I could tell he was smirking when he said, “Tired, are we?”
Smart-ass.
“No, not at all. I had plenty of sleep last night. It’sprobably the boring conversation.” I slammed my hand over my mouth. Did I really just say that? Well, it served him right for calling me at 1:00 a.m. to tell me to be here at seven for an early meeting, which just happened to be called off when I arrived.Jerk.
Think of the money.
At least he’d had to be awake to call me, so I hoped he was tired too.
“You should prioritize your sleep so you’re not falling asleep at work. Send the call through, please.” He was having way too much fun at my expense.Stupid rich man.
I gritted my teeth and crunched on the insults I wanted to voice.Chew them, pulverize them, swallow them, Faith. It’s not worth it.
I hung up the intercom and picked up the phone, taking a moment to squash the urge to hang up on Marvin. I’d enjoy calling Curtis and telling him Marvin’s call dropped out. “Putting you through, sir.”
After a couple of minutes composing myself and breathing out the anger, I wondered who Marvin Black was. I hadn’t heard of him before. Was he a friend or a client? He didn’t sound famous—I knew Knight Advertising agented for all sorts of sports stars, actors, and musicians as well as running normal client campaigns.
“Donut Girl, you look spaced out.”
I turned and smiled. “Hey, Destiny. How goes it down in marketing?” I had FOMO. I missed coming up with witty slogans and copy and the brainstorming we did as a team to tighten things. Being a PA with only a bosshole to communicate with was not my happy place.
“Same old, same old. We miss you. Before they put you on, we were a bit short-staffed. I don’t see why they had to move you here. Couldn’t they just get someone else?”
“Um… I think they’re looking for someone now, but it was so sudden, Margie leaving.”
“I heard she’s sick.”
I had to tread carefully and give as little away as possible, not to mention that Margie’s illness was her own business. “Yeah. I don’t know the details, but I think she’s coming back in a few months.”
Her eyes widened. “We’re going to be without you that long? Please tell me it’s not true.”
I shrugged. “I don’t know. Maybe Mr. Grumpypants will get sick of me before then and send me back. We can hope.”
She glanced at the door as if worried we’d get busted talking smack about the boss. She leaned closer to me and whispered, “But he’s so hot. Aren’t you having just a little bit of fun?”
I glared at his closed door. “He hates me, and I don’t know why. Remember in the meeting with Queen Victoria? He was pretty short with me.”
Destiny giggled. “You were a bit spacey then, though. Maybe he was having a bad day?”
I sighed. “If that’s the case, he has a bad day every day. He called me at one last night to tell me to come in early for a meeting, and then it was canceled. I’ve had about four hours’ sleep. I also suspect he did it just to mess with me.”
Her mouth made anO. “Surely not. That doesn’t sound like him. He’s usually really nice and encouraging with me and the team… at least from what I’ve seen. I don’t peg him as a game player.”
It was time to change the subject before I said something I shouldn’t. “What are you guys working on down there? Anything fun?”
“A new chocolate bar for Morrison’s. We even got a free box to sample.”
I folded my arms. “Where’s mine? Sheesh, I’m gone for five minutes, and you’ve already forgotten me.”
“I’ll bring you one later. Anyway, just wanted to check on you, see what was going on.”
“I miss you guys. Hope I can come back soon.”
The door opened, and Mr. Grumpy Bosshole himself came out. He paused for a moment, taking in me and Destiny. Then he did something he had done approximately once since I’d been working for him.
He smiled.
At Destiny.
