I wasn't going through with my plan. It was vindictive and mean. I would follow Trudy's example and speak to Mr. Connolly privately after the meeting. That would have to be enough.
"Mr. Connolly, would you have a few minutes for me after the meeting?" I asked.
"Of course," he said. "Is everything okay?"
I opened my mouth to answer him, but Mr. Barnes entered the conference room before I could speak.
Thomas Barnes wasn't an ugly man, but neither was he handsome.
The best way to describe his appearance was average. Medium build, medium height, brown hair and eyes. He would blend into a crowd with very little effort. Until he looked at you and spoke. Though his eyes were brown, they were as cold as frozen mud. And his voice was abrupt and harsh.
He glanced at me as he moved to the head of the table. "Watkins, I see you made it."
I gritted my teeth, biting down on the nasty words that wanted to spill out of me. When I knew I wouldn't say what I was really thinking, I answered, "I took your advice seriously."
Peter Connolly looked between us, a faint frown pulling at his mouth.
"Good." Barnes smirked at me before focusing on the stack of paperwork in front of him.
Everyone took their seat and the meeting began. My boss passed out packets and I saw all the ideas I sent him the last couple of months outlined in the handouts. It was my original email copy and pasted without my information on it. The asshole hadn't even bothered to change the wording or anything.
It pissed me off all over again.
In all honesty, I was too angry to focus so I didn't hear a word spoken until Barnes barked my name.
"Watkins, what do you think of the plan?"
I turned my head and looked at him. I knew he could tell I was angry because he smirked at me again. He was under the impression that I would fall in line because I didn't want to lose my job. Which pissed me off even more because if I had truly needed the money, I would have been stuck. Unable to fight back and unable to leave.
My decision to remain mature and professional flew out the window.
I picked up the papers I had brought and passed them to my right. "Please pass these around." Then, I fixed my stare on my boss. "I think your plan looks a lot like the suggestions I emailed you last month when you demanded that I work during my first vacation in two years."
Barnes' face turned red before it darkened into plum. "Now, look here—"
"And I would consider it a personal favor if you would allow my assistant to complete her duties for me rather than doing work for you."
His mouth moved, gaping and closing like a fish out of water. Finally, he sputtered, "She works for this company, which means she will do what is needed—"
"And HR gave her permission to work remotely on the days I did, but you seemed to have given her the impression that she is required to come into the office five days a week."
"This isn't the time or place for this conversation," Barnes bellowed. "It's completely unprofessional."
"Sort of like your behavior since I came to work for you?" I asked sweetly.
I wouldn't have thought that his face could turn a darker purple, but it did. He opened his mouth, probably to fire me on the spot, but I didn't let him finish.
"Consider this my two weeks' notice. Though I intend to use what little that's left of my personal time to ensure I don't do your job for you any further than today," I said to him. "Good luck finding someone to make you look good."
Barnes pointed a finger at me. "You will never work in this field again, Watkins. You'll be blackballed. I'll make sure of—"
"I've heard enough, as has everyone else in this office," Peter Connolly called, getting to his feet. "Thomas, I'd like to speak to you privately." His eyes cut to me and the affable man who had greeted me earlier was gone. In his place was a shark who smelled blood in the water. "I'd still like to speak to you after, Ms. Watkins. Would you mind?"
"I'll be in my office," I answered. I intended to pack up all my things, even if I had to use garbage bags to do it. I wasn't coming back to this building after today. I was done. And it