The Promise of Change - By Rebecca Heflin Page 0,15
a book.
Sarah’s participation in athletics kept her life regimented, and of course, as a military man, her father lived and died by schedules.
So was it any wonder that she sought predictability in her life? Still, predicting the next lottery winner would have been easier than predicting what her erratic boss would do next.
The intercom on Sarah’s phone buzzed, making her jump.
“I’m sorry to bother you, Sarah, but Patricia would like to see you in her office first thing tomorrow morning. I’ve cleared your morning.” Sarah could hear the sympathy in Carlos’ voice.
Sighing, Sarah said, “Okay. Thanks.” So much for avoidance.
Sarah sat across the desk from Patricia, trying to hide her dismay.
From Sarah’s perspective, the meeting was going worse than all her previous meetings with her boss. She’d been given two options, neither of which she liked.
After tucking a silky brown strand of hair behind her ear, Patricia folded her hands in front of her on her desk and smiled. The disingenuous smile never reached her glacial gray eyes.
“Well, Sarah, I’m sure I’ve given you a great deal to think about. But please, take the weekend to consider it.”
Her supercilious attempt at graciousness set Sarah’s teeth on edge. The Bitchkrieg knew she’d placed her in a difficult position, and clearly she reveled in it.
“Thank you, but I don’t need time to think about it, Sarah said, as she looked into Patricia’s triumphant face. “You leave me no other alternative.”
Chapter 6
Sarah, Ann, and Becca walked on the beach in a rare summer nor’easter, bundled in rain slickers and galoshes.
The rain had stopped, but the dark, scudding clouds turned the ocean gun-metal gray. The gusty northeasterly winds churned the water like a washing machine and filled the air with the briny scent of the ocean. Clumps of foam rolled along the beach like tumbleweeds, and Sarah could feel the salt spray coating her face and wind-tangled hair.
“You did what!” Becca and Ann exclaimed simultaneously. Under other circumstances, Sarah would cry ‘jinx,’ but now was not the time.
“I quit my job,” Sarah said, as she shrugged. She had to speak loud to be heard over the wind and crashing waves.
“Why on earth would you do that?” Becca asked. “And without taking the time to find another job first?”
“I had a meeting with the Bitchkrieg this morning.”
“What did she want? Was she going to fire you, so you quit first?” Ann asked, hopeful that would explain Sarah’s drastic actions.
“She wanted to talk to me about her personnel changes for the office,” she said, her fingers making quotation marks around ‘changes.’
“Uh oh,” Ann said. Whether it was in response to her story or having to dodge the erratic wave that crashed onto the shore, Sarah couldn’t tell.
“Yeah,” Sarah responded flatly. “She’s equating changing titles with promotions, and has plans to change our titles to ridiculously long, over-important ones. None of us ever cared what we were called. We were well-respected by Ken and our clients, and we were well-paid for our efforts.”
Seagulls hung in the air overhead, interrupting the conversation with their cries, as if cursing the forces of nature that made their flying so difficult today.
“She’d reviewed some of my work and spoken to my clients, and although she didn’t completely agree with some of my advice,”—Sarah rolled her eyes—“she could see that I was a good lawyer . . . the best in the office.”
“How dare she! Of all the nerve,” Becca said, tongue in cheek.
“I could do without your sarcasm.”
“But that’s good, isn’t it?” Ann asked. “So how did you go from that to quitting?”
“It gets better, or worse, depending on your point of view. She told me she needed a deputy and offered me the position of Assistant Vice President and Deputy General Counsel.”
“Wait a minute. She planned to promote you and you quit?” Becca threw her hands up in disgust. “You’re right. This does get worse.”
“Becca, you don’t understand. Not only did she tell me I had to cancel my trip to England, but one of my first duties was to fire Katie. Coward.”
“What?” Ann asked, the shock evident on her face.
“Yeah. She wanted me to do her dirty work. It was a test to see if I could become one of her trusted henchman.” Sarah picked up a shell and tossed it forcefully into the roiling waves. “She said she had an excellent lawyer who could start in the office right away, someone she’d worked with in her previous firm.”