Page 136 of A Fae in Finance
Jeff shook his head. “Too new.”
“And the Faerie project, of course,” Levi added. “Which should close soon.”
“Not sure what Miri will do after that,” Jeff sighed, like my presence was making his life harder. I gaped at him.
“I can come back here every day now, Jeff,” I said. “I won’t be remote anymore. So you can put me on a new project.”
I reached for the space where my ring had once sat, but my finger was bare. So I twined my hands together and looked at him. His neck sagged into the starched white collar of his shirt. He was wearing a tie with his alma mater’s logo on it.
“Your pitch decks haven’t led to any new deals,” he said, his icy eyes on my face.
“Neither have Matt’s or Corey’s,” I said. “No one has gotten any new deals—not just me.”
He brushed this off with a half shrug, his jaw set and his features hard.
“Jeff, don’t you have anything to say to me?” I asked. “Or to Matt and Corey?” There was a buzzing in my ears, a sound like a swarm of venomous bees rising around me in a maelstrom of impotent rage.
“You need to work on your sales strategy, Miri,” Jeff said. “Don’t bring your colleagues into this.”
My head exploded like a bottle of champagne. I was surprised to find it still attached to my neck when I inhaled again.
“Jeff, I have done everything you asked me to, even when it went against my better judgment, and even when it actively harmed me. I have worked hundred-hour weeks—”
“Then you need to utilize your hours better,” Jeff interrupted. “Because your work output doesn’t support that statement.”
Levi snickered. Matt and Corey had the decency to look uncomfortable: Matt looked like he’d just walked in on his own grandma naked, and Corey also looked like he’d just walked in on Matt’s grandma naked.
“Jeff, you—” I stopped, racking my brain for options:
Run-of-the-mill dingbat
Absolute turdwaffle
Shitstain on a shower curtain
Might be right; I’m sorry
No. NotD. NeverDagain. I hadn’t faced down kidnapping, magical prejudice, a controlling asshole prince, and a hostile magical Queen just to cower in front of this man.
My rage turned potent. I stood up, so that for once I was taller than him. I stared down at the thinning dishwater hair crowning his head.
“Jeff, I’ve seen true power,” I said, the words coming out so hard they nearly cracked my teeth. “You are powerless.”
My hands shook at my sides. “You are useless.” There was hot anger gathering in the corners of my eyes. I blinked it away.
His stupid pink face remained impassive. “You are pointless and irrelevant.” My breath scraped its way up my trachea, hurt as I exhaled.
He crossed his arms, crinkling his suit jacket. “Are you done?”
“No, you festering bag of pustulent dicks,” I growled.
Matt snickered; I shot him a glare so virulent that he folded up into his seat like a discarded marionette.
I turned my attention back to Jeff, who sat apparently unaffected, except for two hectic spots of pink on his cheeks. “Jeff, you are a needlessly cruel man. If you have any redeeming qualities, I haven’t personally encountered them. I’ve had bacterial infections that provided me with better mentorship than you have.”
“Miri, I’m giving you a warning,” Jeff said, finally leaning forward. “You can’t talk to me like that. I’m your manager and I can make your life hell.”
We stared at each other. What—what did he think he’d been doing to date?
