Page 20 of Insufferable Boss

Once inside, I took my seat, turned around to face the glass wall to ceiling windows, and shut my eyes. It was time to head back, alright, but that didn't seem like a reasonable solution. In fact, I was sure it was what he expected, so I cleared my head and came to terms with how I had just majorly messed up.

Frustrated, I called Diana, and she picked up immediately.

“Uh oh, it's just 11 am in New York. Anything exciting happened yet?” she asked.

I sighed, then frowned again.

“I lost my cool,” I said.

“Uh oh,” she said. “That doesn't sound good. How exactly?”

“I was too emotional. I got mad over the stupidest shit, and now I just look unprofessional and emotional, like a…” I couldn't find a word, but she supplied it.

“Like a woman?” she offered.

“And he made suggestive sexual statements to me. In the midst of my true anger, he said all that, and I just wanted to punch him in the face.”

“Just punch him in the face?” she asked, and I sighed.

“I'm not admitting to anything else. Having those stupid ideas in my head is what is currently throwing me off. Now I'm all flustered, furious, and irritated, and just…”

“Horny as well?” she asked, and I sighed again.

“Please stop, this is serious.”

“I'm sorry,” she said, and we both went silent.

“I just…” I began again. “I just don't know if I should pack up now and leave or go running back to him with my tail between my legs.”

“Well, you definitely can't do that,” she said. “So what should you do then?”

“You need to, as you said, let go of your emotions and approach this like the brilliant businesswoman I know you are,” she said.

I listened to her words.

“Go on,” I said, and she laughed.

“Well, you need to ultimately put the needs of your company above everything else. Your company and your assets should be your top priority, because like it or not, you significantly own Standard Rock, and I think it's quite easy for you to gloss over that fact now, but you shouldn't do that."

She was absolutely right.

“Yeah,” I said, and she went on.

“So do you need this expansion as much as you say you do, or is it just something that might be nice? If you're fine with the way your own company is going right now and want to keep just managing that, then your decision on whether to proceed or not will be easy. Plus, the dividends accruing to you from Standard Rock with your 25% ownership aren't small, are they? They might just be able to fund the expansion that you want to make.”

At her words, I couldn’t help but smile.

“If this is the case and the way that I should go, then I might as well leave Kane's side and join the other members to oppose him. I mean, the higher dividends I get, the better for me, right?”

“Yeah,” she said, and I nodded, but at the end of the day, a baseline that spoke to my heart appeared.

“I think I know what to do,” I said. “Or rather, I know what I want.”

“The dust has settled,” she said. “Let's hear it.”

“Okay.”

“I love him… lov-“ I stopped, my heart hurting.