A Work In Progress

Chapter Seventeen: A Disaster

When I got to my office, I found Phil tearing through my desk, all of my file drawers open and files scattered everywhere. “What the hell are you doing?!?” I demanded.

“I have the Barney people waiting on those files you were supposed to have ready,” he snapped at me. “You are not going to torpedo me on this deal Jamie. Where are the papers?”

“Did you bother to check your voice mail?” I asked him as I set my purse on my credenza.

“What does that have to do with anything?” He demanded. I walked out of my office and I heard him following after me. I went into his office and over to his desk. His briefcase was setting on the files. I picked it up and handed him the file folders.

“If you had, you would have heard me telling you the files were ready and on your desk.” I shoved them at him. Phillip muttered something I assumed to be an apology and rushed off to his meeting with the clients. I headed back to my office to see how big a mess it was.

I had given it a cursory glance before but on closer inspection, Phillip had literally trashed my office. I spent the better part of four hours cleaning up the mess and wondering who in the hell let him into my locked office and why they would do it.

By lunch time, I had my office back the clean and neat organization I liked it to stay in. It was easier to work in a clean work area, and I sat down to read through my e-mail before I went to find myself a salad for lunch. My skirt had been tight this morning and I needed to watch whit I took in. I was not familiar with retaining water that might be associated with my troubles from this morning. I dispatched through my e-mail and gathered my purse to go get some lunch when my phone rang. “James Adair.” I said after picking it up.

“James, can you come to my office?” It was the Executive Vice-President, Matt Karlsen.

“Of course, sir.” I answered with a smile and set my purse back on the credenza and left my office after closing the locked door. I headed down to Karlsen’s office. Louise, his Administrative Assistant smiled and waved me into the office. I opened the door and saw Karlsen and Phillip sitting and thought I knew what was going to happen.

“The Barney people would not sign the deal.” Karlsen said and I suddenly knew things might not be what I thought they were going to be. I had expected to witness Phil getting told for his inability to see what was right before him, but it seemed I was the one in trouble.

“Why?” I sat on a nearby chair. “I had those numbers air tight and there was not a loophole against them in it.”

“I am sure it had something to do with having a week to be prepared and we weren’t.” Phillip all but snarled.

“Phillip says you had the files misplaced.” Karlsen added.

“Misplaced?” I was in shock. “I could have only made the more available to him if I had gone out to Long Island, broke into his house and glued them to his hand.” I stood up. “I left him voice mail on his office phone and his cell phone before I left last night telling him that I had three files on his desk with all the paperwork in them and all of the signature lines marked. For him to lay his inability to follow a simple routine at my feet after he grabbed my ass at the party is not only insulting it is ridiculous.”

“James,” Karlsen said as calmingly as he could manage, “maybe you can reassure the Barney people and get them back in?”

“I can make some calls.” I nodded.

“Please do.” He gestured to the door.

I left and spent the next two hours calling people at the Barney office and reassuring them and coaxing them to come back to us rather than another firm. After my last call Karlsen came in, closed my door and sat in the chair facing my desk.

“Did you fix it?” He asked.

“Did I fix Phillip’s screw up?” I asked rhetorically. “Yes I did. I have been holding his hand through this whole deal.” It had been my deal before and all of the paperwork was just as I had gotten my AA to lay it out so I assumed I had done the paper work for Phillip now. “I just saved this firm by getting a multi-million dollar deal back that I had put together only to have Phillip ride in and take all the credit.”

“The CEO is considering him for the open VP slot.” Karlsen stated.

“Promoting him?” I rocked back in my chair.

“He has a wife and children James.” Karlsen said as if that made it all fine.

“Will I be working for him?”

“I need you on my team James,” Karlsen stood. “You are far too valuable a woman for me to loose you.”

I looked at the open door as the clock struck five in the evening. I was getting paid less than that nimrod Phillip for the same job and I was doing his job and mine, all while playing less grab-ass, and actually making the company money. I was too good to be promoted because I helped these men look good and I was a woman in the so called management ranks.

Bastards.

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