AllFreeNovel
Share Us
Why did he want to see me? And with Cathy?
Did I step entirely over the line Friday night by being so forthcoming and nosey? Did they manufacture a reason to fire me?
“I…”
Stay tough, Kara. You have no reason to feel nervous. He was the one who got reamed out in public, not you.
Although I did witness it…. And not only rehashed it with him, but I asked a thousand follow-up questions… Ugh… Was I the flirty one? Did I push the boundaries too far?
With more confidence than I felt, I said, “I didn’t see anything on my calendar about a meeting with him today.”
Cathy let out a puff of air. “Because it just came up. I never thought you’d hightail it out of the office in the middle of the day. I figured you’d be here like you always are.”
“Well, we all know what they say about making assumptions.” I folded my hands in front of me. “If I knew we had a meeting, I never would’ve stepped out. And if you even texted me to let me know about the meeting, I would have made it my business to be back here immediately.”
“Point taken, Kara,” Cathy muttered. “We can continue this conversation later. Right now, we should get going.”
“Okay. Let me grab a notebook.”
Call me old school, but I preferred a pen and paper to my laptop any day. I could write faster than I could type, and if a meeting ended up being a snooze fest, I could doodle. Although, I was never bored in a meeting if Jonathan was present.
Cathy knocked against the thick doorframe of our boss’s office. He looked up from his computer and gestured for us to come in.
The space was as impressive as he was. His desk was ultra-modern. There were floor-to-ceiling windows. Not only could I see the New York City skyline, but I could easily see what people in nearby offices were doing. If this were my office, I would never be able to get anything done here.
Eek. I guess I really am nosier than I thought if staring at a stranger making photocopies is what I’m thinking about at this moment.
Or maybe I’m just nervous.
“Ladies, please have a seat,” Jonathan said, gesturing to a leather sofa on the wall.
I was glad I chose to wear a form-fitting, dark gray pencil skirt that showed off how many squats I do each week, a low-cut silky cream blouse that didn’t leave much to the imagination, and my prized red high heel shoes that set me back two weeks’ pay. I knew I looked phenomenal, and based on how his eyes studied me, I’d say he agreed.
Jonathan sat down in a leather chair opposite us. “I appreciate you both meeting with me today on short notice.”
“Of course,” Cathy said, and I remained silent, trying to figure out the protocol for this situation, especially since I had no idea why we were meeting.
I couldn’t go wrong with quiet and reserved. Could I?
His face was unreadable as he cleared his throat; his gaze turned from me and focused on my supervisor. “Cathy has been reviewing your performance with me, and….”
As he paused, my stomach sank, even though I knew I didn’t have anything to be concerned about. I didn’t make any recent mistakes or fail to meet deadlines.
“And the performance of the rest of the marketing team. Cathy and I have discussed the company’s goals for the next twelve months. We are adding a lot of exciting brands to our portfolio, practically all at the same time. And while the current process has served us well, it’s not sustainable for Capital Brand’s anticipated aggressive long-term growth.”
I did my best to mirror his poker face.
“As a result, instead of Cathy planning and overseeing the creation of each campaign, junior marketing managers will be assigned product lines to manage.”
Go, Kara! Go, Kara! I like the direction this conversation is going.
“Okay,” I said, willing my face to obey my brain and hide my excitement.
“This is going to be a pilot program. You are the first junior marketing manager we’ve selected to participate. Assuming your performance is up to our expectations and that the process works as designed, by the end of the month, we will add two more members to join the team.”
“Super.” I smiled brightly, giving up on trying to play it cool.
“Great,” Cathy said, her voice clipped.
