TWO WEEKS' NOTICE

by Whitney G.

  “Well, I guess so,” my mother said, seeming to accept things finally.

  I started to change the subject, to ask her if there was anything in particular she wanted to eat tonight, but my mother quickly reminded me that she didn’t accept shit when it came to quitting.

  “Look at Bill Gates!” She faced me. “He never quit.”

  “He dropped out of college.”

  “Steve Jobs never quit.”

  “He dropped out of college, too.”

  “Well, Ellen DeGeneres—”

  “She lasted one semester of college.”

  “Well, those are only three examples.” She pulled out her phone. “Let me find some people for you to admire so you can rethink your decision.”

  I looked out the window and held back a sigh.

  By the time we made it to my condo, my mother had read me the biographies of over eighty “business people” who didn’t quit, and I didn’t have the energy to tell her that A) None of those people were currently alive and B) Half of them were fictional characters from bestselling books.

  The doorman smiled at us as he let us inside, and she finally put her game to rest. I checked my mailbox and noticed it was stuffed with beautiful, bright postcards from employees at Parker International.

  DEAR MISS LAUREN,

  Please don’t leave us with him.

  Thanks.

  DEAR MISS LAUREN,

  Can I come with you? (Like, just me.) I don’t think my job is safe if you’re not around.

  Thanks

  DEAR MISS LAUREN,

  Your boss is more than willing to keep you onboard here.

  At least, that’s what I’ve heard.

  -Preston Parker

  I LAUGHED AND READ the rest of them, noticing that for every one card that was from an intern, there were five more from Preston. As touched as I was by the gesture, and as much as I enjoyed spending more time with him, I knew we were better off working separately.

  I just hoped he felt the same way I did about keeping our personal lives entwined.

  “Wow.” My mother twirled around the lobby. “How much does this place cost a month? Actually, no. Don’t tell me. I don’t even want to know.”

  I laughed and hit the up button for the elevator. “It’s expensive, but my boss covers most of it.”

  “Will he be covering it for a little while longer after you’re gone?”

  “I’m not sure. I haven’t asked.” I knew that even if he didn’t, I had more than enough in my bank account to cover things for quite a while.

  As we stepped onto the car, my mother leaned forward and gave me a hug—catching me completely off guard. “Your father would be very proud of you if he could see you now, you know?”

  “Even after I quit something?”

  “Absolutely.” She smiled. “Your father was the biggest quitter I knew. Why do you think I pushed you so hard to be the opposite?”

  I laughed and let go as the elevator stopped on my floor. When the doors glided open, I showed her to the spa room that was on the left, and when we walked to the doors that led to my front door, Preston moved away from the wall and smiled at me.

  “You didn’t tell me you had a boyfriend.” My mother playfully fanned herself. “Who is this?”

  “I’m Preston Parker,” he said, extending his hand. “I apologize for all the things you’ve had to hear about me over the past two years, and it’s finally nice to meet you, Mrs. Lauren.”

  “What?” My mother’s eyes widened as she shook his hand. “Tara, this is your boss?”

  “The terrible boss that she hates.” He smiled, correcting her.

  She stood utterly speechless, still shaking his hand, still staring at him.

  I waited for her to let his hand go, but it started to feel like that wasn’t going to happen any time soon. “Mom?” I cleared my throat. “Mom.”

  “Oh, sorry.” She finally let go, but she still stared at him.

  Preston laughed and pulled me into a hug. “How did your mom get to New York?”

  “By plane, of course.”

  He raised his eyebrow. “She took a commercial flight?”

  I nodded.

  “Why?”

  “Because that’s how us regular people get around.”

  Laughing, he let me go. “You could’ve used one of my planes.”

  “I still don’t think you need four.”

  “That’s why I have five.” He smiled. “She’s more than welcome to take a private plane on her way back.”

  “Am I allowed to use one when I start my new job?”

  “Only if you’re flying somewhere to see me.” He looked as if he was tempted to push me against the wall and kiss me, but he thankfully restrained himself in front of my mother.

  “Tara, this is your boss?” My mother repeated. “I thought you said you hated everything about him.”

  “I do.” I looked at him. “I thought you were going to Disney World.”

  “We were until a certain someone started crying because she wanted Tara to come,” he said. “No, excuse me. Bear wanted Tara to come. They’re waiting in the car with Simon.”

  I smiled. “Well, I’d love to come, but can we leave another day? I’m waiting on some things to be delivered from the office, and my mom wants to see New York.”

  “I’m open to going to Disney World,” my mother said. “Today. With him. Whenever.”

  I held back a laugh, and Preston clasped my hand.

  “I’ll ask Will to stand guard for the delivery of your things,” he said. “Do you need to grab anything from inside first?”

  “I can’t believe you’re asking me if I want to pack before I go on a trip.”

  “It’s a yes or no question, Tara.”

  “No,” I said. Then in German, I added, “I remember my boss saying that he’ll buy me whatever I need when we get there. I wonder if that offer still stands.”

  “You’re lucky your mother is standing here right now,” he responded, in perfect German. Then, in English, “Good. We can go now. Unless Mrs. Lauren needs to get something from your condo or get a tour of it first?”

