Page 94 of Accidentally Amy

“Yes.” I never liked letting anyone go, but the reality was that when Ellis bought out smaller companies, they usually ended up with too many employees in certain roles and had to downsize.

“Well, the Boston branch was heavy on admin, so most of the cuts will be from there. However, there are some senior positions from that location which we’ll keep.”

I knew this already. “Brad, I was the one who—”

“Isabella Shay is a new employee, with far less experience than the generalists in Boston, but her wage is the same. So it makes sense that hers should be the eliminated position.”

I felt like I’d had the wind knocked out of me. “What?”

“You signed off on the plan when you were in Boston, Blake.” Brad wore a patient smile as he took off his glasses and adjusted one of the sides. “But the spreadsheet only had employee numbers, not names.”

Fuck, fuck, fuck.“Holy shit, I didn’t know.”

“That’s right, you didn’t.” Brad put his glasses back on and glanced at his watch. “Think about that. You knew—and still know—that it’s the right business decision if you take emotions out of the equation. There isn’t a single solid reason why we would change the plan.”

I dragged a hand through my hair, frustrated becauseshit—Brad was right. Itwasthe right move. If I weren’t involved with her, I would absolutely put Izzy on the top of that list.

Anyone in my position would.

“Don’t take this the wrong way, but maybe this is a good thing, if you really like this girl. Now you don’t have to worry about your jobs getting in the way.”

Not helping.I seriously felt sick to my stomach, because I already knew there was nothing I could do. If I tried to save her job, it would be seen—rightly so—as a conflict of interest and the by-product of my emotional attachment to her. Brad might be my friend, but he wouldn’t overlook the obvious.

“Listen, I have to go.” Brad picked up his coffee and stood. “I’m sure I don’t need to remind you that regardless of your relationship, this is top secret until Human Resources takes care of it tomorrow morning. I trust you’ll keep it to yourself?”

I nodded. “Of course.”

I watched Brad leave, and then I just sat at the table, feeling numb.

The cuts were happening tomorrow morning. I knew that becauseIwas the one who’d stared at the spreadsheet for hours before making the decisions.Iwas the one who’d called Pam and scheduled when and how the separations and severance packages would be handled.

Ellis was generous with severance, and I was proud of the kind, helpful way our HR team provided assistance to departing employees. I hated layoffs, but the way the company took care of people had always made me feel marginally better.

The way it worked—the way it’d always worked—was that everyone in the know kept it entirely confidential until it went down. That way no one could be tipped off in advance and do something crazy; I’d seen it all, so I knew firsthand that thekey to separations running smoothly was to keep everything quiet.

But how the fuck was I supposed to do that? How was I supposed tonottell Izzy?

I’d always looked at the integrity of my role through a simple lens. It wasn’t uncommon for me to have to give depositions and make statements under oath; workers’ comp claims, harassment, unlawful terminations—those were things that happened under the umbrella of Administration and HR.

So I’d always conducted myself as if every decision I made could be questioned under oath.Because it could.If I was always honest and followed the rules, I’d never have anything to hide.

It’d always seemed remarkably black and white to me. I could testify under oath that I’d never shared confidential information with an Ellis employee because I never had.

But how could I follow the rules and keep this confidential when all I wanted to do was protect Iz?

Izzy

I walked into the conference room, trying my hardest not to look too happy, like I was a deranged elf or something.

But it was tough.

Because it felt like my world had changed over the weekend, like it’d grown bigger, its colors painted brighter. I was ridiculously amped by the promise of it all.

Obviously, I knew that Blake was just a guy and it might not work out.

Itprobablywouldn’t work out, honestly, if you played the odds on the dating game.

But why not jump into these moments of wild promise and roll around in them? I was going to make lovesick snow angels in these swoony times and not allow odds and reality to creep in and destroy the magic.

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