BMB: Version 3-2

"What the hell happened last night that you didn't lock up?" he screamed at me before I'd even gotten the door closed. "Do you realize that if anyone had found the shop unlocked, they could have robbed us of everything we have? Have your keys on my desk by the end of the day. You're done with that responsibility." He sighed. I was about to speak up for the first time in my defense, but then I heard what he said next and decided it wasn't worth the effort.

"Trinity, I can't believe I have to say this, but things are getting out of hand. Just because you're in a relationship with my son doesn't give you the right to get away with anything. Consequences will occur; is that understood? This is your warning. Next time, I won't be so nice."

I got up and walked to the breakroom to drop my lunch off in the fridge. I then knocked on Brittany's door and asked her for my keys back. She handed them to me and tilted her head. "Something wrong?" I just shook my head and walked out of her office. I didn't feel like dealing with her.

Later that day, Tom came into my office and closed the door. "Hey, um, so I just heard that you ordered those shirts, stickers, and RC bikes we'd been talking about at the meetings."

"Yeah, I was told to go ahead and put the order in. They turned out really great. I have them stored in the travel room like usual."

"Trin, they should never have been ordered. Dad's pissed. I just wanted to let you know ahead of time because..." but he didn't continue because our boss's voice rang out even from behind the closed door.

"Trinity! Get in here! Now!"

I turned to look at Tom's face and shook my head. I reached into the file cabinet and set the file I'd begun since starting at BMB as well as the journal I'd been writing in since the day Brittany had started and set them in Dougie's drawer where I knew he'd find them.

"Well, I'm going to go be fired now," I told Tom and walked past him into the hallway towards my boss's office. As I headed there, I noticed Brittany sitting in the breakroom smiling proudly. I could just imagine what she was so happy about. I walked into the office and shut the door quietly behind me.

"What the hell is going on with you?" he asked. Well, really, he roared. I felt the windows behind me move from the decibels radiating through the air. "I specifically gave directions to not order from that place because we were lining something else up with another vendor. What were you thinking? Are you upset with BMB? Are you trying to sabotage the business? I just can't figure out where the great, amazing businesswoman that you were when you first started went? You know what? I can't take the risk of there being any more issues. You're done today. Take the rest of the week off. Get your shit together, Trinity. I mean it."

I calmly stood up and set the keys on his desk. I began with the speech I'd been practicing since Monday morning. "With all due respect, Tom, if that's how you feel, then I'll just pack up and leave now. If you need it, I'll mail you my official resignation letter. Thank you for this opportunity. I had thoroughly enjoyed working here until about 26 days ago. That's probably when you began seeing the work which had my name linked to it going downhill."

"Well, that's a little hasty, Trin," Senior said with eyes wide from my declaration. "Nobody's being fired here." He was too worked up to realize I'd just given him the source of the problem.

"That is the problem, isn't it?" I asked with sadness. "You're right. Nobody's being fired, but I'm quitting. I can't work in this atmosphere any longer, Tom. I'll be gone in 20 minutes. I'm sorry." I got up with tears blurring my vision. "I'm so sorry."

I got up and walked out of his office, ignoring his repeated calls to come back and talk to him. If he didn't see the problems Brittany was causing and chose to attack rather than ask, I didn't have a place at BMB any longer. She'd won, and nobody had seen it. Soon, she'd have Tom too. It would only take...

"What the hell are you doing?" Tom asked as he stood in the doorway of my office. Well, of the office I'd once worked in. "What happened?"

"I'm packing my things," I informed him.

"I see that, but why?" Tom asked. "Did he actually fire you? Trin, wait. Come on. You know this isn't OK. You said it yourself. You've never been fired or even reprimanded before in your life. Let me go talk to him."

"No!" I yelled and turned to shut the door. It was time to let him off the hook. Now was as good a time as any, I guessed. "Look, Tom, um, I went ahead and quit. I messed up yesterday, and then this thing with the order has solidified things. I don't need special treatment, alright? And, here," I pointed, "sit for a minute. Um, listen, I need to tell you something." He didn't sit, but I didn't push it.

