He dove in before the doors slid shut. “You wander from department to department. You chat people up, but no one sees you really working. You don’t even have an office, for heaven’s sake. No one thinks you’re planning to stick around, least of all your stepmother. Technically, she’s still signing the contracts.”
His words hit home. She had been one foot in the company, one foot on the road. Hadn’t she looked up flights to Peru just that morning? Not that she was jumping ship, but hiking season was coming up, and she kept having that glorious daydream of her and Quinn taking a selfie with Machu Picchu behind them.
“You’re right.” The doors opened and she walked with a new purpose to the corner office, where she paused at the nameplate on the door. “That ends today.” She slid Jillian’s name off the wall, slapping the plate against her palm as she entered the room. Jillian’s assistant, Chloe, was in the corner, pouring coffee. She smiled at Ginny. Ginny nodded in acknowledgment.
When Jillian didn’t look up from her computer, Ginny tossed the plaque onto the table. It slapped loudly and got the attention she was looking for.
Jillian forcefully brightened, all but her Botox-deadened forehead lifting as if pulled by strings. “It’s so good of you to grace us today, Virginia.”
There was no point in trading small talk or trying to sugarcoat her message. She was here to take over the company, and takeovers were rarely peaceable things. Blocking her from classified information was a hostile move. “I don’t think you’ll enjoy it so much when I tell you that while I appreciate what you’ve done for the company, your services are no longer needed.”
Jillian’s face blanked, the strings going slack. “I’m not sure I understand what you mean.”
Ginny moved to the window to take in the view. “I just spoke with Bailor. He made a fuss about walking me through R&D. It appears I have you to thank for that.”
“I’m only trying to protect the company.”
“And I’m doing the same. So, what I’m telling you is that you’re fired.”
Chloe gasped. Ginny turned in time to see the woman collapse on the floor. Thankfully, she’d set the coffee mug on the counter to add sugar, so the only thing that spilled was a Sweet ’n’ Low packet. She landed in a lump, her hair hanging over her face.
Jillian screamed as if they were under attack. She skittered two steps backward, her hands shaking.
Ginny rolled her eyes as she rushed to the woman’s side, checking to make sure she was breathing and had a pulse. Both were in the affirmative. Turning to Lyle, she said, “Call security—they’re trained in first aid.”
He nodded as he darted to Jillian’s desk and picked up the phone.
She took a moment to adjust Chloe so her body was in a more comfortable position and her skirt wasn’t climbing her leg.
Jillian hovered in the background. “Is there blood?” She clamped her hand over her nose and mouth. She’d toss her lunch if she smelled bodily fluids.
“No,” Ginny answered. For a woman who ran a multimillion-dollar company, she fell apart quickly in a crisis.
Security rushed in, carrying a medical bag, and Ginny stepped back. The distraction had cooled her jets, allowing her to think clearly once again. However, her decision was the same. “Brian, thank you for coming. I’ll need you to escort Jillian to the garage
She hooked the security guard who was standing in the background by the elbow and read his name tag., where a car is waiting to drive her home.” She made eye contact with Lyle, and he typed quickly into his phone to make the car appear where it should be.
“There’s no need for that.” Jillian folded her arms.
Ginny was done playing the nice guy. It hadn’t gotten her respect from anyone. So, she was going to do what she’d been groomed to do since the day she’d put on a pair of slacks and followed her daddy to work. “Yes, there is. There are company secrets in this building.” She picked up Jillian’s tablet. “I’ll have IT remove sensitive material and get this to you as soon as possible.” She handed the tablet to Lyle, who bounced on the balls of his feet, silently cheering her on.
“Let’s go, ma’am.” Brian bowed slightly, motioning for her to go ahead of him. It was a nice gesture, one of respect.
Jillian gathered herself like a hen fluffing her feathers. She seized her purse as if Ginny was going to keep that too. She wasn’t, but security would search it before she left the building. Hopefully the element of surprise had worked in her favor and Jillian hadn’t had a chance to stash anything of importance in there. Jillian left, her nose in the air.
Ginny turned her attention to Chloe “Am I fired too?”.
Chloe, flanked by two guards, one wearing blue plastic medical gloves, was lifted to her feet, her eyes wide.
“Only if you want to be.” Ginny gave her the choice. It hadn’t escaped her attention that Jillian didn’t inquire after the woman or stay long enough to make sure she was okay.
Chloe gently removed her arms from the security guards’ hold and tucked her dark hair behind her ear. “I’d like to stay.”
“Do you feel up to working, or would you like to take the rest of the day off to recuperate?”
She squared her shoulders. “I’ll stay.”
The guards took that as their cue to vacate the room. They packed up the first aid kit and moved out.
