Thirty minutes later, when the contractors left the meeting, the intercom buzzed. I didn’t bother to ask what she wanted. This was it. Angie hadn’t returned. It was five minutes to six. And I was dead fucking meat.
“Ms. Burns,” I said, letting the office door slide shut behind me.
She didn’t mince words. “Where is Ms. Adani?”
“I—” I tried to swallow past the boulder in my throat.
“It’s a rather simple question. Where is the employee I hired as my finance manager?”
I glanced down at my fingers—anything to escape her scrutiny.
“She stepped away from her desk for a moment…”
“It’s been more than thirty minutes.”
“I know. I—”
Fuck, I couldn’t possibly rat on Angie, could I?
“Let me guess.” Ms. Burns leaned back in her chair, the quintessential image of poise as she gathered her shirtsleeves further up her elbows. “Ms. Adani is attending her daughter’s recital when I explicitly said she couldn’t have the time off.”
“It’s only an hour. She should be back any minute now.”
“She didn’t have the authorization to leave in the first place. I wonder who gave her the idea that she could shirk her duties?”
I said nothing, glancing at my heels instead.
“Does Ms. Adani understand that she’ll be out of a job if she wastes company time? Who’s going to feed her little spawn?"
“It’s not her fault,” I said quickly. “Don’t fire Angie.”
A single golden brow rose. “So whose fault is it?”
I bit down on my bottom lip.
“I don’t have time for silence, Ms. Nayak.”
She used my name like a whip, and it was everything I could donotto flinch like I’d been struck by one.
“It’s mine,” I blurted. “I told Angie I’d cover for her.”
“You do not have the authority to—”
“I promise it wasn’t to undermine you, Ms. Burns, but Angie has been working so hard. She stayed in the office overnight just so she could make time for her daughter’s recital and it was only going to be an hour—”
“Do not interrupt me.”
Her clipped words stopped my blubbering tirade.
I glanced down at my hands, noting the little crescent-shaped marks my nails had left on my skin.
“You do not have the authority to ‘cover’ for people.” She leaned back in her seat and steepled her fingers on her lap. “The very idea makes little sense. You do not have Ms. Adani’s expertise.”
I bit my lip.
“You are an administrator by profession. What would you know about the company’s financials?”
“It was only going to be an hour—”
