Page 61 of Grump and Grumpier

Jansen’s brow furrows. “Your what?”

“You’re not under any contract,” Derek says.

“Well, not an official contract, but a six-month term of employment is what we agreed to when I started, and I wanted to talk to you about it, because I just received a job offer this morning.”

Neither of them speaks for a long moment, but the way their expressions change tells me that whatever they’re thinking isn’t good.

“We assumed you’d be staying on,” Derek says finally.

Now I’m the one looking confused. “Why would you assume that?”

I’m on the receiving end of two frowns, and this time, I’m definitely taking it personally.

“You understand why I can’t stay on here, don’t you? Though I’ve been grateful for the opportunity, I’ve never stopped feeling like I got this job for the wrong reasons. What I’ve been doing with you is highly unethical, and the only way I manage to sleep at night is because I remind myself this position is temporary.”

“Still? That’s still bothering you?”

The irritation in Derek’s voice catches me off guard and before I can address it, Jansen cuts in. “You’re not taking the other job.”

“What?” His abrupt command hits me so hard, I actually stagger backward a step.

“You already have a job here. Turn down the offer.”

“Are you actually serious right now?” Telling me to unbutton my shirt is one thing; dictating my career path is quite another.

“Dead serious, Ana.” His tone is ice cold, while his eyes burn with an intense fire.

I look to Derek, wondering if he’ll be a voice of reason, but he’s just watching us with a grim expression.

“You can’t tell me what to do, and not that itconcerns you at all, but I’ve been offered a good opportunity. There’s no reason I should pass it up.”

“No reason?!” Jansen’s voice booms so loudly that I nearly miss the knock at the door.

There’s another knock before it opens and Gloria sticks her head in. “Derek, Jansen? I’m so sorry to interrupt you, but your eight o’clock is still waiting. She says she’ll need to leave in fifteen minutes.”

“Shit! I forgot about our appointment.” Derek’s eyes dart to me, then Jansen. “I’m sorry, but we’ll have to finish this conversation later.”

Jansen looks as if he’s about to protest, but instead, he snarls and follows Derek out the door, only after shooting me a look filled with anger and edged with hurt.

Sympathy and regret flare up—maybe I didn’t handle this the right way?—but those soft feelings are quickly overshadowed by irritation and indignation.

He had no right to talk to me that way, no matter how he feels about me leaving.

I readjust my bag on my shoulder and stalk out of Derek’s office, avoiding Gloria’s eyes when I pass by her in the hall.

Jansen wants me to stay, and deep inside, I’m pleased about that, regardless of whether it’s for personal or professional reasons. It’s nice to be wanted, but not when he thinks it’s okay to treat me like that.

And why does he care so much about whether I stay or go? They’ve told me they’ve been happy with my work here, so I’m sure they don’t want to have to find yet another new human resources manager.

Or will he miss me when I leave, like I’m going to miss them? Though I’m not going to miss him nearly as much if he thinks he can boss me around like that.

And Derek isn’t innocent in this. Even though he wasn’t issuing commands, he completely disregarded my ethical concerns, though maybe it is laughable that I still consider myself to have professional standards after all I’ve done with those men.

My head is in a gray fog by the time I reach my office, so I don’t even notice the white box on my desk until I pull out my chair and sit down. When I finally see it, I don’t know how I overlooked it, because even though it’s similar, it’s quite a bit larger than the previous ones.

I haven’t received any more mystery gifts since Charles was arrested, so I’ve been assuming that the dolphins must have been from him, but apparently, I was wrong.

The box is wider, but much flatter than the others—not a shape that would typically hold a figurine. Maybe it’s something that hangs on a wall? I pick it up and find that it’s fairly light.

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