Chapter 8
Chapter
Eight
“Morning, ladies!” I grinned, seeing Cheryl jump in fright. I strode into the office in my new sky-high heels and placed my laptop bag on my desk.
“Susan.” Yvette recovered first. “Good morning. I… uh… I didn’t expect to see you.”
“Oh?” My smile was serene. I knew why. Cheryl had already started the termination process. She’d jumped the gun on getting me fired. “Why is that?”
She glanced down at Cheryl, then looked back up at me. “I was under the impression that you wouldn’t be coming in.”
“Of course I’m coming in. Why wouldn’t I, Yvette? Was there some sort of communication I missed?”
She looked at me for a moment but said nothing.
I took pity on her. This wasn’t her fault.
Yvette and I were very similar, both ambitious corporate baddies, uber-managers, smashers of glass ceilings.
Yvette was ten years older than me. Up until now, she was under the impression that she was my mentor.
Yvette was a great manager, and she played the game very well.
But I was better.
I kept an easy smile on my face. “As you know, I worked from home yesterday due to some unforeseen circumstances, but I did convey to you that I’ve rescheduled my meetings, and all work is up to date.”
More than up to date, in fact. My budgets had been approved, next quarter’s schedules had been drafted, the monthly team leader catch-up had been penciled in, and I’d already sent proposals for process improvements through to the executive team for consideration, based on what I’d learned from the brethren.
And most of that had been done on my first day as department manager.
This job was a piece of cake. I could do it with my eyes closed and carrots stuffed in my ears.
They both stared at me in silence for a moment. I cocked my head. “Is there something I can help you with?”
Cheryl finally recovered and leapt to her feet. “Let’s take this to the meeting room, shall we?”
“Sure,” I said breezily. I held open the door. “After you.”
Yvette walked out first, shooting Cheryl a look I understood well—You better not be wasting my fucking time.
I grinned at Cheryl, who was still trying to maneuver herself around my ergonomic chair. She didn’t look at me as she walked out of my office, but I saw her square her jaw, a determined look on her face.
Cheryl was fixing to have me fired, no matter what. She was so confident she’d already canceled my security pass.
She had no idea who she was dealing with.
I waited until they were both settled in their seats in the meeting room, and strode inside, with Cecil trotting right beside me.
I shut the door behind me. “So, ladies.” I took the Feng Shui Power Chair at the head of the table.
Both of them had sat in the middle. Amateurs. “What can I do for you today?”
Yvette looked at Cheryl and raised an eyebrow.
Cheryl stared at me mulishly. I could almost hear her mind ticking. She was wondering how to proceed. Finally, she opened her mouth, “We’re in the process of terminating your employment here at Base Budget Insurance.”
“Straight to the point.” I grinned and shot little finger guns at her. “Why is that, Cheryl?”
Her jaw jutted out. “Several reasons, actually. First, you lied on your resume.”
I leaned back in my chair and crossed my legs. “Did I?”
“You said that you couldn’t disclose your previous employment due to a non-disclosure agreement.”
“No, I didn’t. You asked me about the gap in my resume, and I said I couldn’t elaborate due to an NDA. Which is entirely true.”
Her eyes sparked with fury. “You were in jail.”
My smile didn’t waver. “I can’t comment due to an NDA.”
“You were arrested and charged with a crime, Susan.” Cheryl squared her shoulders. “From what I understand, you were incarcerated for two years. The non-disclosure agreement is irrelevant.”
“Oh, it’s not irrelevant, Cheryl. It’s actually quite pertinent to events. Especially now,” I added, intentionally cryptic. “But I can’t comment due to an NDA.”
Yvette cleared her throat. I could tell she wasn’t enjoying this one bit. “Susan. You need to understand that this is very serious. I would have expected you to disclose something like this in your interview. Either your team leader interview, or the department manager interview.”
“I take contracts very seriously, Yvette. Disclosure would lead to questions that, at the time, I was unable to answer. It has no effect on my ability to do my job.” I needed to establish an important point upfront, so I fixed her with my most commanding stare.
“Would you agree that my results have been exemplary, so far? As a team leader, as well as in the few short days I’ve been department manager? ”
“Well, yes, you have certainly impressed me. But?—”
“Don’t answer that!” Cheryl butted in, too late.
Yvette shot her a glare.
“You’re not being terminated because of your work.” Cheryl bunched her fists. “You’re being terminated for deception. We approved you for the job based on your character, and we’ve just found out that your character is circumspect.”
