Page 93 of The Thorne at My Side
“Excellent, do you want me in the office or dialing in from my desk to take notes?”
“From your desk please, I’d like to be alone.”
“Of course, Austin,” she says and I look up at her. She called me Austin without me asking her to. She smiles at me with her eyes. If Felix noticed my sour mood and I only see him once a week then Elizabeth must have a swollen tongue from biting it. I’m grateful she never brought it up, it allowed me to retreat into work and use it to numb the pain.
When she has stepped out of the office and closed the door behind her, I dial into the call. I lean back in my desk chair and feel for the SMS Connect phone in my pocket.
Still nothing from Maggie. It’s been two full weeks since Christmas Eve.
Two more weeks of carrying this little phone around.
Two more weeks of starting my day with disappointment.
I zone out for most of the call, the view from my office window of the winter skyline proving to be morefascinating than earnings reports.
“Most of this revenue is from AI Media. The strong fourth-quarter finish because we cleared our costs in the first month.” I perk up because I’m expecting the credit here. It wouldn’t take me long to get upstairs and accept the accolades in person. I stand and button my suit coat.
“The liability of the product is correlated to the share price drop right before New Year’s.” I pause.
“Things are progressing with the lawsuit and I’m expecting us to win. But the lawyers suggested, and I agree with them, that in an act of good will we’re going to close the product down.” Dad says and I feel faint.
I grab the side of my desk and the room spins as Elizabeth comes in. She reaches me and helps me sit in my chair. She leaves the office quickly before returning with a brown paper bag for me to breathe into.
The crinkle in and out is so loud I can’t hear the call but it doesn’t matter. Dad just canceled my product. He basically just fired my entire team. My inbox alerts fire off at an alarming rate as messages flood in. Elizabeth reaches forward and closes my laptop.
Now the only sound in the room is my fractured breathing. I look up at her and find a steely look on her face.
“I try to stay out of it Austin, I really do, but your father simply doesn’t respect you. And my advice, unsolicited as it might be, is to get out.” Elizabeth says steadily. I pull the bag down from my chin and stand.
Acting on instinct I reach out and wrap her in a hug. She’s rigid at first but when I squeeze a little tighter she wraps her arms around me in return.
“Thank you, Elizabeth,” I tell her softly.
“Of course, Mr. Thorne, allow me to call Greg for you.” She steps out of the office and picks up her phone. I look around my office and decide this is the last time I’ll be in this building. In this room.
I’m done.
Done trying to impress a man who refuses to be impressed by anything.
Done making decisions based on the bottom line alone.
Done toiling away day-in and day-out to get nowhere.
CHAPTER 28
Hot for Teacher
MAGGIE
“Alright class, focus up, Ms. Collins is here and we want to make the most of the time she’s giving us,” Jack says as he leans back against his desk. It’s clear he’s the “cool teacher”. “Alright, put your hands together for former Lakeville High School student body president, Cornell graduate, and presidential speech writer, Ms. Maggie Collins!”
Jack starts clapping loudly and I can’t help the giggle that escapes. His face lights up with a grin that makes the corners of his eyes crease. It’s a megawatt smile that does nothing for me. But some girl, some day, is going to fall hard for it.
“Hey everyone,” I wave awkwardly.
“Before we let the kids ask their questions. I’ve got one for you; was it more difficult winning the presidency for the LHS student body or the United States of America?”
I laugh, “it was harder to win LHS but the presidential election was a lot more exhausting!”