  “I can see the inside of her condo when we get back.” She started walking toward the elevator, and we laughed as we followed her.

  When we stepped onto the car, he took a call on his phone, and my mother nudged me in my shoulder.

  “I take back what I said about quitting,” she whispered. “With a boss that looks like that—especially one who is clearly into you, you should never, ever quit. Is it too late to ask to have your job back?”

  THIRTY

  Preston

  I STARED AT TARA AS she slept next to Violet, as the plane taxied down the runway. She was holding Bear in one hand and a bag of Mickey Mouse lollipops in the other. Unlike me, she had no problems limiting Violet’s daily sweets, and I was beyond glad that she came along on the trip.

  Her last day of work was this coming Friday, and although I wasn’t one hundred percent sold on her successor, I was officially sold on us. The moment after her farewell party ended, I was determined to ask her if the two of us could continue whatever the hell had been happening over the past several weeks.

  I had no interest in dating anyone else, and I knew, without a doubt, that the feelings I had for Tara went deeper than sex.

  “Is it too late for her to get her job back?” Her mother stepped into the cabin. “You can tell me, and I’ll find a way to get her to change her mind.”

  “She made the right decision.” I looked over at Tara again. “It was time for her to go in a different direction.”

  “You think she has chief attorney potential?”

  “No,” I said, honestly. “I think she has CEO potential. Anything else would be a waste.”

  She smiled and picked up a bowl of apples. “You know, she’s a pretty light sleeper, and she hates grand declarations.” Her mom looked at me as if she could read my mind. “Tell her how you feel now. I mean, I would if I were you.
”

  “I have no idea what you’re talking about.” I smiled. “We’re just friends, and she’s my former employee.”

  “I’ve spent the past three days with you two, and this is the only time when you aren’t touching.” She gave me a knowing look and headed back to the rear suite. “You’re far more than friends.”

  When the door shut, I contemplated waking her up and asking her to join me in the front suite, but my phone buzzed on the table. An email from George.

  SUBJECT: TARA LAUREN’S Recommendation

  Preston,

  Please don’t tell me you gave Tara the recommendation for her next job.

  George Tanner

  Chief Attorney, Parker International

  SUBJECT: RE: TARA LAUREN’S Recommendation

  Of course, I did. I was more than happy to do so. I even wrote the latest recommendation letter myself.

  Preston Parker,

  CEO & Owner of Parker International

  SUBJECT: RE: RE: TARA Lauren’s Recommendation

  Now is not a good time to joke with me, Preston. I'm serious. Dead ass, I’m-not-smiling serious.

  George Tanner

  Chief Attorney, Parker International

  SUBJECT: RE: RE: RE: Tara Lauren’s Recommendation

  As am I. (You could’ve used quotes instead of those two hyphens, by the way)

  PRESTON PARKER,

  CEO & Owner of Parker International

  Subject: Re: Re: Re: Re: Tara Lauren’s Recommendation

  So, you personally recommended her to be the interim general counsel? That’s nice. Very sweet. The only problem is the goddamn company she’ll be doing that with.

  Please see attached.

  George Tanner

  Chief Attorney, Parker International

  I OPENED THE ATTACHMENT and lost my shit.

  What the fuck?

  THIRTY-ONE

  Tara

  “CHEERS TO THE BEST executive assistant in Parker International history!” Cynthia raised a glass of champagne. “Tara Lauren!”

  Everyone in the room cheered and knocked back their drinks, and I gave them my best smile. So far, there’d been farewell songs, a group poem called “Please Don’t Leave Us, Tara,” and a dramatic dance of some kind called “No, Really. Please Don’t Leave Us, Tara.”

  For some reason, Preston wasn’t here, and ever since we’d returned from Disney World, he’d been on edge. As if he was upset about something.

  Probably because the Von Strums haven’t signed the contract yet.

  “Thank you all so much for this party,” I said, standing on top of a chair. “It really means a lot to me. Although I have to leave, I’ll do my best to stop by for some Sweet Seasons Coffee to chat with you whenever I can.” I paused. “Well, some of you.”

  Everyone laughed.

  “Make sure that you give my successor, Taylor, all of the support he needs.”

  “What’s his real name?” Cynthia asked.

  “Taylor.”

  Everyone in the room laughed, except Taylor and me, so I shrugged and stepped down.

  I pulled out my phone and sent Preston an email.

  SUBJECT: MY FAREWELL Party.

  You’re missing it.

  Tara Lauren

  Executive Assistant to Preston Parker,

  CEO of Parker International

  *Please forward all requests to his new assistant Taylor Milton via taylormilton@parkerhotels.com

  SUBJECT: RE: MY FAREWELL Party.

  I’m aware.

  Preston Parker

  CEO & Owner of Parker International

  SUBJECT: RE: RE: MY Farewell Party.

  Is something wrong? You can tell me. (You’ve been off all week)

  Tara Lauren

  Executive Assistant to Preston Parker,

  CEO of Parker International

  *Please forward all requests to his new assistant Taylor Milton via taylormilton@parkerhotels.com

  HE NEVER RESPONDED, and by the time the third cake was eaten and the final song played, my coworkers were filing out of the room.

