Where did I go wrong today?
My first thought is of the woman. The one who beat the shit out of me. I really did startle her. I guess it’s not cool to run up to someone and just grab their leg. Sure, I knew that. But in my defense, I honest to God thought she was going to fall. Even if it wasn’t into traffic, she could have gotten hurt, so I’m going to stop second-guessing my reaction.
No. I did the right thing.
With a sigh, I sit back up and stare down at my notes from the meeting—just stare trancelike for more than fifteen minutes. When a knock sounds on my door, I jump. “Come in.”
I watch the knob turn slowly, and then a big foot covered in a shoe that costs more than my rent moves into my office. Graham.
“Hey, boss.”
“Ben,” he says after shutting my door. He takes a moment to look around my office. It’s nothing special. Gray walls, two gray filing cabinets, gray desk, black chair. You get the idea. His expression tells me everything I need to know. He’s not impressed. “You need a poster or something in here, Ben. It’s depressing as fuck.”
It is. It really is. “Sure. I’ll work on that.”
Not.
“Good.” He nods absently. When he looks at me, he’s not smiling. Ha! Funny. Graham Morgan isn’t a smiley kind of guy, so why am I even wondering why he’s got that grimace on his face?
“What can I do for you, Graham?” I need to get this over with.
“Well, I’m here for two reasons.”
I stare up at him.Two reasons?
“One, your presentation was a disappointment.”
Already well aware.
“According to Lindsay, your social media data was way off.”
“My data?” What’s he talking about?
“Two, Clive—”
“Clive?” Maybe he’s in trouble. He’s the one who fucking double-checked my data….
“Clive is needed elsewhere.”
“Elsewhere?” Fucking Clive. I’m not sure what to say to all of that. I should probably ask him if I’m about to be fired, but that’s the wrong way to approach this. The only thing I can think to do is nod and say, “Okay.”
“We’re moving him.”
“But he’s my assistant.” What the hell is going on?
“Not anymore. We’ll see about getting you another one.”
He’ll see about it? I’m not sure why I’m repeating everything the guy is saying in my head. Probably because I can’t seem to wrap my brain around any of this.
“If he’s not my assistant, what’s he going to do?”
“Special projects liaison.”
Special projects liaison? What the hell is a special projects liaison?
“You can give HR a call and see if they have someone who can fill in for Clive until this is all settled. In the meantime, his office will be next to yours.”
With a slow nod, I give Graham one of my patented smiles. One that means absolutely nothing. “I’m sure Clive appreciates the opportunity.”
