“I would be happy to,” she said. Then she stood up and began to tell me her plan.
* * *
The rest of the legal team joined us in the middle of Lily’s presentation, and when she was done stating her case, everyone including me agreed that she was more than ready to take this guy to court.
I told her she was in charge of the case from here on out, and when I saw how genuinely happy that made her, I got the sense that maybe there was a chance the two of us could be friendly again. Everyone began filing out of the meeting room until it was once again just Lily and I. She helped me organize my papers back into their proper folders, then scooped them all up and tucked them under her arm.
“You don’t mind if I take these do you?” she asked.
“Not at all,” I said. “I drew them up to help you with the case, so they are all yours.” I chuckled. “Though I had a completely different idea of where this meeting was going to go, so perhaps none of it will be all that helpful.”
“We’ll see,” she said. She was about to walk out the door when I stopped her.
“Lily,” I said. She turned to look at me. “Uh… Nice job today. I can see why we hired you.”
“Thanks,” she said. Her voice softened and I saw her shoulders sink a little, as if she was for the first time that morning, actually feeling relaxed around me. “For the compliment and also for believing in me. I am not going to let you down.”
“I know you won’t,” I said. “Especially considering your job is on the line. Don’t forget about our little deal.”
The smile wavered a little on her face.
She knows I’m joking right?
“Sure,” she said. “Right. I won’t forget about our deal.” Then, she said something under her breath as she reached for the door. I didn’t hear all of it, but I did hear the word ‘jerk’. Something inside me snapped, and I was filled with the same anger I felt before when she called me a coward, only this time I wasn’t able to keep my frustrations at bay.
“It is amazing to me,” I said. “That you have managed to get so far in your career with such a childish, insolent attitude.”
“Me?” She gawked. “You’re the one always making underhanded comments. I don’t know if it’s some sort of power play or what, but trust me, I get it. You’re the big bad boss, you’re the head honcho, don’t worry, I’m not trying to knock you down a peg. I’m just trying to do my damn job.”
“So am I!”
“Oh yeah?” She dropped the files on the table and walked straight up to me, getting right in my face. “And what exactly do you think your job is? Is it your job to tear down your employees? Is it your job to personally insult them, and bring up memories of the most devastating day of their entire life?”
“I—” I didn’t know how to respond to that. In all honesty, I had absolutely no idea what she was talking about. “What?”
She groaned. “Oh, never mind. It’s not worth it. I have work to do.” She spun on her heel and marched out of the conference room before I could say anything else. I noticed she left the folders behind but when I grabbed them and went to chase after her, she had already disappeared into the elevator and the doors were closing.
“Damnit,” I said softly to myself. “So much for things being friendly between us.”
ChapterSeven
LILY
That night when I got home from work, I paced around my tiny apartment and went through the conversation I’d had with David in my head over and over again.
What exactly had happened? Why had he taken what was otherwise a pleasant moment and ruined it by reminding me that he would fire me if I didn’t win this case? It was just like what he did last week when he commented on being left at the altar. Everything was going fine, and then he justhadto say something rude and ruin the moment. Knowing what I did about his father—both through the articles I’d read on the company, as well as what I’d overheard through the office gossip grapevine—it was clear that David was out to prove something. What I didn’t understand was why he felt the need to prove it to me?
I was a small fish in the company, so it didn’t make sense for him to be so concerned with making sure I understood the power dynamics. As he made so abundantly clear earlier that day, he had the power to fire me whenever he wanted. So, why was he always so insistent on cutting me down and on having the last word? Was he just a workplace bully?
Or… was it possible that I was simply misunderstanding him…?
Again, I started the conversation over in my head but still came to the same conclusion. He was an asshole, and I was right to be upset. Logically, however, I thought it might be good to seek out the opinion of a third party. Plus, I just wanted a friend to vent to. I tried calling Rose first, having taken to heart what Gina said on Friday. Maybe Rose was just busy, she did have a child to take care of as well as a full-time job after all.
The call went to voicemail after the second ring and since I knew Rose to be one of those people who not only always had her phone charged, but who also always had a phone charger with her just in case, I knew there was a very slim chance her phone was off or dead. No, I was pretty sure she ignored my call. Just as she had the last few times I had tried to get in touch with her.
“Rude,” I said to myself before placing a call to my other friend Stephanie. She picked up three rings in and greeted me with her cheery voice.
“Hey Lily!” she said. I could practically hear her smiling through the phone. “How funny, I was just thinking about you and then you called.”