The Last Option

Chapter one She just needed to accept it. Fate had it in for her. After working with Mr. Middleton for the last three years and on the eve of her promotion, he had a midlife crisis and took off with a woman named Lei Lei to Hawaii. What was she doing with her life? Jessica Tingles looked at her pristine white shirt tucked into her dark black pants. The sleeves were feminine and long with pearl-esque buttons. Her hair was pulled up into a bun. Not a hair had dared to come out. Although, when she thought about all that mousse she’d put into it, a meteor would probably bounce off her head. Leaning into the women’s bathroom mirror, Jessica pulled an errant hair that had shown up under her chin. That hair probably thought she was fair game because she hadn’t gotten around to shaving her legs yet. Her lipstick was a nice, muted color that said no kissing happened here. Her makeup was light to give just enough professionalism, so that she looked one step from spinster but still efficient and promotable. Looking in the women’s bathroom mirror, she couldn’t see a thing that said, ‘please pass me over for every good job opportunity’, yet that was precisely what was happening to her at the Butler company. Jessica plastered on a smile and left the bathroom. If she had stayed in there any longer, by the time she came out, the whole office would come up with something tying Mr. Middleton’s life crisis and her together. With a smile so wide it could rival the Cheshire cat; Jessica did her best strut out of the lady’s room. She was saying her mantra to herself. She was a warrior, and her confidence was her armor. She believed in faking it until you could make it. Jessica went into the office corridor in her trusty flats, her nose wrinkled in disgust as she gazed down at the hideous multi-colored carpet. It looked like something a blind clown with terrible taste had picked out. The carpet had blue hues that she could see were supposed to resemble the dignity of corporate. Finally, Jessica was in the room standing behind the VP of accounting, Denise Prince. The woman who thought she had a plan for us all. Although, she made it clear she thought she was going to save all of the important people. It’s weird to think Ms. Prince was a part of the reason Jessica originally came to Butler Corp. Ms. Prince was tall and statuesque. Her blonde hair was always done, and she had a figure that said she went to the gym every morning. When Jessica first joined, Denise spoke to her more often. As the company grew and Denise moved to the VP role, she no longer asked Jessica anything. Now Ms. Prince trusted other people to provide verifications and numbers to her. Although Jessica was pretty sure those numbers weren’t always accurate. Whenever Jessica thought something was wrong and wanted to tell Ms. Prince, she would go to her office. Ms. Prince listened with that fake smile and then said thank you as she walked Jessica out of the door. Then a notice would come out about the new improvement Ms. Prince had discovered that needed to be done, with no kudos to Jessica. It was Jessica’s efficient no-nonsense demeanor that had made her seem so competent before and now it seemed like she was just part of the hidden machine. She was needed but she would never be recognized. Jessica remembered when she first met Ms. Prince and she had told her she had ideas and she wanted to be a contributing member. Ms. Prince had told her the company needed more women like her. Those were all the words Jessica needed to be pulled in hook, line and sinker. The clapping hands brought her out of her trip down memory lane. “I’m sure you’ve all heard of Mr. Middleton’s departure. We do have a person to fill the position and he will be arriving in two weeks. Until then we will have to get the financials done, we just need to collate them into a full book.” Everyone laughed and then milled away from her. “Um… excuse me… Ms. Prince. When did you want me to collate the documents?” Jessica asked in a low voice. “Oh dear, I couldn’t ask that of you. It’s not your responsibility.” “It’s no problem. I’ve been doing it with him for the last three years,” Jessica replied. Ms. Prince held her hand up to an oncoming employee. The woman knew she had to wait to be beckoned closer. Ms. Prince turned to Jessica with her smile in place. Everyone was in the boardroom. Jessica knew they were all here because she had arranged for food. Nothing brought people out of their cubicles like free food. “You can’t be serious, Jenny dear.” Jessica’s smile was going to crack any minute. She started to tap her left foot to distract herself from the insult that Ms. Prince couldn’t even remember her name. She wasn’t sure why she was surprised. Straighten your back and don’t let them see the hurt. This wasn’t the first time Ms. Prince had forgotten her name. Jessica looked around the room and noticed how everyone in there seemed to have benefited from a recent promotion in the company, everyone that is except her. At thirty-two, Jessica wasn’t a spinster. However, she was the oldest woman in the room with a title less than Manager. Last year a trend started where the Executive Assistants were being rebranded as Operations Managers. Mr. Middleton thought it was a silly practice. Since the job duties hadn’t changed, he didn’t see why the titles needed to. He said he was going to change Jessica’s, but he never did. “Jenny dear? Hello?” Ms. Prince whispered. Jessica realized she must have wandered off even more than she thought she had. Jessica felt the