Rachel sat on the couch together with her sister after their weekend at a spa resort. To their surprise Gabriel cooked up a feast and let them be lazy on the couch while he visited Ethan. Gabriel tried to avoid the subject of her break-up, but he wasn’t being overly cheerful either. He was just there for her whenever she needed to talk. He and her sister both had been very wonderful, it made her want to try even harder. Gabriel looked with her at potential places which were up for rent. She had no luck so far though. He promised her they’d find something eventually. He even offered to help her split the costs but she firmly declined. She couldn’t rely on her sister’s husband, that was way too much. She was looking into moving back to her home town, but didn’t discuss it with Valerie yet. She knew her sister would get upset and find reason for her to stay. For now she kept that thought to herself. Emma’s Haven was a fun place to work at, for now she enjoyed it too much to suddenly pack up her things and leave.
“That lasagna was even better than mine.” Valerie admitted to her.
Rachel laughed, agreeing with her sister, “Gabriel is becoming a kitchen princess.”
Valerie got to her feet, collecting their dishes to clean up, “Feeling better?” She asked her.
It had been a week since her break-up with Ethan and she actually did feel better. She even believed she reached the point of Ethan not being a forbidden subject anymore. But that was also something she didn’t share with her sister. She knew Valerie wouldn’t believe her anyway. With time they could all move past the break-up.
“I feel a lot better, that weekend away really helped.” Rachel followed her sister to the kitchen, “I feel refreshed and ready to start my shift at Emma’s Haven.”
Valerie shook her head at her, “I’m glad you’re doing okay.”
Rachel noticed how her sister looked away, something hidden in her eyes. Valerie tried to hide it, but they were sisters. Her sister could never hide from her how upset she was. It wasn’t about Gabriel being a better cook than her or the fact that the dream of them all finding a happily ever after together didn’t work out. It was something else and it was hurting Valerie, mentally.
“What happened?” Rachel asked.
“You feel like a career change?” Valerie asked her jokingly, “One of my best sales agents is leaving the team.” She inhaled deeply, looking like she forced herself not to cry which made Rachel place her hand upon her sister’s shoulder and giving it a squeeze in reassurance, “Or more like I had to fire him on Gabriel’s orders.”
“What? Why?”
She knew Gabriel was a reasonable man, that sales agent getting fired was most certainly a professional decision he made. It looked like it hit Valerie pretty hard though. It was probably the reason why her sister also needed that spa day or in their case a spa weekend. The fact that their spa weekend away didn’t help Valerie in the slightest made her feel guilty.
“He performed poorly for a couple of weeks and during the last meeting with one of Hunter and Starr’s VIP clients he royally messed up. I tried to cover for him, but Gabriel saw through me. Obviously.” She muttered the last part, “He told me either I tell him to pack up his things and leave or he would. I knew I had to do it because Gabriel would not be gentle at all. My dear husband disliked the guy after all.”
Rachel pulled away from her sister and narrowed her eyes on Valerie, “Are we talking about Andrew here?” She asked, “Oh my God! Did Gabriel tell you to fire Andrew?’
She buried her face in her hands, “I did fire Andrew. I had to.”
Rachel covered her mouth with both hands, shocked by this news and not knowing how to react to it. She knew Andrew meant a lot to her sister, Valerie confided in him when there was no one else around. She knew Gabriel didn’t make the decision based on his feelings, he wasn’t the type of guy. The fact that Gabriel had been a softie around her didn’t make her feel better about Andrew losing his job at Hunter and Starr though. He must have done something horrendous for Gabriel not to even consider demoting him. It was a drastic decision, but no doubt Gabriel believed it was the only way to make Andrew face the consequences of his actions. It was harsh, but it was also something she didn’t want to interfere with. All she could do was be there for Valerie and sometimes that was what people needed. Just having someone beside them while they licked their wounds.
“W-What did he do?”
Valerie dropped her hands and sighed, “He had been seeing a guy on and off, but things weren’t going well between them. Turns out the guy is Hunter and Starr’s VIP client who is married and has two kids. Andrew couldn’t contain his emotions when he saw the guy during the meeting and spilled their dirty secrets in front of everyone. Let’s just say that the VIP client wasn’t happy which resulted into Hunter and Starr not being happy.”
Rachel couldn’t drop her hands though, it was like a real life soap opera which made her feel bad for being that intrigued by hearing the dirty secrets about Valerie’s friend.
“Andrew didn’t know the guy was married and not gay?”
“What?”
Rachel dropped her hands and repeated her words, “The guy? Did Andrew not know about him being married and well into women?”
“I guess the guy is bi-sexual just like Andrew, but of course that had been a secret.”
Rachel pressed her lips together, not wanting to laugh at Andrew’s expense. She couldn’t contain herself though, the laughter spilled out which made Valerie smile a little as well.
“Not anymore, his dirty laundry is out for everyone to see.”
Valerie nodded, “Which is why Gabriel insisted on Andrew leaving the team. Unprofessional, a liability and causing them to lose their most important client. Gabriel was furious, I had never seen him like that.”
Rachel pressed her lips together again, “I have. When he found out Tiffany was behind your accident he lost it. Thought he’d go out and murder the woman with his bare hands. Ethan managed to calm him down though. Otherwise you’d be making conjugal visits.”
Valerie slapped her against the arm, “Not funny.” She then pulled away and sighed, “But I suppose you’re right. It was my first time seeing him like that. I actually feared him a little.”
“Yes, Gabriel can be pretty scary when he’s beyond being pissed.”
“Anyway, since Andrew left there is a position to be filled. Just saying.”
Rachel smiled, “Well, even though it sounds like a challenge I don’t feel comfortable working at Hunter and Starr.” Her smile dropped as her mind wondered to Ethan, “I’m sure he’ll give me a hard time. I can’t deal with that on a daily basis.”
Valerie narrowed her eyes on her, “Gabriel would never allow that. He demands of everyone to be professional during office hours, that includes Hunter and Starr themselves. They work well together because they keep each other in check.”
Rachel moved to the electric kettle and turned it on, wanting to make them some tea. She grabbed two cups and their favorite tea, tossing the teabags in their cups. She turned to look at her sister who threw her a mocking smile. Obviously Valerie understood what she tried to do as she made them a hot beverage. Since there was no escaping the obvious Rachel sighed and replied to her sister.
“I’ll keep it in mind.”
“Good.”