The Creepshow: A Novel Read online

  “It doesn’t matter what she wants.”

  Wanda wanted to believe him. Any person whose mind wasn’t in turmoil would have accepted his words, would have trusted his intentions. But Wanda had lost faith. She was scared and doubtful. Was Max’s decision out of true love or obligation? He wasn’t one to shirk his duties, and she didn’t want to be a charity case.

  “Look, we should just stop this right here,” Wanda said. “You don’t have to stay with me because of Nelly. Just live your life the way you want to, with the person you want to be with. And forget about me, forget about us.”

  She saw the pain in his eyes when she pronounced those words, but she couldn’t help herself. And this time, she turned and ran. No matter how high those heels were, no matter how slippery the sidewalks, she ran.

  Chapter 24

  Wanda’s new apartment was in the tenth arrondissement, a working class area with direct subway access to the office and her nanny share. She’d darted to apartment visits on her lunch break every day for two weeks and finally settled after realizing her new salary wasn’t going to afford her great luxury. A small humid studio, a walkup off a noisy boulevard. The one positive was it was on the top floor, which meant it would be calm without the heavy footsteps of renters above. The apartment was under the rafters—like Max’s. But she tried not to think of that. She had successfully ignored his calls for a week. She had ignored his visits too, remaining silent with only the door separating them.

  But today wasn’t about Max. It was about Galina, who had become so impatient with Wanda’s evasiveness that she’d paid her a surprise visit. And found her packing. She’d arrived just as Wanda had opened the door to cart a trash bag downstairs.

  Wanda drew in a sharp breath as Galina dropped her purse to the floor and scanned the room.

  “What on earth is going on here?” As usual, she was calm, but Wanda could sense the tension in her voice. There would be no inventing stories. That wouldn’t work face-to-face with Galina. There would only be truth.

  Wanda left the bag in the vestibule and led Galina into the living room. Boxes covered the floor, picture frames lay against the couch, and dust bunnies gathered in the corners, exposed by all of the activity.

  “Where’s Nelly?” Galina asked, her dark eyes wide.

  “Napping in her room.”

  Galina slipped out of her soft gray cloak and folded it neatly on the back of the couch before sitting down.

  “Go ahead,” she said. “I’m listening.”

  Wanda collapsed at her feet, and the whole story of the past few weeks spewed out in an incoherent mess that only her best friend would understand. From Whilt to Max to the apartment search—her body expelled each detail as if ridding itself of poison.

  “I would have helped you stay here,” Galina said. “I’m suspecting that’s why you didn’t tell me.”

  Wanda nodded, and Galina handed her a tissue to mop up the tears.

  “What’s done is done. I’m not going to chastise you, even though I think it was foolish of you to turn away from me and refuse my help before I was able to offer it.”

  “I know. It’s just that you shouldn’t have to keep sweeping up the debris of my life.”

  “I don’t see it that way.”

  “I wanted—want—to handle this on my own.”

  “And you have, and it’s fine, Wanda. But I’ll miss waving to you from across the way.”

  “Me too,” Wanda whispered. She didn’t want to be in the new place, that tiny space far from the neighborhood she knew, far from her best friend. But she had chosen independence, and it was the right choice. That, at least, erased some of the pain.

  “You saw Lambert, right? He’s handling the situation.”

  Wanda nodded. She wanted to say, I wish you had taken the case, but she realized that opting for independence meant she had to stop begging her friend for help—legal or otherwise.

  “Max called me,” Galina said.

  “What?” Wanda’s heart pounded at the sound of his name.

  “Well, when he tried to reach you in every way imaginable and each attempt failed, he had to find a Plan B.”

  “Plan B?”

  “Another way to achieve the goal.” Galina looked at her pointedly.

  “Yeah, I know what a Plan B is, I just couldn’t imagine it being applied to me.”

  “Well it was—is.”

  Wanda remained silent, twirling a few loose strands from the rug between her fingers.

