Maybe he’s here to see someone. Maybe he isn’t actually the boss.
It seemed unlikely, though. Who the hell visits an office only to take a seat at someone else’s desk? I racked my brain for any explanation as to how I missed this. I searched my brain for anything that could have tipped me off to the drastic mistake I had just made. But, as I filtered through the three rounds of interviews as well as the building tour I’d had last week, there had been nothing signaling me.
There had been nothing warning me about this.
“Shit,” I hissed.
I planted my hands onto the bathroom counter and hung my head. I drew in a few deep breaths, trying to piece myself together as much as possible. I couldn’t screw this up. I had to stick it out, at least for a couple of paychecks. Accounting jobs weren’t easy to come by, and while I wasn’t elated at the idea of putting my Finance degree to work like this, I was ready for the peaceful existence. High school had been wild, growing up with my older sister had been wilder, and all I wanted was to just… be.
All I wanted was to exist within the confines of my quiet world where no one could bother me or cause me any more pain.
And now, my high school bully was my fucking boss.
“Maggie! Wait up!”
I rushed after my sister as she walked off with her friends. I had always envied her, and I still did. She had the petite body all of the guys chased after while she wore those little skirts that flounced around every time she took a step. She didn’t have to wear glasses like me, she got her eyesight from Dad. In fact, she got all of Dad’s wonderful features: his slick, straight hair and his sparkling blue eyes. His slender frame and his long legs.
And me? Well, I got all of my mother’s features. My fuzzy hair that wasn’t quite curly but not quite straight. Her boring brown eyes. Her chubby cheeks and oversized frame.
“Maggie!” I called out.
But all she did was peer over her shoulder and wink at me.
“Surprised you don’t hate her,” JoJo said.
I froze at the sound of his voice. I felt his heat radiating against my back as he stepped out of the shadows and into the light. I didn’t dare turn around and look at him, though. Provoking him in such a way could get me thrown into the dumpster out back again.
But I couldn’t help myself as I slowly turned to take him in.
“Hey there, JoJo,” I said with a shaky voice.
He slammed his hand into the locker beside my head. “What the hell did I tell you about calling me that?”
My lower lip quivered, even though I clenched my jaw in determination. “It’s just a nickname. Why don’t you like it?”
And before I could bat an eye, he fisted my shirt and started tugging me toward the men’s bathroom.
I pulled myself from the memory and dug through my purse. I quickly Googled the company and clicked on the main link that popped up at the top of the page. Maybe JoJo wasn’t a prominent figure in the company. Maybe he was just a fill-in while someone else was gone, or a temporary hire of some sort.
But, when the homepage loaded, I noticed that they had changed the cover art. Instead of the front of the building like it had been when I first did my research, the picture had been replaced with that fucker’s smug face.
And the caption, “CEO Joseph Ryker wins Business accolade at latest West Coast tech conference” sat beneath it.
Holy shit, JoJo didn’t just work for the company.
He fucking ran it.
I have to quit.
I turned off my phone and tossed it back into my purse. This job was everything, and it could give me everything if I played my cards right. The position of accountant wasn’t for a singular person, it was for the entire company, and with it came a salary I never thought I’d see in my lifetime. The benefits alone were worth salivating over, and the idea that this stupid little boy from high school was about to take all of that from me made my knees weak.
Not in a good way, either.
I can’t let him do this to me. Not anymore.
My phone dinged in my purse and I quickly pulled it back out. Maybe JoJo had recognized me, and he was firing me himself. That would be better in the long run, to be honest. I tapped on my email icon and searched for an email from the company, TechGiants, Inc., but instead I found an electronic eviction notice from my landlord.
For failure to pay rent for the past two months.
