“No. It’s up to you to figure it out.” A corner of his mouth quirks up.
“It could go faster and more efficiently if you’d just tell me what colors you’d like.”Especially since whatever I pick won’t be good enough for the jerk-face.
“This isn’t kindergarten. You don’t change PowerPoint to reflect your boss’s color preference. Pick colors that are appropriate for the meeting.”
I start to purse my lips, but catch myself and paste on a bright smile. I’d rather defecate in the lobby at eight thirty a.m. than let him know I’m bothered by what he’s doing. “Got it.”
“Like I said yesterday, you need to work on your ‘yes, sir.’”
“I’ll get right on that after I’m done with all my other tasks.” I raise my legal pad and flip him the bird behind it. When I can quit this job, I’m going to shove my middle finger into his face—
Wait, what on earth am I thinking? The only way I could quit this job is if Grandpa didn’t need to be at the Orange Care Center anymore. Suddenly I feel sick to my stomach that the thought of being able to quit ever crossed my mind. What’swrongwith me?
Grant’s eyes narrow, and he’s looking at me closely.
Although I’m feeling shaky, I paste on an even bigger smile and leave his office. He’s never going to know why I can’t quit this job. If he knows how desperate I am, he’ll hold it over me and abuse me further. He’s the worst kind of bully.
I start to cross off everything he asked me to do. Regardless of my personal feelings, heisstill my boss here, and I gotta suck it up for Grandpa.
Of course, Grant is a supremedick-tator, because he makes me spend over four hours redoing Bradley’s PowerPoint.
Finally, I throw my hands up in the air. “Exactly what are you looking for?”
“A professional look that will inspire trust. But I suppose that’s not something you’re capable of pulling off.” He makes an isn’t-that-sad face.
“Inspiringundeservedtrust isn’t something I’m good at. But I guess that’s why you’re the boss.”
He leans forward in his seat. “What’s that supposed to mean?” he asks in an awful voice.
“Whatever you want it to, I imagine. Again, you’re the boss.”
“I’ve never done anything to deceive people.”
“We can agree to disagree.” I’m not bringing up what happened fourteen years ago. That’d betray how deeply I was hurt, and I’m not giving him the satisfaction.
“If you think I’m that terrible, you should quit. I won’t stop you.”
“The pay here is good enough to make me overlook your shortcomings.”
“Oh, that’s right. I forgot. You can be had cheaply.”
It feels like he just backhanded me. A tremor starts to run through my body, and I tense every muscle I can to prevent myself from trembling in front of him. Suyen was able to get almost two hundred thousand dollars after selling the stuff he gave me in Malibu. To me and Grandpa, that was a fortune that paid for the hospital bills, funeral costs and some of my college loans. But to Grant, I’m just a whore who sold herself cheap.
I breathe in slowly and count to ten. I’m not letting him know what effect his words have. He’s confirming everything I already knew about him.
“I guess it looks that way to a man who only understands price. Not value.”
“What does that mean?” he snaps.
“I’m sure you can figure it out. And while you do, let me just get right on the PowerPoint,” I say, turning around. “Again.”
As I open the office door and step out, I bump into Larry. He’s a brown-haired, brown-eyed second-year associate of average height and a highly forgettable face. He apparently worked at Morgan Stanley and got a degree from Harvard, the school Grant must’ve transferred to, because who turns down Harvard? Larry looks at me oddly, and I realize he heard the preceding conversation.
Humiliation burns through me. Hopefully he’ll keep his mouth shut, but what are the odds? I’ve never been that lucky.
Then again, who cares?I’m not here to make friends or get along. People can gossip and say whatever crap they want. None of that matters as long as I can get enough money to take care of Grandpa.
Grant makes me tinker with the slides until midnight, then says, “See you at four thirty.”
