The Prince's Devious Proposal - Holly Rayner Page 0,50

into thinking that I don’t have any options. You don’t want to have to worry about me suing for wrongful termination.” She shook her head. “Rick, honestly, it’s sad that you don’t want to foster strong relationships with tenured employees. This could be a great place to work if you put in a little more effort. But as it stands, you make your employees miserable. We all deserve better.”

He stared at her.

She got to her feet. “I’m giving you my week’s notice,” she said. “And I’d appreciate it if you let me take the rest of the week off—unpaid, of course—because I have to be honest with you, if you make me come in, I’m not going to be putting in much work at all.”

“How can you throw away an opportunity like this?” Rick demanded. “This company is one of the fastest-growing and most profitable businesses in Los Angeles!”

“Yeah,” Naomi said. “But you just threatened to cut my wages because I showed up to work an hour late, so that profitability isn’t really doing anything for me at all. Do I need to sign anything before I go?”

Wordlessly, Rick produced a sheaf of termination papers. Naomi scanned them, signed quickly, and pushed them back across the desk.

“I wish I could say it had been nice knowing you,” she said. “But to be honest, it’s been pretty unpleasant. I feel sorry for whoever you hire to take my place. I hope you figure out how to treat your employees like the assets they are, because if you don’t, I won’t be the last one who walks out.”

She grabbed her purse, threw open the door, and left, aware of Rick staring after her.

Betty ran up to her as she approached the building’s front door. “Naomi!” she whispered. “What happened? Were you fired?”

“I quit,” Naomi said.

“What?”

Naomi went over to the receptionist’s desk—the desk that was no longer hers—and picked up a sticky note and a pen. She scribbled her phone number and handed it to Betty.

“Stay in touch,” she said. “I’ll tell you the whole story sometime, if you want. But right now, I have an appointment I have to keep.”

In truth, the appointment with the lawyer wasn't scheduled for several more hours, but Naomi called the number Sarah had given her as soon as she had left her old office. The woman who answered said that it would be fine to reschedule, and if Naomi was willing to come in right now, the lawyer would be able to see her. Naomi got in her car and drove over, riding high on the adrenaline of having finally stood up to Rick.

I’m never going back to that office. I’m done with Rick, and I’m done with that job. I’ll find something to do that actually makes me feel worthwhile.

She parked in front of the law office and went in. “Good morning. I’m here to see Lawrence Brown,” she told the woman at the desk.

“Good morning. You’re Naomi West?”

“Yes,” Naomi said.

The woman nodded. “Mr. Brown is expecting you.” She picked up her phone, pressed a button, and said, “Ms. West is here.”

A few moments later, a door opened, and a friendly looking white-haired man in a suit appeared. “Naomi?” he asked.

“That’s me,” she said.

“I’m Lawrence Brown,” he said. “You can call me Larry. Why don’t you come on back to my office?”

She followed him down the hall to a spacious office with a big executive desk. The chair he had for guests was just as comfortable as the one he had for himself, and she relaxed into it, feeling more like a person who was about to inherit millions than she ever had before.

“So,” Larry said, placing a folder on his desk between them. “First of all, my condolences on the loss of your mother.”

“Thank you,” Naomi said, touched that he had taken the time to start there before jumping into the official business.

“I apologize for the delay in processing the will,” he said. “The matter of the house was difficult to work out. But it’s all taken care of now, and there are just a few things you need to sign before I can issue your check.”

“I do have a question before we begin,” Naomi said.

“Go ahead,” Larry said. “That’s what I’m here for.”

“I’m not sure if this is something you can answer or not.” She hesitated, hoping that he wouldn’t judge her. “The thing is…I recently got married.”

“Congratulations,” he said.

“Well, not exactly,” she said. “It turns out that the man I married knew