May

“What did you say?” May asked with disbelief.

The young secretary tried to force a smile. “I said that Mr. Clayton told me to inform you that he will be in the office at ten o’clock today. Here’s the note, if you want to read it for yourself,” she said, handing her a small piece of yellow paper.

She took the sticky note and read the message with her own eyes. “If Mr. Clayton wanted you to relay this message to me today, then I’m sure he must have given it to you last night. So, why didn’t anyone call me and tell me about this yesterday?”

Brittany looked like she was getting nervous again, giving away the answer.

May took a deep breath and exhaled slowly. “You should have tried to work with me, Erik, not against me.”

“What?” the secretary asked.

May shook her head. “Nothing. Just take me to Mr. Clayton’s office. I’ll be getting started without him I guess.”

“Oh, um, I can’t just let you in without-”

Before she could finish that sentence, May pulled out a badge with her photo on it. “Don’t worry, I spoke with Mr. Clayton’s father last night. He made sure to send me a badge so I could get into the employee hub, as well as his son’s office, without anyone else’s approval.”

The young woman’s face went pale, yet she nodded in response. “O-oh, okay then.”

“Now then, when Erik returns, whether it be at ten o’clock or eleven, or whatever time he feels like gracing us, make sure you bring him up to speed on these developments. Afterwards, you can let him into the office.”

“Yes ma’am.”

“Please, just call me Miss Juniper.”

“Yes, Miss Juniper.”

With that, May left Brittany’s desk and made her way towards the employee hub to get started on the job she’d been hired to do.

*****

After a few hours spent poring over employee files, May found herself getting antsy. The closer it got to ten o’clock, the more difficult it was to concentrate. She kept expecting Erik to storm into the office at any minute, but as noon came and went, she realized how silly she had been for worrying. Erik wasn’t someone motivated or serious about his work, so of course he didn’t bother to show up until almost one o’clock in the afternoon.

As the door to his office swung open, May looked up from her stack of papers with a smile. Erik Clayton stood there in the doorway with a very sour look on his stupidly handsome face.

“You.”

She frowned. “Mr. Clayton, I will remind you that I have a name.”

His eyes narrowed as he returned a cold smirk. “You enjoy testing me, don’t you?”

May returned her attention back to the papers on her desk. “Believe it or not, I have more important things to worry about than your reaction to every little thing I do.”

Erik shook his head with disbelief. “Did you really go behind my back and tattle on me to my father?”

She looked back up and rolled her eyes. “Did you really plan on leaving me in the lurch this morning, despite our agreement yesterday?”

He walked over to the desk with a chuckle. “Agreement? You mean, when you basically commanded that I be here bright and early today, without even asking whether or not I already had plans? Which I did, by the way.”

“Plans? You’re the acting CEO of this company, Mr. Clayton. That means, in times of distress, you have no plans outside of work,” she replied flatly.

“Do you realize how insane you sound right now?”

“Erik, do you realize what’s at stake here?” she asked seriously. “Even if you don’t bother to care about the jobs of your employees, your father is threatening to cut you out of his own will.”

Erik let out a long whistle-like breath. “Do you know how many times my father has threatened to disinherit me? He’ll never go through with it,” he replied with a scoff.

“Are you sure about that?”

“I am.”

“Mr. Clayton, let me ask you a question. Did you even know that you were supposed to be enforcing daily, weekly, and monthly quotas for all employees, according to the contract you signed when you took over this building? It seems like you haven’t mentioned it even once to the people working here since you took over leadership last year. And yet, if you had been enforcing it, the company likely wouldn’t be in dire straits right now, which would have saved both of us the hassle of dealing with this mess.”

Erik seemed like he had nothing to say in return.

“No matter what you feel or think, the facts remain the same: your father wants results, and if he doesn’t get them, everyone in this building is going to lose their job, including you. So, we have to fix this before it’s too late.”

“And why should I?” he asked quietly. “You know, you sound just like my old man! No wonder he hired you.”

May snorted. “If you don’t like this company, then find another job. But at least hold yourself accountable for the damage you’ve done first. Even if you don’t get along with your father, he is sure to respect that much.”

“You don’t know my father. He doesn’t respect anyone besides himself.”

May shrugged. “Well, in my experience, people who want respect have to earn it.”

Erik’s face filled with shock, and he looked like he was about to retaliate again, but before he could, his phone began to ring. He grabbed his cell out of his pocket and quickly put it to his ear.

“What is it?!” he snapped impatiently.

For the tenth time that day, May considered quitting and heading home to binge watch her favorite TV show alongside a bowl of strawberry ice cream. At this point, triple the pay didn’t even seem worth it.

“Whoa, slow down Amanda!” she heard Erik say with worry in his voice. “I’m sorry, I didn’t know it was you.”

She gazed back up and saw that his face was full of anxious concern.

“Okay, okay, calm down,” he said in a hushed tone. “I’ll be there as soon as I can. Just hang tight. Alright?”

Erik glanced up briefly. “I’ve got to go,” he said, rushing over to the door without a second glance.

“H-hold on!”

But it was no use, he was already on his way down the hall. May was astonished at the lengths this man would go to just to avoid a little hard work. At that moment, something within her caused her to stand up and chase after her client’s unruly son. Even if triple the pay wasn’t worth finishing this job, her pride was still important. She had never left a job unfinished, or a client dissatisfied, and she wasn’t about to start now!