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Authors: Francine Pascal
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temper flared. Emily needed to learn how to respect her boss.
âSorry,â Emily said in a tone just touched with sarcasm. Jessica could never quite tell whether Emily was being sincere.
âJust watch it,â Jessica warned.
Every day Jessica worked with Emily, she liked her less. She talked back, had no respect, and as far as Jessica could see, didnât really do her job. Jessica always had to ask her two or three times to do the simplest things.
Jessica had brought up the issue with Tracy but had gotten nowhere. âEmily knows her stuff,â Tracy had said flatly. It figured that Tracy would love her, since Emily made it her purpose in life to annoy Jessica.
Jessica sat back and glanced at the latest thing to hit the reject pile: an âoccupy fashion weekâ promotion where models wearing eco-friendly makeup would pop up with impromptu catwalk struts carrying placards in the middle of fashion week. Jessica thought it was a dynamic, original idea, but Tracy had turned it down flat. In fact, it almost seemed like Tracy had known what Jessica was going to say before sheâd even said it, but the only other person Jessica had even talked to about the idea was Emily.
For a fleeting second, Jessica wondered if that was just coincidence.
âWhatâs your next strategy?â
âI donât know.â
A new e-mail arrived in her in-box on her computer screen.
She glanced up at the notice and groaned. It was from Caroline Pearce. The subject line read: âThought youâd be interested in thisâ¦â
Jessica had a sinking feeling she wouldnât like it.
She opened the e-mail and then clicked the link Caroline had provided. It sent her straight to TMZ, where she saw the headline Liamâs New Flame, Jessica Wakefield, in Bitter Divorce Battle.
âBut I didnât file!â Jessica leaned forward, trying to devour the news.
âWhat is it?â Emily asked, reading over her shoulder. Emily knew no personal boundaries, and Jessica was too shocked to shoo her away.
The two-paragraph story named her and said she was in the middle of a bitter divorce from her estranged husband, Todd Wilkins. Except that Jessica had never filed for divorce. She swallowed. That must meanâ¦
âExcuse me,â Jessica said as she clicked the article closed and ran to the bathroom. She didnât see that Emily slid straight into her desk chair and clicked open the e-mail.
Jessica stood in front of the mirror in the ladiesâ room, breathing hard. Her own stark blue eyes stared back at her, looking as shell-shocked as she felt.
Todd must have filed for divorce. It was the only explanation. While part of her knew this would be coming, the harsh reality of it still hit her hard. How could he have done this without telling her? They were officially separated, yes, but given all theyâd been through in the last three years and that they had a child togetherâ¦how could he let her find out heâd filed for divorce from Caroline Pearce and TMZ ?
Her heart felt like it was breaking all over again, and the sadness threatened to swallow her whole.
The unfairness of it ripped through her. He couldnât call her and let her know he planned to do this?
The heartache and sadness soon were drowned out with a righteous anger. How could he have done it like this? He must never have really loved her at all if he planned to end things like this.
She smoothed her hair and lifted her chin. Fine, if this is how he wanted it, she thought. She thought about walking straight to her desk and calling Liam, but realized that he was out of town for a movie shoot. He wouldnât be back for another week. And she needed someone right now.
She strode out of the bathroom and immediately spotted Michael Wilson across the office. He was standing near a file cabinet talking to his assistant, and he had his bag slung over one shoulder, like he was headed out the door. It was nearly
âSorry,â Emily said in a tone just touched with sarcasm. Jessica could never quite tell whether Emily was being sincere.
âJust watch it,â Jessica warned.
Every day Jessica worked with Emily, she liked her less. She talked back, had no respect, and as far as Jessica could see, didnât really do her job. Jessica always had to ask her two or three times to do the simplest things.
Jessica had brought up the issue with Tracy but had gotten nowhere. âEmily knows her stuff,â Tracy had said flatly. It figured that Tracy would love her, since Emily made it her purpose in life to annoy Jessica.
Jessica sat back and glanced at the latest thing to hit the reject pile: an âoccupy fashion weekâ promotion where models wearing eco-friendly makeup would pop up with impromptu catwalk struts carrying placards in the middle of fashion week. Jessica thought it was a dynamic, original idea, but Tracy had turned it down flat. In fact, it almost seemed like Tracy had known what Jessica was going to say before sheâd even said it, but the only other person Jessica had even talked to about the idea was Emily.
For a fleeting second, Jessica wondered if that was just coincidence.
âWhatâs your next strategy?â
âI donât know.â
A new e-mail arrived in her in-box on her computer screen.
She glanced up at the notice and groaned. It was from Caroline Pearce. The subject line read: âThought youâd be interested in thisâ¦â
Jessica had a sinking feeling she wouldnât like it.
She opened the e-mail and then clicked the link Caroline had provided. It sent her straight to TMZ, where she saw the headline Liamâs New Flame, Jessica Wakefield, in Bitter Divorce Battle.
âBut I didnât file!â Jessica leaned forward, trying to devour the news.
âWhat is it?â Emily asked, reading over her shoulder. Emily knew no personal boundaries, and Jessica was too shocked to shoo her away.
The two-paragraph story named her and said she was in the middle of a bitter divorce from her estranged husband, Todd Wilkins. Except that Jessica had never filed for divorce. She swallowed. That must meanâ¦
âExcuse me,â Jessica said as she clicked the article closed and ran to the bathroom. She didnât see that Emily slid straight into her desk chair and clicked open the e-mail.
Jessica stood in front of the mirror in the ladiesâ room, breathing hard. Her own stark blue eyes stared back at her, looking as shell-shocked as she felt.
Todd must have filed for divorce. It was the only explanation. While part of her knew this would be coming, the harsh reality of it still hit her hard. How could he have done this without telling her? They were officially separated, yes, but given all theyâd been through in the last three years and that they had a child togetherâ¦how could he let her find out heâd filed for divorce from Caroline Pearce and TMZ ?
Her heart felt like it was breaking all over again, and the sadness threatened to swallow her whole.
The unfairness of it ripped through her. He couldnât call her and let her know he planned to do this?
The heartache and sadness soon were drowned out with a righteous anger. How could he have done it like this? He must never have really loved her at all if he planned to end things like this.
She smoothed her hair and lifted her chin. Fine, if this is how he wanted it, she thought. She thought about walking straight to her desk and calling Liam, but realized that he was out of town for a movie shoot. He wouldnât be back for another week. And she needed someone right now.
She strode out of the bathroom and immediately spotted Michael Wilson across the office. He was standing near a file cabinet talking to his assistant, and he had his bag slung over one shoulder, like he was headed out the door. It was nearly
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