Story 24/1001

• beneficiary
• magazine
• release

I took a deep breath and got out of the taxi. Everything has to be perfect today.

I walked to the entrance of one of the tall buildings and ran to the elevator. Even though I’m not late, I want to be extra early.

“Ready for today?” Lucy asked as soon as I got out the elevator.

“You’re early.”

“Everyone is. The whole office is buzzing about this.” She handed me her phone, with an article about the magazine we worked hard to create.

“Well, today is the release day.” I smiled.

Being in this office made me feel alive. I joined this project a year ago, when it was nothing but an idea. But now, my boss became my friend, and together we created something magical.

“Did you see Elle yet?” Lucy asked.

“No, we haven’t spoken today. I’m heading to her office now.”

“She seems a bit nervous.”

“Don’t worry. I’ll calm her down.” I knocked on her door and got in. She was sitting at her desk, crouching over a stack of papers.

“Hey, boss. How are you feeling?” I smiled. She looked at me like she’ll have a nervous breakdown.

“Charlotte.”

“Everything will be okay. We worked hard for today. You can take off your glasses for a moment and celebrate.”

As I was talking, I went to the mini fridge in her office and took out a bottle of champagne.

“Remember when we bought this?”

“We were supposed to be working, but ended up daydreaming.” She smiled.

“We bought this bottle to celebrate the day we make this magazine a reality. And here it is.”

“And here it is.”

Elle got up from her chair and took out two glasses from her cabinet. I poured us some champagne and we clinched our glasses.

“To the dream you always had.” I said.

“And to making it a reality together.” She added. “I couldn’t have made it without you, Charlotte. Thank you for coming into my life.”

“Don’t make me cry. My makeup will smear all over.” I smiled and hugged her.

“Okay. I can’t do this.” Elle suddenly moved away and went towards her desk.

“What is it?”

“I need to tell you something.”

“If it’s about financials-“

“It is. And isn’t.”

I followed her and looked at the papers on her desk. It was a contract.

“You know when my boyfriend’s grandma died?” I nodded. “Well, he became the sole beneficiary to everything she owned. Her apartments, houses, money – when I say she was rich, I mean she was filthy rich.”

My eyes widened. After two months of working from a café, Elle rented this office space. The day of the release was supposed to be months from now, but we somehow managed to do it sooner. And in midst of all the financial crises, we somehow brought ten more people to work for Elle.

“He paid for all of this.” I muttered.

“Yes.”

“But, that is good, right?” I forced a smile. “He wanted to help you achieve your dream.”

“This came via courier today.” She pointed at the papers. “He wants to be in charge of everything. Or the money stops.”

“What-“

“Charlotte, if I don’t sign this, we won’t have a release today. This office. Their paychecks. Nothing.”

Elle broke down in tears. I hugged her while looking at the papers in front of us.

“I need to sign this by 9 am, or everything stops. We will look like a joke. The articles, the posts we made on our social networks, everyone will see us as a joke.”

I tried to calm her down. I never met him, he was always too busy to help Elle, and they met only on his terms. To be honest, I never liked him, but I didn’t think he was like this.

As soon as I noticed Elle’s breathing calming down, I crouched down next to her, and cupped her face in my hands.

“First, you two need to break up. Second, I will try to talk with him. We still have two hours. Find out where he is, and I’ll meet with him.”

“What can you do? I already-“

“I have to try. If all else fails, we’ll go through the papers with a lawyer and find a loophole. Or anything that might help.” She nodded, reluctantly.

Safe to say, today was not going to be perfect.