Page 46 of Together at Ruby's

Lucy gave them all a little wave. “Bye for now,” she said as she left the room. “Be good, Nikki.”

Liza watched her go. “She’s nice.”

“I like her too,” Allie said.

Knowing Nikki had feelings for Lucy, Liza gave her a look. “You seem fond of her too.”

“I’m more than fond of her,” Nikki said. “I’m going to marry her.”

Liza glanced at Allie whose eyes were wide. “What did you say?” she asked, making Liza laugh.

“Yes, Nikki’s said that a couple of times now,” Liza said. “But I’m still not convinced it’s not the drugs talking.”

“True, the drugs are great,” Nikki said. “But mark my word. Lucy Madison will someday be my wife.” Liza smiled, wondering if it could be true.Can Lucy be the one who tames our Nikki?she wondered.Maybe.

Knowingshe couldn’t put it off any longer, Tate made her way toward her boss’s office. She had made a call to the woman she hoped was the correct Danielle Salvador and left a rather direct message. She needed information on Aurora Price as soon as possible. Tate worried Danielle would ignore it. If Tate received a call from a stranger asking for information, she might not return it. Hopefully, this wouldn’t be the case.

Reaching Chad’s office, she stopped in front of his assistant’s desk. The young man didn’t look away from his computer terminal, leaving Tate standing there almost a full minute before Tate cleared her throat. “I’m here to see Chad,” she said. “He wanted to see me first thing this morning.”

The executive assistant finally looked at Tate, and she didn’t like the dismissiveness in his eyes. “Hold on, I’ll tell him you’re here.” Picking up the desk phone’s receiver, the assistant pressed a button. “Ms. Nilsen is waiting for you.” Tate raised an eyebrow.Now I’m Ms. Nilsen?she thought.This is getting worse by the second.The assistant hung up. “He’ll come get you in a minute.” Not appreciating the fact that she was getting the cold shoulder, all Tate did was nod. It was part of the power game that she never knew Chad would play, and she was disappointed. Even as she worked her way up the ladder at the firm, she had never tried to make anyone feel inferior. Today it felt like that was exactly what her boss was doing.

Finally, after Tate checked her watch and saw more than ten minutes had passed, the door to Chad’s office opened, and he waved for her to come in. “I’m ready for you,” he said, his voice empty of any friendliness. With a sigh, Tate followed him into his office and waited while he sat behind his desk. Tate didn’t bother to take a chair, feeling the conversation would be short.

The man looked at her, and she saw nothing but irritation in his eyes. “Tate,” he said. “I don’t have time for this crap, so let’s get to the point.”

“All right, sir,” Tate said with a nod.

Chad glared at her. “You have been underperforming.” The words hit Tate like a slap in the face. After a decade of hard work for the firm with multiple performance reviews in which she always had stellar marks, to be told she was underperforming seemed unfair.

“I—,” Tate started when Chad held up a hand.

“I don’t need input here,” he said. “Basically, it looks like you’re cutting corners when serving our clients.”

“Cutting corners?” Tate spat, so surprised that she couldn’t keep her mouth shut. “I don’t even know what you’re talking about.”

“Well, let’s take your attitude yesterday,” he said. “Clearly, you’re no longer focused on your work. Nobody walks out of a meeting in the middle of their presentation and keeps their job for much longer.” The threat hung in the air. “The only reason you’re still here is Aurora Price said she’d keep mentoring you. It’s clear you still have a lot to learn.”

Shocked by one incredible statement after another, Tate found herself trying to figure out what to say.Should I tell him about Aurora Price harassing me? she wondered.Or would he only think I am grasping at straws to explain my behavior. And have I been cutting corners?Tate didn’t think so, but suddenly she questioned everything. It could be the reason why he didn’t give her the promotion.But why wouldn’t he talk to me first?

“Do you have anything to say for yourself?” Chad asked, and Tate had the strongest desire to tell him that she quit, but swallowed hard and shook her head.

“No, sir,” she said. “Other than I promise to do better.”

“We’ll see,” Chad said. “You can go.”

Walking out of the office, Tate held her head high as she passed the executive assistant’s desk. She felt his eyes boring into her back and knew without a doubt he was passing judgment on her.Aurora is turning this entire firm against me,she thought.How can this be happening?

Before she made it back to her office, her cell phone rang, and she fished it out hoping the call was from Danielle Salvador. The number was not the same she had dialed previously, and for a second she thought about letting it go to voicemail, but her instinct told her to answer it. “This is Tate,” she said.

There was a long pause, and she thought for a second the person had hung up but then there was a sigh. “Hi,” the voice said. “This is Danielle Salvador. I understand you want to talk to me about Aurora Price.”

“Yes,” Tate said with excitement as she entered her office and shut the door. “I’m having an issue with the woman here where I work, and your name was given to me as someone I should contact.”

“What do you want to know?”

Tate didn’t even know where to begin. “Anything you can tell me. Frankly, she’s making my life hell.”

“Uh-huh,” the woman said through the phone. “That sounds like Aurora. Well, good luck.”

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