Page 80 of Lovers' Dance: Vol. 2

Matt sighed out loud and in an exaggerated manner. “I love how sweet you are, but you’re basically paying someone for a job they’re not doing. It doesn’t matter if she’s a saint, what matters is the bottom line and your company can ill-afford someone taking the piss like this.”

“But we’re all family here, it’s not like your companies where people are just numbers. I actually care about the people working here.” I said without thinking.

“And what is that supposed to mean?”

I blinked, noting the bite to his words and not appreciating it. “Aren’t you in the process of making loads of people redundant? Things like that don’t faze you, you just said it was all about the bottom line but I don’t run my company in that way.”

“So what you’re saying is you’d prefer to keep staff on to thedetriment of your business? Simply because they’re nice people, because you don’t want to hurt their feelings?”

“You making me out to be a pushover when you put it like that,” I fumed.

Matt snorted, if he meant for me not to hear it, he failed. “Madi, it’s business, not personal; you need to separate the two.”

“I’ve never fired someone before,” I cringed at how whiny my voice sounded.

“Then get Dante to do it,” Matt shot back impatiently. “The fact remains you have a member of staff failing to complete their duties. A member of staff who has been warned, yet has done nothing to change their behaviour for the better. She needs to be dismissed.”

“Dante won’t do it,” I griped, leaning forward to rest my forehead on top the messy desk. “He thinks I need to put on my big girl panties and take point on this.”

“Listen to me,” Matt was trying to soothe me. “It’s never pleasant being in a situation such as this but you cannot let your emotions influence your decisions when it comes to these issues with your employees. Sometimes hard decisions need to be made and unfortunately you have to make them. It’s your dance company, you need to do whatever it takes to ensure it continues to thrive.” he sighed softly. “Having a member of staff who isn’t pulling their weight will have a negative impact on staff morale, which in turn fosters resentment in others who are left to pick up the slack. It’s costly and shouldn’t be tolerated. Terminate her employment.”

I grunted incoherently down the line. Did no one have a heart? Or was I being stupid?

“Poppet, tell me you’re going to terminate her employment.” Matt ordered.

“What if I start docking her wages? Maybe that’ll work.”

Matt cleared his throat sternly. “I need to get back to work, but not before I get verbal confirmation that you’ll dismiss her.”

“I’m not heartless.” I replied.

He cleared his throat again.

“Fine, fine. You’re right, Dante’s right. I’ll sack her. Happy now?”

“I’m not happy you have to do something you obviously don’t want to do,” he said. “But you called me for advice and I’ve given it to you. It’s the right choice. I love you and I really must go.”

“Love you too,” I mumbled glumly.

Matt laughed, the sound made my skin tingle. “Say it like you mean it, wife.”

“I love you, Matt.” I said it with feeling.

“Much better,” he was still chuckling. “I’ll probably be late tonight, make sure and eat.”

The silence from his end signified he had terminated the call. In his own words: cheeky sod! I really needed to talk to him about proper phone etiquette with one’s wife. I raised my head and glanced at the clock. 10:45 am. Damn. 3pm didn’t seem that far away. How hard could it be? I would remain calm, look her in the eye and just say it.‘I’m sorry, Paula, but we have to let you go.’

No, Matt wouldn’t apologize, he would probably say something along the lines of: your services are no longer required, gather your things and leave the building.

I groaned, squirming anxiously in my chair. What if she cried? Begged me not to sack her? I would cave for sure. What if she attacked me in a fit of rage? Paula had a temper, she was a nice woman, a great dancer, don’t get me wrong. And you rarely saw her temper, but it was there. Oh God. What if she went postal on me? Brits didn’t do that. She wouldn’t…

I jumped up from behind my desk and hurried to the door. “Dante, get in here!” I yelled once I had yanked it open. To hell with this. He was part owner, 30% meant he had to deal with this too. There was no way I planned on doing this alone.

Matt’s car was parked out front when I arrived home that afternoon. It was such a rare occurrence I had to check the dashboard time twice. It was only 5:30. Was he ill? Had there been an emergency? Why on earth was his car parked out front at this time? He hadn’t used his driver this morning, I was sure of it. When I had grabbed my keys from where we usually kept them, his were gone and so was his car. Shit. Was he home? He said he would be home late tonight.What was going on?I grabbed my bag off the passenger seat and jumped out the Cayenne, not wasting time to even turn off the engine. Forget gas consumption, something wasn’t right. Without closing the car door, I ran up the steps to the front door and quickly opened up.

“Matt?” My bag fell to the floor. Like a lunatic I raced through thefoyer and down the hallways, yelling for my husband as I opened doors along the way.

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