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He laughs. “I never thought you were so naive. She’ll file. You screwed her over. Her panties are in a bunch and one of her feminist friends will convince her to file.”
Seriously, how can I just now be seeing how horrible this man is?
“With all due respect, Mr. Jacobson, that’s not Annie.”
“Annie?” He shakes his head. “I think you have fallen for her.”
I have. I know I have. If I didn’t care about her, I would’ve told her before the meeting about the change. I purposely held back the information so we could live in our bubble for one more day. This is probably why people say no work relationships. If she’d been just an assistant to me, I wouldn’t have cared what she thought or what her reaction might be. But I didn’t want to hurt her and going the nice route to try to convince her I had the better idea didn’t pan out.
The last thing I’m doing is telling that to this jerk though. He has no concept of caring for someone other than himself.
“Who do you see taking my place?” I ask, changing the subject.
“I think that Jake fellow. He’s been sitting under Zilroy for almost two years. He’s the best candidate.”
“You’re going to make Jake an ad exec and give him my office?”
“Not your office, but he could be an ad exec.” He sips his scotch.
He’s got to be fucking kidding me. Jake hasn’t worked a campaign of this magnitude. The job should be Annie’s. The fact he’s keeping me around and pushing Annie to the curb tells me all I need to know about this man and this company.
My hands are clenched on my knees and I inhale a deep breath before standing. “Mr. Jacobson, this kills me, but I can’t accept the partnership. Actually, I’m turning in my notice.”
His eyes widen. “What? Is this about her?”
I hold out my hand, but he doesn’t shake it, nor does he move as if he’s going to. “It is, but it’s more about the way I want to do business. I’ve told you many times how talented Annie is, but you’d let her rot in an assistant role rather than let her contribute to your company and help it thrive. Your small-minded theory that men rule the world and women are here to please us is old school at best. At worst, it’s discriminatory and misogynistic. I can’t work for a company that would deliberately keep someone down and promote people who didn’t deserve it based on their sex or something else they can’t control. Good luck, sir, and I do thank you for the opportunity you’ve given me with this company.”
“Enzo,” he calls as I’m about to leave his office. “You do understand what you’re giving up? All because you allowed a woman to get under your skin? There are others out there. She’s not the only woman in New York. Think about it, son.”
I turn toward him. “I’m not your son. In fact, I’d be embarrassed if I was. And you’re wrong, sir. She is the only woman in New York. The only woman for me. If you think that’s the only reason I’m walking out on this job, then you might as well close up shop, because times have changed, and you’ll never continue to succeed with your thinking.”
I open the door and shut it behind me.
“Mindy,” I say with a nod.
“Enzo.” She types away on her computer.
I head to my office to pack up my shit, the realization quickly surfacing that I have no idea what the hell I’m going to do now.
