Page 101 of Unbossly Manners

He scowled but trudged up to her. He poked his chin out, trying to be as dignified as possible in the situation.

“Apologize.”

“I did what I thought best for our company,” he stated.

Manjari raised her eyebrows in warning.

“I’m sorry,” he huffed. “My actions were misguided.”

“Sit.” She nodded to a seat in front of her. “I’ll deal with you when we return to the office.”

No one said a word, stunned by the turn of events. I’m not sure she would’ve come here and made such a show of support for us if it hadn’t been for the Rohypnol. On the phone last night, she’d been hesitant to be a part of this confrontation, but an accusation that one of her employees drugged a rival employee could take her entire company down.

“We shall bow out of the acquisition, and donate half a million dollars to the charity of your choice, Ms. Peyton.”

My head popped up, and people turned to me. I had not been expecting that. We didn’t discuss this on the call.

“Uh, thanks,” I stuttered, taken aback.

“Once the money is transferred and Brody has been suitably reprimanded, both companies have agreed to take no further actions.”

There’d been calls between the company lawyers and the owners all night and morning. This must have been part of the deal.

Manjari snapped her fingers at Brody, motioning for him to leave with her.

People milled about for several minutes after the meeting, but eventually made their way back to their workstations. It was doubtful much work would be done for the rest of the day, the air crackled with the excitement and stunning exposés of the morning.

Prathi, Derrick, and Isaac sat in the Thinktank and asked me to stay behind. I glanced at Jackson who was finishing up a conversation with Prathi. He smiled at me like he was proud. I felt pretty damn good too. This meant that we were almost guaranteed to become part of the NOW family.

Derrick put his hand out, indicating I sit.

“We’re all very impressed with your loyalty to the company. As a thank you, and because you deserve it, we’re promoting you to junior VP of social media relations.”

“Thank you,” I said, flutters erupting in my chest. “You’re not just doing this so I don’t sue your ass, are you?”

The expressions on their faces dropped.

“I’m kidding!” I assured them. “No real harm was done to me, I wasn’t the target, and I get half a million dollars to give to a charity. I’d call it a wash.”

“I’ll send the details later this week, and a meeting’s been set up with Analise tomorrow morning,” Prathi said.

“I love working here and I’m thrilled for the promotion,” I said, giddy, all of it a bit surreal. “Thank you.”

Isaac stood and held the door open for Prathi, and they both exited. Derrick remained, and I swiveled my chair to face him.

“Is there something else?” I asked.

Derrick sighed. “I guess I just wanted to say you deserve this. I don’t want you to think you got this out of guilt or fear. You’re one of us. I wanted you to hear that from me.”

“Thanks, Derrick.” I stretched my arms out to hug him but he stepped back and I stumbled, catching myself on a rolling chair.

“I guess that means we’re back to being strictly professional.” I shimmied my shoulders, regaining a bit of composure. “I wish… I mean, I’m sorry for how we—”

He put his hand up, quieting me. “I like you, Peyton. More than you know. The only reason I’m stepping aside is because of Jackson. He’s my friend.”

“That’s done. So…”

“He told her to leave,” Derrick said.

---