Found My Love [Learning to Love 3] (Siren Publishing Classic)
Page 7
I pull him out of my mouth and turn around. “Baby, that was great, but I need more,” I say in a desperate tone.
“You need to trust me, and I’m not sure you do yet,” he says with a smirk on his face.
“And how am I going to show you I trust you?”
He chuckles. “You’re a smart girl. I’m sure you will figure it out.”
“I don’t know my brain is going to be clouded with sexual frustration.”
He bursts out laughing at my pout. “Come on, baby. Cuddle me. We need to get some sleep, or we’re both going to be exhausted for tomorrow.”
Still pouting, I snuggle against his side. “Fine, but next time I may just leave you with blue balls.”
He kisses me on the top of the head and laughs. “Good night, baby.”
Chapter 7
“Mommy, Mommy, today is Friday! Chase is coming over tonight after you pick me up.” She’s jumping up and down with excitement.
These are the times when I’m glad I live in a first-floor apartment. “Katie, I’m glad you’re happy to see Chase, but what has Mommy told you about jumping in the house?” I try for a stern look, but I’m having a hard time with her because she’s so happy.
“I’m sorry, Mommy, but I’m excited!” She has the biggest smile on her face.
“I can tell, but you still have school first, so can you please go get ready so we can get to the bus on time.”
“Sure, Mommy!” She runs off to her room to get dressed in the clothes I laid out for her last night.
Katie is ecstatic. She just came up to me jumping up and down that you’re coming over tonight.
;-) Where does she want to go for dinner?
Which mall are we going to?
Silver City.
Okay I’ll have to see what’s there and let you know.
Okay have a good day! Xoxo
You, too. xoxo
“Katie, your breakfast is on the table. Please, come eat,” I shout toward her room.
“Coming, Mom!”
She runs to the table as I head into the bathroom to finish getting ready for work. I’ve already flat-ironed my hair, so I just need to throw on a bit of makeup and put my lunch into my bag, and I’ll be ready.
When I’m done with my makeup, I head into the kitchen to pack my lunch, and Katie is bringing her empty plate in at the same time.
“Mom, I’m going to go brush my hair,” she says as she puts it into the sink.
“That’s fine, but let me check it when you’re done, please.”
She’s becoming such a big girl, and she’s so smart. I just hope she stays on this path.
* * * *
Thank God it is Friday, I think as I look through the million e-mails I have this morning. I just want to get through this day so I can have a nice night and weekend with Chase and Katie. I’m halfway through answering my e-mails when Rob knocks on my door.
“Come in, Rob. What’s up?”
He’s standing tall and proud like he has some good news for me, and to be honest, the best news he could give me is that he’s quitting because I’m so tired of his lack of professionalism around the office. I caught him flirting with a totally different girl the other day in the kitchen, and I don’t need him distracting Abbey’s new girl. We have the second-round interviews today.
“I just wanted to let know that the wire should be here by noon. I just followed up with my AP person at Vertex, and she promised me it would get done.”
“Good. Now you just need to make sure they make another payment next week, and then we can schedule the work they have in the pipeline.”
“Well I kind of promised her we would move forward after this payment,” he says nervously because he knows that was not approved.
“Did Jack approve this, because I didn’t,” I say, already terse. It is ten, and he’s already shitting on my day.
“Well no, but they said that if we didn’t keep them on track, then they were going to pull out and go with someone else, and I didn’t want them to do that either.”
I close my eyes and take a deep breath. “You do realize you do not have the authority to make that decision on your own. It does us no good to do another project for them if they are not going to pay us for the first one.”
I pick up the receiver to my phone and call Jack’s office. “Jack, can you come to my office? I have Rob here, and apparently he has made a deal with Vertex that you need to know about.” I hang up.
Within two minutes, Jack is in my office. He shuts the door behind him so we can have some privacy. “What’s going on?” he says, looking upset.
“I informed Rob on Wednesday that Vertex needed to make a payment today and next week in order for us to keep their next project in the pipeline because they were not paying in full this week. As a matter of fact, they are only paying us about three-quarters of what they owe. Rob just informed me he promised them that we would move forward after this week's payment.” I grit my teeth because I have had it with this kid.
Jack looks right at him and says, “Can you tell me what you were thinking? Not only are they not paying us in full, but they are past net forty-five, and their terms are net thirty. That means they are fifteen days late in paying us, and they are only paying three-quarters of their bill. You’re in AR. You’re supposed to understand this.”
“I do understand it, but they have a good-sized project in the pipeline, and I didn’t want us to lose out on that project, so I negotiated with them,” he says as he shrugs.
“You do realize it is not your job to negotiate that, right? That’s why we have salespeople and upper management. Your job is to collect money, and you’re not even doing that these days. What you should have said is, ‘That is not a decision I can make but let me talk to some people here and see if I can get that approved. Your payment on Friday will help with the decision though, so please make sure we get it.’ Your job is to say that,” Jack says. His face is a bit red because he’s pissed off, too.
