Page 5 of Unconventionally, Elle

Now

We were enjoying our final day in Puerto Vallarta, and as Rach's itinerary showed, we were posted up by the main pool for the swim-up bar.

Sarah had hardly mentioned her kids since James had everything handled, and we were three girls again with zero responsibilities and a high alcohol tolerance.

Well, except for Sarah. She tried. We made friends with the bartender, a dark charismatic man whose smile could do some major damage.

He took a liking to our group, and I swear he poured double shots of tequila as protocol.

I left the girls in the pool and went to our poolside cabana.

I was anxious to check my phone to see if any emails had come through.

It was getting a little weird to see zero unread emails.

I prayed that maybe the cell phone gods would grant me service since I had been so well behaved this entire trip.

I hadn't stayed up working late at all--well, except for the first night--but I had to make sure nothing had come up since the account was going to be finalized very soon.

To my surprise, my work email loaded, and I had an unread message flagged as important and multiple missed calls from Anna.

My heart skipped a beat. Maybe this was it.

Maybe this was the final application and signed paperwork needed from the Calloway account.

This could be the big news we were all waiting for!

At a second glance, I noticed it was from my boss, Mr. Landry, which seemed odd, but maybe he was just forwarding it on to me.

Yes, I was going to get it, the big break!

Good afternoon, Elizabeth,

I hope you are enjoying yourself on vacation. As you know, the Calloway account comes up on July 1, and we need to get everything bound as soon as possible.

Even though you have been the contact for the Calloway account, Mr. Guidry, the owner of the Creekside Agency, has changed his mind about whom to work with in our company.

He has developed a trust with Chris Johnson, who, might I add, has been available to him all week, and would like him to handle the Calloway account moving forward through completion.

Therefore, Elizabeth, Chris will be taking over the account from here.

I hope you can understand that this is a team effort, and I truly appreciate all the work you have done to help our office win this account.

Chris will be in touch with you shortly and would appreciate it if you could share your information with him so this can be bound seamlessly and as soon as possible.

We do not want to upset or delay Mr. Guidry, Mr. Calloway, or his; business operations.

Best,

Don Landry

Branch Manager, McKinney and Smith Inc.

I shot up to a seated position in the cabana and felt the tequila start to rise in my throat. I couldn't breathe and my chest was getting tighter. My heart was pounding and my mind went blank. There was no way I'd read that correctly. There was no fucking way I'd lost the account to Chris Johnson.

I reread the email just to be certain. No, I'd read it correctly.

My account was being stolen from me. Given to that son of a bitch who hadn't known a single detail of the account in our meeting.

Everything went blurry, and rage consumed me.

Fire and fury pulsed through my body. A shrill shriek escaped from my lungs, and everyone at the pool turned to stare.

"What the fuck just happened? Can they even do this?" I yelled at my phone with tears streaming down my hot face.

The short answer was yes, they could. And they had. Ethically, though? Probably not. I'd never seen this happen before, but if a customer wanted to work with a different broker, they did have that right. They would fill out a form and then move their business.

I couldn't help myself. I started bawling.

Shamelessly, helplessly crying. My shrieks scared the couple next to me, and a manager was walking toward me.

Somewhere deep down, I'd known things were too good to be true.

How could I be on vacation and taking time off when I had things to take care of at work?

I shouldn't have come. I shouldn't be here.

Rachel and Sarah heard me scream, because the next thing I knew, my two best friends were right next to me, hugging my shoulders and rubbing my back.

I could feel the pool water dripping from them onto my arms and legs, but I couldn't care less.

I was starting to go numb, and my breaths were becoming rapid and uncontrollable.

"Elle, oh my God, Elle, what happened?" Rach had a tight grip on my arms now, and she was trying to get me to speak. My voice was momentarily caught, trapped, just like me.

I snapped out of my rage-filled trance and felt the anger radiate down my arm to my fingers holding on to my phone.

One more tight squeeze, and before I could change my mind, I slammed my iPhone onto the ground by their feet.

I felt my shoulder start to throb the second I released it.

I'm not certain, but it sounded like my screen had shattered upon impact. I didn't care.

Sarah picked it up and stood next to Rachel so they could both read the email through the cracked glass.

"That bastard!" Rach growled and hugged me tight to her.

I think I was in shock. Nothing made sense. I knew Rachel was holding me, but I hardly felt her. I could only feel my heart hammering against my rib cage. I could only hear each rapid beat keeping tempo with my chaotic thoughts. How did this happen?

"Can they do this, Elle?" Sarah was trying to analyze it, to make sense of it all. Typical Sarah.

All I could squeak out was a weak, "Yes." As the realization truly took root, I collapsed against Rachel's shoulder and convulsed in wrenching sobs.

Sarah went into mommy mode and rubbed my back again, murmuring soft, encouraging words. "It's all right, honey. It's going to be okay, Ellz. We're here," she hummed over and over.

Rachel stood up, face flushed with anger.

She knew corporate America; she knew corporate politics.

"What can I do? What do you need? Who do you need me to call?

" She was pacing along the edge of the pool holding her elbows, knowing that there wasn't really anything to do.

"I can call a lawyer. Elle, do you want a lawyer?

" She held up her phone and scrolled. "I have the perfect guy, Elle. Just tell me and I'll make the call."

I stared at her, devastated, and let my tears fall.