Page 25 of Stuck On Them

Sue hesitated, flicking the edge of the small stack of papers she had in front of her. “A few, but none were a good fit. The only employee here that I’d even seriously consider is Ethan Roberts.”

I snorted. “We’d kill each other.”

Sue’s mouth quirked with a hint of a smile. “That’s exactly what he said the last time I asked him.”

Ethan was a phenomenal receptionist, magnetic and hard-working, but he was like Luca on steroids.

I leaned back in my chair, rubbing my temples. “Regardless of the reasons she’s here and how she got into the position, I want her gone; not just moved to another position on another floor. Can we give her a termination contract with a non-disclosure agreement and a severance package?”

Sue shook her head, her black hair with streaks of silver emphasizing her rejection of the idea. “We can’t just fire her without cause, Ryker. It’s a legal minefield, not to mention a dick move.”

Fatima coughed to cover her laugh and closed her laptop. “The goal here is to protect the company. Both parties didn’t do their due diligence in regard to her hiring, but she has only been employed for mere hours. She isn’t protected by a union, and if you’re willing to pay her severance, this should not be an issue. There’s also no legal precedence in the state of New York for something like this, but I can continue to search.”

“No. I tried Googling the situation earlier and all I got were romance novel recommendations.” I’d immediately deleted my search history.

Javier stood, stretching like he’d been sitting for hours. “Fatima and I will start working on the paperwork and have it on your desk within the hour. How many weeks of severance?”

I looked at Sue, even though she had just called me a dick. “Will two weeks suffice?”

“Absolutely not. Make it six.” Sue crossed her arms over her chest. “This isn’t her fault. I know you might not believe it, but she has a pure soul.”

“Fine. Six weeks.” I got to my feet, walking to the door as they gathered their belongings. “Thank you for meeting with me on such short notice. As always, I expect the utmost discretion in handling this matter.”

Fatima and Javier left, but Sue lingered in the doorway. The last thing I needed was for her to lecture me. I only allowed her to pop off at me because most of the time she was right, and I respected her hiring capabilities. So much so that when we disagreed, I listened and considered what she said before I made a final decision.

Except this time.

“Sue. Don’t start.”

She gave me a long, sorrowful look as she put her hand on my arm and squeezed. “I wasn’t going to. I can tell you’re already beating yourself up over this.” She paused for a moment before adding, “I just wish you would give her a chance. When have I ever steered you wrong?”

I couldn’t help but feel a twinge of guilt. It felt like a sharp needle poking through my heart, digging deeper and deeper as I tried to ignore it. I had let my personal feelings cloud my judgment once before when it came to this sort of thing, and I wouldn’t do it again. Feelings needed to stay the fuck away from my choices.

“My decision is final.”

Her lips tightened and she nodded before she turned away and left me standing in the doorway of my office, alone.

There was a heavy sensation of regret that seemed to weigh on my chest, making it hard to breathe.

Garrett had the right idea leaving for the day, but I had too much to do.

I closed my door, and just as I sat back down at my desk, the door opened, and Ethan walked in. “Ethan. To what do I owe the pleasure?”

“What was that about?” He sure did cut right to the chase.

“We’re going to be letting Paige go as soon as the paperwork is drawn up.” I looked at my computer screen, avoiding his stare. A stare that had quickly turned from curious to downright vicious.

“Why?”

“That’s none of your concern. She’ll be gone by this afternoon, so you should probably get started on the things we need done today.” I clicked around on my computer, doing nothing in particular.

He put his hands on his hips. “Did you know she already has all of your email sorted? It took her probably thirty minutes tops.”

That caught my attention, and I clicked open my email. “That’s impossible.”

“Go see for yourself. I don’t know why we never thought to use a mail sorter plugin or program of some kind. I didn’t even know such a thing existed beyond what’s offered by the email provider. At her last job, she worked with a computer programmer to have one made. It apparently sorts based on frequency of emails from the person, key phrases, that kind of stuff. Super fancy and beyond what my geriatric brain can handle.”

“You’re twenty-five, not eighty-five. How do you know all of this?” I wasn’t surprised he had all this information. He saw and heard a lot sitting in the reception area for our floor.

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