He had a good point. “I will talk to him.”
“Don’t bother. I’m done. I wouldn’t come back here if he begged.”
I knew there was no way Nash would ever beg. “Arthur, I wish you the best of luck.”
“Whatever. You’re falling in step behind him. All of you aren’t going to last much longer. Good luck.”
He walked out making sure everyone knew he was pissed and disgruntled. I could understand why he and Nash did not get along. Arthur could rub some people the wrong way, but he was a damn good employee, and his absence was going to be difficult.
“Everyone, I know that was tough, but we still have clients that need our attention.”
“Is he right?” Lana asked.
“Who?”
“Arthur. Are we all going to be fired?”
“Lana, Arthur was angry. We have to expect growing pains. Things have to change. We embrace change. We’ll get better.”
I walked back to his office. I was in much better control over my emotions. I knocked once.
“What?” he barked.
Not exactly the best way to start a conversation. I opened the door and stepped inside. He looked at me and for a brief moment I saw the exhaustion in his eyes.
“Round two?” he asked.
I closed the door behind me and sat down. “I’d prefer we not think of it as a round.”
“Fine.”
“We need to figure out how we are going to run this place,” I told him. “We are never going to agree on management styles. You are not going to be around forever. You’re here for a week, maybe two, and then you are going to go. If you want to be the manager, then you should plan on moving your permanent offices here.”
“Why?”
“Because I won’t be here to run your business,” I said.
“Are you quitting?”
“I’m either the manager or you are.”
“So if I’m the manager, you won’t work for me?” he asked.
I had to think about it for a second. “I would not be the tax director if you are the acting manager.”
“What role do you think I should have?” he asked.
He was being sarcastic, which pissed me off. I was trying to have an adult conversation and he was being a smartass. “I think you are better suited to being owner rather than manager. You do not have people skills.”
He smirked. “Because I fired a man that slacked off and was insubordinate.”
“Because you don’t understand how to talk to other humans in general,” I said.
“That’s your opinion.”
“And you don’t care,” I said with a sigh.
“These people walk all over you,” he said. “I’ve tried to get you to stand up to them, but you won’t. I took action and you can benefit from it. Use this to your advantage.”
“You want me to use the fact that you fired a valued employee to my advantage? How does that work?”
“Because they need to see you are serious. You are a pushover!”
I was having a very hard time biting my tongue. “I see. Well since you know the business so well, can you tell me who is going to take on Arthur’s clients?”
He shrugged. “I don’t know. I’m sure you’ll figure it out.”
“Oh, so this is the stuff I’m supposed to do. I’m the cleanup person. You make a mess and I get to figure out how to fix it. Does that help me grow or does that help you make more money? You keep firing people or making them quit and the staff that is remaining gets to pick up the pieces while you sit back and think about the next change you want to make.”
“Look, I get it, you’re angry, but I’m not going to accept mediocre performance. It’s the best or it’s nothing.”
“Oh, of course not. Tell me something. What are you doing in here?”
“I’m working.”
“But you aren’t working on the workload involved with this business, are you?”
“No.”
She nodded. “You decorated your little office and made it nice and comfy so you can sit in here and not work. The rest of the staff gets to work in lackluster conditions and make money for you to count. I can understand why Arthur had an issue. It’s a tough pill to swallow. We had a great owner before you. George knew the business, and when things got hectic, he wasn’t afraid to jump in and help out. The donuts and gourmet coffee were his way of thanking all of us for keeping him wealthy. You want to punish the people that work for you.”
“I am not punishing anyone,” he growled.
“Why don’t you take the next couple of weeks off from here? I’m sure you can still get the same daily reports from your main office. Install cameras if it makes you feel better, but we’ll all work better if you’re not here breathing down our necks.”
“You can’t kick me out of my own office,” he growled.
“No, I can’t, but I’m asking you to have the courtesy to leave us alone. You just dumped a ridiculous amount of work in our laps in the final weeks of tax season. That doesn’t mean anything to you, but for me, it means I’ll be working late nights and weekends. I have a life and that does not make me happy. I doubt you’re going to want to unclench your tight ass and pay overtime, so that means tax returns are late and customers are unhappy. They’ll take their business elsewhere.”
He slowly shook his head. “Why do you think you can talk to me like this? Do you think you are untouchable?”
I smiled. “Not at all. I just don’t care anymore. I know what’s right and what’s wrong and I’m not afraid to stand up to you or anyone else. Take it as you will. Now, if you’ll excuse me, I’ve got to find a babysitter since I’ll be staying late.”
His eyes widened. “A babysitter? Why would you—”
I shot him a dirty look. I wasn’t even going to tell him that much. “Good day.”
“Saige,” he said.
I sighed and turned to look at him. “What?”
“I won’t be here tomorrow. I have some problems to take care at headquarters.”
I nodded. “Good.”
He smirked. “Are you pissed at me?” he asked. “I don’t mean me as your boss, but me.”
This was tricky business. “I don’t care enough about you to be pissed,” I said quietly before I walked out the door.
I thought I saw a hint of hurt but it was probably wishful thinking. He didn’t care. I had to remember he was the guy that cheated on his fiancée with me or cheated on me to hook up with another woman. I would never be able to get over that.
It had almost destroyed me back then. To see his smiling face in the wedding photo that was published in the paper had been like a knife to my heart.
I went back to my office and felt the weight of the world on my shoulders. The office was eerily quiet. I wasn’t even sure there was anybody in the office. The stupid walls made it impossible for me to see them. I felt alone.
I turned on my computer and used my manager account to pull up Arthur’s accounts. I groaned when I saw the number of clients he had and how many were left unfinished. Tax day was around the corner and it was going to take a lot of energy and effort to get these all done in time.