Butterflies in Honey (Growing Pains #3)(30)

“Crap, Chet. I had forgotten about him. Poor guy.”

“Yeah, I believe there was one instance where you said you might have married and regretted it. That wasn’t too complimentary to the guy. I wouldn’t have let you marry that tool, of course, but that is beside the point. He is getting a lot of pity sex.”

“Chet’s not a tool. He’s a good guy. He was good to me.”

“Krista, you were too love sick to realize that he was a sensitive, insignificant tool with no personality. He dropped his panties for you because he needed someone to guide him through life. I love you, dearest, but you can bully the best of ‘em.”

“Except Sean.” She leaned back and sighed. Hurt consumed her again. She focused on the remnants of the hangover, instead.

“No, you bullied him, too. He just knew how to manipulate you to compensate for it.” Marcus smiled like the Cheshire Cat and got up. “Well, now you are caught up. I have to dash. I have to do some work today before the boss catches on.”

“Enjoy messing around while you can. Sean’ll have you under him sooner or later.”

“Ooooh, yes please. I’ll take your sloppy seconds any day.”

“Eww.”

Marcus laughed. “And what is it I hear about you being a thorn in the other managers’ side? They don’t seem to like you…”

Krista rolled her eyes. “No, they don’t. I’m hoping they’ll come around. They aren’t much fun.”

Marcus waved it away. “No one is as much fun as me. You’re setting your sights too high, doll.”

“I hear that a lot.”

Marcus laughed again and made his way out with a “Ciao.”

Chapter Nine

Krista shook her head and checked the time. “Shit!” Someone that was passing by looked into the office.

“Language,” she muttered to herself as she got up.

She had to let the department know that Kate would be taking over her job, and that she would be stepping up to Phil’s position. That rumor was already circling, so it wasn’t a surprise, but she needed to follow protocol.

Swaying slightly after standing, she walked into the middle of the room and waited until everyone fell silent. All eyes looked up at her expectantly, but also with various traces of guilt. They obviously weren’t talking about work when she walked in.

The only thing worse than dealing with heartache, was it being broadcast on company speakers. Krista was getting a small dose of what celebrities had to endure, but without the money to compensate.

“Alright, you’ve all heard the rumors, I take it?” A few heads nodded, a few eyes got wide.

“Well, it’s none of your business, but since it has to do with your boss, I’ll say this. Yes, I sometimes dress slutty on the weekends. And yes, I am a heartbreaker, no big deal. And no, I am not going to date any of you, so don’t bother asking. Are we good?”

The semi-circle of seated faces smiled for the most part, sharing the joke. She got a scowl from a woman in her fifties. You couldn’t please them all.

“Right. Let’s move on to business. As you know, there are some big changes happening in the company—“ Everyone looked startled and glanced behind her.

Kate’s eyes went back to Krista immediately.

Sean was leaning against the wall in the entryway of the department. With butterflies, Krista turned to him expectantly. The fastest way to dispel the rumors was to act as if they were unfounded. Plus, she was a freaking professional!

“Please continue,” he said to Krista casually, crossing his arms.

Krista turned back to her department. “Okay, as I was saying. There are some big changes. One of those changes is that I will be stepping up into Phil’s role. Phil was given a fantastic opportunity in his home region, away from all us Californian liberals.” Everyone laughed nervously. It was widely known what Phil thought of California. “I wanted to let you know from the horse’s mouth that Kate Dunlevy will step up into my role. Let’s give her a round of applause for being bullied into the job no one else wanted.”

Everyone clapped and gave Kate catcalls. She was well liked within the department. Where Krista was never one of the crew, Kate fit right in. It was perfect for her to step up into that position.

“I will be heavily training her over the next few weeks, so get friendly while you can. Once she starts my job she’ll be tired and stressed out, having to save you all from me.” More claps and laughter.

With a smile Krista turned back and walked over to Sean. “What’s up?”

“Office.”

“Aye, aye.”

They went in and sat down. Krista had yet to move into the larger office…or pack.

Sean looked drawn and weary. “Krista, a couple things. First, Tory is planning a kind of retreat for all new VPs and upper management. It’s a team building exercise. He likes to promote from within a lot of the time, so we’ll be going up against people that have been working together for years and years. We’re the underdogs, here.”

Sean stopped to get confirmation that she understood. Being that only a person that didn’t speak English wouldn’t, her response was, “Okay.”

“I just…Look, all on the table, I want to win. Yes, it’s about my pride. I have a new job and I want to look good. So, for that, I need your help.”