Page 3 of Stuck Together

“I do.” She smiled and leaned forward. “I admire that about you, actually. Although, I hope you know, I’d never give you special treatment. I expect you to work just as hard as everyone else.”

“Of course. I wouldn’t expect anything less.”

“Great!” She leaned back in her chair; her lips slightly ticked up into a grin. “You know Logan also works for me. He followed the same career path. He’s set to take over the business once I decide to retire.”

Here we go. She had that same look on her face that she got when we were young that indicated she had put on her matchmaker hat again. “Yes, Grandma mentioned that. How is Logan?”

“He's doing well. I’ll take you to see him when we’re finished here. But first, let's talk about you.” She picked up what I assumed was a copy of my resume and scanned over the pages.

“Sounds good.” I swallowed hard and hoped Althea didn’t see how the mere mention of Logan’s name affected me. Even after all this time, I hadn’t moved past what happened between us. Somehow, I had to figure out how to get through this interview and mentally prepare myself to see him today. I had hoped I would get through this interview without having to see him.

“So tell me about your experience working for Daniel Hill.”

Despite my effort to appear unaffected by the mention of my old boss, my shoulders sank. At least let us get through talk about my experience and education before Daniel’s name came up. I’d actually hoped he wouldn’t come up at all, but that was wishful thinking. Everyone in advertising knew Daniel Hill. He was one of the top advertising executives in the northeast. I underestimated his power when I filed my complaint which was how I ended up here taking handouts.

I didn’t want to talk about my previous boss ever again. It was a painful and embarrassing experience that I’d had to relive with every job interview. And once the topic of Daniel came up, I was asked to leave.

Maybe if I downplayed this, it wouldn’t result in being asked to leave. If Althea rejected me, I’d be crushed. “What about my previous boss?”

“I’d like to know what you have to say about why he fired you,” she asked, bluntly.

I took a deep breath and focused on remaining calm. Althea had every right to ask me about this experience. “We didn’t exactly see eye to eye onthings. It didn’t work out.”

“But you worked under him for ten years, correct?”

“I did.”

“Yet, you filed a complaint against him six months ago.” She raised her brows as she shifted her eyes back to me.

She no longer looked at me like I was her surrogate granddaughter. She looked at me like a ruthless businesswoman about to pounce. Every ounce of my confidence vanished, and I felt like that same helpless little girl I did on the day I was fired.

“That’s correct.”

“Had you filed any complaints against him before?” she asked.

“No, it was my first and only complaint.” I slung by purse over my shoulder and stood. This was the point in the conversation when I was always asked to leave. I couldn’t handle Althea kicking me out so I decided to show myself out. I may not have seen her in years, but I cared about her opinion of me and I couldn’t handle hearing her reject me. It’d hurt too much. “I appreciate you taking the time to meet with me, but I think it's best I leave. I understand that this may not be the right opportunity for me. I'm so sorry to have wasted your time.”

I turned to leave when Althea spoke. “Madison, where are you going?”

“Well considering what I'm sure my former boss has said about me, there's no way you'd want to hire me.”

“That couldn't be further from the truth. Please sit back down.” Althea pointed to the chair I’d just vacated.

“I don’t expect any favors from you just because your friends with my grandma. This is my thirteenth job interview. Thirteen jobs in six months, and every single one of them that started with asking me about Daniel requested that I leave the building and never seek employment with them again.”

Her expression softened and a sadness filled her eyes. “Oh, dear. You misunderstand my reasoning for questioning what happened. I have no intention of asking you to leave. As far as I’m concerned you have a job working for me. I'm just asking you about the situation. I know Daniel well. I also know that he's a real asshole. I just want to know what he said to you.”

I sighed and sat back down. “He said I didn't dress sexy enough and that my attire was bland. He said I’d never get a promotion if I didn't start showing my ass and cleavage. He insinuated that a physical relationship with me was ideal.”

Althea let out a low sigh. She pinched her lips into a tight line and nodded. “That sounds like Daniel. He’s got a reputation for making life difficult for beautiful young woman. I’m surprised you made it ten years before he tried something like that.”

I had heard the same rumors but never saw any evidence of it until that private interview. I’d assumed it was just office gossip and never gave it much thought. He’d always been kind and professional with me up until that point. “It was the first time I’d ever been in a room alone with him. He’d never had the chance before then.”

“He’ll eventually get what’s coming to him. Things have a way of catching up with men like him.” She tossed my resume aside and her smile returned. “So, how soon can you start?”

My eyelids blinked uncontrollably for a moment, and I had to remind myself to breathe. “Are you saying I have this job?”

“Well, you applied for a copywriter position we have open. I can’t hire you as a copywriter.”