Page 159 of Sassy Love
She sighs and the two stunned guys murmur as they rise from their seats and file outside. I close the door and lean on the desk. “What the hell is Bob doing in our office?”
“He’s your new assistant. I can only keep one exec, and apparently it was you.”
I raise an eyebrow. “You’re going to have to fill me in.”
“Like you and Lawson did when we lost our most significant sponsor?”
I lean on the desk, palms flat. “We made theexecutivedecision to correct that before it became a concern. You know, what you hired us to do.”
Serelle clears her throat and stands. She gravitates toward the shelves lined with personal items and photographs. “When I started Serenity, things were hard. Like really hard. I was young, female, and the cause was... well, let’s say not the most popular. Nobody wants to soil their reputations with getting involved in the uglier side of humanity. Not back then they didn’t, at least. It was a daily struggle to keep this place afloat and open as much as possible.”
“But you made it. You’re still here.”
“Yes.” She turns to look at me. “We are. However, recklessness never served anyone well, and what you both did was reckless. So much so, now we no longer have the budget for the House. I should have let you both go. But Lawson wouldn’t hear of it.”
“You fired him!”
“He quit.”
My mouth gapes.
What? No.
“W—why?” I stammer.
“I guess he’s protecting his own,” she breathes, picking up a photo of her and a man. The man’s arm is slung around her shoulders. Their smiles are pure happiness.
“I don’t understand.”
“He quit so you could keep your job. He was protecting you, Carlie.”
“I thought there was no budget for either of us.”
She huffs a laugh. “That cowboy of yours is very resourceful. He promised to have the gap in funding filled within the hour. And he did. The Robbinses, as in Richard Robbins and his wife, have pledged the rest of our funding. Something about a good tax write-off. Honestly, I’m not concerned about their motivations, only the fact our doors will stay open.”
“Ruby,” I utter, falling into the chair.
“If Bob isn’t a suitable assistant, I’m happy to swap him out with Nadia.”
Her words catch me off guard.
“Sorry, what?”
“Bob. He’s not the best at productivity. If you would prefer Nadia, I can make that happen.”
“Actually, I don’t think Bob has a place here at all.”
Her brows knit before she says, “What do you mean?”
“I think you should talk to Nadia and the other female staff. He has an unofficial rap sheet around here—of the sexual harassment kind.”
“Oh my god.” She sinks into her chair. “How long has this been going on?”
“You’d have to ask Nadia. Lawson found out first, but since he’s not here to be her buffer anymore...”
“Anything else that’s been happening right under my nose I need to know about?”
I want to tell her there was one workplace romance that developed in the last few months.
