April whisked Wynn out of the room, into the elevator, and back into her office before going back to her own desk just outside the door. Then she stepped back into the office. “Your mom called while we were downstairs. Do you want me to get her on the line?” She always chose her words wisely, never indicating Wynn’s panic attack or that Wynn had just shattered the security of so many lives.
“No. I’ll call her back in a little while. I need a few minutes to recover.” She was an introvert at heart, and company announcements of any kind took a massive emotional toll on her. The magnitude of this one had totally drained her.
April poured a glass of water from the pitcher on the table and set it on the desk in front of her. “I’m right outside your door if you need anything.”
“Thank you. I do appreciate you, April.” She knew she must look horrible, because that’s exactly how she felt.
April nodded and gave her a solemn smile. “I know.”
She rotated her chair to the windows, closed her eyes, and tried to relax as April exited the office. Visions of waves crashing the beach played in her head as her heartbeat slowed. She hadn’t had to practice meditation in years, but it was the only thing keeping her sane right now.
Her stomach jolted, and she jumped in her seat when the door to her office swished open and bounced against the wall. She spun around in her chair to find Evelyn standing in front of her desk, hands on her hips.
“That speech you gave out there was insufficient.” Evelyn’s face became redder as the vein in her neck pulsed.
“It’s the reality, Evelyn. We discussed this many times, in detail.” They had and were always on opposite sides of the argument. Cutting production wasn’t an option, so cutting resources had become the fastest way to recover over the past few years.
“How can you be so cold? You just gave twelve hundred people their walking papers.”
“It’s not personal. It’s business.” The panic attack told her she wasn’t completely sure about that.
Evelyn pointed to the door. “It’s fucking personal to them.”
She narrowed her eyes as her stomach churned. She knew exactly how personal it was. Not that long ago she herself had been in the same position—found herself on the receiving end of walking papers at the small start-up tech company she’d had so much faith in a few years before. Only she’d been left with nothing when the company folded. “The severance package was excellent. If they have any skills at all, they should be able to find employment before it runs out.” She’d done it herself before she came to work for Sexton Tech, and then she’d worked hard, clawing her way to the top.
“When is the last time you actually talked to any of the employees? Actually had lunch in the canteen? When did you turn into such a heartless bitch?”
She bolted from her chair and clenched the edge of her desk. “You’re treading on thin ice, Evelyn.”
“Am I?” Evelyn stepped closer. “Then drop the fucking pick and crack the ice. Get rid of me. I dare you.”
“That’s always a possibility.” She stood firm. “If you want to go down this road farther, I will.”
Evelyn dropped her hands from her hips and looped her arms tightly across her chest. “Got it.” She glared for a moment before she dropped her arms, spun, and headed to the door. “I’ll be in my office trying to figure out how we’re going to run this place without the resources you just fired. So much knowledge is out the door.”
The company had taken too many risks, put money into new technology that hadn’t paid off. Contractors and temporary employees had already been reduced to the minimum. Return on investment was down, and the company stock had taken a dip. They’d had no other choice but to cut the workforce. They hadn’t eliminated a huge number. Considering that the company employed close to forty thousand full-time employees, cutting three percent was a small amount overall. They would get two months’ severance, and benefits would continue for six additional months following. After all, she wasn’t heartless. Among all that, Wynn had fought mercilessly to keep Evelyn’s job from being cut, which she would never tell her.
She picked up her pen and jotted herself a note on the pad in front of her.
Visit canteen for lunch next week.
It would be an attempt at normalcy that she would probably never achieve. Once the company had gone public, they’d decided to make all the food in the canteen free, for full bellies promoted better productivity. It was a small price to pay in the grand scheme of things, but after today’s staff reduction it seemed frivolous.
She glanced at the time on her laptop. Twelve o’clock, long enough for the terminated employees to have been escorted from the building. She wrapped up one last email, gathered her things, and headed to the elevator. She would get some support from Jordan, her older sister, who’d called earlier in the week and scheduled her for a late lunch. She hadn’t expected the invitation, since Jordan seemed to work twenty-four-seven.
Wynn’s mother was babysitting the children of Wynn’s oldest sister, Suzanna, and her husband James, who were enjoying a weekend away. Hoping their company would get her mind off this morning’s activities, she’d planned to go there later to spend some time with them. Wynn had always intended to have kids in her future, but work had been her sole priority recently, and the idea seemed to have completely dropped off her radar lately.
The only thing brightening her day was knowing she’d be seeing her niece and nephew this afternoon. That wasn’t entirely true. She’d also thought that Carly, Jordan’s wife, might show up later this evening. She usually had mixed feelings about seeing Carly, who had been with Jordan about a year. But after the morning she’d had today, she was looking forward to seeing her. Maybe Carly could help her make sense of the remorseful feelings bubbling inside. Her chest tightened. Or maybe Carly would be disappointed in her for what she’d done.
Chapter Two
This day was dragging on longer than Carly had expected. She’d wanted to cancel all the remaining appointments on her calendar and go straight to her in-laws’ home to swim with the kids, but that wasn’t possible today. Her last session this afternoon was with a couple, Sara and Mike, who’d been teetering on divorce. She’d talked them off of the ledge once before but now wasn’t sure she’d be able to do it again.
As she glanced from Sara, then to Mike, and back to Sara again, all the signs that they were moving on were there. Minimal to no eye contact, obvious untruths, and arguments that were growing more hurtful by the day. None of that even included the so-called friends they’d each acquired over the past few months.
Her thoughts wandered to Jordan and the conversations they’d had recently about the same subject. Jordan had proposed an open marriage, and Carly didn’t know which had hit her first—impacted her the most—the shock or the pain. Would that arrangement help improve the mediocre life she’d been living with Jordan or just complicate it more? She didn’t know what she was thinking. An open marriage was impossible for her to even consider in her profession. Her colleagues would crucify her. She was at a loss. Her life with Jordan had changed so much over the past months, she barely recognized whatever they had now as the relationship she’d once enjoyed with her, the one they’d begun together just a little over a year ago. The intimacy had disappeared slowly after their honeymoon, and she wasn’t just talking sex. That was lacking too, but mostly she missed the conversations, the embraces, the small gestures people make when they love someone. She especially missed the ones that let her know she was loved in return. They’d both stopped doing any of that several months ago. Clearly she’d rushed into this marriage too quickly.