Jane's Happy Endings Ch. 20

"That's such a huge company!" said Monica.

"You're going to take it, aren't you?" Ashley asked. "You have to take that opportunity!"

"I am really not sure yet."

"Why aren't you sure?"

Jane took a quick glance at Veronica before looking back at Ashley and Monica. "I just haven't decided yet."

"No matter what Jennifer decides to offer you, it still doesn't compare to the prestige of being a coordinator at Sunshine Industries," Ashley continued to push.

"I know," said Jane. "I just need some time, okay?"

Everything that Ashley and Monica were saying was breaking Veronica's heart. She knew all of it was true. She was just afraid to say any of it to Jane. Deep down inside she was afraid that it would push her towards moving away to New York. She didn't know why but seeing Jane act as if she was still undecided left her with a tiny sliver of hope.

Jane was obviously under a lot of stress and the girls didn't want to bother her anymore. Ashley and Monica decided to leave it alone and stop asking her about it.

The rest of the day, Jane worked her ass off, trying to pretend like nothing was going on. It was the only thing that was really keeping her sane. She still had so much to think about and so many decisions to make, but she didn't want to do it at work.

As the day ended, the girls all began to leave, but Maria quietly asked Veronica to stay over. At 5:00 p.m. there was nobody in the office except for them. Veronica quietly walked into Maria's office where they had an important conversation.

"You wanted to see me?" Veronica asked.

"Yes, thank you for seeing me."

"What did you want to talk about?"

"I actually have something very important I want to talk about," Maria said. "Do you know who Jane's other offer is from?"

"Yes," Veronica quietly responded. With every acknowledgment of Jane's offer, it felt like she was taking a step towards accepting the inevitable departure.

"Can you believe that?! Sunshine Industries!"

"I know."

"Do you have any idea why she hasn't accepted that job yet?"

"I guess she is still hoping for a better offer from Jennifer."

"That might be true," Maria responded. "But do you remember when I told you that I think they are trying to lowball her?"

"Yes."

"Well, now I am almost one-hundred percent sure that is what they tried to do. And now it backfired, and they are scrambling to fix it."

"Really?"

"I think Jennifer realizes that she took a bad risk. But I think Mark is still set on trying to save as much money as possible."

"That's crazy," Veronica quietly responded.

Maria then took a deep breath before asking, "So, how do you feel about that?"

"What do you mean?" Veronica asked.

"How do you feel about a much bigger and more prestigious company offering her a better position and more money, while our company is trying to convince her to take a lower offer."

"I think our company should do whatever they can to keep her," Veronica answered. "She deserves it."

"Even if we were to offer her more money, don't you think the Sunshine offer is better?"

"Yes," Veronica finally admitted, realizing she had accept that fact.

"Do you know why I think she hasn't accepted the position yet?" Maria asked.

"Why?"

"I bet it has something to do with you."

"Me?" Veronica asked, as she looked up at Maria.

"There are a million reasons why moving to New York and becoming a co-assistant coordinator for Sunshine Industries is a much better idea. And there is only one big reason she would want to stay here. And that is YOU. She doesn't want to leave you.

Veronica struggled to find any words. "I...I..."

"Do you think I'm wrong?"

"You might be right. But I don't know."

"Okay, well I was just wondering if you thought that might be true."

"Well, what do you think I should do?" Veronica asked, realizing that Maria was right.

"I am not going to tell you what to do," Maria said. "But I think you are a much bigger part of this decision than you realize. So, I think you should talk to Jane about it."

"But what should I say to her?"

"I can't tell you that. But I think you need to figure out how you feel. And you need to tell Jane how you feel."

"Okay," said Veronica, quietly. She started to walk towards the door before Maria stopped her.

"Veronica!"

As the loyal employee turned around, Maria quickly walked up and embraced her in a powerful hug. It was an embrace that both girls needed during such an emotional time.

Veronica was on the edge of tears, but she wanted to stay strong. She let a couple of tears go as she buried her head into Maria's shoulder.

"Be strong okay?" Maria said, as she slowly let go of Veronica. "Be strong for Jane."

"I will."

Veronica went home without saying another word. She drove the entire time in silence, not even turning the radio on. She wanted to be in silence, left with only her own thoughts.

---

That night, after each woman had put a lot of thought into their respective situations, Veronica decided to call Jane. But when the Asian woman answered the phone, she was surprised to hear a lot of noise in the background.

"Hello?"

"Hi Jane."

"Veronica? How are you?"

"I'm doing okay... Are you out somewhere?"

"I'm at this bar, down the street from my apartment complex."

"You're at a bar on a Monday night?" Veronica was incredibly confused. It wasn't like Jane to go to a bar on a weeknight. It wasn't like Jane to go out to a bar at all.

"Yeah, I know it sounds strange, but I've been coming here the last few nights."

