Page 53 of Twisted Truth

Embarrassed, I stand and make my way to the door while everyone stays frozen as I pass by.

“Where’s your office?” Asher asks as soon as I’m out the doors.

“I don’t have an office.”

“What do you mean?”

“I have a cubicle; it’s over there.” I point to the opposite end of the marketing floor.

His brows furrow. “Show me.”

I lead him down the aisle that splits the floor in half. Again, stares follow me and Asher as we make our way across the floor. It’s as if we are both wearing bright flashing lights on our heads.

“Here it is,” I say, holding out my arm toward my cubicle. It’s not much to look at. A small desk with a couple pictures, a plant, and photos of assignments tacked on the walls.

“This is where you work?” Asher scrunches his nose.

“Yep.”

“Hmm.”

“That’s not why you pulled me from the meeting, though. What’s up?”

“We have something to discuss, privately.”

“Emily’s office and the conference room are the only private rooms on the floor.

“Where’s Emily’s office?”

“Over here.”

Again, he follows me to another corner of the marketing floor. When we get to Emily’s office, Asher pulls on the handle, but it’s locked.

“Shit, I forgot,” I whisper, leaning close to Asher. “Ever since our new assignment, Emily has been locking her office as an extra precaution.”

He nods and steps back. “Open it,” he tells Robert who, as always, is only a few steps behind us.

Robert pulls a special card out of his jacket pocket and taps it on the pad near the door. The red light pings and turns green. Asher opens the door, and I follow him in while Robert waits outside.

“That’s . . . disconcerting.”

“Robert has access to everything. He must. But we’re not here to talk about Robert.” Asher closes the door then shuts the blinds to the window. All the curious faces on the other side of the window disappear, and it’s just the two of us.

“So, what are we here to talk about?”

“I don’t like the way we left things.”

“You want to talk about it here? Now?”

“Not the subject, no. But I don’t appreciate you storming away in the middle of a conversation.”

I close my eyes, praying for patience. “Asher, you had interrupted me on my way to work, and then we were fighting a losing argument, all while I was already late to an important meeting. Everyone in that room is on eggshells, hoping their ideas and strategies will be up to your standards. You’re well known for being difficult and exacting in what you want and pushing your employees to get it. That’s not necessarily a bad thing, but if you’re the employee whose work is being rejected and picked apart, it can be really difficult.

“So, everyone in there is scrambling to put together their best work in the hopes of pleasing you. And as all of our work is interconnected, my absence from the meeting puts everyone else in a difficult position. That’s not fair to them, and it’s not fair that if you are displeased, you’ll probably be much easier on me than them. If I don’t contribute to the team fully, it will make for really pissed off coworkers and less desirable results.”

“I admire your dedication to your work, Ella,” he says, low and gravely. “But don’t forget that you don’t answer to Emily or your team, you answer to me.”

I lift my brows. “And I want my work to please you, Mr. Langford,” I say with just a hint of bite in my words.