Luckily the chair hid me enough that Denise wouldn’t see me wiping my tears away.
“Th-thank you. I’ll be there in a few minutes.”
“Um . . . he said now and he seemed a bit upset.”
Rolling my eyes, I now knew why my father warned me about coming to work for Granddad.
“I’ll be there in a second, Denise,” I said firmly.
“Yes, ma’am. I’ll let him know.”
Why in the hell didn’t she just call me? She had to come in here and tell me.
Once the door shut, I spun around and grabbed my purse. Searching for my cell phone, I pulled up my favorites. If I called my sister, she would try to reason with me.
I didn’t want to call Lauren. She was too happy with her pregnancy news.
That left Libby, Grace, or Alex.
Looking up, I stared off into space.
He was scared.
Sitting up straighter, I pulled up my address book and found the number I was looking for.
After three rings he answered.
“Taylor, I mean Ms. Atwood, it’s a pleasure hearing from you so soon.”
Smiling, I tried to ignore the tightness in my chest.
“Mr. Burns, I was wondering if your invite to lunch was still open?”
I could practically hear the excitement in his voice. “Yes, it is.”
“I’ll meet you in the lobby in ten minutes.”
“See you then.”
Hitting End, I dropped the phone back into my purse and grabbed my compact. Checking to make sure my make-up was okay, I snapped it shut and stood. I smoothed out my pencil skirt and took a deep breath.
The phone on my desk buzzed. “Ms. Atwood, he is waiting.”
Heat surged through me as I moved around the desk and made my way to Grandfather’s office.
“I’m done letting men walk over me. It’s time I was the one in control.”
Pulling the door to my office open, I walked out and headed toward his office.
“As of this moment, I’m starting a new life.”
My father and mother stood in front of me with stunned expressions as I chewed on the corner of my lip.
“What do you mean . . . you quit?” my father asked in a stunned voice.
Rubbing my elbow in a nervous manner, I repeated what I had just said in a wavering voice. “I quit. Granddad wasn’t very pleased, but . . .”
“I could imagine he wouldn’t be very happy about that, Taylor. Why in the world would you leave a perfectly good paying job? Do you know how many college graduates would give their right arm for a job like that?”