  “Aren’t you going to ask me what he said? Aren’t you curious?”

  “I shouldn’t. I shouldn’t be. I mean after—”

  “He cares about you, Wanda. Can’t you see that?”

  “Oh really? Look at how fast he found a replacement for me when he was on his mission!”

  “Wanda… Come on. You stopped calling him. You argued with him most of the time when you did talk.”

  “Yeah, I know. But he recovered fast enough!”

  “You don’t know the nature of the relationship.”

  “So what do you expect me to do?”

  “Give him a chance.”

  “I’ll think about it.” Wanda’s words were empty, and she knew Galina was smart enough to realize this. Galina also was smart enough to know it wasn’t the time to push Wanda.

  “So when is the move?” she asked instead.

  “In a week.”

  “How are you managing?”

  “I took a few days off work. I couldn’t do it otherwise.”

  “I mean for all of your stuff.”

  “Xavier and a few of his friends.” Heat rose into Wanda’s cheeks, a reflection of her shame. She’d turned to casual friends while keeping her best friend in the dark. But Galina wasn’t jealous or petty.

  “I’m glad you found some help, but if you need Charles or me, just let us know, OK? In any case, we’ll watch Nelly.” She placed a delicate hand on Wanda’s shoulder, and Wanda squeezed it.

  Chapter 25

  Whilt management had received the attorney’s letter according to the return receipt ticket. Wanda waited for a phone call, a message, some sign of life. Nothing. And then, a few days before her move, Lambert called. Whilt had replied. The company denies any wrongdoing, any unfairness whatsoever, the letter to Lambert said. Wanda’s heart sank, yet she wasn’t surprised. Lambert had warned her that big corporations like Whilt never backed down—no matter how wrong they might be—and the case would end up in the courtroom.

  “What have you decided to do, Ms. Julienne?” he asked.

  “What choice do I have? We have to move forward.”

  That was how Wanda’s homework turned from fund research to Whilt research. With her fund performance now positive, she no longer had to extend her workday into the night. So in the evening hours, she researched cases against Whilt—and there were plenty of them. For discrimination, salary problems, overtime issues. In some instances, the employee won, in others, the employee settled. In very few instances, Whilt came out victorious. And according to Wanda’s research, at least two other women were currently suing the company for sexual harassment and discrimination.

  All of this was interesting, but none of it gave her the evidence she needed for her trial. She rubbed her bleary eyes as she shifted her laptop from her knees to the couch.

  Why are you doing this? To get your mind off Max and losing your apartment and how your life is generally out of control? Is this a way of taking control? She pushed that voice of reason out of her mind.

  Through all of her research, she couldn’t find a thing about Kate, the former coworker who had supposedly been harassed by Louis. Wanda hadn’t told her attorney or Galina about Kate. She wanted to be certain first. She’d tried to reach Kate already, leaving messages in a voice she wished wasn’t so shaky. She still had Kate’s cell phone number, as she had every Whilt Paris employee’s number.

  Wanda had left three messages in three days, and Kate had not returned her calls. The answer seemed clear:
Kate was involved in her own case and wasn’t interested in talking with Wanda. Still, she dared to hope. Wait a bit longer. Maybe, just maybe, she’ll come around.

  A small cry from Nelly startled Wanda, and she looked down at the baby wiggling in the lounger. She knelt and rubbed a chubby arm. Nelly squirmed, then settled back to sleep. The crying and clinginess that had followed Wanda’s trips continued, making it almost impossible to put Nelly to sleep in her crib. Instead, Wanda rocked her to sleep in the lounger and then would transfer her to the crib much later, when she was in a deep sleep.

  “I’m trying to be strong, and I’m fighting this battle for you, for us,” she whispered in her sleeping daughter’s ear. “Everything will be OK. You’ll see.”

  Wanda wiped a tear from her eye as she studied Nelly’s smooth cheeks and the small face that was somehow a complete reflection of Max. How could she push him out of her mind when she had this tiny reminder sitting in front of her every day?