"It's come to my attention that maybe, um... maybe we jumped the gun, you know?" I paused for a short breath but had to continue before I lost my nerve. "Tom, you've had relationships that only went for a few months. You mentioned once that it was always you who had broken it off. Maybe you jumped the gun in ending them too soon. I have a feeling there is someone from your past who still cares very deeply for you, and because I'm in the picture, you've dismissed the possibility that they could have been the one.

"I allowed things to go way too fast when we first met. I don't know if it was just the thrill of meeting someone so great or having a two-week detachment from reality, but it wasn't based on the realest of terms. I'm a widow, therefore there is always in the back of my mind an image of Mark and the girls whom I won't ever forget. I know I asked you if it bothered you that I had a past, but I didn't really allow you the time to process what that would mean.

"You deserve someone who has only had eyes for you, you know? Someone who doesn't think about what might have been had a drunk driver not killed her family a year and a half ago. You deserve someone who doesn't have that clouding her focus or occasionally coming to mind on a random Saturday night when she should be focused on you.

"I'm going to leave with my things now, and with that, I'm taking my heart back, Tom. I need you to know that I have no regrets except that I allowed you to fall in love with me when I knew, even then, that you deserved so much better. I won't contact you or bother you. I will make sure Dougie gets your things to you. I want you to focus on fixing what should have been with that special person from your past. You're being given a second chance! Go make that person as happy as I always was with you, Tom. You deserve to be that happy too.

"I will always, always treasure what we had. I'm so glad I got to meet you. And you did great, you know? Your job was to come find me, make sure I got to New York safely, and start work by the end of September. Thank you for all of that, and for the bonus stuff too." I smiled and blushed. "I'll always remember all my firsts. I love you, Tom. You'll always be the Top to my Tip." I walked forward and kissed him on his cheek. I then grabbed my box and made my way down the stairs and out to the car before I allowed myself to start crying.

I drove home with only a few tears surfacing. I was numb. As I pulled into my garage, I noticed Jen was home. I walked into the house carrying my things and set them on the kitchen table. It wasn't long before the tears began falling in larger quantities, and I was falling to my knees.

"Trin? Trin! What's wrong?" I couldn't tell her but pointed at my box and shrugged. "Were you fired? Because of her?" I didn't answer so she went ahead and assumed the worst. "Oh, I'm going to kick her ass if I ever meet her!"

I lifted my head and pulled my phone out of my pocket. I clicked on Dougie's name and texted him.

"Those things we were discussing are in the place you look every morning. Use and show as necessary, when the time is right. -TIP"

I set the phone down and continued to cry off and on for the next few hours. It was nearly Thanksgiving. I had no idea how I was going to get another job now. Holidays and new hires don't go well. And the relationship I had was now, suddenly, done. How had this all happened so quickly? Well, I knew how. But so fast? Boy, she was probably dancing in her dressiest shoes on top of the grave in which she was sure to have buried my voodoo doll. Did she have a doll that looked like me? That might've explained the back pain I'd noticed recently.

"Uh, Trin, why is Dougie telling me you broke up with Tom?"

"Because I did," I answered and shrugged. "If he was really engaged to her, they had something. If he broke it off with her for whatever reason, and she is now back in his life, surely he'll see what he pushed away and realize he should have kept her even way back then. I am used goods, Jen. He deserves so much better than this."

"Oh, Trinny," Jen said and sighed. "Why do you have to talk like that about my best friend? When are you going to realize that you deserve to be happy? When are you going to realize that while yes, you have a past, that Tom has one too? Maybe he wasn't married, and I bet he's never really been engaged either, but he's not the perfect piece of unmolded clay you keep making him out to be."

"What are you talking about?"

"He's a changed man, but at one time, he had anger issues that caused a lot of problems for the family," Jen said quickly and shook her head. "Apparently, at one point of his earlier life, he was an awful, awful person who got into a whole lot of trouble. Now, we don't see that side of him, and it's not talked about at all, but there are people who know and purposely don't work with BMB because of it, even if it really didn't affect the business. Guilt by association, I guess."

"Well, that's not right," I stated and frowned.

"Trinny?"

"Yeah, Jen."

"What about the other thing we aren't talking about but really should be?"

"I don't know, Jen," I answered and closed my eyes as a fresh set of tears came to surface. "I don't know."

