Page 58 of Daddy's Pride

“Eight? I’ve got a one-hundred-mile drive ahead of me.”

“And? You’ll be there by ten. Maybe midnight, given you drive like a granddad.” He laughs.

“You can be a real arse sometimes, do you know that?”

The humour drains from Nigel’s face. He draws his eyebrows together, narrows his eyes, and clenches his teeth. His skin flushes. “You can’t talk to me like that. I’m your boss. I could fire you. I should fire you.”

My skin prickles. Anger flashes through me. “Maybe you should.”

Nigel’s jaw drops. “What?”

“Maybe you should sack me.” What am I saying? I need this job.

He rolls his eyes. “Don’t be ridiculous. Now, do me a favor and go to the shop and get some snacks and drinks for our meeting. Nice ones. Don’t skimp.”

“No.”

He sighs. “Don’t start this nonsense again. I’ve given you an order. Run along.” He flicks his hand in the direction of the door.

“No. It’s five-thirty. I should have left half an hour ago. I’m not staying late. Again. I’m not running an errand. Again. I’m going home to get my things, and then I’m spending the weekend at my boyfriend’s. Don’t bother calling me. I’ll see you at nine Monday morning.”

I hover the mouse over the shutdown option, but instead, I let out a sigh, open the price lists and discount matrix, and print both off.

Nigel watches me in silence as the printer whirrs quietly in the corner. Once it’s finished its job, I collect the printed papers and slap them on Nigel’s desk.

“You have everything you need. I’m sure you can go to the shop yourself. Good evening.” I walk toward the exit.

“Walk out that door, and don’t bother coming back. A good brother wouldn’t leave me in the lurch like this.”

Tears sting my eyes. I keep my back turned to him, not wanting him to see the effect he’s having on me.

“You hired me to do marketing. It’s not my job to help secure new clients.”

“Marketing isn’t a full-time job. If you won’t pull your weight, I’ll dock your pay. I reckon you can do the marketing bullshit in about six hours each week. Am I right? If you’re going to get pissy about what you’ve been hired to do, so will I, Harris.”

I clench my fists. “It takes longer than that, and I’d have more time to spend on marketing if I wasn’t doing half a dozen other jobs as well.”

“Poor Harris. So hard done to. Who gave you a job when you didn’t have one? Who ensured you had the money to pay rent and bills so you didn’t lose your flat? Me. I saved your arse, and you repay me by being petulant and sulky.”

I stare at the ceiling and take a deep breath. “I quit.” It’s like a weight gets lifted off my shoulders.

“What?”

“I quit. As of right now. Bye, Nigel.”

“Well, fuck you. Fine. I accept your resignation. Don’t bother coming back, Harris. No amount of grovelling will convince me to give you your job back.”

I walk out and get into my car. I’m shaking too much to drive. My chest aches, and my eyes sting as I hold my breath so I don’t cry. I expect Nigel to come rushing after me, but he doesn’t.

My phone buzzes with an incoming text message. It’s Miles asking how my day was. I fall apart. Sobs wrack my body. I fumble with my phone to find his number and hit Dial. My eyes blur. I can’t focus on anything.

“Hello, boy,” Miles says in a soothing tone.

“Daddy.” My voice croaks out of me, small and pathetic.

“What’s wrong?”

“I’ve done something stupid.” My words slur together. Can he understand anything I said?

---