Page 16 of The Boss and the Wedding Mess
She swallows. She must have forgotten that, repressed it, or simply overlooked it.
"You’re more thorough than I expected," she admits, which tells me she knew about the clause after all.
"The severance would be generous. Nothing to worry about, London." I call her by her first name, and she lets it pass without comment. "I’d even write you a personal recommendation—despite inadequate performance."
"You have no reason to be disappointed in me yet, Mr. Blackthorn," she answers, a slight bite in her tone. It makes me smile briefly. She’s got some fight in her. Maybe she’s not a puppet after all.
“The onboarding starts Monday. Which means this Friday’s party will be my farewell. Of course, I’ll still be around as a consultant, but from now on my son will be making the calls.” He’s talking about the company’s summer festival. Most of it has already been planned.
“That’s very sudden, sir,” she says, concerned. She does seem to genuinely like my father. “Not that I don’t wish you a happy retirement, but…”
“I’ve been thinking about it for a while. The last few months have been tough. The last few weeks, almost unbearable. It’s time.”
She nods briefly. “Then please tell me your wishes so I can arrange the celebration accordingly.”
“Surprise me. Only my wife knows me better than you, but I wouldn’t want to burden her. If it were up to her, she’d drag me out of the office today.” He laughs, rising from his chair. “I’ll get some work done and leave you with my son for now. Show himaround and get him up to speed. Things have changed quite a bit here in recent years.”
“Gladly, Mr. Blackthorn.” She stands, gives a slight little bow, then opens the door for him. “May I bring you a coffee later?”
“I’d like that.”
She nods to him once more and then leaves, closing the door behind him. Only now does she allow herself to take a deep breath before looking at me angrily. Combative. Not bad.
“You have no intention of keeping me on, do you? Even if I handed you the Holy Grail.”
“Well, if you actually brought me that, I’d make an exception.”
“It’s rude to call me by my first name,Mister Blackthorn.”
“The next four—no, five—weeks are going to be very exciting,” I say, amused. “Maybe you’ll quit on your own and save me the severance?”
"I've been working for your father for three years, and he runs this company with passion. If you show this kind of behavior to your clients and demonstrate a leadership style similar to how you're treating me, this company will go down the drain in no time!"
Oh, she's angry.
"If you keep being this impertinent with me, the amount of your severance pay will decrease."
I'm playing with her. My father wouldn't let me pay her too little, but I want to know how far I can push her before she'll snap. How resilient is she?
"I don't care. I'll find a new job where I'm treated well. My dignity is worth more than any money you can pay me."
Now that, I like much better.
“Why were you in the wrong church?” I ask, stepping closer without breaking eye contact. London is caught off guard. I've apparently knocked her out of combat mode.
“I pressured my best friend into telling me where her cheating ex was getting married. She didn’t want me to go, and kick his ass, so she gave me the wrong address. She didn’t know another wedding was happening there. I just stormed out of the car, and… chaos followed.” She looks uncomfortable just retelling it.
"Stephanie was really angry for a long time. After all, the wedding never even happened," I continue my little lie, which makes her look at me uncertainly. "“But you show real remorse. That’s a point in your favor. You’re still in the negatives, though, London."
"Don't call me by my first name," she demands again. "I deserve respect."
"All my employees call me by my first name. . It’s not about respect. If I call you London, you call me Alexander.”
“You’re not my boss until Monday.”
“You can make this complicated if you want. That’s your choice.” I sit back, crossing one leg over the other with a smug smile. Her red cheeks betray her: London is about to burst with anger. She's stubborn and doesn't want to give in. Maybe it will be quite fun to tease her in the coming weeks. I think I'm going to enjoy myself.
"You're not giving me an honest chance just because of that? Because I made one small mistake?" she asks me with a hurt look. I suspect she's on the verge of shedding a few tears.