"He deserves to know," Jen told me as if I didn't already know that.

"It makes me look so bad though," I said and cried some more. "It wasn't supposed to happen, Jen. And I don't want that to keep him from a happiness he knows he should have with someone else. Now that I'm out of the picture, he can move on and be with the right one."

"Honey, you are the right one," Jen argued. "Why can't you see that?"

"Because I've been told otherwise."

"Man, I hate her," Jen declared. "Trin, why didn't you tell Boss Man that you asked her to close yesterday? He would have understood that the appointment was an emergency. And why didn't you admit it was her who told you to place that order under the guise that Boss Man had sent her to tell you that?"

"I'm not one to blame others for my responsibility," I justified. "I should have just made the appointment for a different day. Closing is my responsibility. And placing that order? I don't know. I did what I was told, but I didn't hear it directly from him. I messed up. My name is on the work that has been eff'ed up, Jen. And he didn't ask me why or how or what happened, really. He yelled and spit his anger at me and then basically dismissed me with no desire to hear my side. That's how he rolls."

Thursday morning, I went to visit Jeremy. It was not my usual day, but I wasn't usually off on Thursdays, and I figured that since I'd missed the night before, I'd go see one of my favorite parts of New York. I tried so hard to put on a happy face so he wouldn't see the sadness I'd been harboring for the prior 24 hours. After only 10 minutes though, Jeremy got super upset.

"If you're gonna sit there and lie to me, then just go, Trin," he said with a huff. "You promised. Now I'm mad at you."

"What?"

"That's the fakest ass smile I've ever seen, Trinity. I don't believe it for a second. If you have something to say, then say it. But don't pull that fake shit with me. You know what? Just go. When you're ready to be real like we agreed to be with each other, come back and be real with me."

I was so thrown off that I didn't know what else to do. I grabbed my purse and walked back out of his room and ran to the kitchen where I sobbed as I held onto the back of a kitchen chair. Jeremy's sister, Beth, walked in not knowing what had just occurred and gasped. "Trin? Oh, honey! Come here!" She brought me to her room and closed the door quietly. "He didn't buy the fake smile either, huh? I could tell you were hurting when you walked in. Do you want to talk about it or just sit here and cry?" I cried harder. "Cry it is," she'd declared and nodded. "Want me to go or stay?" I opened my arms for a hug, and she held me and rocked with me through my grief, never once asking questions. I must have fallen asleep.

* * *

"What up, Jere?" I answered as soon as I saw my best friend's name come up on my phone.

"Trin's here," he answered. "Why isn't she at work? And why is she so upset? She came in with some sorry excuse for a brave face. I called her out on it, and she ran out of here. What's going on?"

"Jen and I are actually off and doing some stuff today. Can we stop by?"

"Yeah, man," Jeremy told me and sighed. "Talk to you when you get here."

I turned to Jen. All morning, Jen had opened up and told me all about what this Brittany person had been doing to make Trin's life hell. I'd had no idea other than noticing the occasional long sigh. And I had noticed that she'd brought a box of tissues into the small storeroom we had in our office. It was more of a walk-in closet. I'd caught her crying in there on more than one occasion. I never had the heart to call her out on it.

"I think it's time to spread the word, Jen. We have to get more people in the know so we can nip this in the bud before it gets too big. Let's stop at the shop so I can get that book. Brittany was in Beth's class. She knows her too."

"I just can't get over how quickly she threw in the towel with Tom," Jen shared. "She must really believe all that Brittany's been telling her. And how deeply Brittany must have her claws in her. Do you think she'd been plotting this whole thing? Dougie, in my honest opinion, Trin is more in love with Tom than she ever was with Mark. What they have is just so real. Whatever Brittany has been saying must be convincing enough for Trin to believe it. The only thing that would keep Trin from staying with Tom would be if she believed someone else would make him happier. Why she believes Brittany is that answer is beyond me."

I pulled up to the shop. "I'll be right back, babe," I told her and leaned over to kiss my girl. She cupped my face and kissed me lovingly.

As I ran up the steps, I found Brittany sitting at Trin's desk. She had the drawers opened as she sorted through a few files. I ignored her and walked over to my desk. I pulled out the two things Trin had left me and closed the drawer again.

