CHRISTOPHER
I bristled with anger as I barged into the bathroom. Who did that bitch think she was? The sight of my coffee-drenched hair and stained shirt infuriated me further. Turning on the tap, I tried to wash the coffee out as I best as I could but it wasn't coming off. Hissing, I made my way to the walk-in closet in my office. Picking out another shirt, I quickly changed. The meeting was the most important thing right now.
As I neared, a ping from my phone caught my attention. Frowning at the caller ID, I picked up. "What?"
"What the fuck do you mean?" I growled as the voice on the other end began to narrate an unnecessarily long story. The bottom line was that we had lost a contract because my date for the meeting with the company had not been relayed to me by my very incompetent staff.
I gritted my teeth, hanging up so I wouldn't say anything else. I would deal with those buffoons later. I looked up from my phone, noting how silent the conference room had become when I had walked in. As I turned to take my seat, my eyes caught an unfamiliar young woman standing in the back of the room.
I narrowed my eyes. She wasn't a partner or a manager either, else she wouldn't be standing. When I unsuccessfully tried to get a glimpse at her face, I spoke up.
"Hey, you! Who are you?"
She hesitated, her hair framing one side of her face. Before I could say more, Tamara had stood. "Morning, Mr Smith. This is Melanie Willow. She was here for the job interview yesterday, and has been hired as your new secretary."
My eyes flew back to the woman, and as she pulled her hair behind and faced me fully, I felt myself stiffen.
Those eyes. Those defiant eyes. She was the bitch from the coffee shop. I felt my chest swell with anger. She had the effrontery to walk in here despite everything that transpired? From the look on her face I could tell that she remembered me. But still she looked me squarely in the face. The fact that she didn't even seem scared ticked me off.
"You're fired," I stated crisply. "Get out!"
Satisfied by the look of despair on her face I took my seat, ignoring the questioning looks from all around the room. "Now. Can I see the pitches you have prepa—"
"Why?"
I heard a voice interrupt me. Turning to see who would dare, my heart pounded when I saw it was the same Melanie girl.
"Excuse me?"
"Why are you firing me? What did I do?"
"I am your boss and I have every right to fire you. Stop questioning my orders and get out."
"No."
My jaw dropped as I faced her. Who the hell was this woman?
"Whomever I refer to as my boss is the one who hired me. And that is clearly not you. Kane Smith is the only one who has the right to fire me. Now, if that's clear enough for you we can proceed."
The conference room was so silent you could hear a pin drop. Who did she think she was? I felt my fists clenching and unclenching as this woman defiantly matched my glare, daring me to do my worst. And to my disgust, there was nothing I could do about it for the moment.
MELANIE
"What on earth was that?" Tamara asked me her eyes as wide as saucers and I could tell that she was torn between fear and excitement.
Trying not to laugh at her expression, I briefly narrated the coffee shop incident.
"Oh. My. God. You emptied a cup of coffee over Christopher Smith's head? That is insane, Melanie!"
I shrugged. "He deserved it. He was being a dick and that is no way to treat people, regardless of if they are your employees or not."
Tamara stared at me in confusion. After a while she began to snicker, muffling her mouth with the back of her hand. "Girl, I need your confidence. You think I can get some at Target?"
She said it with such a serious face that I couldn't help but laugh. Coupled with the fact that it sounded like something Emily would say.
After we had laughed about it for a while, she nudged me. "I think you should apologize though."
What? I turned to her, my eyebrows raised.
"Hold on, before you crucify me. You're going to be working with him. And I don't think it helps if you two have this thing going on."
I folded my arms. "I don't regret anything that happened. And if I had another chance, knowing he's my boss as well, I would have done the exact same thing."
Tamara chuckled. "I don't want you to, either. But everyone knows how he is. And it would be terrible if he somehow gets to you through his father."
After a few minutes of silence, I huffed. "I'll think about it."
She only nodded. We talked for a while longer and then returned to our work stations. I hadn't done a lot today. I mostly just sat in my chair, going through the last secretary's notes. I let out a gasp at the nasty things she had written about her boss. Well, someone was quite thirsty.
An hour later I was tired of going through the notes. I had about thirty minutes before i would be done with work for the day. I lazily glanced at the office door, remembering the conversation I had had with Tamara. I didn't want to apologize for anything but I knew she was right.
Taking a deep breath, I proceeded to the door. When I knocked twice without an answer, I walked in. He looked up from his computer, scowling when he saw me.
"What are you doing in here?" He demanded.
My jaw clenched from the nasty tone he was using, and I bit back the retort that was at the tip of my tongue. For a second I wanted to change my mind. But instead I faced him.
"I'm sorry about what happened earlier at the café. I overreacted and I crossed the line, I really shouldn't have done that."
He glared at me. "And the conference room?"
Did he seriously expect me to apologize for that?
"I had every right to stand my ground. So I see no reason why I should apologize."
The shocked look that crossed his face made me smile internally.
"I just wanted to clear the air between us. I have no intention of quitting my job either. I am going to be as efficient and diligent as possible for satisfactory results. That's all I wanted to say. Enjoy the rest of your day," I finished, feeling his eyes stab my back as I exited the office.