CHAPTER THIRTY-SIX
FOUR MONTHS LATERand Joy was well-entrenched at Skeffington. But because of their relationship, William decided not to let her become one of the assistants in his office but, instead, he made her Bobby’s assistant. Now that Bobby understood the boundaries, William trusted him explicitly to guide Joy properly.
It was a great decision. Joy had a great work ethic and within mere weeks she was out-performing every individual under Bobby’s command. She worked circles around all of them, which began to create petty jealousies and backbiting and vicious rumors about Joy sleeping her way to the top. She was out-performing her way to the top, and every one of them knew it, but they still spread those falsehoods about her anyway.
William became so angry when he heard about it that he considered firing every one of them. He’d done it once, when they disrespected Bobby’s authority, he could easily do it again. Enough was enough.
But on reflection he decided to leave them where they were, since they were good workers just not as good as Joy, and he, instead, moved Joy out of Bobby’s office. He promoted her to Junior Executive under the supervision of one of his best vice presidents. Although she circumvented JEP, she excelled even without going through the rigors of their junior executive training program. She was a star in the junior executive ranks too. Which her former colleagues hated. But they were so quick to falsely accuse her of sleeping her way to the top that William gave her a fast track to that top. He gave them something real totalk about. And to William and Joy’s delight, those same former colleagues hated that more.
That promotion also gave Joy a big corner office on the eighteenth floor with sweeping views of the Chicago skyline that was so far beyond the office job she had envisioned for herself that she sometimes had to pinch herself. Although she and William were a definite item – she worked her ass off and made her own money, drove a car she purchased, and paid her own rent in a beautiful high-rise apartment. Although she spent almost every night with William at his house, she still had her own.God bless the child that’s got her own, was what Gramps always told her, and she believed it too. She had no idea it was a Billie Holliday song until years later!
And Gramps, she thought as she sat in that office and reviewed the latest police report for one of her clients that managed to get himself arrested again. He wanted perfect PR, but he never wanted to behave perfectly. Now, for his latest offense, he was looking at serious prison time.
But Gramps was on her mind. She did everything in her power to get him to come and live with her in Chicago, but he refused outright.
And he refused with gusto: “They call that place Chi-Raq,” he’d say every time. “Like it’s worse than the real I-Raq. Like it’s a war zone. I ain’t living there!”
She told him countless times it was nothing like that, but he didn’t believe her. He wouldn’t even let William purchase him a house in Bridell! He’d lived where he was staying all his life. There was nothing wrong with his house, he said. He wasn’t leaving his home.
The only thing he did agree to do was to allow Joy to pay his granddaughter to be his full-time caretaker. She didn’t have to work a job. Taking care of him was her job. Which she lovedand he loved and Joy was happy with too. But that was the only thing he would ever allow her to give to him.
She wanted to go see him again, because she missed him, but William forbid it. Until they found Felicity, or at least figured out why that gunman had targeted William but put Joy in his crosshairs, he was not allowing her to travel outside of Chicago. Everywhere she went, a security detail followed her. Not because she was Joy Johnson. But because she was Mr. Skeffington’s Joy. Which she wasn’t mad at. That was her favorite title!
“Miss Johnson?”
It was her secretary peeping into her office.
“Yes, Khadedra?”
“Your client, Miss Jarickson, phoned while you were on the other line.”
“Did she keep her court appearance?”
“Yes ma’am. She told me to tell you that your smear campaign worked and the judge tossed the case out.”
It wasn’t a smear campaign, it was a strategy, but a win was a win. Joy threw her fist in the air. “Yes!” she said happily. Then she looked at Khadedra. “Please tell me the judge tossed that case with prejudice?”
“She didn’t mention anything like that. What does that mean, Miss Johnson?”
“If he tosses the casewithprejudice that means they can’t re-file it again. If he tosses itwithoutprejudice, that means she’s still on the hook. Call her attorney and find out.”
“Yes ma’am.”
Joy’s cellphone began ringing.
“Do you want to speak with him when I get him on the phone?”
“No,” said Joy as she grabbed her cellphone. “That won’t be necessary.” And her secretary left and closed the door behind her.
When Joy looked at the Caller ID and saw that it was Contessa, she smiled. And answered quickly. “Hey girl, what up?”
“What’s up with you?”
“Work and more work. Did you turn in that application like I told you?”
“Are you kidding? I e-signed it and emailed it right back to HR as soon as they sent it to me. I can’t wait to be a receptionist at Skeffington PR. Remember when we didn’t even know what PR meant?”
Joy smiled. “You know I do. But it’s not that receptionist position you’re applying for.”
