Read Online One Night with a Star (Second Chances Book 2) by Merry Farmer - Free Book Online
Authors: Merry Farmer
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the three of her nosy coworkers hum. “So was there any bridesmaid action going on then?” Ivy asked.
“You know what they say about the maid of honor and the best man at weddings,” Gladys added.
“No,” Jenny said, louder. “There was nothing.” She huffed and turned to them. “Guys, I’ll tell you all about it later, but right now I’ve got a lot of stuff to catch up on.”
“Yes, but was Spencer—”
“Jenny.” The page on Jenny’s phone blared to life with her boss’s voice.
“Yes, Carol?” Jenny answered, a rock sinking to the pit of her stomach.
“Can I see you in my office?”
“Sure, I’ll be right there.”
“Uh-oh,” Laurel murmured. All three of her coworkers backed off so fast you would have thought Jenny had the plague.
Jenny took a deep breath and pushed herself out of her chair. There was no doubt that she was in trouble. Carol only paged people to her office if she wanted to rain down holy terror. It sucked, but Jenny couldn’t blame the woman. That didn’t mean this little visit would be fun.
“Close the door, please,” Carol said as soon as Jenny crossed the threshold.
Well crap. Jenny shut the door, then turned back to Carol with as bright a smile as she could manage.
“I’m so sorry for being late,” she said before Carol could get started, taking a seat in the Chair of Doom in front of Carol’s desk. “Daniel was fussy this morning. We had a rough day yesterday after the wedding on Saturday. I spent most of my time over at my friend’s house, helping to clean up.” And avoiding Simon with everything she had. Thank God his and Spence’s agent Yvonne hadn’t left for New York yet and had kept him busy with the business of their TV show.
Carol folded her hands on her desk and stared at Jenny with the coolest poker-face imaginable. “You can’t keep coming in late, Jenny,” she said in the same tone a school principal would use after the fifth time a student had been sent to her office.
“I know,” Jenny said. “I’ll do better.”
Carol nodded, but said, “If it was only being late, I could work around that. But you and I both know there has been a serious decline in your performance these last few months since you returned from maternity leave.”
“I’ll get the hang of it,” Jenny insisted. “Daniel is six months now, and he’s figuring out how to do things like sleep through the night and get on a schedule.” If by ‘sleeping through the night’ she meant from nine until two in the morning, and wailing for mommy every few hours, on the dot.
“I know how hard babies can be,” Carol said. “I had three of my own, and now I’ve got a grandbaby at home. That’s not what this is about.”
Jenny’s heart sank further. “I can do this,” she said, bolstering herself as much as reassuring Carol.
Carol let out a breath. “Jenny, how many clients do you have right now?”
She flushed hot at the question, feeling sick. “I’m working on getting out there,” she said.
“You don’t have any,” Carol answered her own question. “The last deal you closed was more than a month ago. You’ve had a hard time building your client list back up again after maternity leave, even though we’ve tried to help you.”
“And I appreciate that, Carol, I really do.”
“But you lost two of those clients because you weren’t able to show them the houses they were interested in on their time.”
“I remember,” Jenny said, scrambling for a way to defend herself. “Daniel had a fever that one day. I had to take him to the emergency pediatrician.”
“And I felt sorry for that,” Carol went on, “but it meant you lost the client. We would have lost them to another agency if Ivy hadn’t been able to step in and pick up the slack.”
All desire to defend and prove herself drained out of Jenny, replaced by a gnawing despair. She was about to get fired. Any second now, Carol would drop the bomb on her.
“What would you like me to
“You know what they say about the maid of honor and the best man at weddings,” Gladys added.
“No,” Jenny said, louder. “There was nothing.” She huffed and turned to them. “Guys, I’ll tell you all about it later, but right now I’ve got a lot of stuff to catch up on.”
“Yes, but was Spencer—”
“Jenny.” The page on Jenny’s phone blared to life with her boss’s voice.
“Yes, Carol?” Jenny answered, a rock sinking to the pit of her stomach.
“Can I see you in my office?”
“Sure, I’ll be right there.”
“Uh-oh,” Laurel murmured. All three of her coworkers backed off so fast you would have thought Jenny had the plague.
Jenny took a deep breath and pushed herself out of her chair. There was no doubt that she was in trouble. Carol only paged people to her office if she wanted to rain down holy terror. It sucked, but Jenny couldn’t blame the woman. That didn’t mean this little visit would be fun.
“Close the door, please,” Carol said as soon as Jenny crossed the threshold.
Well crap. Jenny shut the door, then turned back to Carol with as bright a smile as she could manage.
“I’m so sorry for being late,” she said before Carol could get started, taking a seat in the Chair of Doom in front of Carol’s desk. “Daniel was fussy this morning. We had a rough day yesterday after the wedding on Saturday. I spent most of my time over at my friend’s house, helping to clean up.” And avoiding Simon with everything she had. Thank God his and Spence’s agent Yvonne hadn’t left for New York yet and had kept him busy with the business of their TV show.
Carol folded her hands on her desk and stared at Jenny with the coolest poker-face imaginable. “You can’t keep coming in late, Jenny,” she said in the same tone a school principal would use after the fifth time a student had been sent to her office.
“I know,” Jenny said. “I’ll do better.”
Carol nodded, but said, “If it was only being late, I could work around that. But you and I both know there has been a serious decline in your performance these last few months since you returned from maternity leave.”
“I’ll get the hang of it,” Jenny insisted. “Daniel is six months now, and he’s figuring out how to do things like sleep through the night and get on a schedule.” If by ‘sleeping through the night’ she meant from nine until two in the morning, and wailing for mommy every few hours, on the dot.
“I know how hard babies can be,” Carol said. “I had three of my own, and now I’ve got a grandbaby at home. That’s not what this is about.”
Jenny’s heart sank further. “I can do this,” she said, bolstering herself as much as reassuring Carol.
Carol let out a breath. “Jenny, how many clients do you have right now?”
She flushed hot at the question, feeling sick. “I’m working on getting out there,” she said.
“You don’t have any,” Carol answered her own question. “The last deal you closed was more than a month ago. You’ve had a hard time building your client list back up again after maternity leave, even though we’ve tried to help you.”
“And I appreciate that, Carol, I really do.”
“But you lost two of those clients because you weren’t able to show them the houses they were interested in on their time.”
“I remember,” Jenny said, scrambling for a way to defend herself. “Daniel had a fever that one day. I had to take him to the emergency pediatrician.”
“And I felt sorry for that,” Carol went on, “but it meant you lost the client. We would have lost them to another agency if Ivy hadn’t been able to step in and pick up the slack.”
All desire to defend and prove herself drained out of Jenny, replaced by a gnawing despair. She was about to get fired. Any second now, Carol would drop the bomb on her.
“What would you like me to
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