Page 56 of Insufferable Boss

I stared at her.

"I can't say I'm as cautious."

"Hmm," she replied, her gaze lowering in contemplation.

"What if I side with them?"

"Then you side with them," I said, and she smiled.

"I'm curious as to why?"

"What is it?" I asked, and she replied,

"They all think I'm colluding with you and that whatever comes up, I'll always take your side."

"That's not true," I said. "For example, what happened this morning."

"Doesn't matter what they think," I said. "The only way I think we can solve all this animosity and anonymity is for us to actually work on our personal relationships with each other. I mean, how did it get so bad?"

"Kate's husband used to work here," I told her. For a moment, I hesitated in going any further, but I decided to mention it so that she could get a bit of understanding about where we were all coming from, in case she wasn't already aware.

“He joined the company after they got married, and then I joined. Since he was significantly older than me, they expected my father to focus more on him, giving him responsibilities and moving him up the ranks. But as time went on, it became clear that he wasn't performing well. So, Kate decided to join the company herself. However, even then, my father didn't acknowledge them much.”

“For a while, I was bothered by this because, despite not being the best of friends, she is still my sister, and I couldn't help but be concerned about her. I confronted my father and warned him that he was creating a rift between us. His response was that he didn't care because he wasn't doing it because she was his daughter or because her husband wasn't his kin. He claimed it was because they were mediocre and didn't know how to operate the business without clear instructions from me, and that was his criteria for choosing who to acknowledge.”

"Did she believe you?" Lena asked.

"Of course not," I replied. "Well, I didn't try to clarify things after she confronted me and refused to listen. But during our gatherings, it became a huge problem, and my father made it clear.”

“That's how our relationship deteriorated. Today, I'm closer to most of the employees than her."

Lena then asked about Kate's husband, and I informed her that he quit and found another job that required him to travel extensively, so he's rarely here.

She nodded in response, and I watched her. I didn't expect her to share her own side of the story about her relationship with her father, but I waited a few seconds to give her the opportunity. When she didn't, I was ready to return to work.

"Did you want something in particular?" I asked, and she lifted her gaze to meet mine.

I expected her to say no and continue on her way, but instead, she observed me for a moment and then nodded.

"Yeah, I want to find out what my next step will be. Do I still have a job offer, or should I completely back off in the meantime until everything is resolved?"

"Of course, you should stay," I replied. "Keep working as needed. Their approval only releases funding, and I'll guarantee that happens in the end. It doesn't stop us now from making all the preliminary preparations."

She stared at me, and I could tell something was seriously gnawing at her.

"What is it?" I asked, and I could see her hesitate to speak. Eventually, though, she did, and I empathized with her concern.

"Are you really sure about my expansion plan for this project, regardless of their approval or not?" she asked.

"I wouldn't be wasting either your time or mine if I weren't," I replied. "It's something I've always considered but could never quite find the time or talent to handle. But now that you're here, I am more than delighted to hand it over to you."

She looked as though she didn't believe me, but then, without me having to ask, she rose to her feet and prepared to leave.

"I'll keep all this in mind," she said, and I nodded in agreement.

I watched her leave, and as she did, something came to mind—an invitation I had received to an engagement party that I usually would have had no business attending. But as I looked at her curves and felt the desire to see her beyond this stiff and tense work atmosphere, I understood that I wanted nothing more than that.

‘If I just asked her outright, she might never have responded, but perhaps through an invitation,she would consider it,’ I thought.