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Chapter 3
Kyra followed Master Derek across the lobby, which was now a bit busier with Littles and Bigs wandering around and others getting checked in at the registration desk, so she kept her head down, trying to hide behind her new stuffy.
Master Derek opened the door to his office and motioned for her to go in ahead of him, then he closed the door.
“Please have a seat. Can I get anything for you to drink? Coffee? Juice? Chocolate milk?”
“No, thank you,” she said, even though the Little in her would have loved nothing more than a cold glass of chocolate milk right now.
She sat in one of the chairs in front of the desk, hoping to get this meeting over with as quickly as possible. She was getting nervous about being on her own to discuss business, but that jerk Richard hadn’t left her any choice.
“Okay,” Master Derek said, “but you just let me know if you change your mind and we can get anything for you that you want. Now, I know your manager made all the arrangements, but since he seems to be absent, I thought you and I should go over a few things. My assistant Erika should be here any minute.”
Kyra shrugged. “Okay.”
Master Derek went around behind his desk and settled in front of an open folder and spent a few moments looking over documents before the door opened and a woman stepped into the room.
“Hi there, I’m Erika,” she greeted Kyra as she sat in the chair next to hers. She had a notepad in her hand and a big smile on her face. “You have no idea how excited we are to have you here for our Fourth of July celebration! Thank you so much for coming. And… to be honest I’m trying not to fangirl too hard–I don’t want to scare you away–but would it be okay if I asked you to sign a CD or one of those download code stickers for me while you’re at the Ranch? I mean, of course it’s okay if you’d rather not, but I really am one of your biggest fans.”
“Sure, I’d be happy to,” Kyra answered. “I love my fans. And I’m glad to be here.”
“Thanks so much! Has Master Derek started to go over the details for your performance yet?”
“I was waiting for you, chatterbox,” he said, but Kyra could see from the twinkle in his eye that he was teasing his employee. “Now, we just want to go over a few details to make sure there were no misunderstandings in emails or phone calls between us and your manager.”
“He’s not my manager anymore,” she said, the words coming out in a whisper.
“What was that?” Erika asked.
To Kyra’s horror a big, fat tear slipped down her cheek. “I’m sorry,” she said, sniffling. “Richard Mahoney is no longer my manager.”
“Oh,” Erika said, her cheeks going pink. “I’m sorry. Did I miss something? And is there someone else we should be talking to, then?”
Kyra shook her head. “No. No, it’s a… recent development.”
Another tear slipped out and she wiped it away with an angry hand.
Erika jumped up, looking confused. “Oh no! Did I say something wrong? I’m so sorry.”
She shot a glance at Master Derek, but he was already on his feet, stepping around the desk to offer Kyra a tissue.
“Kyra, tell us how we can help, darlin’.”
She shook her head, pausing to blow her nose, and was surprised when Master Derek took the used tissue and handed her another one.
“You guys didn’t do anything wrong, It’s Richard. And he… well, I don’t know that I want to talk about it, but he messed up. He betrayed me. And I just want to move on with my life.”
“Of course,” Erika soothed, laying a tentative hand on her arm. “You just let us know if we can help, right, Master Derek?”
“That’s right, whether it’s your performance here or anything else. Meanwhile, we are at your disposal, all right?”
“Thanks. Everyone here is so nice.”
“Of course, we are,” Master Derek replied. “Our Littles need to be cared for and treated well and that’s our main job at the Ranch. And that includes you. Now, in the interest of moving on, are you ready to talk about your performance here?”
She was going to have to put her big girl panties on and deal with this stuff, she supposed, and since Richard was no longer in the picture, she guessed this was the time to start learning more about how the business side of things worked.
“Yes. Okay.” She sat up a little straighter and did her best to look professional–as professional as one could look with red-rimmed eyes and a pony stuffy held to her chest.
