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“How much of that did you just hear?” Craig asked, sipping from his thermos. He was never, ever far from his coffee, morning, noon, or night. His red hair, thinning a little at the temples, was slightly mussed, his beard longer than usual. His eyes were tired, too.
But what he didn’t look was angry.
You might not be screwed after all.
“You’re certainly wondering what Mr. Winters was doing here. He was here to talk about, well, you.”
My heart dropped into my shoes. “Look, Craig, I can… I can explain—”
“I’m not so sure you can, Lola.” He winked at me, which was so unexpected, it shut me up entirely as I slouched back in my chair. “First thing. You need to know that I received an absolutelyglowingreport about you from Mr. Winters.”
“He… youdid?”
Am I still sleeping?
I didn’t have a clue how to even process what he’d just told me. If Craig had grown a second fucking head sitting right there behind his desk, I’d have been less shocked.
“Well… he was more full of praise than I’ve ever heard the man. And as I’m sure you’re aware, he’s not exactly known for his, uh, soft touch, if you know what I mean. That’s the good news.”
“Um, there’s bad news?”
I knew it. I’m fucked!
“I’m going to have to assign someone else to him. I can’t assign you to his account again. Ever.”
“Ah, I don’t really know what to say—wait, what? Why? He just extolled my virtues, and now you’re telling me I can’t clean his house anymore?”
“I’m not doing that.” He cleared his throat. “He is.”
I leaned forward, my elbows on my knees, scrubbing my face with my hands. “Craig, what the hell! What do you mean,heis?”
“He told me you can’t be assigned to clean his house.” He shrugged. “And no, I havenoidea why. But it’s what he asked for, and of course, I have to honor his request.” Craig’s fingers wrapped about his thermos, tapping at the metal softly. “Did… did something happen?”
“I… well, other than him being kind of a dick to me, no. I cleaned the rooms Kara didn’t, said goodbye, and left. Pretty normal, really.”
I hated lying to him, but it was more of a white lie. Being treated like a recalcitrant recruit in Mr. Winters’ office wasn’ttrulyrelevant. Was it?
“He—Mr. Winters—wanted you to have this.” Craig opened a drawer to his desk, retrieving an envelope. He slid it across the cracked desktop toward me.
“What is this?”
“I have no idea.” Craig held up a hand, shaking his head slowly. “Winters just told me to give it to you. And it was abundantly clear I was expected not to pry too much about it either.”
I picked it up. Slightly heavy, but no more so than a multi-page letter. And this didn’t have that look at all.
What the hell is happening here?
“I’ve got one more piece of news, though it might be good or bad, depending on your perspective. You’ve got the day off.”
“Wait, I saw the whiteboard out front. There are crap-tons of clients. Why?”
“Why do you think?”
“Winters?Are you fucking serious? Uh, sorry, boss.”
Craig chuckled. “He was clear on that, too. No work for you today, Lola. So, I guess this is the part where I tell you to get the heck out of my office, and enjoy your free day.”
I didn’t really understand why, but I was pissed that Winters would come in here, throw his money around, and then tell Craig to keep me away from his precious, snooty house. It made no sense, but it had all the hallmarks of a rich guy being a douchebag. The kind of move a control freak would love.
