More Than Fine. (Complete)

9- MTF Taking My Own Advice

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     With trepidation, Gia walked to Mr. Bellanti's office. Of course today the door is wide open. She stood in the doorway motionless, watching him. He stared back and finally cleared his throat.

     Taking that as an invitation, she walked in, and shut the door. No one else needed to hear this. "Look, if you're going to fire me, just get it over with."

     A low chuckle erupted from him. "Fire? Really? Why would I fire you?"

     "I yelled at you yesterday. And then you told me to meet you this morning."

     "Yes, so we could begin our morning meetings again. And I wouldn't really consider what you did yelling, but regardless, you were right. I wasn't acting fairly."

     Gia stared at Mr. Bellanti trying to put her thoughts into words. "So, why did you avoid me all last week?"

     He stood up and walked towards her. "I think you know the reason."

     She had a guess, but didn't dare admit it to him. Watching him nervously, she waited for his next words.

     Mr. Bellanti gestured for her to sit in a guest chair, then he leaned against the opposite end of the desk and crossed his feet, while gripping the edges of the desk. "I've told you, Gia, I don't do relationships. After that Friday, I worried that you might get the wrong idea. Sorry, I didn't handle it well."

     He was acting like only she was affected by their time together, but she knew better. He'd even called her by her first name, which was nice to hear, and seemed to imply something more than a strict work relationship. But if he wasn't willing to try for more, then she too would put up a front and act unphased. "Well, I've told you the same thing, about me having a hard time with relationships, so I don't know what you're worried about. And just so you know, I'm not going to live my life stuck in this vicious cycle of not moving beyond my past and allowing it to dictate my future. I'm going to counseling. You might want to consider it."

     Mr. Bellanti smirked. "No counselor wants to hear about what I've done." He leaned towards her and his face hardened. Not even God can set me free from my past."

     Gia pulled back and gasped. The look on his face was unsettling, but she gathered courage and shot back, "That's where you're wrong, nothing you've done is beyond God's forgiveness. God can do greater things than we can even imagine, and Jesus' death is enough to cover all our sins, not just the ones we think are not too bad. It's through his death and resurrection that we are forgiven, and can be healed emotionally."

     Smirking again, Mr. Bellanti shook his head. "A Christian, I see. Well I won't make your God any more angry at me by saying the things that are coming to my mind, but I'll leave it at this... he may be able to forgive me, but he certainly wouldn't want me. And you... if you knew what I've done, you wouldn't be offering me his forgiveness." At this point, he was practically snarling.

     They sat there silently, tension hanging in the air, before Mr. Bellanti added. "For today , I'll email you your list for today, then you can decide who you want to be your new mentor. If you need some suggestions, message me."

     Gia's mouth fell open, as she watched him turn away and walk to his desk. "Yes sir." She quickly found her way back to her desk.

     For the next two hours, Gia worked while trying to decide who she could get to be her mentor. She had met a few others who were on a similar level in the company to Mr. Bellanti, but she didn't feel she clicked with any of them. Everyone she compared seemed unfit next to him; he was the one people whispered about because he was rising through the ranks so quickly for someone so young. He was brilliant, and yet he had a way of conveying things in an easy to understand way. And despite him saying what a bad guy he was, he had really been kind to her, overall. Then again, perhaps she was also biased because of her feelings towards him. Feelings that she would hide no matter what.