  I waited until only a few people were left and headed toward his office.

  “Wait a second.” Cynthia stepped in front of me. “I want to apologize for the way I treated you when you first got here. You didn’t deserve that.”

  I smiled. “I accept your apology.”

  “I also wanted to say thank you for recommending me as Violet’s interim nanny. Now that I’m engaged, it’s been a godsend to have a less stressful job here.” Her cheeks turned red like they usually did when she was about to ask me for something. “I wanted to know if you could ask Mr. Parker if I could be her full-time nanny since he’s been interviewing like three people a day and still hasn’t found one.”

  “Why can’t you ask him yourself?”

  She looked at me as if I’d grown two heads. “You’re kidding, right?”

  I shrugged. “I’m sure he’ll consider it. You’ve done a great job so far.”

  “Mr. Parker doesn’t consider anything—even the ties he wears, without asking you first,” she said. “Every time I tell him there’s someone on the line with a proposal, he asks me if you’ve read it first. None of the no-people ever go through.”

  “Violet is a different matter, Cynthia.”

  “No.” She shook her head. “She isn’t. And you know that whether you still work here or not, that he’ll ask you to give your opinion on his final choice anyway.”

  He did mention that a few weeks ago. “Okay, I’ll let him know that he should consider, but Violet has the final decision.”

  “Thank you,” she said. “One last thing, Miss Lauren. Did I ever tell you that Mr. Parker found out about our betting pool?”

  “No. Did he make you cancel it?”

  “Not at all.” She smiled. “He joined in.”

  Figures. “Good to know. Why are you telling me this?”

  “Because he won.” She smiled as she headed to the door. “He said you’d last at least two years.” She wished me luck one last time before leaving the room.

  I stopped by my desk and picked up a file box for Preston before walking to his office.

  To my surprise, he wasn’t on his phone, and he wasn’t in the middle of a meeting. He was just sitting at his desk, glaring at nothing at all.

  “Hey.” I stepped inside and shut the door. “What’s wrong?”

  He didn’t answer. He looked me up and down as always, letting a smile cross his lips, but he didn’t let it stay.

  “What’s going on, Miss Lauren?” he asked.

  “Well, I have everything you need for your final meeting with Mr. Von Strum.” I set my box on his desk and pulled out a package of pens. “Make sure you take these when you go and not one of your over the top priced pens as you know he hates displays of wealth. Also, make sure that you take him somewhere affordable for dinner.”

  “Okay. Anything else?”

  “Yes.” I pulled out a color-coded binder that read, The Do It Your Goddamn Self List. “I made this for you. I’ve taught Taylor quite a bit over the past few weeks, but I know it’s going to take him some time to truly get the hang of things, so whenever you feel like you need a second opinion or want something simple done, flip through here before you fire him, okay?”

  He took it from me, but he didn’t say anything.

  “I’ve placed additional copies in your desk and other places in the office you frequent,” I said, smiling. “Oh, and I want you to know that even though the first two years were hard for me, the last six weeks were amazing. I hope we can still see each other as much even though we’ll be working separately, you know?”

  “No, I don’t know,” he said. “I wish I could say I felt the same about you, but I don’t. And after you walk out of my office today, I don’t want to see you again.”

  “What? Why?”

  “Because I don’t want to expose Violet to your traitorous behavior.”

  “Is this some type
of walk down memory lane thing?” I smiled. “There’s definitely a chocolate drop in your coffee, and I’ve told Taylor countless times how particular you are about getting it at the right temperature.”

  “This is not about a chocolate drop,” he said, his voice terse. “This is about you fucking betraying me on every level possible.”

  “Preston, what are you talking about?”

  “You told me your top two choices for your next job were LimeCorps and Tate-Hills. You said that after working at either of those for a year, that you were going to work for yourself. You didn’t say shit about Marriott.”

  I sighed. I was saving this conversation for tonight over dinner.

  “Do you have any idea how messed up this is?” he said, glaring at me.

  “It’s only a one-year interim position,” I said. “Their offer was the best out of the three, and I was definitely going to tell you.”

  “When? On your first fucking day?”

  “Preston...”

  “Of all the places in this city to choose to go to after working for me, surely you can see that this as a conflict of interest personally and professionally.” He was talking so loudly that I couldn’t get a word in. “You’ve just quit the number one luxury hotel brand to work at the number two luxury hotel brand. You were my right hand, my confidant, my everything.” He slammed his fist on the table. “What do you think that board of directors is thinking about their competition right now after hiring you?”

  “You’ve always said they’re not your competition.”

  “They’re not.” He stood to his feet. “To me, anyway. I am to them. Don’t you think they’ll ask you questions about everything you’ve learned here over the past two years?”

  “I’m acting as a general counsel. I won’t be involved with the CEO’s day to day decisions, and I’m only there to get some additional experience in running a company. A different company,” I said, trying to keep my voice calm. “And if you must know, I happen to like working in the hotel industry.”