Page 43 of Between Passion and Revenge: Part Two

“Melissa,” I say, rushing to her. By the way her eyes widen, I know I must look a mess—or maybe it’s that my emotions are all over me right now, despite all my trying to shove them in the box in my psyche labelled “Not Fucking Right Now.”

I move to my desk and almost go to the seat behind it but decide otherwise.

“Can we sit over here on the sofa?” I ask, and Melissa’s eyebrows shoot up.

“Ms. Rivers,” she says with a sigh, but I cut her off.

“Please,” I say, my voice soft because goddamn I’m so fucking tired. “I… I want to apologize to you and get some details…and hopefully beg well enough for you to continue working for me. But I don’t want to do that with an office desk between us.”

Melissa’s lips twitch for a second before settling back into a neutral expression.

“All right,” she draws out and moves over to the sitting area.

I blow out a breath and slump onto the love seat; Melissa takes the armchair.

“Okay, so first, I owe you a big apology for behaving the way I did. There’s no excuse for why I berated you like that, and I promise never to act like that again.” I pause and takea deep breath. “The man, Storm Sandoval…he’s the father of my children. I haven’t seen him in eight years. So, his arrival definitely sent me for a loop.”

Melissa’s jaw drops, and it takes her a second before she recovers.

“Oh, my God! I would have never scheduled it, but you asked me to.”

I cringe.

“Yeah, that’s the other thing to apologize for. Apparently, they hacked my email account and sent the email to you. There’s no way you could have known. You were just doing your job. Too well, might I add. Why were you up responding to my emails at two a.m.?”

Melissa stares, her eyebrows drawn as she frowns.

“Wait. They hacked your email?” She looks livid, and I lean back into the couch, a little startled.

“Yeeees?”

She goes really still, but then looks up at me and says, “Interesting. I’m sorry that happened.”

Okay, I’ve hit my limit of strange shit for today.

“Melissa, please don’t leave. You’re doing such a great job. I know I’m hard on you, but?—”

“Ms. Rivers?—”

“Liv,” I say. “Please call me Liv.”

“Liv,I’ve thought about it, and….”

“And?”

“You need me, so I’ll keep working with you. But I have requirements.”

On the inside, I smile because if I were in her shoes, I’d have a list of demands, too.

“Okay, state your terms,” I reply.

Melissa straightens her shirt before reaching into her bag and pulling out a notepad.

“First, I would like a title change from Administrative Assistant to Executive Assistant. Second, I require a 20—” she pauses, thinking, “—no, a 25% raise. Finally, I need more access to you.”

“Done on all three things,” I reply. “But you already have more access to me than anyone else.”

Melissa shakes her head.