A woman who’s just been let go comes into my office at three. “What the hell, Suzette?” Her face is almost white, and her voice shakes from how upset she is. “Half of the department was just let go.”
“He’s rearranging things,” I say helplessly. “I’m so sorry.”
“Let me guess, there’s nothing you can do.”
“I’m sorry,” is my only reply. I can’t give her anything else. I’m not the owner of the company; Adrian is, and I’m not even the second step down in the company. “I have no input or authority.”
“Wonderful,” she says sarcastically. “Goodbye, Suzette.”
A few minutes later, another person who has been fired storms across the hall. He turns his head and stares at me on his way past, but doesn’t say a word.
It’s not until Gail comes back, taking her seat and appearing on the verge of tears. “If you knew something, you would tell me, right?” We’ve worked together for years and I’ve never seen her like this. Her tan skin is flushed. “If I’m going to lose my job, I just need to know so—” her voice cracks and I can’t take it.
“The second I know anything—”
“Could you ask him?” She stresses, “Please?” Her dark brown eyes eyes are rimmed in red and I know she’s a mess witnessing so many layoffs so quickly and with whispers of a merger, where our jobs would no doubt overlap with others and thus, more layoffs.
“Please,” she begs me. With a nod, and a tight swallow, I agree.
“I can ask him,” I tell her and then I firm up my response. “I’ll ask him today.”
Sitting here and waiting for an answer isn’t enough, not for me and not for the team members I have left. I’ve worked far too hard for this company to let it all go to shit like this. If we lose Gail, the report we put together today is irrelevant. Clients stay with us because of the team. We can’t break down like this.
I won’t let it happen.
At five forty-five, I knock on the door to Adrian’s office. Shaking out my hands, I prepare myself. Not the version of me he sees after six. But the version who existed before that man dared to walk through the doors to this building. The badass businesswoman who doesn’t take any shit.
It’s a small blessing that his secretary is gone for the day and her desk is empty now. Most of the building is cleared out, but not everyone. And I have fifteen minutes. He can offer me fifteen minutes if it means saving the most profitable department in this company.
“Come in,” Adrian calls from inside the office.
Steeling myself, I open the door and go in, then close it behind me. The move is fast and I say a silent thank you that his door was unlocked.
Before he can say a word, I approach his desk. It seems to take forever and the scent of all people’s fear as they got fired today hangs in the air. His large, spacious office must have seemed like an awful joke to the people who lost their jobs. I could be one of them, and Adrian is the only one who can confirm my fear or dismiss it. That’s why I’m here. This conversation is needed, because I can’t sit at my desk for another day with nothing to say to the people I’ve worked with for years as they file out past me. I handpicked my department. They should be able to rely on me.
“My department is essential to what our company does,” I begin, without waiting for his permission. I don’t need it outside of the games we play. “If you want to keep the company going, you’ll need to keep the core team intact. Every single one of them is essential, and I can vouch for them and their work.”
Adrian shifts in his seat, his dark suit crisp, his expression inscrutable. As he leans back, his hands relaxed on the armrests, I wait for any reaction at all, but I’m given nothing.
“Almost everyone I could part with is already gone, and my team won’t be able to keep functioning if we lose any more people. We’ve brought in the most revenue of any other department over the last few years, and you can expect more of the same over the next five years. We’re projected to triple our profits by then.”
Adrenaline rages through me at the very fact that we will triple in only five years. There’s not a damn word I’ve said that’s exaggerated. My heart hammers in my chest as I stare back at Adrian’s cool gaze. Again, he doesn’t react other than to gesture to continue.
“I’m damn good at my job, and I have good people, and we’re going to keep striving for excellence.”
“Are you done?” he questions.
“There’s no one who can do what we do and keep those clients. No one has the relationships we do. No one has the word of mouth that we do. Replacing any of us would be a mistake.”
I swallow so hard, it’s audible and still, I’m given nothing.
“Adrian.” I whisper his name, on the verge of breaking. Anger simmers but also a hurt I can’t describe.
“We’re on the clock, Suzette,” he warns, the first sign of compassion noted in my name on his lips.
“If you’re going to lay them off,” I say and swallow, “I need to be able to tell them. I need to know what’s going on.”
“That’s what you came here for? To figure out who’s getting fired next?” His tone is unimpressed.
“I want you to keep in mind that we’re a team. We work efficiently and our plan is solid; our performance speaks for itself.”
He eyes me from across his desk, lips pursed. “You’ll have an answer when the team is ready.”
Frustrated, I look him in the eye. “You could at least say you’ll consider it. You can at least tell me you’ll let me know if anyone is in danger.”
“I won’t. It doesn’t matter, Suzette. The team is running the numbers. The numbers are what guide my decision, not emotions. Not a plan, but what has been done and what is comparable. You’re aware you have a list of clients, but they aren’t the only clients and even that list is sellable.”
Heat spreads over the back of my neck. I’m burning with frustration and anger, tears stinging the corners of my eyes. “You’re heartless. You know what this means.”
“And you know I bought this company for profit, and it’s been bleeding money for far too long.”
I’m left speechless, staring at him with nothing but resentment.
He won’t give in, and somehow it shocks me. I should have known this about Adrian Bradford. He takes what he wants and does what he wants.
I knew that all too well when he fucked me on this desk the very first day we met. My heart hurts and I put my hand up to cover it, but it’s too late. The damage is already done. “I can’t believe you won’t even give me the respect of letting me know if my team is at risk of losing their livelihoods. If you’re just going to sell off the list, you could tell me that. I’m not fucking stupid. You would know if you already had a buyer.”
Adrian folds his arms over his chest. “I listen because it means something to you. Do you think I would have let anyone else barge in here without a meeting?”
That same sickness from earlier stirs and I say nothing, knowing he’s the one who’s caused it.
“There needs to be a … separation for us.”