“I don’t know. I hope so. I haven’t even had time to start looking for a job and could really use one. I loved working here.”
“He better take you back. He had no business firing you in the first place. It wasn’t like you could have controlled what you’re crazy ex did; and holy shit, he is crazy. I totally understand why you ran away from him,” she grumbled.
“We’ll soon see. Is he here?” she asked.
Talia nodded. “He’s in back. Kick ass, girl. I know he loved having you here.”
“I hope so,” Katherine said with a sigh, walking behind the counter and immediately flashing back to the day when Ben had beat up Tim for trying to pull her out the door. It felt like a hundred years ago and yesterday at the same time.
She knocked on the office door, not encouraged by the gruff response for her to enter.
“Hi,” she said, hoping she sounded cheerful and upbeat.
“Have a seat,” her old boss ordered, not bothering to shake her hand or anything.
Her hopes of getting her job back were quickly evaporating. She took the seat and waited. This was his show.
“I have your last check,” he said, and handed her a paper check.
She took it. “Thank you. Is that why you called me in here? I could have picked it up anytime.”
“We needed to talk.”
“Have you reconsidered?”
His eyebrows shot up. “Reconsidered what?”
“I had hoped you realized that what happened that day was not my fault and would do the right thing and give me my job back,” she said, using a firm voice.
He looked at her as if she were crazy. “You can’t be serious.”
“I’m very serious. You fired me for something I had no control over.”
He rubbed a hand over his face. “I fired you because you brought that drama into my business. The damage done was extensive, not to mention the loss of business for that day. The regulars were worried about coming into the shop, afraid a mad man would be waiting to attack them.”
Katherine rolled her eyes. “That’s an exaggeration.”
He shook his head. “No, it isn’t. I had to close for the rest of the day while we cleaned up, talked to police and tried to put the kitchen back together.”
“I was assaulted. It isn’t like I asked for it,” she snapped.
“Your ex-husband by all accounts is the victim. Your boyfriend will be held liable for his role in the disaster and therefore, he is trespassed from the store. I am politely asking you to refrain from ever stepping foot in my shop again, but if necessary, I can make it official.”
Her mind was reeling and she couldn’t believe what she was hearing. It made no sense. She had nearly been dragged out to face who knew what kind of abuse by Tim and she was the one paying the price. And Ben. Ben was going to pay the price in a literal sense.
“You’re making a mistake. I thought you were a better man that that. Quite frankly, I’m happy I won’t be working for you. If there’s nothing else, I’ll go. Don’t worry, I will never darken your door again. Hopefully, you’ll get a nice fat check from Ben’s team and you can afford to pay Talia better than you do,” she said, standing and glaring at the man.
She was tired of being bullied by men in positions of power. He thought he had an advantage over her. He did not. She didn’t have to listen to him for another minute.
“I’m sorry, Katherine. For what it’s worth, you were a great employee. I enjoyed having you on my team.”
She stopped at the door and turned back to look at him. “It’s worth nothing. Absolutely zero.”
She strolled back through the kitchen area and out from behind the counter. Talia was wiping down tables in the small lobby.
“I’m sorry,” Katherine said, wrapping Talia in a hug.
Talia’s face fell. “Dammit. I’m sorry. I really thought he would be cool about it.”