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“Oh no, not yet,” she said, meeting my fretted eyes. “I’m going to get fired if I can’t fix this.” She held out her hand to reveal a tiny chip sitting loosely in her palm. “I don’t even know what it is,” she cried.
My heart stopped. It was a sim card from a cell phone. I didn’t need to guess whose.
“He said if I can’t figure out how to get all the numbers off it, then I’m not much of an assistant.”
“He what?” My hands clenched at my sides as I glared through Grayson’s office window. He was leaning back in his chair, feet up on the desk, with the phone pressed against his head. Probably barking orders no doubt.
Linda was nearing retirement age. She wouldn’t have a clue about these things. She had been with Maude since they launched and knew everything about everything…except all the necessary components of a cell phone.
She let out a defeated sigh. “It’s okay. I’ll figure it out. My grandson may know about these things. I’ll call him.”
She turned to leave, but I held on to her hand. “You won’t need to do that. I’ll sort this out.”
Linda peered up at me in awe. “Really?” she gushed, her eyes welling. “Oh, Josie, you’re such a gem.”
She dropped the little chip into my hand and I wrapped my fingers around it, forming a tight fist. Linda left my office, and once out of sight, I marched into Grayson’s, slamming the sim card onto his desk.
His jaw tightened as his eyes travelled from my hand up to my pursed lips. “I’ll call you back,” he uttered, hanging up the phone.
“What is this?” I demanded.
He dropped his feet to the floor and eyed the sim card. “That is the remains of my entire professional network,” he said, with a growing smirk. “Great arm, by the way.”
“Why did you threaten Linda with her job? She can’t do this type of thing.”
“Isn’t that what assistants are for?”
I growled and picked it back up. “I’ll do it. I don’t need others to clean up the messes I make.” I turned and marched towards the door.
“Josie,” he called, and I slowed my pace. “Don’t barge into my office again. No matter what our history is, you need to remain professional around here.”
I scoffed and spun around. “Professi—are you kidding me?” Heat surged to my cheeks. “No one has ever questioned my professionalism.”
He regarded the mountain of paperwork on his desk and peered up at me, baring no emotion. “Looks like no one has questioned anything around here for a while.”
My mouth fell open, and I drew in a long breath, before storming out of there.
Harlow Corp. gave us one week to prove ourselves, before they started their ‘restructuring’ phase. And after my outburst at Grayson, I could only assume I was on top of their ‘to go’ list. Nonetheless, I did my work and knew I did it well. If Grayson decided to sack me, it would have to be for personal reasons and then we would see who lacked professionalism. I even got his stupid sim card fixed, minus my number, thanks to Reed.
Our entire office had turned into a funeral home. There was barely a smile behind anyone’s eyes anymore. Even Amy, who always added a little spark to the workplace, had gone quiet, only fuelling my fury towards Grayson.
Grayson seemed to make a point of creating enemies. He was nothing short of rude, arrogant and heartless, and made me question my ability to read people. How could I have gotten it so wrong with him? How could the man I met over a burger in Las Vegas turn into this cold-blooded creature?
Adam was away, tending to another business, leaving Grayson in complete power for the remainder of the week. Between ordering people around and threatening jobs, I wondered who he was trying to impress. From the snippets of information he shared with me, I got the impression his father expected a lot from him. But it was no excuse, and I totally understood why the majority of the office despised him.
The day Adam returned, we knew our time had come. Various staff were called into the conference room, one by one. It was when they walked out with an empty cardboard box that broke me. I couldn’t bear to look their way. Maria from Payroll, Gemma from Marketing, and about five others all returned to their desks to pack up their belongings.
Maude wasn’t large enough for this to go unnoticed. We had a unique business structure that enabled us to produce a quality publication with minimal staff. We all put in more than our job roles entailed, because we loved where we worked…until now.
When the day from hell was finally over, I was packing up my things, eager to leave, when Linda sent out a group message:
L. EVANS: All staff to the conference room in 5 minutes.
Five minutes?! I could be half way home in five minutes! Not really, but that isn’t the point. I was twiddling my thumbs, waiting for the clock to wind down, when I glanced over at my wilting hydrangea. It hadn’t been watered all week. I wasn’t intentionally trying to kill it, I just didn’t want Grayson thinking I cared for his gift. Plus, I didn’t need the reminder of how stupid I was to believe he was a good person.
Picking up the potted beauty, I slipped into Grayson’s empty office, and left the plant on his desk. Even in its limp state, it brightened the room instantly. Brushing my hands, I snuck back out and slipped into the line of employees entering the conference room.
Grayson and Adam were already standing at the front, deep in conversation. Their voices hushed as I edged past and felt both sets of eyes trail after me. God, I hope he hasn’t told his brother.
