“Well don’t be silly!” Adam pleaded with her. “Don’t waste this opportunity. Don’t let the actions of others dictate what you do with your career. Mr. Pike has been very pleased with you and I think you should go speak with him before you make the decision to withdraw. Go speak with him now! I’ll call to let him know you’re on your way down to his office.”
Steph didn’t debate her supervisor’s order. She walked to the elevator unsure of what John would say. She was quitting before the interviews had even started. She was planning her future with the mishaps of this morning. But she didn’t know when the rumors would die down.
John’s secretary announced Steph’s arrival to John and Mrs. Cartwright who was standing with her arms crossed in front of her. Steph saw that she was not in a great mood.
“Just great!” Mrs. Cartwright hissed. “Come take a seat young lady! The both of you sit down.”
John waited for Steph to sit before he sat back in his chair. He sighed at the lecture he just knew they were about to be given.
“I warned the both of you about working together and being seen chatting about! These accusations are outrageous and they shine a bad light on the firm. We can’t have this. Now whatever you two are doing, you need to stop it and stop it this instant!”
“Jesus fucking Christ!” Steph shouted. “Did you and Anna get woken up with the bitch stick this morning?”
“Excuse me!” Mrs. Cartwright’s eyes widened. “You’re on thin ice. Don’t you dare talk to me with such language!”
“I’m sorry, it’s been a really long morning and I’ve only been here forty minutes,” Steph apologized.
John tried to hide his laughter but caught the glare of Mrs. Cartwright. He shifted his eyes away from hers as he opted to remain silent. Steph spoke up once more, “I really am sorry, Mrs. Cartwright. Anna came in spewing some nasty things to me, about me, and she did it loud enough so people outside of my office could hear. That’s why everything’s so animated this morning. Mr. Bailey sent me here to speak with Mr. Pike about withdrawing my name from the candidacy of the senior paralegal position you’re creating.”
That got John’s attention as he sat straight up, “Wait a minute. Why would you withdraw your name?”
“Like I told Mr. Bailey, there is so much negativity and lies being thrown on my name that a promotion of that magnitude would not be taken seriously if it were given to me. They would all say that I fucked you to get it. I’m just not in the mood for this shit anymore.”
Mrs. Cartwright saw the defeat in Steph’s face. She heard it in her voice. Steph had been battling these wars on her character for a long time; long before she came to work for Pike Legal. She was just tired.
“Don’t make any rash decisions solely based off of this morning’s events,” John warned her. “Your future will not and should not be determined by what people, who don’t matter, say. I think you’re the best candidate for the job and so does Mr. Bailey. I trust his judgment and according to us two, you are nothing that these rumors say you are. Now I’m going to dismiss you so you can get back to work. Don’t forget the Dahl files we need to finish up.”
“Yes sir, Mr. Pike,” Steph answered exhaustedly. She rose from her chair slowly. The walk back to her office would surely be filled with whispers and obnoxious stares. She took a deep breath before exiting the office. It seemed like she was about to dive into a shark tank.
“You know she didn’t mean to snap at you, Linda,” John told Mrs. Cartwright after Steph left the office.
“Well I know that now,” she replied. “I’m going to send out a memo in regards to this situation. I won’t single her out but I will make sure to let everyone know that they should be focused on their work and not the lives of someone else in this office that they have no interaction with whatsoever. That’s a strong woman there, but she’s beginning to break instead of bend. Keep an eye out for her, John. These rumors are about you too, but she seems to be bearing the brunt of it all. Don’t let her get away. This firm needs her. Not that potty mouth of hers, but her gumption.”
“You were about to fire her a few minutes ago!” John chuckled.
“Well that was because she said I got woken up with a bitch stick this morning. I didn’t appreciate that at all!” Mrs. Cartwright complained.
John laughed out loud hysterically this time, “You have to admit that was kind of funny.”
“I guess, but I think this nonsense is getting out of control. I don’t like seeing the best thrown off their game. So I think it’s time that I remind these employees what they need to focus on,” Mrs. Cartwright nodded knowing exactly what she wanted to do. She left John’s office with an idea that would shake things up.
Steph had only been in her office for about an hour when Hurricane Anna resurfaced.
“Whatever you want, save it,” Steph put her hand up and pointed her toward the door. “I’m not in the mood for another round with you Anna.”
“Well you’d better be you little weasel,” Anna slammed the sheet she was wielding onto Steph’s desk. It took everything in Steph’s power not to get up and slap the dog piss out of Anna, but she waited to see what the purpose of her latest visit was.
“You told on me! You ran to fucking human resources and told on me? So now that evil little troll in there sends out a fucking memo specifically tailored to the treatment of employees and gossiping and how it interferes with work! I know this is you behind all of this! You fucking sensitive ass, miserable, little Fucktard!”