"No, it's fine. I just wasn't expecting that. I figured you would be at home. Is everything okay?"

"I think I'm going to be okay," said Jane. "Is everything okay with you?"

"Yeah, I just..." Veronica was suddenly at a loss for words. She wanted to have an important conversation, but she didn't want to do it over the phone, especially while Jane was at a bar. She decided to see if she could meet up with Jane. "Do you mind if I come see you?"

"Of course not," said Jane.

Veronica immediately got dressed and headed towards the little bar. They met at at the entrance where Jane quickly led her to her table.

"This is a nice little bar," said Veronica, as she looked around.

"I like it because it's pretty quiet and low key. Nobody really bothers me here."

"You said you've been coming here the past few nights?"

"I have, actually. I just really needed to get out of my apartment. I was going crazy in there and I needed to get out."

Veronica then noticed a notepad that was on the table. "What is that?"

"I've been coming here to do some thinking. I like to write down my thoughts, sometimes."

"Your thoughts about the job offers?"

"Yeah."

Veronica looked around before asking if they could go outside and speak. She didn't want any distractions and she didn't want anybody else to hear their conversation. Jane agreed as she left the table and followed Veronica outside.

They found a nice spot where they both enjoyed the fresh air and the beautiful night weather. Veronica had a hard time looking at Jane as the wind blew through her long black hair.

Veronica felt like her heart was yearning as she asked, "So, what are you going to do?"

"I still don't know," said Jane. "I have another meeting with Jennifer tomorrow. Hopefully they will offer me more this time."

"Jane!" The Latina closed her eyes and took a deep breath before looking at her beautiful coworker and saying what she felt she had to say.

"Jane, you...have to take that job in New York."

Jane blinked before fixing her gaze directly at Veronica. "What?"

"Sunshine Industries. You have to take that position. I know this industry. You might never get an opportunity like that again."

"I still haven't even had my third meeting with Jennifer," Jane argued, as she was completely caught off guard.

"That doesn't matter, Jane! They're not treating you the way you should be treated. How many meetings is it going take for them to make a competitive offer? Sunshine did it immediately! And they're the bigger, better company!"

Jane was speechless. She couldn't believe that Veronica was pushing her towards the move to New York.

"Veronica, I..."

"Just go to New York. It's obviously the better job. It's better for your future."

"Yeah, but..."

"But, what?"

"But, what about you?" What about us?"

"What about us?" Veronica asked. She was in shambles, but she had to stay strong for Jane. She felt that if she really cared about Jane, she would do everything in her power to convince her to take the Sunshine job. Veronica knew that was the better thing for Jane's future, even if it wasn't what she wanted.

Jane couldn't believe what she was hearing from the Latina's mouth. She was so emotionally confused. "Don't you have a reason for me to stay?"

"Of course, I want you to stay," Veronica said, putting on a front. "I had a lot of fun with you. I really care about you. But we need to be honest with ourselves. I'm not a lesbian. I'm straight. We were never doing anything besides having fun."

It hurt her down to her own soul saying that. In her mind it was true, and it should have been said a long time ago. But in her heart, she was lying. There was something special between her and Jane. But Veronica felt that if she truly cared about Jane, she would do what was best for her. Even if it meant losing her.

Jane started to shake her head as she looked Veronica deep into her eyes. She was in shambles and she felt like she was fighting for everything she cared about in her life. "No Veronica! It was deeper than just having fun! I felt something....special. I felt...I felt like I..."

"Jane, stop!" Veronica shouted. She did everything she could to stop herself from crying, but she couldn't let Jane continue. "There was nothing special between us. We were just having fun. I'm sorry if I gave you the wrong impression."

"Veronica!" Jane cried out. "Why are you doing this to me? I really care about you! I really..."

"Stop it!" Veronica demanded, as she held herself together by a thread. "I care about you too. But you need to go to New York. I want you to go to New York."

There was a long moment of silence as neither woman could look at each other. Jane was hurt, but she could do nothing but accept Veronica's wishes.

"Okay," Jane quietly replied, as the tears began to run down her face. She felt like she lost the battle. She felt like she had been wrong about Veronica, for so long. But she didn't have the heart to tell Veronica how she really felt. She didn't have the heart to fight for what she truly wanted.

Veronica wanted nothing more than to grab her and hold her tightly. Watching Jane break down was tearing her up inside. It hurt more than she ever could have imagined.

As the two said their sad goodbyes for the night, Veronica watched her little Asian walk away. As Jane left, Veronica went back to her car, where she sat inside and was finally to break down into tears. "You were right," she said out loud, as she cried.

"You were right. There WAS something special between us."

In that moment, Jane wasn't strong enough to reveal her true feelings. And Veronica thought she was being strong by not revealing her true feelings, but she wasn't. Unfortunately, both women left that night with more things left unsaid than were actually spoken.