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Samson was about to speak again when April snapped, “What would you know about what people want to live in? Your father bought your house for you and your wife when you got married! I’ve lived in apartments literally my whole life. I’ve lived in good ones, and I’ve lived in some seriously shitty ones, and I know that your designs are—aside from being like everything else out there—riddled with problems from top to bottom.
There are safety issues, common design flaws that cause unnecessary repairs, and no sense of the location where they are being built. Your designs will lead to stuffy apartments and tenants who break their AC trying to live there comfortably. Your designs will result in break-ins. Your designs will limit a sense of community among the tenants. Your designs will be cheaper in the short run and far more expensive in the long run. Your designs are bad!”
A wicked grin began to spread on Samson’s lips as he watched her continue.
“And more than that, I would have gone with them anyway if that had been what Mr. Bennett had responded to, but your designs are not what he wants! So stop belittling me for trying to do the job I was hired to do. If you had shown up on time, Mr. Bennett would still not have chosen your work because it isn’t what he asked for.”
“You’ve got a hell of a temper, little lady.” Hutchinson shook his head. “And an ego, thinking you can do this work all on your own right out of school, when the only reason you got this job is your pert little—”
“Consider your words carefully,” Samson warned. He folded his fingers in front of himself as Hutchinson looked back to him. Then, he stood and waved his hand toward the door. “On second thought, don’t bother. Just leave.”
“Sir, I can explain. I didn’t mean—”
“I don’t care what you meant. You were late for this meeting, and even worse, you wasted weeks of my time fiddling around with designs I could have gotten from a first-year student. You’re fired. Joan will take care of your paperwork.”
Hutchinson stood there for a moment, utterly speechless. He was a tall man; a somewhat intimidating man with his graying crew-cut and his broad shoulders. But next to Samson, he amounted to nothing. Realization dawned in his eyes as it sunk in that he was now among the ranks of the unemployed.
Finally, Hutchinson left, returned for a brief moment to collect his forgotten briefcase, and then sheepishly went out the door again. Samson brushed his hands over the front of his suit as though wiping off dust, and he sat.
“Now then. Let’s get back to our meeting.”
Chapter Five
April rapped nervously on the outside of Samson’s door. Babette had been preoccupied with something that involved poking a needle through some kind of squarish blue wrapper, so April just slipped by and hoped her boss wouldn’t mind the unannounced visit. He’d been more aloof for the past week, and while that had been exactly what she wanted, somehow April still felt awkward around him. She still felt a little guilty for losing her temper with him.
“Come in.”
Samson was at his desk, leaning over his computer and holding a piece of sushi aloft on the end of his chopsticks.
“I didn’t mean to banish you from the break room completely. There’s nothing wrong with your eating lunch there.” April stepped up to the desk, remembering her interview. He had been so… much. So tall, so handsome, and so intense. Everything he’d been in Lana’s house and more. She felt her cheeks blushing just from the thought.
“Oh? You came in just to tell me I’m allowed to eat lunch in the break room of the business I own?”
April made a noise. “No, I came to tell you how sorry I was that we were so unprepared today.”
“Hm.” Samson leaned back. “You weren’t unprepared at all. Hutchinson was unprepared.”
“Well, I—”
“And if you’re here because you feel bad about him losing his job, don’t. I was going to fire him after the meeting anyway.”
April sat and looked up at Samson in confusion. “Why?”
“For the same reasons I fired him today. Well, apart from being late. Do you think that was the first time I’d seen his designs? He’s been sending the same ones up for me to look at for weeks, and I’ve been giving him notes for changes that he barely considered.” Samson picked up another piece of sushi. He chewed thoughtfully, and then said, “He never once sent your designs up, though.”
“Why?” April huffed, “I didn’t disagree with everything he said.”
“No, I’m sure Garcia and Jessie disagreed with the rest. He was trying to bury you, though. He never thought of this as a team effort. Lucky that the rest of you understood that.”