  She kissed Nelly’s head, rubbing her lips against wispy curls, and stood up. It was only nine o’clock, and the baby hadn’t been sleeping very long. It was too early for the transfer.

  Wanda was about to return to her computer when a knock at the door startled her. She hurried across the floor. She didn’t have to look out the peephole to know Max was on the other side. If he kept knocking, Nelly would wake up, and hysteria was almost guaranteed.

  Wanda couldn’t avoid this confrontation forever. Again, he’d waited outside her office a few days ago, but this time, she’d spotted him ahead of time. She’d snuck out the back door, then scolded herself for immature behavior. And that was another factor encouraging her to face him. It was time to grow up, to be bold enough to turn him away rather than running away herself.

  “Wanda.” She loved the sound of her name when he pronounced it. Then she cringed. No. She couldn’t be this weak right from the start. She took a step back, leaving a fair distance between them.

  “C’mon in.”

  “You’re moving?”

  “Looks like it.”

  “Could I ask why?”

  “A pay cut at Whilt means I can’t afford this place.”

  “Wanda, you can’t be serious.”

  “Oh but I am.”

  She was able to be glib about the situation from time to time. It was either that or panic—she vacillated between the two.

  “I… I don’t know what to say.”

  “There’s nothing to say about it, Max. But you obviously have something to say about something else or you wouldn’t be here. Want to sit down?”

  He sank to the floor near Nelly and touched her cheek. She squirmed, then settled.

  “Should we keep our voices down?”

  “No, talking is fine. She needs another half hour, and she’ll be out like a light.” A small smile crept onto Wanda’s face, then quickly disappeared.

  “I’ve been trying to see you.”

  “I know.”

  “Why can’t we give ourselves another chance, Wanda? Why are you punishing us this way?”

  “It’s not punishment.” She rolled her eyes.

  “We have a good thing, and you don’t want to continue it. So yes, it is punishing.”

  He was right, of course, but Wanda was stubborn and not ready to trust him or anyone else—not even herself.

  “I explained the situation to Justine that night you saw us at the café. She accepted the fact that it’s over.”

  Wanda looked down at her hands, long lily white fingers that wore no rings. “You really don’t want to be with me right now, Max. No one should be with me right now. Things are difficult.”

  “I know. The work situation—”

  “Yes. I can’t be… bothered with… a relationship. I have to wait until I can straighten things out in my professional life, move to a new place. It’s just not the right time. I can’t trust myself to judge how I feel and to understand how you feel.” She said those words even though she ached to be with him, to have him as part of her life.

  Wanda ran her fingers through her hair, forgetting that it was already tied back in a ponytail. A few strands fell loose, and Max leaned forward to push them back. Wanda let his lips graze her ear, let herself shiver at his touch, then stood up.

  “I allowed everything to get out of hand when I took off with you to Normandy. I shouldn’t have done that.”

  “Wanda, it was wonderful! You can’t regret it…”

  “Yes, it was wonderful—if I don’t think of the Justine element.”

  Max looked at her with sad eyes, wrenching her heart. “Wanda…”

  “I have a serious situation on my hands with work. Look around, Max. These boxes, soon on their way to my cubbyhole apartment, were not meant to be here. They wouldn’t be here if Whilt hadn’t started this ridiculous process of elimination—eliminating employees for convenience rather than poor performance or economics. I need time to think, to be alone…” She said the words quickly, before her emotions could stop her.

  Max stood next to Wanda, taking her hands in his.

  “It would be so much better together.”

  She gazed at their hands, entwined so perfectly, and then let go.

  Chapter 26

  “Wait until they dive into Louis’ family finances. They practically have pots of gold for dinner!”

  “And what about Maddie? Her husband is absolutely loaded.”

