Total pages in book: 131
Estimated words: 122609 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 613(@200wpm)___ 490(@250wpm)___ 409(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 122609 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 613(@200wpm)___ 490(@250wpm)___ 409(@300wpm)
“Honey, now—”
“Honey now, nothing. I am stronger than I was when I left here, and I was already strong as hell. Believe that. You can’t break me. There isn’t a weak bone in my body, and it won’t start now. I have learned a lot about myself the past few months. About what I want. What I need. What I demand. I’d rather work for a small paper that gives a damn about me and pays peanuts, than one that sees me just as a commodity—something to extort, bully, and suck dry.”
“Honey, enough. You’re being unreasonable and reactionary. This is about—”
“You gave my office away to a woman who can barely tie her own damn shoes, all because she’s blowing you, Mr. Silver. I can only imagine what she’d get if she’d let you do her up the ass.”
Loud gasps ensued all around the room, followed by laughter. His eyes emitting sparks, he smacked the table hard and pointed an accusing finger at her.
“Honey, you’re full of shit, and you know it!” he yelled, his face red and angry. “If you want to negotiate or there’s something you need, just say so! You don’t have to resort to this, which is beneath you, anyway. I haven’t had sexual relations with Denise!”
“What’s beneath me is this discussion. This woman here, too,” she shot a look at Teresa, “who has done everything she can to try and sabotage my career when she realized I was rising too fast, and comments were made about me not even needing her around. She went from singing my praises to being a backstabber. Conniver. Hater.”
“You haven’t changed, Honey. You’re still the same delusional, bitter person.” Teresa rolled her eyes.
“No, I was delusional when I actually thought you cared about people. Just not me. About our work at this paper. I was delusional when I put my career, my passion, in the hands of people who can’t run a toy choo-choo train, let alone retain valuable talent. I’ve admitted I haven’t always been easy to deal with, but if I had been approached with respect, talked to like a person, an equal, treated with dignity, I promise you that I would have listened, and you would have had much less pushback. When I am disrespected, spoken to like a child, and threatened, well, this honey turns to vinegar.” She stood from her seat and grabbed her purse. “Thank you for your consideration, but I reject the job offer. You will have my official resignation letter in the morning.”
“We are still running your story, Honey.” Teresa said with a smirk.
“No, I don’t think so, Teresa. See, I’ve been hired by The Denver Post. I will not only be a photojournalist with them, but I will have my own weekly column dealing with injustices against women, children, veterans, and much more. I will have a corner office. My pay will be higher, and they have the story… the whole story, not just the samples, snippets, and a few pictures and audio and video clips. And before you get any ideas and try to race to the presses, as soon as I send them a text, which will be in the next minute,” she glanced down at her watch, “they are running their story online tonight. All I have to do is say the word, and it’s already slated to be front page news tomorrow morning, in print. Now you go and run that.”
The color drained from Teresa’s face.
“Mr. Silver, Michael, I apologize for the cheap shot regarding the blow job you received from Denise. I have no proof of that. I also thank you for trying to keep me on board, even though your methods in this regard are demeaning and humiliating. However, by doing those menial jobs, I was humbled and learned to fall in love with my craft even more. I got to meet and talk to amazing people while in Denver, heal in ways I didn’t know I needed, met the love of my life… all things I would not have had the chance to do if it wasn’t for the assignment you gave me. So,” she shrugged, “I can’t be mad about that, can I?”
His lips curled in a slight smile.
“Well, Honey, it looks like your mind is made up. We wish you the best, and—”
Before he could finish, Teresa jumped up from her chair and stormed out, slamming the conference room door behind her.
“As I was saying,” he continued, “you will be missed. Drama and all, you were a valuable member of this team. Keep in touch, and good luck in your new endeavors.”
Moments later, several people stood around her, offering hugs and words of congratulations. She turned to walk out of there, determined to never look back, when Mr. Silver called out to her.