Page 57 of Marrying My Ex's Boss

I got through lunch, which we had in my office with the girls, which was nice, and I was tempted to keep them with me, but that wouldn’t do because, unlike when I was his assistant, I actually had work to do.

This was working out splendidly though, because Monique was not at my old desk doing nothing, so she was free to run down and see them whenever she liked. I think those poor people must be tired of her already.

She’d browbeat Marcus into giving her my old job since, as she put it, she no longer had to follow his pale ass through the desert on a horse with no name, and the least he could do was let her put her feet up and relax after the last five years in hell.

He'd planned on letting her remain as his personal assistant for personal things, but she said she’d rather watch paint dry. Now she’s doing both and making poor Carl’s life hell because his hidey hole is right next to Marcus’ office, and she swears he's spying on her. He is the new head of security and has access to all areas of the building, so who knows?

When it was time for the meeting, my palms were sweaty as hell. I tried to bribe Marcus to come with me, but he took the pussy and flaked the bastard. He laughed his ass off when I cussed him out. “I don’t know why you’re so worried. Did you forget who you are?”

“I don’t think any of those people are stupid enough not to run when you call. Not only are you my wife, but you’re the COO of this company, second only to me. If anyone even thinks about disrespecting you, then we’ll just have to show them who runs this shit.”

‘Look, daddy, you already bred a bitch, cut that shit out. The big dick energy is fierce with this one.’

Cut it out, Justice, and no smart remarks while I’m in there.

‘Girl, please. You know the only people you going to put the smackdown on are your idiot ex and that electrocuted hyena he fucking. Quiet as it’s kept, where the hell did he find her? It’s gotta be the money. But does she have money? Or did he play the long game and lose?’

You know, Justice, I didn’t think of that. What the hell? You think?

‘I’m just saying, what other reason could he have for doing this mess?’

That was food for thought, but I didn’t have long to dwell because I had to get to my meeting.

I was pleased to see that everyone was already there but held my breath, waiting for the bullshit to start once they realized that Marcus wasn’t attending the meeting. Nothing happened to me. I relaxed even though I felt very anxious with those two in the room staring daggers at me. They probably thought I was coming after their jobs.

“Right, so, the first order of business. We will be starting a new initiative in the coming months where the work week will no longer be Monday to Friday but Monday to Thursday. Your pay will not change, and neither will your hours. We will try this for a period of three months, and if it works, we will continue.”

There were a lot of surprised looks, and I saw more people start to relax; some of them even smiled. “We’re also looking at implementing a hybrid system where some of you may work from home part of the time and come into the office at least once a week.”

“Department heads, you will give me a list of where this is applicable. I know everyone can’t work from home, but we’ll do our best to give those who can the option. Now, the daycare, I know some of you are on the waiting list. Mr. Devereaux and I are considering expanding the daycare and hiring more staff.”

That also got more smiles, and now, instead of tension, there was an air of excitement in the room. “We’re also going to open a website where you can make complaints anonymously and make suggestions for a better working environment. Does anyone have any questions?”

They shook their heads no. “One more thing: there will be a new revision to the ethics policy. This policy is non-retroactive, but going forward, anyone who had any run-ins with the law, anyone caught having an affair, will be terminated immediately.”

Melanie jumped up before I could finish speaking. “I knew it; I knew this is why you came here.”

“I guess you don’t know what non-retroactive means. It means that this rule will go into effect in the future and does not have any bearing on anything that happened in the past. Now sit…down”

“You can’t order me around. I’m a Devereaux.”

“No, you are not. My husband is the only Devereaux grandchild. You were not born a Devereaux, and you will never be a Devereaux, while I, on the other hand, am married to a Devereaux. So you can sit down and be quiet, or you can go clear out your desk and get off the property immediately.”

‘That’s my bitch right there.’

I waited for her to sit down again before carrying on. “As I was saying, any immoral acts that come to the company’s attention, anything that will reflect poorly on the company, will be cause for immediate termination.”

"There will also be mandatory drug testing every three months. Does anyone have any questions?" They shook their heads and looked a little more impressed. “Now, you’re dismissed.” I looked at Melanie, but she couldn’t hold eye contact for long. Bitch you scared? I just got started.

MARCUS

“How’d it go?”

“She did very well, but uh, I don’t think Melanie was too pleased.”

“Did my girl go after her?”

“No, actually, I thought she would’ve, but she was very fair. She didn’t attack them in any way.”

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