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“There’s a disgruntled employee you should be prepared for,” Dan said as he cleared his throat. “She’s going to claim we had an affair and say whatever she needs to say to squeeze some money out of me.”
I didn’t miss the way Margo closed her eyes briefly and looked away. As if she were irritated by the situation but also irritated by her boss, judging by the look she gave him when he wasn’t looking. It was my job to be aware of all of these things. Prepare for the storm that might be coming.
“Why was she fired?” I asked, because I needed to know what we were dealing with.
“She was Margo’s admin. She wasn’t doing her job.” Dan set his pen down and stared at me, completely lacking any emotion.
Margo opened her mouth and then closed it.
“Did you want her fired, as well?” I asked the woman, who was clearly struggling with something.
She glanced at her boss and then back at me. “She was very good at her job, from my perspective. I wasn’t the one who asked for her to be terminated.”
There was an awkward silence.
“Sometimes we’re too close to the situation to see that it’s a problem. We can speak alone after the meeting,” Dan said to me, as his gaze moved to each of my partners, and we all nodded.
“I’m guessing you just need to throw money at the situation to make it go away. But that’s what we do best, right?” Margo said, reaching for her coffee and taking a sip like she hadn’t just dropped a bomb on the room.
The next hour was tense as the passive-aggressive behavior made it clear that there wasn’t a whole lot of love amongst this group.
We’d said our goodbyes, and Dan Walker stayed back for just a few moments. He didn’t even take his seat after his team vacated the room, and he’d told them that he’d meet them at the car.
“You should be prepared for Tara to say that we had an inappropriate relationship. Just offer a settlement and make it go away.”
Grant and Ben chuckled, as if he’d just said something charming or cute. Phillip glanced at me, waiting for me to handle things.
“How old is she?” It was a fair question. A young woman being intimidated by an older man was not going to go away.
“Twenty-seven or twenty-eight.” He crossed his arms over his chest. Dan was in his mid-fifties, so she was half his age.
“Was there an inappropriate relationship?” I asked, my gaze locking with his.
“Does it matter?”
“It does to me.” My voice came out harsher than I’d expected. “I like to know what I’m dealing with.”
“I’m recently divorced, which makes me single. There’s no scandal here.”
Sure. Aside from you being president of the company she works for. Okay, genius. Way to justify your actions. She’s half your age, and you’re her superior.
“No harm, no foul. We’ve got you,” Grant said, and I seethed that he’d just spoken for me.
“Great. That’s why I hired you.” Dan extended his arm to each of us, and I held his stare when he shook my hand.
He didn’t intimidate me. He was just another guy with a big salary that thought he was above the law.
And my job was to protect him. It made me sick.
Ben offered to walk him out, and Phillip pulled the door closed, knowing what was coming.
“How dare you,” I said to Grant. “No harm, no foul?Such brilliant legal advice you’re offering.”
“He’s the goddamn client. A very important one, might I add. Do you really think she’s ready to be the point on this?” He directed his question at Phillip, and I chuckled.
“Don’t act like I’m not in the room. I’m aware that he’s the client. But if he does something that we have to clean up, he needs to be aware that he fucked up, or he’ll keep doing it. It’s not rocket science. She’s got him by the balls, and you know it. Maybe it just scares you because you understand it a little too well,” I said, immediately regretting the words as soon as they left my mouth.
Fighting with the other partners was not going to make things easier for me. I knew how to play the game. He’d be gunning for me now more than ever because I’d actually just insinuated that I knew what everyone in this office knew.
