Dad had no idea about the extravagant party I’d planned. But Cora did.
I took a deep, steadying breath while Derek asked, “Everything okay?”
I gritted out, “Yes,” while my mind raced through the next steps.
I’d have to tell my assistant to cancel the event. Two hundred invitations would need to be withdrawn. I would look bad, which was what Cora had been aiming for, but that didn’t matter.
Alex’s voice echoed in my memory:“The man only relies on you when he needs your expertise, Jonah. Not when it’s time for him to show up as family.”
Frustration settled over me as I walked to the glass wall of my office, joining Derek at the window. From the fortieth floor, Manhattan looked miniature.
I moved past Derek to the sleek, custom-built bar cart in the corner and reached for an empty whiskey glass.
I poured whiskey for both of us and handed Derek his glass.
“What’s new with you?” I asked after we’d had a few sips in silence. “Got any new goofball ideas that I can laugh at today?”
Derek grinned. “Come on. The anonymous employee feedback tablet wasn’t all that bad.”
I raised my eyebrows in mock surprise. “You mean getting suggestions to treat our five-thousand-employee company to free lunch every Friday wasn’t that bad?”
Derek bit back a grin, his eyes glinting with mischief. “I’m sure I can find one that’ll outdo that,” he said, reaching for the tablet he’d brought with him. He scrolled through the recent responses, his face lighting up with amusement as he searched for something even more outrageous.
Suddenly, Derek stiffened and stopped scrolling.
It was enough to catch my attention. Anything to distract me from the frustration of Dad canceling our plans.
“How bad is it?” I asked, draining my glass of whiskey and holding out my hand for the tablet.
His eyes widened, and he hesitated before grudgingly placing the tablet in my hand.
I looked at the words that stared back at me, almost comical in their venomous intent.
Subject: A Heartfelt Farewell from the Soon-to-Be-Unemployed
Dear Mr. Walkers,
Wow. Just wow. It’s truly impressive how you’ve managed to turn “company updates” into a game of corporate musical chairs, except, oops, looks like my whole internship program just got removed from the playlist. Bold strategy!
I must say, I deeply admire the commitment to transparency. Finding out my job was doomed first via office gossip and then by your executive jargon in that email, just hours after my orientation really added a thrilling sense of mystery to my first day. It’s almost like you wanted to create a toxic, trust-free work environment. If so, mission accomplished!
But hey, no hard feelings. I’m sure replacing skilled, dedicated employees with whatever cost-cutting nonsense you have planned will work out just fine. I, for one, am thrilled to be leaving before the ship finishes sinking. And don’t worry, I’ll be sure to mention this fantastic leadership strategy to anyone considering working here. In fact, I think I’ll make it my personal mission.
Best of luck with the fallout. You’re going to need it.
Toodles,
A Soon-to-Be Ex-Employee
My blood boiled as I finished reading the message. But I restrained my temper, handing the tablet back to Derek and refilling my glass of whiskey. Forget leaving the glass half full. I’d need to drink the whole damn bottle to drown out the words this bastard had written.
“If only the responses weren’t anonymous...” I said before something occurred to me.
I walked back to my desk and pressed the intercom button to summon my administrative assistant, Kacie, while Derek stared, wide-eyed.
Kacie, a tall woman with sharp green eyes that missed nothing, arrived within a minute.
“How many interns do we have in the engineering department?” I asked.
