Chapter 38
November 9, 2023
Brynn:
Went well. No mention of Lucas, no mention of daycare. Didn’t see Stacey again. Will hear after Thanksgiving.
Sienna3:
I bet you nailed it. Good luck at Dogue’s and I’ll see you tonight to celebrate.
It’s tempting to just skip going to Dogue’s in favour of drinking afternoon cocktails at the Cat’s Meow until Sienna finishes her shift at the clinic, but I need to have my moment with Doug.
He’s at the reception desk, showing a girl I haven’t seen before how to update a client’s record in the computer system. I glance towards the playroom window and don’t recognise either of the handlers. I’ve been gone for almost three weeks and already the newbies are taking over.
‘Hi Doug,’ I say, and he gives me a blank look. ‘We have an appointment.’
‘The positions have been filled,’ he says, glancing back at the confused girl.
This dick has got some nerve and if I didn’t have a plan, I would turn and walk out. ‘Doug, please don’t pretend you don’t know me—it’s just rude.’
His mouth opens and closes like a fish plucked out of water. ‘Brynn, of course. Let’s go to my office.’
Once we’re seated, I take the sheets of paper that Michael had given me out of my new black Goodwill messenger bag.
‘What’s this?’ Doug asks.
‘These are pages from some workplace law cases. This one talks about unfair dismissal after employees are injured on the job,’ I say, sliding it across the desk to him. ‘And this one is about fair dismissal processes.’ I slide the second to him and he peers at me over his glasses. ‘And this one here is from a case where an employee worked for over forty hours a week and his employer was made to provide him insurance. Apparently, if there’s precedent for cases, it makes it easier for employees to take up cases like this.’
Years of code-switching means that my words sound confident and assured, even though inside I’m anything but. I can feel sweat beading on my forehead and my stomach is twisted into knots.
‘What is this about?’ Doug says, frowning. His eyes barely flick down to the papers before returning with stone to me.
‘It’s about how you fired Cruz Lorenzo, how you fired many staff without warning and cause, and how Roberto Ortiz has worked here full time for two years without you paying him benefits that he’s entitled to.’
‘I don’t know a Cruz Lorenzo.’
I bite my lip, but I was prepared for this too. ‘You do. He was the handler you fired after one of the many fights with Spike in the big dog room. He was bitten separating the dogs and you fired him.’
‘Spike isn’t a client here anymore.’
‘I know. And I also know that you’re going to hire Cruz back.’
‘No, I’m not.’
I push the paper to him again. ‘Cruz has this information, and the name of the lawyer who passed it to me. So, whether you rehire him is totally up to you, but you should probably have a look at the compensation amount that was paid to the injured employee in the precedent case here.’
I can tell that he’s fighting the urge to look at the paper, so I stare at it and watch him glance down and scan the writing until his eyes find the payout amount. His Adam’s apple bobs in his throat.
‘You’re also going to give Robert insurance. Back- and front-dated, and you’re going to hold his position for him while he has his cancer treatment.’
‘I don’t appreciate being blackmailed, Ms Wallace,’ he says, and I roll my eyes. Now he knows my name.
‘It’s not blackmail,’ I say, taking a deep breath. Michael prepared me for this reaction and I know I need to hold my ground. ‘I’m just giving you a quiet heads-up about the contacts both Cruz and Robert have and to tell you to expect a call from their lawyer. He wanted me to drop off these too.’ I reach back into my bag and pull out a sealed manila envelope. ‘The lawyer will be in touch. It’s up to you what you do next.’
Doug takes the envelope, and I might be seeing things, but I think he looks a lot less the cool tech-bro nerd and a bit more small and worried. But then, as though he can see me really see him, he shakes his head and the cool facade is back. ‘You know, Brynn, after all the time I’ve invested in you, I’m seriously disappointed. You could have been brilliant at this job.’
As always, he turns around to show I’m dismissed. I push back my chair and head for the door, but before I open it, I turn to him.
‘Doug?’
He doesn’t turn, but he says, ‘Mmmhmm?’
‘I was brilliant at this job.’
I walk out of Dogue’s for the last time feeling relieved and, as I glance at the playroom window and see Mulligan looking at me, just a little bit sad.