Page 72 of One Bad Idea
This morning, I'd arrived early, only to discover that Jaden's electronic calendar had been cleared of everything for the rest of the week. Only Jaden and I had access to the thing, which meant that he'd cleared all of those appointments himself.
It was beyond strange.
As far as instructions, the only thing I saw was a message in the notes section, saying, "If anyone complains, reschedule."
I'd received no complaints – mostly because I hadn't yet contacted the participants to inform them that their meetings were off.
No, the only thingI'dreceived was this little visit from Darla, who'd just marched into the executive suite to inform me that Jaden wasn't here.
As if I couldn't figure that out on my own.
It was just past eight o'clock, my usual starting time, and already, the day wasn't looking so great.
In front of me, Darla was saying, "You're not a very good assistant, are you?"
Well, that was nice.
From Cassidy, I'd learned that Darla was some sort of friend of the family, which made my position doubly precarious. Even now, it's not like I could say exactly what I was thinking.
I almost sighed out loud. It was so much easier when I'd beentryingto get fired.
Then again, I hadn't succeeded atthateither.
I forced another smile. "Should I let him know you stopped by?"
"Why?" she scoffed. "I'll probably see him beforeyou."
I gritted my teeth. "Alrighty then."
She frowned. "What?"
"Nothing." Deliberately I pushed back my chair and stood. "Well, thanks for stopping by." I gave the door a pointed look.Off you go.
Her eyebrows furrowed, and she made no move. "I'm not 'stopping by.' I'm here to stay."
Now that we were both standing, it suddenly struck me that we were almost exactly the same height. It was funny to think that she had such a tall daughter. Then again, my own parents were on the tall side, too, which only proved that trends didn't always run in the family.
Unfortunately, when it came to personality, Darla and Morgan were cut from the same cloth – the bitchy one, with lots of barbs and digs and what-not.
I was so lost in my thoughts that it took me a moment to realize what she'd just said.She was here to stay?
I felt my brow wrinkle in confusion. "Excuse me?"
"I'm not 'stopping by,'" she repeated. "What do you think this is? A social call?"
Obviously, it wasn't – not that I neededherto tell me.
Darla was wearing a no-nonsense black dress with a polka dot scarf. Clipped to the scarf was an official company badge, which meant that she actually worked here.
Heaven help me.
Which department, I had no idea, but Ididknow that the sooner she returned there, the better.
Very carefully, I said, "But don't you need to get back to your desk?"
Her mouth tightened. "Oh, soyou'remy boss now?"
"No," I said. "But Idoneed to get back to work…" Again, I gave the door a pointed look.