“Please go back to your cubicle so I can talk to Theresa about how to handle this.”
Rob stands and exits my office, slamming my door as he goes.
Jack looks at me. “Do you know what the cost is on this next job?”
“No, but I believe it is Christian’s job, and he’s in the office today, so let’s call him in and see what’s up with it.” I pick up my phone and ask him to come to my office.
“Hey, Christian. Have a seat,” Jack says.
“Hey, guys. What’s going on? You both look like you’re having a bad day already.”
“We are. Vertex is your client, right?” I ask, even though I’m already ninety-nine percent sure it is.
“Yes. Why? Have they not paid us yet? They were due like two weeks ago, weren’t they?” he says, confused.
“Yes, hence the problem. They’re only paying us a portion of what they owe us. Despite this issue, Rob took it upon himself to tell them we would move on with their next project. What we need to know is how big this next project of theirs is.”
“It is a pretty big project. They are expanding one of their office locations to make room for more customer service reps at their call center. I can make a call to fix this. I’ll let them know that if they have an issue like this they need to come to me, that he’s not the person who makes these decisions. However, something needs to be done about Rob. He came to me two weeks ago trying to get me to make a deal with another client as well so he could get money in here.”
I take a deep breath and look at Jack. “What do we do?”
Jack looks at Christian. “Can you please make the necessary phone call to fix this and let us know what happens. Let them know that they need to make the final payment on the first job next week and that we need the deposit on the second job the week after, or we do not budge on the project. We’re a business. We cannot operate if we’re doing business for free.”
“I’ll take care of it and follow up with you guys by the end of the day.”
“Please call Jane from HR into your office.”
I make the call, informing him she’ll be right in. There is a knock at my door and we both say, “Come in,” at the same time.
Jack asks Jane to have a seat. “We need to terminate employment with Rob effective immediately, and I would like you in here when we do it. Do you need any paperwork with you before we call him in again?”
She just shakes her head and asks me to look up how much vacation time he has left.
“He has four days of vacation time left,” I tell her, happy that we will not have to pay him a lot.
“So we’ll just have to give him his pay with his vacation time within twenty-four hours,” she says flatly.
I look at Jack. “I’ll wire it today for all I care.”
Jack nods, and I send a quick message to security, letting them know what is going on. I then pick up the phone to call Rob back into my office. He knocks on the door, and Jack opens the door and tells him to have a seat.
“Rob, we are sorry to tell you that your performance over the last month has not been to standard.”
Jack sighs.
“Based on this last decision you made we’re terminating your employment effective immediately. We will wire you any pay we owe you along with the four days of vacation pay you have left on the books. Security is at your desk waiting for you. You have fifteen minutes to pack up, and then they will escort you out when you’re done,” Jack says plainly.
“Are you fucking serious,” he spits. “This is bullshit. I have busted my ass for this company for the last two years, and this is the thanks I get. I make one bad call, and I’m fired.” His face is so red that he looks like he’s going to explode.
Jane pipes in, “Rob, this is not helping your situation. Please try to calm down.”
“Rob, I don’t want to upset you more than you are, but really it has been more than one bad mistake. I have spoken to you a number of times over the last month about slacking off and not doing your job, so you can’t say it is one bad call,” I try to explain calmly.
“Fuck you, Theresa. This is all because I asked you out, isn’t it?” he says with disgust.
Jane adds, “Rob, I have had Theresa e-mail me to make notes on at least several occasions lately. She’s informed me of your flirting with different girls around the office and your lack of professionalism as head of accounts receivable.”
I jump back in, pissed off that he brought that up. “And what would that have to do with this? I turned you down and told you I do not date anyone I work with, so you moved on to other staff, and it became a distraction, end of discussion,” I say, angry that he’s trying to blame me.
“Fuck this,” he screams as he stands to leave my office. He turns to me one more time before he opens my office door, looking me dead in the eyes like he wants to say something, but he bites his tongue and walks out. Security is outside my door to walk him to his desk where there is another guard waiting.
I look at Jack. “I need to call the AR staff into a meeting. They are going to wonder what the hell is going on.”
Jack nods, and we all walk out of my office. I head to the cubicle area to grab the four AR staff and ask them to head to the conference room and wait for me there. I can hear Rob cursing at the back of the room, and one of the guards tells him that if he doesn’t keep quiet and pack up his desk, he will escort him out and that his stuff will be shipped to him.
I shake my head and turn toward the conference room for this last minute meeting. I walk in and shut the conference room door behind me. “I’m sure you’re all realizing that I have asked you in here because of the scene Rob is causing. Effective immediately we’ve terminated Rob and he’s a bit pissed off. We want you to know this has nothing to do with downsizing or the company's performance. We plan to replace Rob as soon as possible, and we encourage you to apply if you’re interested in stepping up in the company. If you’re interested, please e-mail me by the close of business on Monday so we can get the ball rolling.”
