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“That explains it. We had a reset last month. Been catching all the consultants by surprise. You guys barely come in here, do you?”
“If we’re not with a client we’re not earning,” I say, repeating the mantra that’s been beaten into me since day one of working for Warner Power.
“Billable hours.” He nods. “Saw all about that on a TV series.Suitswas it?” He takes my pass and walks over to the little waist heigh desk with a computer on it, next to the gate. “People working all the hours God sends and still panicking that they’re not earning enough. When does it stop?” He presses my card against a reader and types something into the laptop. “Nobody gets to stand and smell the roses anymore, do they?”
“What are roses?” I ask and he laughs, passing me back the card.
“It should work now. Have a nice day.”
Carmine is at the front desk when I walk out of the elevator and into our offices. “Miss Hunter,” he says, smiling.
“Hi Carmine. How’s it going?”
“Good as always.” He glances down at his laptop. “Mr. Power has asked that you go straight to his office.”
I take a deep breath. “Okay.” If they fire me it’ll be Carmine who has to escort me out of the building. I’ve seen him do it before, his thick muscled arms carrying boxes of personal belongings as the poor person who’s just lost their job trails behind him in tears.
I can’t even remember what’s in my desk anymore. Probably a change of pantyhose because those damn things always run. And a few cereal bars for the days when I don’t have time to eat lunch. I think there might be a pair of sneakers under my desk, put there years ago when I had the great idea of going for a walk every lunchtime to get some exercise.
I used them exactly once.
When I reach Mr. Power’s office his assistant nods me in, and I take a deep breath before I knock at his door.
“Come in.”
I do as I’m told, pushing it open to find Kenneth Power and my boss, Mark, sitting at his desk. They both look up at me as I walk inside.
“Um, hi.” I attempt a smile. I just want this over with. I know I messed up, and could have caused so many problems.
But really, I didn’t. I just didn’t.
“Mackenzie,” Mr. Power says. “Take a seat.”
I slide into the empty chair next to Mark. He lifts his brows at me but says nothing. Some things don’t change. He’s still talking with his eyebrows.
“So,” Mr. Power says, steepling his fingers as he leans his elbows on his desk. “I guess we have some things to talk about.”
I shift in my seat. “I guess we do. And I’m extremely sorry if I brought the company into disrepute.”
Mark’s brows knit. “Disrepute?”
I swallow. “By having a relationship with a client. I’m sorry. I know it’s unprofessional.” A firing offense. “I didn’t mean to cause any issues.”
“What are you talking about?” Mr. Power asks.
“The press conference.”
He and Mark exchange glances. “Where you talked about what happened years ago?”
I nod. “And that I’m in a relationship with Eli Salinger. The head coach of the Mavericks.”
“But he’s not our client,” Mark says, glancing at Kenneth Power again. “Your grandfather is.”
“I told Mark about your relationship to the team,” Mr. Power says. “I figured since it’s open knowledge now that would be okay.”
“Of course.” I nod. “So I completely understand if you need me to leave. All I’d ask is that you let me resign instead of firing me. It’ll look better on my résumé.” And that really isn’t a lot to ask. I’ve worked my ass off for this company. Yes, I broke their rules and made them look bad, but surely they could do this one thing.
I need to work to survive, after all.
