“Just a minute,” he told Marie. “One more thing, Ms. Byrnes,” he added rapidly as I touched the handle. “You will bring us tea and sandwiches at 10:45 on the dot.”
Shit.
“Sir, I was about to say, I am not feeling well today and I have an appointment with the doctor at 11.”
He arched an eyebrow, a mocking smile on his face. “Is that right?”
“Yes. I will, however, set up everything and have Marie bring it to you wh—”
“No.”
I etched my brow in confusion. “I’m sorry? You can’t do that.”
He let out a cold laugh. “I absolutely can! Have you declared yourconditionto HR?”
“Well, no, I—”
“Therefore, I have no obligation to do anything, especially with no notice.”
I didn’t think I could have felt more disappointed than I had been before walking into his office, and yet here we were.
“Why are you doing this?” I asked, barely louder than a whisper. “I thought that after last night—” I stopped as the heaviness of unshed tears clogged my throat.
“What did you think? That you'd scored the golden ticket?” He leaned back in his seat. “Sorry to burst your bubble, but as I said, I’d wanted an encore before the end. I won’t lie, it was not worth the expectation.”
I ignored the blow. “The end?”
He nodded. “You do your job today, sign the papers I left on your desk, and you don’t have to come back. You’re free to do as you wish.”
I looked down, trying to hide how much his words hurt. I’d wanted him to do that for so long, but why was it so painful right now?
“Now go and let the investors in. I have no more time to waste.”
I straightened up and looked him square in the eyes, despite all the pain I felt. “Neither do I.”
I turned around, plastered a bright smile on my face and opened the door.
“Gentlemen, please come in. Would you like some refreshments?”
The three men shook their heads negatively before walking into the office.
“Are you sure you’re okay?” Marie asked once I closed the door behind them. “You’re awfully pale.”
I quickly glanced behind me and nodded as the men took their places at the conference table. “I’m okay. I just think I caught a bug. I’m going down to get everything for this meeting. We wouldn’t want to get St-John angrier, would we?”
She winced.
“Exactly.”
I grabbed my phone from my desk and once I reached the finance floor, I called to cancel my appointment and rebook it for the next day.
As Hugo said, I’d be free by then and my parents were taking the plane this afternoon to go on their cruise. I could go home and get everything ready for my move, and I’d be all set when they came home in three weeks.
I was glad that both finance and planning were as unprepared for the request as I had been, and whilst I suspected Hugo had done that just to make sure my last day was a pain, it allowed me to take a break from the toxicity of the top floor and to munch on the treats that were openly offered to me.
When I brought the files upstairs, I felt a little bit better after eating and I knew I could go through the day if I counted down toward my freedom.
I walked into the room, moving to set the files on the conference table.