Unleash Me, Vol. 2 (Unleash Me, Annihilate Me Series) (9 page)

“
You
’
re firing me?
”

Her eyes widened.
 
“
You make it sound so
final,
”
she said with
her hand placed on her chest.
 
“
You make it sound as if I
’
ve just killed a career.
”
 
And then, with a suddenness that
surprised me, she dropped her fist onto her desk, leaned forward in her seat,
and nodded at him
 
“
We
are
firing
you.
 
Nobody behaves as you did and
gets away with it here.
 
Today is
your last day at Wenn.
”

“
On what
grounds?
”

“
Are you
deaf?
 
Or just dumb?
”
 
She rolled her eyes.
 
“
At
this point, I can
’
t
tell
—
and I don
’
t really care.
 
If you haven
’
t heard every reason why your ass is being served to
you right now, I suggest that you get an interpreter and meet us here later
this afternoon.
 
Say, threeish?
 
We
’
ll recount everything you
’
ve done so you can properly understand it.
 
After all, Wenn believes in
508-compliance.
”

“
You
’
ve got no proof,
Blackwell.
”

“
So, now I
’
m Blackwell and not
Barbara?
 
How quickly things
change.
 
How fast that core of yours
grows so icy blue.
”

“
You
’
ve set me up.
”

“
Please tell
me how.
 
Have you and I ever met
like this before?
 
Never.
 
This is about your job performance and
your bullying behavior, which none of us will tolerate.
 
If you get on your high horse and drag
us into court, they
’
ll
find no hidden agendas between us.
 
And then they
’
ll
take everything else into account.
 
This isn
’
t
personal, my dear.
 
It
’
s professional.
”

“
If you let me
go, I
’
ll sue you.
”

“
Oh, my poor
little sweet piece of brick and mortar, then I suggest that you lawyer up.
 
Find the best you can.
 
But just remember this
—
if you do, you won
’
t work in this town
again.
 
Alex will blackball
you.
 
You
’
ll be finished.
”
 

She held out her hands in a way that was condescendingly helpful.
 
“
So,
my recommendation to you is this.
”
 
She grabbed a banker
’
s box that was on the
table behind her and held it in her lap.
 
“
You
’
ve got one hour to clean
out your desk of your personal belongings.
 
This box should do the trick
—
you
don
’
t seem like a man
who is attached to anything personal, with the exception of maybe an overpriced
Montblanc pen or two.
 
You know
—
so you can mark up
your manuscripts with a flourish of important red ink.
 
I can only imagine the grand gestures
you make when you kill
—
oh,
let
’
s see
—
something as
abrasive as an adjective.
”

“
If I
’
m to be fired, Alexander
Wenn can fire me himself.
”

And Blackwell sighed.
 
“
You
’
ve never understood me or my position, have you?
 
Or my power here at Wenn.
 
That
’
s at your own peril, of course.
 
Not taking the time to learn who I
really am in this organization can be rather devastating.
 
Career flopping.
 
For instance, since we
’
ve been having our little
chat about shoving you out the door, IT already has been in your office like a
swarm of wasps.
 
At this point, you
no longer have access to your computer
—
it
’
s been taken away from
you.
 
Everything that
’
s on it always has belonged
to Wenn, and now we
’
re
sure that it always will.
 
After
all, we
’
re surely not
going to let you act out of spite and dump important files, are we?
 
You know, such as works in progress that
you likely have with several of Wenn
’
s
authors?
 
We
’
d never allow that.
 
At this point, other senior editors will
pick up those projects.
 
More
reasonable, less-egotistical editors.
 
But you already know that.
 
I
can see it boiling on your face.
”

When Boss spoke, his voice was a low growl.
 
“
Wherever
I land, my writers will follow me.
”

Blackwell looked at me.
 
“
Oh, how awful.
 
Lisa, I
’
m sorry to see you go.
”

“
I
’
m not going with him,
”
I said.

“
Neither are
the others.
 
Because contractually,
they belong to Wenn
—
not
to Marco.
 
But you already know
that, Marco, so why even put it out there until they
’
re not under contract and can do as they please?
”
 

“
Now,
”
she continued,
“
one last thing you need to
know before you go
—
all
of your passwords have been changed.
 
You no longer have access to your email account with Wenn or to your
voicemail.
 
Also, your key card has
been deactivated.
”
 
She tossed the box at him.
 
It struck his chest and fell to the
floor.
 
“
You have zero access to Wenn, and I have zero time for
you.
 
Goodbye, Marco.
 
And good luck.
”

“
Fuck you,
”
he said.

