Page 68 of Love.V2
Maybe it was the weird there-but-not-there tension simmering between me and Dylan, or my newfound courage, or the fact I was justover itwith Victoria, but I snapped. “Victoria. I am the creative director. I think I know how to run this team, and the direction the organization wants to go in.”
Awkward stillness fell. I wasn’t sure what I expected after my clipped words, but her triumphant grin wasn’t it. And I certainly wasn’t prepared for what she said next.
“I don’t think you do. We all know this role was a huge jump for you. I think you’re only here because you happened to be fucking the right person at the right time.”
I froze as the knife-edge silence in the room sharpened.
“What did you just say?” Dylan’s voice was hoarse and low. If you heard it on the street after sunset, you’d throw your wallet in his direction and run away.
Victoria’s face transformed into something pinched and ugly. “You heard me. Danny is so interesting, isn’t he? And such a talker. Yapping away on his phone in the parking garage about how happy he was that you two were back together.” She cast her eyes around the stunned faces of the Jinx staff. “She and Dylan dated since college. He got her a job at Worther in the first place. But Tess gets an offer from Jinx and suddenly she up and leaves him. Super convenient timing to rekindle that flame right as Worther puts pressure on us to close more deals.Worked once, right? Maybe putting out again will help you keep your job this time around.”
I gasped, unsure if I could dignify that with a response. Dylan didn’t have the same issue.
“Everyone. Out.” His words snapped like a whip, emptying the conference room of everyone but the three of us.
Dylan stood, glaring down at her. “Pack your things. You’re done at Jinx.”
Shock registered on her face. “You have no right to do that. You might be a big deal up at Worther, but here, you’re just a consultant. All I did was expose this for what it is. Fraud. Favoritism.Ishould have gotten the creative director job. We never hire externally for leadership roles. Our culture is too important. But thensheshows up?” Victoria sneered at me. “It didn’t make sense. But now it does. You just happened to be sucking the right cock.”
Adrenaline and disbelief surged from my hair follicles all the way to the tips of my toes. Everything inside me wanted to curl up into a little ball and crawl under the table. What was happening?
“That’s enough.” Dylan’s voice echoed through the empty room. “I have months’ worth of documented harassment not just of Tess, but of your other Jinx colleagues who have had enough of your bullshit. As to your claim that I don’t have the authority to fire you, Eric was planning to announce next week the plans for me to take over as CEO. I guess we’re announcing a little earlier than planned. Now, pack your shit and go.”
In the back of my head, some disconnected train of thought floated by, noticing that Victoria looked like a puffer fish, gaping, cheeks round and flushed. “You…CEO? You can’t.”
“Can. Did. Eric gave me the green light to fire you weeks ago. Obviously, this isn’t how we wanted to announce my transition, and I was hoping this issue could be resolved without my intervention, but you’ve forced my hand.” Dylan punched numbers into the conference room line. “You have ten minutes to collect your personal items. I’ll call security while you pack.”
Within minutes, two security guards appeared, hovering as Victoria threw pencil cups and picture frames into a box.
“You will never last as CEO here, you hear me? This place used to mean something. Everything changed since it’s gone corporate,” Victoria ranted. “You know what? I don’t even want to work here anymore.”
“Works out for the best, then,” Dylan drawled, scrolling on his phone while everyone else watched the drama unfold. Meery looked like she wanted to grab a box of popcorn.
Victoria rattled off more sputtering, angry vitriol as the security men walked her to the elevators. The office was quiet as the doors closed.
“Too soon to blast ‘Ding Dong the Witch is Dead’ through the speakers?” Chassie asked.
“On it!” Meery cheered, rushing back to her desk. Dylan cracked a grin, pocketing his phone.
“I hate to let people go, but I think we can all agree this one was overdue.” Murmurs of agreement met his words. He projected his voice across the space for everyone to hear. “I know this isn’t how wewanted to announce I’ll be taking over for Eric. A lot more drama than I’d envisioned.” A few people chuckled. “You might have noticed Eric is pulling back from the company. He has his own reasons for leaving, and I’ll let him tell you. He’s on his way in and we’ll hold a meeting in about an hour to talk it out. I guarantee he’ll be sticking around for a while here, making sure we’re in a good groove before he officially leaves. I have a feeling we won’t be able to get rid of him completely, anyway.” More laughter. I wasn’t sure how he made this seem important and lighthearted at the same time. He sounded so…in control.
“In the meantime, if anyone has any questions about Victoria’s departure, or concerns, my door is always open. On that note, it hasn’t been a secret, but I’ll go ahead and officially inform you all that Tess and I are dating. We’ve been together almost since college, so this is not new, and our relationship has nothing to do with her getting a job at Jinx.”
He paused to smile back at me, teasing. “Though she might have had some impact on my moving here.”
Noel audibly sighed in her cubicle.
“Again, let me know if you need anything. I know this is a lot, but we’re all going to be better off. We’ll talk more when Eric gets in.”
Mutters of agreement, even thanks, followed me as I trudged down the hall to my office. I couldn’t feel my feet. What had justhappened? The click of the door sounded behind me, and I realized I’d been standing in the room, staring blankly out the window.
“Are you alright?” Dylan’s voice was quiet behind me. “What she said, how that all went down. It was unacceptable.”
I turned to face him, lips numb. “I agree.”
“Angel, I’m sorry she said those things.” Dylan stepped closer, but I shuffled away.
“Not her. You.” Dylan’s head reared back, but I kept going, my words keeping pace with my racing heart. “I told you I wanted to handle Victoria myself.”
