Today, I'm sharing a little from my relationship book, Betrayed. This story is based on a real-life happenstance, featuring my sister. The nightmare is over, but the bad taste lingers. We just discovered a month or so ago that the "antagonist" is now deceased, but there are thousands like him out there, waiting to prey on the innocent. My book delivers a message you won't want to miss.
The
constant buzz of the alarm invaded Cassie’s sleep. She reached to the
nightstand and slapped the button atop the clock to silence the annoying noise.
Although early, the light from the rising sun filtering into the room forced
her to squint until her eyes adjusted to the brightness. If changing the
position of her home became humanly possibly, she’d turn the whole dwelling
around. The lacy white curtains that matched her down comforter made her bedroom
stylishly feminine, but did little to darken the room.
With
reluctance, she dropped her legs over the edge of the bed and curled her toes
into the plush ecru carpet. It would be so nice to sleep in just one morning,
but work beckoned. She grimaced at the thought of another day at the office. What
would it be like to be married to a rich man and not have to work?
She
covered her mouth to mask a gaping yawn, stood and stretched. Her fingers
splayed through a gnarled mass, and she groaned. Going to bed with damp hair
had been a bad idea.
Immediately,
her thoughts returned to Evan—the reason she stayed up late. There was no use
checking for a response this early, besides there was no time and she didn’t
dare be late. Her new boss was a real jerk not at all like the wonderful man
for whom she had worked for years. What were the odds that when her ideal
supervisor retired, she would end up being supervised by a Japanese man?
Somehow people of that particular ethnicity kept turning Cassie’s life upside
down.
She
had never been racially biased, but perceptions from her new boss’ actions
indicated anyone of the female gender threatened him. He treated her
differently than the male executives, not letting her make decisions as she had
in the past, and never soliciting her opinion. In some ways, working for him
felt like being married to Greg all over again.
Her
new supervisor’s treatment of her set the tone for the other men in the office
and made going to work a chore. If there was any possibility of finding a job
that paid the same great wages, she’d quit in a flash, but unfortunately, due
to unemployment statistics, her chances hovered somewhere between slim and
none.
Cassie
shuffled into the bathroom and turned on the shower. She shed her nightgown and
stood waiting for the water to warm. A mental image of Evan drifted through her
mind; he probably looked nothing like it.
She
shuddered and peered into the mirror. “Internet dating, are you insane?”
After
testing the water, she slipped inside the stall and ducked her head beneath the
stream of refreshing liquid to clear her thoughts and hopefully untangle the
Frankenstein’s bride look that sleep had created. Starting over with blown-dry
hair would make her morning’s toilette a lot easier.
***
Cassie
shifted positions, crossing and uncrossing her legs under the boardroom table.
Her chair made an embarrassing sound as air escaped the bottom leather cushion;
a few eyes turned in her direction. Despite her innocence, a flush crept up her
neck. She hoped they didn’t think the rude noise came from her personally.
The
business meeting seemed never ending. Mr. Takeda, her boss, had turned what
used to be information-sharing workshops into dictatorial seminars. He stood at
the head of the table and droned on and on. No longer comfortable with offering
opinions, Cassie fidgeted with boredom, wishing the day would end.
How
could one man make her feel so insecure? The abundance of confidence she once
had at work had slipped away. No longer
boosted by career achievement, her personal life was now an issue. She glanced
around the male-dominated room. Did other suffer Takeda’s wrath or was she the
only one because she held the sole female position in management? Between a bum marriage to someone who treated
her as though she didn’t exist and a supervisor who operated in the same style,
no wonder her self-esteem waned. Even
those in the secretarial pool offered no compassion or empathy. They disliked her for being successful, too.
Finally,
Mr. Takeda barked his last command and dismissed the staff. Cassie released a
long breath. The meeting and the workday ended at the same time. She walked
back to her desk, switched off her computer and grabbed her purse.
All
the way home on the train, she pondered having to keep working under the
present conditions. Her vacant stare glimpsed and stayed on the headlines of
the newspaper held by a passenger across the aisle: Man Found Slain.
Cassie
arched her brow at the thought, but quickly shook her head.
Nope,
killing him wasn’t the answer. He wasn’t worth going to prison, but an impish
chuckle escaped her lips when she pictured herself standing over Takeda’s body
with a bloody knife.
The
train’s jolting halt train yanked her back to reality. She gathered her
belongings and, feeling slightly claustrophobic, blended in with the throng of
people exiting the car. The man behind her slammed into her, pushing her into
the woman in front. Cassie devised a new idea for offing Mr. T: let the crowd
stampede and trample him. With no shame involved, she took a deep breath and
adjusted her carry-on strap so it didn’t bite so hard into her shoulder. Caught in the throng of bodies, she could
only move as fast as the crowd.
Betrayed is available with all my other books on my Amazon author's page. Hope you'll check them out.
Now hop on over and check out my friend's offerings:
Now hop on over and check out my friend's offerings:
http://connievines.blogspot.com (Connie Vines)
http://yesterrdayrevisitedhere.blogspot.com/ (Juliet Waldron)
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