The Secretary and Her Boss

Chapter 4

The woman walked past us, making a beeling for Laurence's office, her gait determined. "Fine!"

Allie watched her go, her smile turning mischievous. "Stupid woman." She shook her head. "And to think, Laurence didn't want the glass walls. Other than the occasional face smash, it makes for the perfect front-frow seats to his terrible dating choices."

We watched as the woman walked into his office, startling Laurence into dropping a stack of papers as the woman gestured towards us, face red, clearly screaming. The door was closed, so we didn't get to hear the words, but they were obviously full of rage.

Laurence glanced in our direction, his mind still clearly half in his work, trying to wrap his head around this woman's arrival. Allie wiggled her fingers at him in greeting. I just stared, caught in another Allie Laurence battle of wits.

Allie leaned back in my office chair and slowly raised her heels to rest on my desk, crossed at the ankles, making it very clear that she was relaxed and waiting for Laurence to tell the woman that Laurence could not, in fact, fire Allie. She was HIS boss.

The woman suddenly stopped gesturing and after a long beat of silence, glanced through the glass back at us. Allie waved at her, head cocked to the side expectantly. The woman gestured toward me, and I could see the words she spoke.

"What about that one? You'll fire her, right?"

Laurence shook his head. "No."

The woman's voice grew so loud that it pierced the glass. "SHE'S JUST AN ASSISTANT!"

I winced, both from the decibel and the implication.

I just want more...

The woman stormed out of Laurence's office, flipping us off as she passed by.

Laurence walked out a moment later, sighing. "Was that really necessary?"

Allie stood up, brushing off her skirt as if she had just gone through battle, and I suppose in mean girl terms, she had. "That girl was terrible. And treated Lily like garbage. So I merely mirrored her behavior."

Then Allie walked to her office, back to work.

"I'm sorry Tabitha was cruel," Laurence said.

Shrugging, I went back to gathering my things. "Allie took care of it."

"Still. I'm sorry," Laurence said again. "You deserve better."

I couldn't seem to breathe until he was gone. Then, reaching down to grab the last of my things, I realized that something had been written into the front page of my gift from Laurence.

Miss Autumns,

You make my office life so much easier and have done a high-quality job. Here is to three more years. Let's hope that the next three are just as easy and filled with no changes.

C.F.O — L.R.

I stared down at the note, feeling down. The words were so... bland. No details about the last three years. No inside jokes. No humor. Nothing of note other than I was good enough at my job but otherwise unnoteworthy.

You are boring Lily Autumnts...

And after that Tabitha woman had arrived, it was all too clear that Laurence's taste was very far from anything that I was or would ever be.

I want more...

Slamming the book shut, I dropped it in the bottom drawer of my desk, growing determined. Laurence's words suddenly joined Liam's.

You deserve better...

I was walking before the plan had fully formed. But as it solidified, I couldn't get there fast enough. I burst through the door, startling Allie, who sat behind a sewing machine.

"I want your help."

Allie nodded, standing to her feet. "Okay. I'll—"

"Not with Mr. Royal."

She raised a brow. "Then what do you want?"

"To get over Laurence Royal."

Allie looked at me for a long moment. "Are you sure?" She didn't sound convinced.

I nodded my heart suddenly pounding as my determination grew. "I don't want to become a Tabitha to get his attention."

"You wouldn't—"

"It doesn't matter. The last relationship I was in left me feeling broken. I don't want that again." I thought of the way Tabitha looked at me. A mere bug in her eyes.

She's just an assistant...

"I want your help to become more confident. To become braver. To become better at defending myself."

You deserve better...

My throat tightened. "To think I am worth defending."

Allie's gaze softened. "I'm sorry he hurt you."

I wasn't sure if she was referring to Liam or Laurence. But her words hit me hard just the same. "I'm sorry that I let someone shake me."

She nodded. "Okay. Let's build that woman inside of you back up."

Allie rounded the table, handing me a piece of paper. "First things first, I need you to fill this out."

"You didn't know what I was going to ask for," I said, taking the paperwork.

She waved her hand dismissively. "The paperwork stays the same in either case. If you went with the first option, it would have caused an HR problem. Dating a boss is... tricky. But in this case, distance will make letting go easier."

Confused, I glanced down at the paperwork, my eyes going wide. "Wait... you're firing me?"

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Thank you for reading chapter four! I hope you are enjoying the story! Or are at least curious to see where it goes! Add this story to your reading list to know when the next chapter drops!

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Is Allie actually firing Lily? What does this mean? Where will Lily work?

How will Laurence react to this news?

What will Allie do to help Lily?

What do you think will happen next?

CHAPTER QUESTION - Have you ever been fired from a job?