The Lying Season (Seasons #1) - K.A. Linde Page 0,90
have in the break room? I didn’t sleep, and I have that huge meeting.”
“Sure thing. Oh, also, Shawn came by and said that he needed to see you before the meeting.”
I nodded and waved her off. “Will do. I’ll go see him.”
Right after I talked to Sam.
With a giant sigh and another yawn, I walked across the room, knocked on Sam’s office door twice, and then opened it, uninvited.
“Hey, I know that we need to…”
But the rest of my sentence died on my lips.
“What are you doing?” I gasped.
He looked around the office he’d worked in all summer and shrugged. “What does it look like?”
“Packing. It looks like you’re packing.”
And he was. He had a cardboard box open and was filling it with his personal belongings from the office. It was a blank, nearly empty space already.
“Yeah, Shawn just came in here and fired me.”
“What?” I snapped. “He fired you? Holy shit! Why?”
Sam shrugged again, dejected. “I guess someone else found out we were dating.”
“Oh my god,” I whispered in horror. “But…no. This isn’t…”
“It is what it is,” he said with a sigh.
Finally, he looked up and met my gaze. I could see what this had done to him. He believed in this campaign like I did. He wanted Leslie to win. He hated that it had come to this moment.
I’d gotten him fired. Somehow, someone had found out we were dating…and he’d been sacked because of me. Without anyone even telling me.
Shawn.
He’d wanted to talk to me when I got in. Oh god, was he going to get rid of me too? It seemed unbelievable, but so was this moment.
“I’ll talk to him. I’ll make this right,” I told him before marching right back out of his office.
36
Lark
I stormed into Shawn’s office like a thundercloud. “What is going on, Shawn?”
“Lark, good. I’m glad that you’re here.” He gestured to the chair in front of his desk. “Sit down. We should talk.”
“You just fired Sam.”
“Yes,” he said evenly. “I hated to do it. It would have been easier to let HR handle it, but it came from Leslie.”
“What?” I gasped, my stomach dropping out. I sank into the seat in front of his desk.
Shawn steepled his fingers before his face. “Why didn’t you tell us, Lark? You could have come to us. We could have worked something out.”
“I didn’t…I don’t…I don’t know.”
I’d known it was a big deal. I was his boss. His boss’s boss actually. Even higher up the chain. I’d freaked out when Shawn walked in on us together. I’d asked Aspen to lie for us. I’d known. I just hadn’t wanted to think about it.
“Are you letting me go too?” I managed to ask him.
I’d been with the mayor for so long. Almost since day one. Shawn and I had been together on and off for five years.
He just shook his head once. “Thank god, no. Leslie said you were too valuable.”
I sagged in my chair in relief. I felt like an asshole, doing it. Since Sam was currently packing up his office and heading out. He’d just been fired, and I was relieved that I hadn’t been. It was shitty, but it was real. I loved this campaign. I couldn’t imagine losing it. Fuck.
“But Sam…is there any way…”
“No,” Shawn said with a stiff shake of his head. “I liked Sam. He was a nice guy, a great dedicated attorney. But we need you, Lark. We need you to keep running this ship. You’re irreplaceable this close to the primary. And honestly, I’d argue, period.”
“Thank you. I mean, I appreciate you saying that. It means a lot. I just…can’t believe Sam isn’t going to be working here anymore.”
Shawn held his hands up, wrists together. “My hands are tied. It was Leslie’s decision.”
“Is she in? Can I talk to her?”
“She’s not in. She had something to deal with at City Hall. But what would you even say to her? She’s made her decision. Just…let it go.” He waved his hand at me. “I’m sorry about this. I really am. But the primary is in two weeks. We have work to do. The team meeting is in fifteen minutes. I’ll see you there.”
I nodded helplessly as stood and I stumbled backward out of his office. I felt like I was in free fall. Sam had been fired. He wasn’t working with the campaign anymore. And there was nothing I could do about it.