  Flora and Sam were up to the usual gossip, leaning against the wall abutting Wanda’s desk. The distraction annoyed her. Why did they always have to stop there, right at the corner, and talk over her head when she was trying to concentrate? She scowled at her computer screen and tried to block out their words—but soon, she heard her name.

  “Wanda? Wanda?”

  She looked up at the two, who now turned in her direction.

  “Hmm?”

  “Have you read the memo?” Flora hissed.

  “What memo?”

  “It was sent out to everyone an hour ago,” Sam said. “Check your inbox.”

  They hovered over Wanda as she scrolled through her messages and clicked on it. She hated having them crowd her like this. She figured it best to get through this as quickly as possible if she hoped to get rid of them. She scanned the message, and then a strange feeling overcame her.

  “Insane, isn’t it?” Flora hissed, as if excited by the possibility of Wanda joining their gossip session. “What are they thinking?”

  It was insane. The company had sent out a memo requiring employees to reveal all of their personal financial information. Whilt wasn’t simply talking stocks and bonds. The company wanted to know the value of property held, bank accounts, inheritances and even financial gifts made to employees’ children.

  Wanda looked at her colleagues’ eager faces. She didn’t want to join in the behind-the-scenes chitchat only to meekly comply with management an hour later. Better to be looked at as an outsider from the start.

  “I think the bigger question is ‘Is this legal?’” Wanda said, knowing this would cut the conversation short. “Now is anyone going to get a lawyer to find out?”

  Flora and Sam both blushed, and Wanda shrugged.

  “I didn’t mean to mention the big bad word: ‘lawyer.’ Sorry about that. Now, I have to get back to this report, so if you’ll excuse me.”

  “Sure,” Flora said, biting her lip. She and Sam looked at each other, then turned and walked in opposite directions back to their desks.

  “Whilt should pay me to cut down on office gossip,” Wanda muttered. But she didn’t immediately return to her report. Instead, she examined the memo more closely. What did this mean? Asking about stock and bond holdings was understandable. But requiring an employee to reveal how much money his or her house was worth didn’t have anything to do with Whilt business.

  Wanda didn’t have riches to hide. As a matter of fact, what she was most ashamed of was her lack of money. Her salary would now be enough to cover food and lodging—considering she wa
s about to move into a small, cheap apartment. What was there even to declare to Whilt?

  She made a mental note that she would refuse to make any declaration to the company. She would hold her head high and remain proud no matter what the consequences. Wanda refused to bow down, to bend to a senseless idea because she knew that wouldn’t save her job. The day Whilt wanted her out, she would be out.

  ~~~~

  Maddie was holding her head in her hands when Wanda rapped gently on her office door and stepped inside.

  “Everything OK?”

  Maddie looked up with a wan smile.

  “I have a difficult decision,” she said.

  “I’m sorry to hear that.” Wanda grimaced. She’d intended to ask Maddie for some help digging up evidence. She hadn’t expected to find her in a crisis of her own. “Is there anything I can do?”

  “Everything will be fine, everything will work out,” Maddie said, her usual look of self-assurance returning. “It always has in the past. Now what can I help you with, Wanda?”

  “I can come back another time—”

  “No, no, this is fine.” Maddie stood up, brushing off her camel-colored suit, and walked around her desk to sit next to Wanda on the other side. “I need a distraction today.”

  Wanda took a deep breath and stared at her hands, trembling in her lap. She hadn’t realized she would be so nervous. She had to get this over with if she hoped to ever have a shot in the courtroom.

  “Maddie, I’m planning on suing the company.”

  “An understandable decision. And you’re not the first.”

  “You’re not shocked?”

  “Maybe a little surprised that you, the calm, hardworking Wanda Julienne are making an aggressive move.”

  Wanda smirked. “I didn’t want to. I’m at the point of not having much of a choice. When unfairness reaches a certain level…”

  “I know I encouraged you to fight, and it’s the right decision. But I feel I have to warn you too. You have to understand what you’re getting into, Wanda, poking around the hornets’ nest. They won’t make things easy for you around here.”