AllFreeNovel
Share Us
“Yes, Eric’s right,” Lulu says. “Like I said, Mr. Pool, he’s not deathly ill, but Matteo absolutely has a medical condition that needs treatment. That’s why I spoke to you a few months ago about working from home on Thursdays. If we could make that happen, I wouldn’t need to take leave at all. I could get Matteo to an extra therapy session every week, still get my work done while I’m home with him, and hopefully the problem would be resolved in a few months. I can already see improvement in Matteo’s eating, even with just the Saturday morning visit.”
Mr. Pool lets out an unimpressed breath as his flat brown eyes shift Blair’s way. “Ms. Keneally, you’re the expert on federal policies, but when I was coming up, employees were expected to balance work and family without costing the company money and inconveniencing their superiors.”
“When you were coming up, women stayed home with the children so men could focus on their careers. Is that what you mean?” I ask, my voice every bit as sharp as Blair’s. “Because if it is, then I regret to inform you that the world has changed, and it is the responsibility of employers to—”
“You’re out of line, Eric,” Blair cuts in, her pale face marked with blotches of red near her cheekbones. “Mr. Pool and I have discussed Lulu’s situation in great detail.”
I bet you have.I think back to that call I overheard last week—Blair and Will talking about some kind of deal they’d made. It must’ve been about Lulu.
My gut twists as I try to connect the dots.
Blair continues. “Lulu’s repeated absences for alleged family issues is—”
“What’sallegedabout it?” I ask with a huff. “The school calls her to come collect Matteo because he’s been sick. That’s a verifiable fact.”
“As I was trying to say,” Blair continues, surveying me with a smug disdain that’s even more infuriating than open hostility, “there are factors at play aside from Ms. Rivera’s absences. Factors her supervisor and I discussed at length before deciding on a strategy for handling this situation. Lulu’s termination is not up for discussion—particularly with you, Mr. Webb.”
“I’m sorry, but I don’t understand.” Lulu lifts her arms, palms to the ceiling with fingers spread wide. “What factors? I’ve never had a bad performance review and—”
“We can discuss this in my office, Lulu,” Blair says. “I, for one, don’t believe in airing dirty laundry in public.”
Then I really hope you’re not a Barrington Beat reader, because laundry day is coming, sweetheart…
Blair steps back, motioning for Lulu to precede her.
With one last mournful, but grateful, glance my way, Lulu hurries around the corner and down the hall. Mr. Pool grunts, staring down his nose at me as he thanks Blair for her professionalism—his tone clearly inferring that I am the foil to her competency and class—and then I’m alone with the ambassador for female-enforced misogyny.
More than anything, I want to call Blair on her sins, name every law she’s bent or broken with her discriminatory hiring practices, point out all the legitimate employee concerns and complaints she’s dismissed or buried, and wipe that self-righteous expression from her face.
Instead, I bite the insides of my cheeks and keep my mouth closed. I can’t tip my hand or give her the chance to cover her tracks, not until I’ve got all the evidence I need and am ready to run with this story.
“Listen up, Eric, because I’m only going to say this once.” Blair steps closer, until only a few inches separate her pointy red pumps from my leather dress shoes. “Keep your focus where it belongs—on your work andyourwork only—and we won’t have any problems. Pull over into my lane again, however, and I won’t hesitate to run you off the road.”
I hum in mock thoughtfulness. “Unless you’re asking me to do your work for you, right? The way you did on my first day in the office, when you thought I’d be an easy mark?”
Blair’s blue eyes narrow into frosty slits. “You don’t want to start this with me, Webb. I’m not the kind of enemy you can afford to make. Between your whiplash-inducing fast-tracking and the gaps in your resume, I already have enough red flags to recommend a review of your work history. Keep pushing and I’ll put the review wheels in motion, and you can be damned sure I’ll find a dismissal-worthy offense.” Then, in a voice so low and menacing it makes me shiver, “One way or another, I always do.”
I balk at the threat, rocking back on my heels. I haven’t been suffering from any delusions about Blair’s character, but I hadn’t considered she might falsify evidence to get rid of me.
But she would—and evidentlyhasin the past. There’s no way I’m misinterpreting those last words.
For a moment, I’m too shocked to speak—reeling as I wonder how on earth this woman fooled Jack and Ryan into thinking she was a decent human being.
Blair takes advantage of my silence to drive her point home. “Stay out of my way, and keep your mouth shut about things that don’t concern you. Or you’ll regret it.”
“No, you’ll regret it,” I say in a quietly hostile voice I barely recognize. “I won’t be bullied, Blair. And I won’t stop standing up for people you’re steamrolling for your own selfish reasons. Get your act together and start treating people with fairness and compassion or you’ll be the one sitting in a ditch, wondering how you managed to total your once promising career.”
Her cheeks blanch before flushing redder than before. “Fine. We’ll play it your way. But don’t say I didn’t warn you.”
Before I can remind her this isn’t a game—people’slivesare hanging in the balance, and Lulu and her family will suffer needless hardship if Blair insists on going through with the firing—she spins on her heel and stomps away. I’m tempted to follow her and eavesdrop on her meeting with Lulu, but that’s not going to help the situation. I have to go over her head.
But first I need to make sure I have all my ducks in a row.
People like Blair may be meticulous on the outside when it comes to rules and record-keeping, and they’re experts at snowing just about everyone. But journalism has taught me one thing: no matter how good people are at covering their tracks, they always leave a paper trail. A fingerprint. Some shred of evidence ready to blow their cover wide open.
More than sabotaging her female employees with unfair hiring practices, or falsifying reasons for termination, she’s up to something nefarious, and she’s going to great lengths to throw me off her scent. I can feel it in my bones.
And I’m not going to stop until I expose her dirty secrets.