I look around to give them a minute to process what I just said. “Does anyone have any questions?”
Sandra raises her hand. “Can we get a copy of the job description to read over the weekend?”
“Absolutely. I’ll e-mail it to the four of you as soon as I get back to my office,” I say with a nod. “Once we leave this room, people will want to know what happened. As far as you’re concerned all you know is Rob was let go. Am I clear?” I say sternly.
They each nod their agreement.
“Great. Thank you, ladies. Now let’s get back to work. It is almost lunch time already. This has taken enough of my day.”
They all smile at me as we walk out of the conference room. I can already hear the whispers as I head back to my office. I look up at the clock and it’s now noon, and that means it is later in the day than I thought. I send Abbey a quick e-mail letting her know I’m working through lunch.
I send an e-mail off to Jack asking if I can ask Abbey to wire Rob’s money. This is a sensitive issue so I want to make sure he’s okay with her doing it before I ask her. He responds instantly and tells me to go for it so I call her to my office.
“What’s up, Theresa?” she says as she walks into my office.
“We just terminated Rob, so Jane is going to e-mail me shortly with what we owe him for pay and vacation time. I’ll have her forward his bank info to you. Please wire the money to him as soon as you get it.”
“Sure. No problem. Will you still be sitting in the interviews with me at three, or do you need me to handle it?”
I can tell she’s nervous, like she wants to help but is hoping I’ll be there. “Nah, I’ll be there. Don’t stress it.”
It has just been a long day already, and I was hoping for an easy Friday. As I’m sitting at my desk, it dawns on me that Rob was really pissed off and blames me for him losing his job, and this makes me nervous. I pick up the phone and call Chase.
“Hey, T. What’s going on, sweetie?”
“Actually I’m calling because I have had a really bad day, and I was wondering if you could meet me at the office after work,” I say with a bit of a shake in my voice.
“T, what’s wrong?” he says, his voice full of concern. He’s so sweet.
“Jack and I fired an employee today, and he was quite angry. He blames me for him losing his job, and I prefer not to walk out alone. Plus then I figured we could drop off my car and pick up Katie from my parents together, unless you’re not ready to meet them yet. I don’t want to pressure you.”
“Sweetie, I have no problem meeting your parents. I’ll be at your office by 4:45 and waiting outside for you. Just come down when you’re ready.”
“Thanks, Chase,” I say, relieved.
“No problem, sweetie. I need to go let Seth know I’m leaving early, but I’ll see you in a bit.”
“Okay. See you in a bit.” I hang up and feel so much better. There is no way Rob would approach me with Chase by my side.
As soon as I hang up with Chase, I call the payroll company to fill them in on the situation and let them know we are sending out the payment via wire this afternoon but I need them to process it so it hits his taxes. As I’m on the phone with them, my e-mail pings with the figures for his pay. I tell the payroll company I’m forwarding them the info for the gross and net amounts, and I send them to Abbey at the same time so she can get the wire done before our interviews.
* * * *
Our second interview just walked out, and I can’t help the deep breath that has escaped me. I’m exhausted from this stressful day and I need to get out of here.
“Are you ready to blow this joint?” I look at Abbey hoping she doesn’t want to talk about the candidates.
“Yes, I am. I’ll call the references on Monday and talk to you about it once I’m done.”
“I’m fine with either o
ne, so just let me know who you choose, and we’ll talk to HR about the offer letter.”
“Great.”
We head back to our desks, collect our things, and we walk out together. As promised, Chase is waiting downstairs for us. We walk Abbey to her car, and I tell her we’ll see her tomorrow at Tracey and Sean’s before we head to my car. I send my mom a quick text.
Dropping off my car then Chase and I’ll be there to pick up Katie.
I finally get to meet the famous Chase? Katie has been talking about “cool Chase” since she got out of school.
Lol yes be there soon.
We drop off my car, and I jump in his truck with Katie’s booster seat. I lean in and give him a quick kiss.
“What is it with you boys and your trucks? You, Seth, and Sean all have trucks. Sean I can understand because he’s in construction, but you and Seth?” I say with a smirk.
He laughs. “They’re manly, and don’t give Sean the excuse he’s in construction because he wouldn’t put anything construction related in his truck I can promise you that.”
I just smile and shake my head. I tell him where my mom lives so he heads in that direction. “I told my mom you were coming, and you know what she said?”
He shrugs. “What?”
“‘Oh I finally get to meet cool Chase?’” I chuckle. “Apparently Katie has been talking about you since she got out of school.”
“Oh boy,” he says with a grin on his face.
“Can I be honest with you?” I say, a bit nervous.
“I hope you will always be honest with me, T. If not, we won’t get along too well.”
“You know what I mean. Anyway, it kind of scares me that she’s so attached to you already. I mean not to sound negative, but what if you get sick of us or decide you’re not good with dealing with a kid that isn’t yours? She’s going to be just as devastated as I will.”