The Billionaire Bargain #1(11)
Grant sat down in her chair, leaning backwards and examining his fingernails as if he were bored beyond comprehension with the entire affair.“I suppose you could stay, and we could discuss the hostile workplace clause that allows us to reduce or eliminate your severance package…”
Jacindatook off so fast I was surprised I didn’t see skid marks on the carpet, or hear a little‘beep beep!’ Meanwhile, I was stunned, almost dizzy, bracing myself against the door in disbelief.
When it came to Jacinda, I’d had more mental revenge films playing in my head than Quentin Tarantino had made in his entire life, but somehow, I never thought any of the things she deserved would happen to her. I never thought she’d have to face the consequences of her actions.
I never thought someone would stand up for me.
And I definitely never thought that someone would be Grant Devlin.
“You…you really can’t do that.”
Grant raised an eyebrow.“Can’t I? I was under the impression that this was my company.”
“But—but what about all her work?” I protested weakly.
“Consider this your promotion.”
I gaped at him, and he just nodded, that infuriating sexy smirk playing around his lips.“Congratulations, Lacey.”
Holy shit.
SIX
“To Lacey! Kicking ass and taking names! Woohoo!” Kate raised her margarita high, nearly tipping it into my lap in her jubilation. “Oops! Sorry. I’m just so excited for you, girl!”
I had to practically shout to make myself heard over the raucous music of Kate’s latest favorite dive bar. “I’m not kicking ass! My ass is going to get kicked! How the hell did this happen?”
I took a gulp of my own margarita and barely tasted it through my panic. “I’m going to die. I’m going to die. I’m going to screw up and I’m going to get fired and everyone is going to laugh at me and I’ll never get a job in this town again and I’ll have to move back in with my parents and I will die of embarrassment. Oh god. This isn’t happening.”
“Hey!” Kate took hold of my shoulders and shook me gently. Well, as gently as she could judge with the amount of jubilation and alcohol currently in her system. Her red locks swayed violently with the clumsy motion. “That is my best friend you are talking about, and she is not going to screw up anything, because she is my best friend and I have a strict only-awesome-people-for-best-friends policy.” She tapped my chin, forcing me to look her in the eye. “Look, you’ve been doing Jacinda’s work for years, right?”
I nodded tentatively.
“So now you’re still doing her work, but you’re actually getting paid for it.” She sat back triumphantly, the bright flashing lights of the nearby dance floor flickering on her face like victory fireworks. “That’s the only difference, girl. Now drink to it.”
I took a deep breath, then a sip of the sweet margarita, and realized she was right. I hadn’t thought about it that way before, but it was totally true. I let out a long sigh of relief and felt my shoulders relax, the muscles of my neck un-tense.
“Thanks, Kate. I guess I’m just weirded out by how fast it’s happening, you know? One second I’m the grunt nobody knows, and now I’m in charge of so much shit I might forget it all if I didn’t have a flow chart.” I felt my heart start to speed up again, anxiety trickling back into my system. “And what if Grant fires me as quick as he fired Jacinda? He’s on some sort of weird power trip or something, hiring and firing people like an emperor, and I don’t know if you’re totally caught up on Game of Thrones, but that shit does not end well. He has no idea what he’s doing! What good’s a promotion on a sinking ship?”
“And you say I mix my references,” Kate said. She set down her drink on the scarred wooden countertop, fixing a no-nonsense expression on her face. It was tricky, since Kate’s normal expression is that of an eager Irish Setter puppy, but she managed it. “Look. Maybe it is a sinking ship. And you know what you do then? You use this as an opportunity to prove yourself. You do your best, and you document yourself doing your best, and if he does bring down the company you’ve got a kick-ass resumé that’ll make you welcome anywhere you go. Plus, you’ll know that after this, you’ll never have a tougher boss!”
I thought about it.
“You’re smart,” I admitted.
“That’s why we’re friends,” Kate said. “Your wonderful powers of perception.”
“I just feel so selfish, though,” I mused. I raised my hand quickly to forestall any objections. “I know, I know it’s irrational. It’s just—there are so many people there, they’ve worked there so long—what if I don’t know what I’m doing and I lose them their jobs? What if one of them would have done it better? I don’t want to hurt anybody.”
“Hey, no jumping off the positivity train until it pulls into the station!” Kate said sternly, raising her margarita threateningly as if to tip it into my hair.
“Okay, okay!” I held up my hands in surrender. “You’re right. You’re always right.”
“Besides—” She waggled her eyebrows mischievously. “Even if the whole positivity train is doomed to a train wreck, he’s a sexy train wreck, right?”