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“Oh, it's not that I want to leave. Just that it might be necessary for me to leave.”
“Is this necessity the same one that caused you to leave Melbourne?”
Allee paused for a moment, then decided to fully confide in Gareth.
“Yes, it is. To put it simply, a nasty ex keeps harassing me and found me up here, then broke into my house and tried to kill my cat.”
“Oh, Allee, my dear girl, I am so very, very sorry to hear that! Is your cat alright?”
“Piddle is getting better and staying with Noah Bligh, the Lead Programmer. He loves cats, and has a cat enclosure at his place, so she should be safe there.”
“Do you know how he found you up here?”
“I'm not sure. He found me down there, discovered out where I worked. But apart from my friend Cass and her family and the people at the office, nobody knew I was leaving Melbourne to come up here. Cass would rather die than tell him where I am, and I know most of her family would hospitalise him if he ever approached them, so I have to assume that someone at the office let him know.”
“Yes, that is rather serious. I will give you some fatherly advice, even though you aren’t my daughter, and I know you love your own very much. You are a capable young woman, Allee. You wouldn't have been able to move so quickly, and transition so well if you weren't. You have a strength in you that I don't think you're aware of, and I know from our correspondence that you have made friends here. It would be a real shame to throw all that away because of this ex of yours. He has made a fatal error in his actions; he broke into your home, and he has abused an animal. I take it the police were involved?” Allee nodded. “Well then, he now has the police interested in his activities. If he doesn't wish to get caught, he will either have to keep a low profile or leave you alone completely. There are ways and means of ensuring your safety, and although I will understand if you do decide to leave all of this behind, I will also be disappointed that you didn't fight to stand your ground.” Gareth gently cupped Allee’s shoulders in his hands, looking her directly in the eyes as he spoke. “You are strong and able, Allee. You have friends who are willing to protect you and support you. He is here on his own. Now is the time to show him what you're made of and that he no longer holds any sway in your life.”
Allee couldn't speak. A frightened part of her was screaming out at Gareth, accusing him of betraying her, but that voice was growing quieter each passing moment. She knew that Gareth was right; she had come a long way from that frightened young woman fleeing for her life. She was no longer so brittle or fragile. Didn’t she owe it to herself to make a stand, to stay where she was happiest? She had made herself a home here, Piddle had settled in happily, she had friends she could trust, and she had found a man who loved her despite her past. Piddle adored Noah, and he adored the cat equally. It would be cruel to tear them apart, and Allee wouldn't leave without Piddle. She realised then that she had to decide to stay and fight, no matter the outcome. Anything less not only meant that Stuart won, but she would never really be able to move beyond what he had done or to live her life. It wouldn’t be easy, but Allee knew that she had support here, people she could rely on, and if she did falter or fall, they would be there to carry her until she could find her feet again.
Seeing how disquieted Allee was, Gareth changed the subject to the media launch and the staff interviews.
“Now, who have you lined up to speak to me?”
“We're going to have a short meeting to introduce you to everyone, then you'll be having one-on-one interviews with the Leads afterwards. You are welcome to use my office, as I'll be setting up the conference room and foyer in preparation for tomorrow.”
“Thank you, I appreciate your thoughtfulness.”
They sat and chatted while Gareth drank his tea, discussing safe, inconsequential topics. Allee asked after his family, and Gareth showed her the latest pictures of his wife, daughters, and grandchildren.
Once they had finished, Allee stood and led him towards the conference room at the back of the building. As they walked, they could see Craig already seated at the table, nervously drumming his fingers on the wooden top. They were joined by Noah and Darryl, and Allee could see Michael, Andre, Charlie, and Sammy all preparing to make their way into the room as well. Satisfied that they could begin shortly, Allee introduced Gareth to Craig, and within seconds she could see Gareth's genial manner begin to relax Craig's nervousness. Once everyone was seated, Allee caught Gareth's eye, and he quickly ended his conversation with Craig.
“Everyone, I'd like to introduce you to Gareth Pengelly, CMD's media wizard,” Allee announced. “He is a master at creating media releases that can make even the dullest of subjects interesting, and whenever he writes something, the journalistic world sits up and takes notice. Gareth, you've already met Craig Bateman, our Project Manager.” Allee nodded towards Craig and then made her way anti-clockwise around the table. “Sitting on your left is Andre North, the Lead Artist, and he and Michael Li, the Lead Designer, work closely together on most projects,” Allee gestured to each man as she mentioned their names, and Gareth nodded to each of them, memorising their faces. “Next, we have Sammy – Samividhan Majumdar. He’s our Community Manager and pretty much lives in the online community. If you want to know what our fans are thinking, he's the man to talk to. To my right is Darryl Sainsbury, the Head of IT, and next to him is Charlie Cusack, our QA Lead.”
If Gareth was surprised to find out that Charlie was a woman, he didn't show it at all. Charlie, however, had a dull flush creeping up her neck. Allee guessed Charlie remembered it was Gareth she insinuated had given Allee the Office Manager position due to sexual favours. Allee grinned and winked at Charlie, who smiled ruefully in return.
“Last but not least, we have Noah Bligh. Noah is Lead Programmer, and–”
Gareth interrupted Allee at that point, smiling towards Noah as he spoke, “And I believe we have met before, am I right, Mr Bligh?”
“Please, call me Noah, and yes, we have. It was with Tiki Terror III. I was the one appointed to fill you in on everything, and we spent a couple of days together, going through the game.”
“Yes, I remember you very clearly. You had been brought in quite early in the piece, back when it had only been Gary, Thad, and Brian. You were the first person that they employed just after the launch of Tiki Terror. I must say, you have done a bang-up job with the subsequent expansions, Head Office would love to move a few of you onto other projects to bring in more money, but they're petrified of killing the golden goose, if you catch my meaning. I'll need to re-emphasise just how brilliant a job you are all doing in-situ, and if they mess around with your placements, they might just lose you all.”
After the meeting concluded, Craig and Gareth made their way to Craig's office. Allee was gathering up the plate and mugs when Charlie stopped her, giving Allee a fast, tight hug.
“Thank you for not holding a grudge!”
Allee gave Charlie a squeeze back, replying, “It's water under the bridge. You had every right to be wary of me until you got to know me, you've shown me how awesome you can be, and the type of person you are now is all that matters, not who you were in the past. Stop looking back at how wrong things were, and look ahead to how they can be instead.”
Allee pulled away from Charlie to see Noah watching her, a curious look on his face. As Charlie left, he walked over, helping Allee collect the dirty dishes, accompanying her back to the kitchenette to load up the dishwasher. Once she was done, he gently guided her into her office, shutting the door behind them. He leaned up against the door, one eyebrow raised quizzically.
“That was an interesting comment you made to Charlie. Care to explain it to me?”
Allee looked Noah in the eye, her shoulders unconsciously straightening, her chin lifting.
“Fuck Stuart. I've had enough of him ruining my life. I’m happy here. I have a job that I enjoy, I have a wonderful group of friends, and I have a man who not only loves my cat and me despite all of our quirks and baggage but whom I can't imagine leaving behind. This is my home, and I'm going to stay, and if Stuart thinks he can bully me into running away again, then he's dead wrong!”
Noah's face split into a brilliant grin, and he strode over to Allee, lifting her off her feet in a huge bear hug, spinning her around and then holding her face gently as he swooped in to kiss her. Allee's head spun, giddy with happiness and relief. She had finally chosen her path, and she knew that it was the right one.
