It had been brewing for some time; the sense that she was not listened to, that her opinion counted for nought, the undeniable belief that he would always do the complete opposite of whatever she suggested. She climbed into her car and satisfied herself with a hefty slam of the door. The car rocked in response and the clock in the dash gave several extra loud ticks as though in protest. She ignored it and checked her phone again.

She had already checked the message several times, as though its meaning might somehow change in the re-reading, but no. He was firing her. Unbelievable. After all the work she had put in to the new build, the steely negotiations with the contractors, drilling down the price and always monitoring quality. The new offices were a shining testament to her diligence and her reward was this. It was an outrage. Worse than that, he had chosen to inform her by text, on her day off. She glared at the phone, then dropped it in her handbag and pulled out of the car park.

Well fine. If that was the way he wanted to run his business then she surely did not want to work for him, but she would give him a few home truths to mull over before she moved on. All those months of biting her tongue were about to be unleashed. In point of fact, she was rather looking forward to it.

Some twenty minutes later she stormed into his office. Oh boy, did he look surprised to see her. Creep. He probably thought she would be too upset or embarrassed to confront him. Well no, not her. She wasn't about to be beaten down by an arrogant little toad in a catalogue suit.

She let him have it. All the frustration, all the bile, the fury, all unleashed in a four and a half minute rant during which she barely drew breath. His face was a picture. It was all she could do to keep a straight face as she stormed out of the building. To celebrate she drove straight to the shopping centre where she treated herself to an extra large cappuccino and slice of lemon cake.

Back at the office her former boss was recovering his composure and checking his phone. His secretary tiptoed in, looking nervous. She slipped some paperwork into his top tray and stared at him pensively.

'Ben, did I misunderstand? I thought you were going to promote her?'

He smiled grimly. 'Yes, I was.'

'Then, why ...'

He looked up, holding his phone out to her. 'Damned predictive, I'm afraid.'

The secretary took the phone and scanned the message in his outbox. '"That was quite a job you did on the build. I was looking for a manager for the new marketing centre. You're fired :-) See me when you get back to discuss." Oh no, it changed hired to fired!'

Ben took the phone back, nodding thoughtfully. 'Yes, I really must remember to check my messages before I send.'

'Aren't you going to tell her?'

He gazed out of the window for a moment. 'On reflection, I think probably not.'

© 2015 Kay Lawrence.

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