I don’t even really need to look over any of it because I’ve been keeping an eye on her performance the entire time she’s worked for me. She’s a model employee, albeit one with zero closed sales or new accounts or anything, but then again, I kind of tied her hands with respect to that on day one. I know exactly what she’s going to say when I bring it up.
“You’ve attached me to Celia and given me no opportunity to go out and do any of this on my own. You set me up to fail.”
Yes, I did.However, her experience was truthfullynotenough to handle being out on her own. And soon, I’m going to give her the ability to get out of here if she wants to, and I can’t imagine she’d actually want to keep working here if she doesn’t have to.
But first, she has to help me with something.
This’ll be a win-win for both of us. She’ll have the ability to quit, and I’ll have so much fucking money that I can finally set Archer up in a way that he'll be able to really,trulyfix himself, and he finally won’t be my goddamned problem anymore.
And… I’m going to gift myself two days of indulging in that hope and temptation enough that I’ll finally be able to permanently shuck it off my shoulders. That way if Elle, for whatever absurd reason, decides tonotquit, I won’t be constantly plagued with thoughts of forbidden fruit.
That said, Elle’s not going to like this idea. Not one bit. She would hate the idea even if Ihadn’tbeen a dick to her this whole time, just because it’s so…ethically questionable.
Butthatsaid, I’m going to make it worth her while in a big way.
Everybody’s got a price.
And I’m willing to bet hers has six zeros attached to it.
3
I’M ABOUT TO GET fired, and there’s nothing I can do about it.
After printingtwocopies of the accounts I’ve been working on with Celia andstaplingthem—fuck you very much, Colin Flannery—I resist the urge to check my reflection and head to his office. After all, he told me on my very first day, this review is going to be a shitshowregardless of how fancy my outfit is.
Fuck you, indeed,Colin.
Ihatehim.
I’m actually very relieved that I’m about to get fired. Because Ireallyhate him, and yet, I still find him totally sexy despite his dickishness. This would be easier if he wasn’t hot AF. Few things in life can make you feel like an idiot like being attracted to an asshole can.
Ugh.
Whatever. I have bigger problems than being attracted to an asshole. Such as, I have no job leads despite having started looking weeks ago in preparation for the firing I know is going to happen today.
Hopefully, Colin will at least have the good graces to keep this review short so I can spend the rest of my day drowning my sorrows in Nutella and out-of-season Hallmark movies before getting a jump on the job hunt tomorrow.
Colin doesn’t look up when I knock on the door frame and merely mumbles, “Shut the door and sit down, Kissinger.”
Since he’s not looking up, I let my eyes roll so hard they nearly fall out of my head as I close the door. Also since he’s not looking up, I shamelessly let myself ogle the sight of his bare forearms, exposed from him having rolled up the sleeves of his white Oxford shirt to his elbows.
It’s a known fact of the universe that guys become one thousand percent hotter when they roll up their sleeves to their elbows. Colin is no exception. The corded muscles of his forearms are rippling and pulsing like they’ve got a heartbeat while he scribbles something on a form, and there’s justsomethingabout it. Add the loosened slate blue tie at his neck, and I’m drowning in a sea of deconstructed suit porn.
Ireallyhate him. And I hate that he still gets to me like this even more.
I take a seat in the empty chair in front of his desk and set the two stapled stacks on top of it, inching one slightly toward him. Crossing my legs, I throw my shoulders back in faux confidence. He’s going to fire me, but I will not lose my dignity or self-respect over it.
After making me wait longer than necessary—something I’m sure he’s doing on purpose—Colin turns his icy blue eyes up to my face and folds his hands on the desk. “I warned you on your first day that if I didn’t see some kind of miraculous performance from you between then and this review, I would shit-can you on the spot.” He pauses and arches one dark eyebrow. “How do you feel your performance has been for the past six months?”
I offer a single, slow blink. “Notmiraculous.”
Fire me already, douchebag. I’ve got Nutella and Christmas rom-com waiting for me, and they’re way more appealing than even you and your forearm porn.
He cocks his head. “Correct. And I assume you’re prepared for me to fire you today.”
I purse my lips and mimic his inclined head. “Yup.”
He picks up the stack of paper I slid toward him and sets it aside. “Well, I’m not going to.”
