Page 16 of Love & Other Disasters

Seven

Company-Wide Memo:

We would like to extend our apologies to everyone who was at Mr. McAvoy’s retirement party. It has come to our attention that videos of the incident were uploaded to the internet. We ask that those who have uploaded it to please remove it and for everyone to stop sharing the video. This is not how we want our customers to view us here at Medi-Health. We want to project a professional image that gives our customers confidence in our ability to serve them. One disgruntled person is not representative of this company or its employees.

Your managers will send out talking points for customer questions. As always, direct Media questions to the Public Relations team.

Please join us at the town hall meeting today at 10 a.m.

Thank you,

Deanna Nolan

Director of Human Resources.

They slid into folding chairs set up at the back of the large employee break room on the first floor.

“The company wants to put the kibosh on us talking about the McAvoy incident,” Monique said.

“Of course, they do. The Board is scrambling. We don’t want all the customers to bail.” It wasn’t often that she came down here. The sizable room had tables, four couches, a television, vending machines, and a ping pong table. Today there were chairs lined up facing a makeshift stage area. An IT guy worked plugging in microphones and pressing buttons on a panel.

Three rows up, Poppy turned around spotting them through the crowd, she scowled, and turned back.

“Is she upset that we’re almost late?” Violet asked.

“Is she aware that I don’t care?”

“Wonder what this new guy’s gonna be like?” The room buzzed with nervous energy. They knew nothing about this Jordan person, his management style, or what this all meant for their jobs. Things would change.

“I have an awful feeling about this,” Violet said.

“Don’t say that,” Monique turned. “You’re always so positive.”

Normally, yes. But she’d had an ever present sense of dread since the announcement.

“Sorry, I must not have slept well.”

“Yeah, that must be it.”

Violet pulled off her glasses, wiping them on the hem of her shirt.

The door opened and Bob Levy the CEO entered first, followed by CMO Lewis Benson. A group of old white men ran the company. The third man with them was younger, tall, blond with a familiar stride. Violet froze when he moved from behind them. Her heart stopped beating and lodged itself into her throat, threatening to choke her. Inhaling became impossible. Her new boss…

Frat Guy.

Sweat trickled down her back even though a chill hung in the air. A headache pounded as they introduced the new CFO, Jordan Harper. Unable to concentrate on the words while they sang his praises on all that he’d accomplished at other companies. The room whirled and she tried to focus. J.P. stood next to Bob and Lewis, twenty years younger than them and thirty to forty younger than McAvoy. Still a male. Definitely a man. And she was screwed.

She’d seen him naked and knew what his lips tasted like. He enjoyed kissing, and took his time with it in slow, deep, and tender kisses that lasted a while. By the time they’d gotten to the pivotal event he’d already brought her to orgasm once. These were details that she shouldn’t know about her new boss, especially when he thought her name was Katia.

Violet slipped from her seat and out of the side door before the meeting ended. Locked inside a bathroom stall, she called Elle.

“Hey, what’s up?”

“Oh my god. I’m in so much trouble.” Violet whispered, the panic rising through her body.

“What happened?”

“It’s so bad. I cannot believe this.” She paced in the confines of the stall.

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