Page 115 of Keep Your Friends Close and Your… Work Enemy Closer?

"I'm afraid we have no choice then, correct, Mr. Sterling?" she verified.

I knew it was coming, but that didn't stop my heart from pounding out of my chest.

"That's correct," he said, his voice formal and professional, not at all the man I'd known before. "We have no choice but to fire you, Annalise."

The way that hurt, it was nearly impossible to describe.It was like the floor had dropped from beneath me, a hollow ache taking over my chest. The man I'd grown to care for, the job I'd poured myself into—all of it gone with a single, cold sentence.

At the same time, anger flooded me, painting my sight red. If Max was in front of me, I'd kick him in the nuts. Then do it again.

But he wasn't. Only Veronica with a detached expression.

"We do need to think about the Venus project, however," she said. "Venus specifically wants to work with you, and I propose we make an exception for Venus' project only, with certain conditions of course."

"Right. That's a good idea," Max agreed, sounding distracted, like he had better things to do while completely tearing apart my life.

Veronica leaned back, folding her hands neatly on her desk. "We'll slowly transition your other authors over during the nextfew weeks, to make it as seamless as possible for everyone. And you'll work strictly from home—no coming into the office, no company events, no direct involvement with any clients except Venus."

"And of course, we'llprovide compensation for the rest of the project," Max fucking asshole Sterling added. "In line with your current rate. And once it's complete, your contract will end, and all ties with the company will be severed permanently."

Glaring at the phone, I wished he could see me.

"Annalise?" Veronica interrupted my pointless glare. "What are your thoughts on this?"

I hated it. But what else could I do? I did deserve it after all, and it would save Nina, plus keep me on the Venus project that I was now passionate about.

Truthfully, I didn't care a whit about the compensation, and I fought the impulse to tell them to take their money and shove it, because I didn't keep a dime of it anyway. Every paycheck I'd ever received from Insight I'd donated to an arts literacy program for underprivileged kids. It wasn't their business, though, and more money for the program was always welcome, so I decided to keep my mouth shut.

"I think it's fair," I said, forcing my voice to be steady.

Veronica nodded. "You can clear out your desk now, and starting next week, you'll work remotely. I'll call you Monday morning to iron out the particulars."

"Okay. Thank you."

Clearly, I'd been dismissed, so I got up and walked out with as much dignity as I could muster, even though my heart had splintered into pieces.

I'd never felt so terrible or been so upset. And I wasn't even that mad at them for firing me. I was more mad at myself than anything else. I hated myself. I hated my life. I hated everything.I'd done all of this for absolutely nothing. All that work for naught.

Mona, who must have been waiting for me, came rushing over to my side as soon as I arrived at my desk.

"I got fired," I said in a low voice.

She let out a gasp. "Veronica fired you?"

"Max did," I hissed.

Another shocked gasp as her expression paled. "But... but..." she sputtered.

"Well, I guess I'm only kind of fired. I get to work from home on Venus' book. But that's it. And once that's done, I'm fully fired."

I grabbed an empty box from a nearby desk and began to fill it. Quickly. The last thing I wanted to do was linger here and face questions, not that anyone was really left on a Friday evening, but still.

"Oh, the next time I see Max Sterling, why, I'm going to give him a piece of my mind," she said.

Pausing to look at her, I gave her a smile. "You're a true friend, Mona. And I'll miss seeing your beautiful face every day."

At that, my throat tightened, something I hadn't expected. This job had started out as a way to prove something to myself and the world, a very selfish endeavor. But it'd evolved into way more than that, and I'd become very emotionally attached to this office and the people within it.

"Me too," she said with a sniff. "Oh, no. I don't want to cry. I have a date soon. But you know what? I'm going to cancel it. I think we should go to your place, split a bottle of wine or two, and order in some food. On you of course."

---