“
T.S. Elliot
couldn
’
t have said it
better.
”

“
I
’
ll burn your reputation,
Blackwell.
”

“
Just promise
me that you
’
ll try
your best.
 
I hate a half-assed
effort.
”

When he turned to me, what I saw in his eyes was something dangerous and
foreboding.
 
It wasn
’
t just utter hatred that I
saw.
 
It was an unnerving
undercurrent of revenge.
 
“
See you soon, Ward.
 
Don
’
t think I
’
ll
forget this.
 
You
’
ll pay for it.
”

“
Is that a
threat?
”

“
Let
’
s just say that it
’
s been added to one of the
facts I listed earlier.
 
And when I
come after you, you won
’
t
see it coming.
 
But it
’
ll hurt.
”

“
Hear that
boys?
”
Blackwell said
to the security detail.
 
“
That was indeed a threat,
and I won
’
t have
it.
 
Escort Mr. Boss immediately out
of the building.
 
We
’
ll ship his personal items
to him by the end of the day.
 
If he
doesn
’
t go
peacefully, call the police and have him arrested for trespassing.
”

Before Boss could say anything more, Cutter turned him away from
Blackwell and me, and with a chill I felt deep in my bones, I watched Marco
Boss storm down the hallway.
 
He was
gone
—
at least
temporarily
—
from
our lives.

CHAPTER
SEVEN

For a moment, neither Blackwell nor I said anything after we were left
alone.
 
I braced the arms of my
chair, and took a breath to try to calm my nerves, but there was no calming
them now.
 

My heart was pounding after my altercation with Boss.
 
The knot in my stomach had become
impossibly tight.
 
I was proud that
I
’
d found the
strength to stand up to him, but it was not like me and I was rattled by how
intense the moment between us had unfolded.
 
I was especially worried about Boss
’
threat, and I sensed that
Blackwell was too.

She came around her desk, picked up the box she
’
d tossed at Marco, closed the door to her office, and
took her seat after putting the box on the table behind her.
 
She leaned forward, placed her elbow on
her desk, and then pressed her fingers against her forehead and closed her
eyes.
 

What had just transpired would have taken most people to the edge, but I
had to admit that I was surprised to see that Blackwell was one of those
people.
 
She
’
d always seemed so strong to me.
 
So ready and eager for a fight.
 
Earlier, she
’
d seemed nothing if not pumped to fire Boss, and how
she handled herself when she did so was the epitome of smooth, calculated, and
controlled.
 

But now, the look of concern and fatigue on her face was palpable.

“
Are you all
right?
”
I asked.

“
I don
’
t like that he threatened
you.
”

“
What could he
do to me?
”

She sat up with weariness in her eyes, and then waved a hand in front of
her face in a dismissive fashion.
 
“
Let
’
s not worry about that now.
 
Let
’
s just see how this plays out.
”

How what plays out
…
?

“
You
’
ve had a rough twenty-four
hours, but at least one son of a bitch is now out of your life.
 
If I know Tank, and I do, the other one
will be dealt with when he returns home from Singapore.
 
Neither of us knows how Tank will do it,
but finding someone like your ex-boyfriend in a city as large as Manhattan is
what Tank specializes in.
 
That
’
s what he was trained to
do, and that
’
s what
he
’
ll do when he
comes home.
 
He
’
ll find him.
 
He
’
ll have his way with him.
 
And then hopefully we
’
ll move forward.
”

“
Hopefully?
”

She looked at me, but didn
’
t
answer.

“
Do you think
Boss will carry through with his threat?
”

“
I
’
d like to say that he
’
s smart enough to not even
think about doing something so stupid, but that man is irrational.
 
He proved it last night, and he just
proved it again a moment ago.
 
I
always knew he had an ego, and I always felt that there was something off about
his hubris, but he runs hotter than I ever imagined.
 
I don
’
t know what he
’
s
capable of.
”

“
Now you
’
re frightening me.
”

“
I don
’
t mean to.
 
I
’
m just being honest with you.
 
We have to face this.
”

“
If he did
anything, what would he do?
”

“
Who
knows?
 
What I do know is that I
didn
’
t like the look
in his eyes when he left.
 
I didn
’
t like how he looked at
you.
 
That bothered me.
 
That was a look of pure evil.
 
I don
’
t trust him.
 
I set him up this morning
—
he
knows that now
—
and
my one regret is that I had you stay for his dismissal.
 
I never should have done that.
 
That was a mistake.
 
I knew it wouldn
’
t go well, but I certainly never expected for him to
issue a public threat.
 
I
’
m the first to admit when
I
’
m wrong, and I
apologize to you.
 
I handled this
one poorly.
”