She laughed. “Ah, the best kind of boss.”
“Exactly. He was so awful. If he finds out I have a kid, I bet he’s going to see it as a reason to demote me.”
She raised an eyebrow. “He wouldn’t dare.”
“He wouldn’t say it was for that reason, but I have no doubt he is not going to be happy to learn I have a weakness.”
“Saige, that’s archaic thinking. Why do you think he would do that?”
I quickly told her about Lana. “He acted like it was such a horrible sin that she wanted to go pick up her son. It was like he had no conscience. No morals. It was all about him and what he wanted. He was more concerned with making money than that little boy needing his mom.”
“That is cold, but it isn’t exactly isolated to male bosses,” she said. “I’ve counseled plenty of women who have been pushed out of their jobs by female bosses for the same thing. Look at me. I had to start my own practice and work out of my house because the practice I was in was not happy with the amount of time I wanted off. They didn’t like that I wanted limited hours.”
“True, but this guy?” I said and shook my head. “He’s just—” I couldn’t think of the words.
“You know, it seems like there is more than just a past between the two of you. I’m sensing there is a lot more to this story.”
Of course, she would pick up on it. She was a damn good psychologist. “It isn’t anything worth rehashing.”
“Are you sure? You’ve been tense all week, ever since you found out he was going to be your new boss.”
“Trust me, it lasted about five minutes and then he was out of my life,” I told her.
She smiled. “I get it. When you want to talk about it, you know you can talk to me.”
“I do know that, and I appreciate it,” I said. “I just need to figure out how to work with him.”
“Do you think he’s going to be a hard boss?” she asked.
“Yes and no. If he’s the guy I remember, he’s going to be manageable. He’ll be difficult, but I can handle that guy. I’ve done it before. But the guy that was in the office yesterday, not so much. I just can’t explain how unapproachable he was. It was like he thought he was this king and everyone should jump whenever he snapped his fingers.”
She was quiet for a few seconds. Her eyes were on the kids. “What about sitting down and having a conversation with him?” she suggested. “You are his manager, and I would expect the two of you need to be on the same page. There should be a meeting of the minds, so to speak. He tells you what he expects, and you tell him what you expect from him.”
I smirked. “Oh, that sounds great in theory, but he didn’t give the impression he was willing to be involved in a give and take. He’s all about laying down the law and the rest of us should just get in line.”
“You really don’t like this guy,” she said.
“It isn’t that I don’t like him. I don’t respect him.”
“How is this going to impact your work?”
I laughed and shook my head. “You should send me a monthly bill for all the counseling you do.”
“This isn’t me counseling. This is me being a friend. We’re having a conversation. When I’m having a bad day, you talk to me.”
“Thank you.”
“So, are you going to be able to do this?”
Jace ran by screaming with Caitlyn chasing him. I smiled as I watched them play. I mulled over her question. It was the same thing I’d been thinking about since he gave his little speech in the conference room. I finally turned to look at her. “Honestly, I don’t know.”
“Saige, you have worked your ass off to get to where you are. You’ve sacrificed a lot to hold your position. You love your job. Are you willing to walk away and let that all go?”
“I don’t know,” I said.
“If you quit, he wins.”
My lip curled. “Like hell he will.”
She grinned. “That’s my girl. Fight back. You know you are damn good at what you do. Don’t let him push you out.”
“I won’t.”
“Did you hear about Tanya?” she asked me.
“No. What happened?”
“She’s engaged,” she announced.
I whipped around to look at her. “What? How? Who?”
Joss laughed. “Exactly my reaction. She met him on one of those dating apps.”
“When? She was single at that Christmas party we went to. Wasn’t she?”
“Yes, she was. They met just after New Year’s.”
“Holy shit,” I hissed under my breath. “And they’re engaged?”
“Not just engaged. They are getting married in Vegas next weekend.”
My head was spinning. “Tanya?” I said again. “She’s so… so normal. What is she thinking?”
“I guess she’s thinking she’s tired of being alone.”
“But to jump into a marriage with a man she doesn’t know, that seems like a cry for help,” I said. “You’re the shrink. Isn’t this the perfect example?”
“Maybe, but in this case, Tanya seems pretty certain of what she wants. She says she is in love. Only she knows her heart.”
“Now I really feel old,” I muttered. “We’re going to be the last two standing.”
She let out a long sigh. “I need a juice box.”
“I should have put wine in those boxes. I can’t believe she’s getting married. What app?”
“Don’t tell me you are going to go on the app?” she said with surprise.
“I’m certainly going to keep an open mind. I’ll wait and see how it goes with Tanya and her husband.”
She burst into laughter. “And then I’ll wait and see how it goes with you before I jump on the bandwagon.”
“I’m not saying I’m going to start cyber dating, but it is an option I’m keeping open. I’m not getting any younger. Jace is going to go to college one day and I’m going to be alone. I might want a man at some point.”
“Starting the search now should make sure you find someone by then,” she teased.
“I haven’t done any searching. Do you ever think we’re breaking our kids?”
“Every day.” She laughed. “Are you referring to something specific?”
“The single-mom thing. Are we ruining them by raising them alone?”
“No,” she said firmly. “We’ll probably ruin them for a host of other reasons, but not because we are single moms. We love them and take care of them. We probably feed them too much sugar and I know I say stuff in front of her I shouldn’t, but not having a man in our bed is not going to be what breaks them.”
“I can’t help but wonder if it would be different with a man in his life,” I said.
“It would be different,” she said. “Of course, it would be different, but that doesn’t mean it would be better. It’s easy to be critical of yourself, but who do you really think is the judge that matters?”
I thought about it. “Jace?”