Page 109 of The One I Need
“Again, it’s nothing we haven’t taken care of,” he says. “I just wanted you both to be informed of the situation. Our communications director has decided to no longer continue working with us.”
My eyes grow wide. “Bridget quit?”
“Yes, she decided to no longer work with us,” Edwin says.
I can’t believe she didn’t tell me. Then again, I was MIA for a bit. Though why is he phrasing it like that? Something is definitely up.
“Did she say why?” I ask.
“She didn’t,” Edwin says, though he looks guilty as fuck.
“Edwin, spill it,” Hazel says. “Now.”
Edwin visibly swallows down the lump in his throat. The more Hazel and I push back, the more nervous it seems to make him. “There was an…incident.”
“What kind of incident?” How Hazel is staying remotely calm right now is beyond me.
“There was a misunderstanding that led to Bridget not wanting to work at Left for Love anymore.”
Oh, this smells like straight up cow shit. “What kind of incident?”
Edwin goes silent, which only makes the stench grow stronger. And only makes Hazel angrier. “Edwin? I’m going to need you to talk. Now.”
“Well, my son…”
“Your son?” Hazel says, her voice growing louder. “Since when did your son come on board?”
“I hired him a few months ago. He has a marketing degree and is very capable of running the social media department.”
“Interesting,” I say. “I never heard about this hire. I feel like that’s something I would have been informed about since I’ve been training every communications department head.”
“It doesn’t matter,” Edwin deflects. “My son and Bridget had a…miscommunication. She felt it was best that she didn’t work at Left for Love any longer.”
Hazel and I look at each other in sheer bewilderment. This is bad. This is really bad.
“What kind of miscommunication?” I ask.
Edwin doesn’t say anything, which turns Hazel’s attention to Edwin’s assistant. “What happened? You have five seconds to tell me or you can consider yourself no longer employed.”
The assistant looks to Edwin before looking back at Hazel, straight fear in his eyes. “He asked her out. She said no. He then started spreading rumors about her in the office. There might have even been pictures, but I didn’t see them.”
Oh for fuck’s sake…
“Oh, okay then. That’s easy,” Hazel says in a calm voice. Edwin apparently is a dumbass because he’s falling into a false sense of security. I just sit back and cross my arms with a knowing smirk. Because I know that hell’s about to come down on him, and he’s too fucking dumb to see it coming. “Here’s what’s going to happen. Edwin, you’re fired. Your son is fired. Any staff you specifically hired from any previous employment is fired. Anyone who spread the rumors or pictures are fired. Except you.” Hazel points to the assistant. “You can stay because you spoke up and didn’t cower to this prick.”
“Hazel, with all due respect, you’re overreacting,” Edwin says, the panicked look back in his eyes. “Yes, it was a minor blip, but no one needs to be fired.”
“No one needs to be fired? Bridget has every right to file a sexual harassment suit against us. Hell, at this point, I’ll hire her attorney.”
“But she no longer works for us.”
“God, you’re a fucking idiot,” I say. I need to go back and see who recommended this man because he’s a goddamn moron. “Your son is a little dick energy prick who couldn’t take no for an answer. You’re an enabler who I’m guessing has already bailed him out of jail once or twice, which is why you had to hire him without telling anyone because then people would ask questions. There’s a special place for you two in hell. So, as Hazel said, you’re no longer employed. Get out of here, leave quietly, or the lawyers are going to come afteryouas well.”
Edwin stands up, doing his best to not seem phased as he buttons his jacket. “Hazel, if you reconsider—”
“I won’t. Goodbye, Edwin.”
Edwin and his assistant walk away from the table as Hazel and I turn to look at each other.