“Is it?” I smiled at her. “How so?”
“You were arrested for attempted murder!”
“And I was found not guilty.” Not guilty by reason of insanity was still not guilty. “I’m not a felon, Cheryl.”
Her jaw tightened.
I wondered what she was going to go for next.
She was obviously getting gossip from somewhere.
My arrest and the charges were a matter of public record, but my commitment to the psychiatric hospital was sealed.
She obviously knew I’d been in the psych ward, but she’d open up a whole can of worms if she went there.
“It speaks to your character,” Cheryl bit out. “You deceived us.”
“It would only be indicative of a flaw in my character if I had disclosed my arrest,” I replied, uncrossing my legs and re-crossing them. “I don’t break contracts.”
Cheryl stared at me for a moment, calculating her next move. “That’s not all. You’ve been absent from the office on a few occasions. First, as a team leader, when you disappeared for the whole afternoon?—”
“No.” Yvette cut her off with a sharp shake of the head. “That was out of her control.” It was when I’d gone to the mermaid realm and come back soaking wet, and Cress, bless her, had dressed up as a cop and told Yvette a wild story about me stopping a jewel heist. “Don’t go there, Cheryl.”
“You brought a service animal into the office without clearing it with us.”
I smiled. “You’re reaching. I don’t have to clear it with you. Or are you terminating me because of my disability?”
My lie buzzed over my skin. I felt a tiny twinge of guilt, but it was for a good cause.
Cheryl glared. “And you were absent for the whole day yesterday without any notice. You missed your scheduled interviews.”
“They’ve all been rescheduled, and, like I said, all my work is up to date.
I reported to Lydia, the operations manager, and she was fine with it.
We’re not required to be in the office one hundred percent of the time, so it’s not a fireable offense.
And, for what it’s worth, my absence yesterday was out of my control, too.
” My phone buzzed in my pocket; I pulled it out and checked the screen.
Right on time. “Perhaps it would be better if I had someone else explain.”
Cheryl blustered. “There is no need for that. It’s over, Susan. We’re terminating your employment, effective immediately. There’s no point bringing anyone else in here. I’ve already alerted security, and they will be up to escort you out of the building in a moment.”
“Oh, this meeting isn’t over. I reject all your accusations.” I stood up. “But if you insist on moving forward with my termination, I have the right to have my lawyer present for this.” I walked to the meeting room door.
Yvette held up her hands, palms out. “You don’t need a lawyer, Susan.” She let out an exasperated breath and turned to Cheryl. “Perhaps we should reschedule this for another time.”
I smiled “Oh, no. You’re going to want to hear this, Yvette.”
Cheryl exploded. “She’s a lying, scheming jailbird! You’ve already signed off on her termination, Yvette. She’s fired!” She stabbed a finger in my direction. “You need to get your things and leave, now, Susan. This is a waste of all our time!”
Martina walked into the room. “It’s not a waste of my time. I bill by the hour.” She looked at Cheryl, derision in her eyes, and turned to Yvette. “I’ve got the wrongful dismissal suit drafted and ready to go, if you want to proceed with her termination.”
Yvette stared back at Martina, her expression thoughtful—one A-type instantly recognizing another.
I introduced her. “My lawyer, Martina Norwood.”
She shook Yvette’s hand, deliberately ignoring Cheryl. Cheryl’s face had turned so red she looked like a blazing sunrise.
“Have a seat,” Yvette finally said. “I’m interested to know the facts.” She arched an eyebrow and fired the first shot. “Before we begin, you should know that this is an insurance company, Ms. Norwood. We spend a lot of money on our lawyers.”
“Oh, I know.” Martina didn’t smile as she settled into the seat on my left. “Burkman, Sims, and Hassel is the firm retained by your parent company.”
“So, you know what you’re up against.”
“Indeed.” The hard line of Martina’s lips twitched. “They keep sending me offers of employment.”
Yvette’s mouth thinned. Round one to Martina.
Cheryl snarled. “This is stupid. A pathetic delaying tactic.”
Martina opened her briefcase and pulled out several files. “I’ll make this as succinct as I can. There is no lawful reason to terminate Ms. Moore’s employment here. You have already confirmed via email that her work is more than satisfactory.”
“She lied in her interviews!” Cheryl spat out.
“She did no such thing. It’s true that she was arrested for attempted murder. It was downgraded to attempted manslaughter, and she was found not guilty by reason of insanity and spent almost two years in a psychiatric facility.”