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“I’m sorry, what?” Mark shakes his head. For once his brows stay still. “You think we’re firing you?”
Mr. Power starts to laugh. “What is this, the dark ages? Why would we fire you for being in a relationship?”
“Um, isn’t it in my contract? No fraternizing with clients?”
“Well, yes,” Mr. Power concedes. “But that’s to protect us. And it’s good etiquette for the most part. But we’re not inflexible. If staff members become involved with somebody who works in a client’s location and they come and talk to us about it, we’re amenable to talking about it.”
“The hours we all work, if you don’t date somebody in the same office, you’re never going to date,” Mark adds. “My wife used to work here.”
“I was going to talk to you about it,” I tell Mr. Power. “Once the exhibition game was over. Things just went a bit awry.”
Mark smiles at me. “I know you would have. You’re a professional. That’s not why we’ve asked you to come here.”
“It isn’t?” I’m still so confused. Thinking about how I won’t have to pack up those barely used sneakers.
“We want to give you a promotion,” Mr. Power says. “The one you worked so hard for.”
“A promotion?”
“The one we talked about when we last spoke,” he says, giving me a strange look. “Remember?”
“I remember.”
“I know we said it would be after the end of the project, and you’re not quite there yet, but I’ve spoken to Wayne and he’s amenable to releasing you early. We can send another consultant down to finish things off, while we put you at the head of your new team.”
“You’re going to be a partner, Mackenzie,” Mark says. “Congratulations.” He shakes my hand and I shake it back, but my head is spinning with thoughts.
I’ve always dreamed of a promotion. Becoming a partner at a firm like Warner Power means you’ve pretty much made it in life. Yes, I’ll be working harder than ever because now half my job would be schmoozing clients and finding new ones, but the rewards are huge.
And more than anything it’s the kudos that matters. It’s the equivalent of winning the Stanley Cup.
So why do I want to cry?
“When would I come back?”
“Next week. We have a big project we want you to bid on. You’ll need to build your team,” Mark says. “I’ll be sorry to lose you as part of mine.”
There’s ringing in my ears.Next week.I won’t even get to stay and see the Mavericks to the end of the season. I won’t have Goran bringing me coffee every morning. I won’t be eating hot dogs at intermission.
My stupid heart is aching.
“I…”
“Speak to Rina on the way out,” Mr. Power continues. “She’ll organize the concierge service to bring all your things home. She’ll also arrange for your new office.” He lifts a brow. “With a corner view.”
“They’re the best.” Mark grins.
I open my mouth to say something, but no words come out. I need to talk to Eli. I need to think about if this is really what I want to do.
And I can’t get my thoughts straight in here.
“Can I think about it?” I ask Mr. Power.
He exchanges glances with Mark. “Um, yes?”
“Thank you,” I say, pushing my chair away from the desk and standing.
I need to call Eli, but not from the office. There are too many ears, too many gossips. I rush for the elevator and punch the button, grabbing my phone as I step inside.
