Her mouth drops open. Two weeks of seeing Adrian nearly every day, and it was bound to happen. Shakily, I sip my water and take a few deep breaths to calm down, not responding at all to Dale.
“You’re seeing him, aren’t you?” Gail questions to my left. All eyes are on me and I fucking hate it. I knew this would happen. Office trysts always get out. I just wish it wasn’t today of all freaking days.
Dale watches me carefully, as if he’s not sure he can trust me anymore. I don’t like that feeling. It’s a sensation of being accused of something, though he is right that I’m seeing Adrian.
I nod in confirmation. The corners of Dale’s mouth turn down. “So he sleeps with you on the weekend and then fires your coworkers on Monday.”
A chill runs through me at his bluntness, but my back straightens.
Sighing, I put the bottle of water down on my desk. “That’s pretty much how it is.” My tone is bitchy yet stern as I meet his gaze head-on.
“And none of that has anything to do with the last decade of work I’ve put into this client list. So,” I say and glance over my shoulder at Gail, “back to putting together this presentation because as much as I wish fucking Adrian would save our asses, we both made it very clear that lines would not blur.” I pause, waiting for Dale to say anything at all. For Maddie or Gail to pipe up.
A long moment passes with a heat tingling at the back of my neck.
“What if you tried blow jobs too?” Maddie says, then shrugs and Dale shakes his head although there’s a hint of his smile showing.
Gail is less than impressed. “I need a moment,” is all she says before walking out, leaving that pit in my stomach to weigh heavier.
That particular feeling only grows as the day progresses. Each time, it grows and grows until I feel like I could throw up.
The rumor is confirmed within minutes. It’s easy to tell when each of them know.
Dale was correct that Adrian does the firing, and not me, but it’s me who my coworkers come to for answers when it’s done. All of them are upset, and nothing I can say offers them any comfort.
It’s as if my office becomes the place to vent. The place for them to safely unleash their anger. Unfortunately for me, it also appears to be the day the graphics department is getting culled.
So one after the other pass snide looks my way before heading to their office with empty boxes to clear out their things.
They just lost their jobs. I feel compassion for them, even the ones I didn’t get along with very well. Frustration mounts and I’m more upset than ever toward the end of the day.
A woman who’s just been let go comes into my office at three. “What the hell, Suzette?” Her face is almost white, and her voice shakes from how upset she is. “Half of the department was just let go.”
“He’s rearranging things,” I say helplessly. “I’m so sorry.”
“Let me guess, there’s nothing you can do.”
“I’m sorry,” is my only reply. I can’t give her anything else. I’m not the owner of the company; Adrian is, and I’m not even the second step down in the company. “I have no input or authority.”
“Wonderful,” she says sarcastically. “Goodbye, Suzette.”
A few minutes later, another person who has been fired storms across the hall. He turns his head and stares at me on his way past, but doesn’t say a word.
It’s not until Gail comes back, taking her seat and appearing on the verge of tears. “If you knew something, you would tell me, right?” We’ve worked together for years and I’ve never seen her like this. Her tan skin is flushed. “If I’m going to lose my job, I just need to know so—” her voice cracks and I can’t take it.
“The second I know anything—”
“Could you ask him?” She stresses, “Please?” Her dark brown eyes eyes are rimmed in red and I know she’s a mess witnessing so many layoffs so quickly and with whispers of a merger, where our jobs would no doubt overlap with others and thus, more layoffs.
“Please,” she begs me. With a nod, and a tight swallow, I agree.
“I can ask him,” I tell her and then I firm up my response. “I’ll ask him today.”
Sitting here and waiting for an answer isn’t enough, not for me and not for the team members I have left. I’ve worked far too hard for this company to let it all go to shit like this. If we lose Gail, the report we put together today is irrelevant. Clients stay with us because of the team. We can’t break down like this.