Love In Secrets (Love Distilled #3) - Scarlett Cole Page 0,79
my position, and while it grieves me heartily that the company couldn’t find its way to some compassion after my father’s accident, I get it. However, I watched the listed job vacancies on the website and noticed my role was never posted. I assumed it was still available.”
“We filled your position, Cassie.”
What? She hadn’t heard of anyone being hired. Internally, she panicked, but externally, she kept her face calm and unaffected. “I understand there are challenges with the capabilities of some of the existing project managers, leading to certain critical projects being off track. And the strategic plan for next year that I helped you write shows we will need to hire more senior project managers. The growth is really important, so I would assume holding on to experienced and exceptionally rated lead project managers would be a benefit.”
“As much as I would like to, I can’t hire for jobs six months before they are needed. I promoted Brandon to your position.”
The kick to her gut couldn’t have been any more visceral if she’d been pinned to a wall by a jackhammer. “Brandon. But the school was running behind. A disaster. How could you promote him? He can’t be—”
“I’m not discussing individual performance with you, but I will say Brandon is making exceptional progress on The Grosvenor.”
Cassie scoffed. “You mean The Grosvenor I’ve spent hours helping him with, even though I wasn’t getting paid. Surely you’ve seen all the emails I sent you on the things I’d worked out for him? His original email to me was a plea for help from someone clearly out of his league.”
“Cassie. I sometimes feel as though you forget who the boss in the room is. I saw your email, it felt like tasks you should probably have handed over before you left. Perhaps that’s why Brandon was struggling—because you left without talking him through such a complex project.”
She swallowed, forcing her brain to come up with something that might let her keep her job while only losing a tiny portion of her self-respect. “Of course you’re the boss. But back to my situation, I would love to rejoin the firm. Things with my father are stable and he has recovered nicely. I am back and as committed to the company as ever.”
She ignored the image of Jake and her on his sofa laughing at some comedy show on the television, when he’d thrown a cushion at her. Or the memory of the two of them eating delicious wraps in the park as the sun set.
“Do you plan to keep taking time off to assist your father with his ongoing recovery?”
Cassie shook her head. “Seriously, Elijah. There will be no further interruptions. My brother, Carter, will be back in Denver shortly and is going to take care of things.”
“There may be something we could figure out.” Elijah threw his pen down on the table between them. “There is one position we have available.”
“Great. What is it?”
“It’s Brandon’s old position.”
The words sucked the wind right out of her. Of all the things she’d considered, there were only two outcomes. Yes, she could have her job back. Or, no, she couldn’t. She’d never considered that the only job he’d offer her was a demotion.
“It’s a significant pay cut, obviously. And the projects are not as exciting as your aspirations, but it would be yours. And once you pass the one-year probation, you’d get all the usual perks, increased vacation days, eligibility for promotion, et cetera.”
Cassie’s mouth had dried up faster than drywall adhesive. “Would you consider lifting the probation to allow me to be eligible for promotion faster? Or keep my vacation and salary similar to what I was on?”
“As much as I’d like to help you out, Cassie, bumping you ahead of those also in their first year on the job would open the floodgates for all kinds of requests from new hires to take into account their previous experience too. It would be too messy. Plus, it wouldn’t serve anybody to see you leave us in the lurch, then return with advantages.”
Anger began to replace shock. If she didn’t know better, she would have said Elijah planned it all along. He’d managed to demote the only senior woman on staff, promote his nephew, and make sure Cassie was put firmly in her place. She wanted to yell at him, but she forced herself to regain some form of composure. “I’d like some time to consider this.”
“Of course,” said Elijah. “I’m interviewing for this position