"What are those?" Brittany asked accusingly as she stood up and crossed her arms. "If they were Trinity's, you know your dad is going to need them."

"I just took them from my own drawer, Brittany, so I guess Dad can rest easy, huh? Besides, Trin always copied Dad on the important emails, so most of what's in the office is just backup." I smiled in realization. "Oh, you're gunning for her spot in the family and in the company already, huh?" I let out a huge laugh. "Good luck with that." She snarled at me and headed back to the little room next to Dad's office which she called her office. I brought the file folder and the journal down to my car and handed them to Jen.

"What are these?" Jen asked.

"Open them up and check," I invited her. "Trin texted me yesterday to check the drawer for those two things. She said to 'use when necessary,' whatever that meant."

I heard Jen ruffling the papers in the file first. "Oh, these are copies of a few emails."

"That's weird," I answered quickly. "She never deleted emails saying she had all the room on her computer to hold that info in case she needed it. What is it about those emails?"

Jen looked over at me with a smirk. "That's my girl," Jen said aloud. "They're all from Brittany. I think she was backing up her files with paper copies in case anything got deleted and she needed proof. Oh, Trin, you smart, smart girl, but you poor thing too! Having to take such extreme measures because of someone like that?"

"Oh shit!" I exclaimed as I made a left turn onto the street which would take me to Jeremy's house. "Jen, Brittany was sitting in the office at Trin's desk. Do you think she went in and..."

"Call you dad!" Jen commanded and pressed the touch screen on the dashboard to do it herself.

"Low," Dad answered. God forbid he say the whole word.

"Did you instruct Brittany to delete files and emails on Trin's computer in the office?"

"No, that would be crazy," Dad answered and laughed. "This is a fluke, Doug! Trinity is just burned out. I'm not filing any paperwork. She's gonna be back! That's crazy talk."

"There are so many things needing to be said right now, Dad, but, uh, your little assistant was in my office sitting at Trin's desk with all the drawers open. It didn't occur to me when I was standing there, but I think I remember seeing that she was going in and deleting files. You, uh, might want to check on that."

"Why were you up here anyway?"

"I forgot my folder and book for an art thing," I answered in true Dougie fashion. It was such a "me thing" to do to leave my crap behind when I needed it the most.

"I'll deal with it. Thanks for the heads up." Dad hung up.

"Um, Dougie?" Jen said hesitantly. "The journal is a journal. Trin wrote down every single interaction she had with Brittany. It starts off as a nice letter to her, but by page two, the tone changes completely."

I pulled up to Jeremy's house and brought Jen in with me to go visit him. Beth, Jeremy's sister, greeted us at the door, let us in, and then followed us to Jeremy's room.

"Trin's asleep in my room," she informed us as she shut the door. "What's going on?"

"Trin got into trouble at work," Jen shared and rolled her eyes. "But it's not Trin who did the bad things. It has all been Brittany."

"Oh! I knew it!" Beth exclaimed. "I knew she was going to be trouble when she started there! What did she do?"

"Glad you asked," I told her and held up the journal. "Let's start at the beginning."

"You documented it?" Beth asked. "How'd you know to start?"

"Nope," Jen answered proudly as she went on to speak about her best friend. "Trin did. Let's read it."

* * *

I hung up the phone after talking to Dougie and shook my head. She wasn't really quitting, right? I didn't freak out or think there was really a problem that couldn't be fixed until I'd spoken to Dougie. Surely, Brittany wouldn't have erased anything. She wouldn't do something without my permission. I was sure of that.

"Oh, Tommy," I called when I saw my son walking by the office. As I waited to see him, I saw an arm wrap around his back. Was Trin here? When I saw him remove the arm from his body, I moved my head to see whose arm it was. Wait, what? Why was she touching him like that? "Tommy. Get in here," I yelled louder. When he walked in, I motioned for him to shut the door.

"Have you talked to Trin since she left my office yesterday? I spoke with her about that order she made, but she up and quit. I took it as an overreaction and just let it go. I think she'll just return on Monday with a fresh start. You know, get some rest this weekend and clear her head."

"She's not coming back," he answered stonily. "She broke up with me right after she left your office. She said she can't be with me if I'm really meant to be with someone else."