date. But there’d still been a flicker of hope. Just a little spark that someone who burned as brightly as Shane might appear in her life out of the blue, turning her world upside down just as quickly as Shane himself had done.
But she realized now, with bitter disappointment, that she’d been a fool to even entertain that idea. Shane was a one in a million experience. No, one in a billion. Her date with Glen had just confirmed her worst fears.
She’d never find a love like that again.
CHAPTER THREE
Keira had no choice but to return to the office the next morning. Heartbreak wasn’t a valid reason to miss work in the first place, and two days in a row seemed to be really taking liberties. Besides, she didn’t want to spend another day moping in coffee shops, and she definitely didn’t want to get cajoled into another one of Bryn’s stupid harebrained schemes! The last one, the date at Gino’s, had left a very sour taste in Keira’s mouth.
Despite feeling like she had a dark gray rain cloud hovering above her head, Keira managed to get herself dressed and ready for the day. Usually she felt empowered dressing for work, but today she felt like a phony, even though she’d opted for one of the more casual outfits from her business wardrobe options.
As she left Bryn’s apartment, Keira saw that Nina had sent her a supportive text.
Everyone’s looking forward to your return.
Keira smiled. She was glad she had such a good friend in Nina. Despite the age difference between them, they seemed very in tune with one another. And Nina had had such a glittering career within the world of writing that she was also an excellent mentor to Keira.
As Keira walked into the Viatorum head office she was surprised by the immediately different atmosphere inside. Before, there had always been an air of panic in the office, a sort of invisible stress that permeated the whole place. In the past, no matter how good a mood she’d been in when she entered the place, there was no chance that when she left she wouldn’t feel tired, stressed, and anxious.
But of course the difference now was that Joshua no longer worked at the magazine. Thanks to Keira, he’d been fired by Elliot. It was amazing what a difference it had made to the place. It even looked more comfortable, though the tiles were the same clinical, pristine white they’d been before, the open-plan style just as echoing. There was only one real visible difference, Keira noted; all the doors to the meeting rooms and offices that lined the office were open. She could see Heather, Elliot’s assistant, typing away at a computer in her office. Inside the conference room several staff members were engaged in a meeting that seemed joyous rather than stilted and awkward. In Joshua’s day those doors were always shut fast, acting as a physical barrier between the senior staff and junior staff.
“It’s Keira!” someone said, and suddenly heads were turning to look at her.
To Keira’s complete surprise, someone started to clap.
She felt a blush rise into her cheeks as more and more people stood from their desks and began joining in the applause. Was this what Dorothy felt like after killing the Wicked Witch? A man had lost his livelihood after all, even if he did deserve it!
Nina came over from her desk and hugged Keira.
“You made it,” she said, gently. “I told you everyone was happy to see you!”
Denise, one of the junior writers that Keira hadn’t exchanged more than two words with in the past, rushed over and hugged her. Keira was surprised.
“Oh. Um, hey,” she said, awkwardly.
“I just wanted to say thank you,” Denise gushed. “I was so close to quitting because of Joshua. He made me think I was useless, that I couldn’t write and had no talent. I was going to give up on journalism altogether. But thanks to you I’m still here and everything is a million times better than before.”
“You’re welcome,” Keira said, feeling a little surge of pride. Standing up to Joshua hadn’t been easy, but it had paid off, and it had helped more people than she’d realized. Any residual guilt she felt over her actions dissipated as she saw what an impact it had made on everyone here. Josh was a grown man, responsible for his own actions. No one had made him act like a jerk to everyone around him. He’d gotten himself fired, really; Keira had just been the catalyst.
Feeling a surge of confidence for the first time since Shane had shattered her heart, Keira went over to her desk, ready to throw herself back into her work. It was where she excelled, after all. Even if her love life was currently in tatters her career was blossoming and she was going to make the most of it.
But when she reached her desk she saw that none of her things were there. Her framed photo of her mom and Bryn was gone, along with her miniature cactus, the polka dot mouse mat she’d been given as a graduation present from her friend Shelby, and the cat-shaped mug her other bestie, Maxine, had gifted her last year. She hoped desperately they hadn’t been thrown out by accident. Small trinkets, essentially worthless, but they meant a lot to her.
She looked about her, worried. It was then that she noticed Elliot striding toward her.
He stopped, his large six-foot frame towering above her, and shook Keira’s hand. “Welcome back. I’ve had you moved to the corner office. I hope that’s okay.”
The relief that Keira’s belongings were safe took center stage in her mind. Then she realized what Elliot had actually just said.
“I have an office?” she repeated, her tone one of disbelief.
“Of course,” Elliot replied. “You’re a senior now. All seniors get offices.”
He beckoned her to follow. As Keira walked across the office, she caught Nina’s eye. Her friend winked. She must have known all along.
They stopped at the open door to the small corner office. Keira’s name had been etched onto a gold plaque screwed onto it. Her favorite items were positioned on the desk in much the same way they had been before but whereas before they’d made her work space feel crowded, now they were dwarfed by the rest of the empty room.
Keira felt elated, like she was walking on air. She’d never had her own office, or a plaque on the door.
“Is it okay?” Elliot asked.
“It’s amazing!” Keira replied, walking inside and twirling. The room wasn’t quite big enough for arabesques but that hardly mattered to Keira!
“We’ve adopted a doors open policy,” Elliot said. “Unless you’re having a meeting or on a call. There was a vote while you were on leave.”
Keira looked at him with a surprised but pleased expression.
She couldn’t even begin to imagine what a voting system at Viatorum would look like! In Joshua’s day he just barked orders and everyone followed. If he called you into the office on a public holiday – be it Christmas, Hanukkah, Eid, or whatever you celebrated – you had to be there or be fired. It made Keira so happy to know that the junior writing staff were getting their voices heard now.
“Have you been introduced to Lance yet?” Elliot continued.
“Lance?”
