A Foundation of Lies
First day back in the office. I was face down at my desk during lunch when the desk next to mine started rattling under a series of hard knocks.
I looked up. It was the firm's new architect, Flora Reeves.
"Lunch time ended five minutes ago. You're still asleep at your desk? Don't bother coming in tomorrow. You're fired!"
I told her I had just come back from a client meeting. I had been pulling all-nighters on the project for a week.
She looked at me like I was something on her shoe. "All you do is take clients out, drink with them, and scribble a few sketches.
"You don't even punch in. You're barely in the office. What gives you the right to nap at your desk during work hours?"
I almost laughed in her face!
I was the firm's chief architect. The bulk of the projects on Walsh & Co.'s books had my name on them.
The firm's success was, frankly, carried by me.
She saw me out of the office most days. She did not see me in another city, on another job site, talking down another client.
And in our industry, most of those clients had hired Walsh & Co. because of my name and reputation.
I kept my composure. "You're not in HR. On what authority are you firing me?"
She said, "On the authority that my husband is the president of this company."
I went still.
When did my boyfriend get married?