Working Stiff(113)
Casimir said, “We did not have access or editing authority on your contracts after you came back from your leave of absence, but your contracts were the ones with the clauses that swindled our clients.”
“And yet,” Josie chimed in, “we think you did it, and I’ll bet that as soon as we fire you, we will stop discovering these problem clauses.”
Rox didn’t like the way that she had said that at all. Yeah, they would stop discovering the problems, all right. “We didn’t do it.”
Val said, “And we think you did, and we both are in agreement that you need to leave the premises now. Do not stop at your desks. Do not speak to anyone. Security should be waiting for you outside my door to escort you out of the building.”
Indignation drove Rox to her feet. “Are you kidding me? You’re having the security guards throw us out of the building?”
“Immediately,” Josie said. The angry set of her jaw infuriated Rox.
“I want my rubber plant,” Rox said. “I grew that plant from a little six-inch wilting sapling that Melanie couldn’t keep alive. I want my plant.”
Cash glanced back at her, his green eyes squinting with disbelief, but he didn’t say anything.
Val threw her hands in the air. “Fine. You can go get your plant, but that’s all.”
“It’s a big plant,” Casimir said, “and it’s in a heavy pot. She can’t carry it. I need to carry it for her.”
“Fine. Go with her and get her damn plant, but the security guys are going with you. Don’t give us a reason to add assault charges to anything that we have to tell the ethics board.”
Casimir stepped to the side, and Rox walked out of Val’s office ahead of him. Two security guys were waiting outside of Val’s door, and they both trailed Rox and Casimir to her office.
Rox walked straight in her own office door, and when Casimir stopped in the doorway and held his arms up to lean on the doorjamb, she swiped a thumb drive-sized thing that was sitting on her desk and palmed it, holding it against her leg so that no one could see she had anything there.
Her huge rubber plant was still standing against the window right where she had left it, its leaves spread against the glass, blocking the view of the security guy who tried to look around it.
“Hey!” the guy said. “You aren’t taking anything right?”
“Nope,” Rox called back to him and grabbed her favorite mug. “Nothing important, anyway.”
The cup read Work Wife. Casimir had given it to her a few months before with a nice little bouquet stuck in it.
Yeah, she did want to take the mug with her.
Casimir set his briefcase on the carpet by the pot, and he stooped and grabbed the plant’s heavy clay container.
“Wait,” she said. “Are you sure you should be lifting that?”
“I’m fine,” he said. “I can carry this. I’ve carried—” he glanced at the two security guys, “—heavier things than this.”
“I don’t want you to hurt yourself. You know what? The plant isn’t worth it. We’ll just leave it here for whomever gets the office.”
The security guy on the left crossed his arms and sighed. “We need to escort you two out of the building.”
“Come on,” she said, picking up her heavy purse and slinging it across her back again. “Let’s get out of here.”
As they crossed the lobby, Melanie ran up to them, holding a manila envelope. “Cash! Rox!” She shoved the envelope into Rox’s hands.
Rox looked at the envelope, but nothing was written on it. “What’s this?”
“The settlement offer from the apartment property management company.” Melanie glanced behind herself like she expected assassins to jump out and grab her. “I’ve got things to do.” She scuttled away.
Rox pulled the documents out and scanned them.
The number written in the first paragraph had a lot of zeroes in it.
A lot of them.
A key slithered out of the envelope and plunked on the carpet at her feet.
She said, “Holy cow! I just wanted my stuff and my deposit back.”
Casimir snagged the key from the floor near her feet and took her elbow to guide her away. “We should go. The security gentlemen are getting nervous.”
Indeed, they were fidgeting with their walkie-talkies, as if the static-crackling communication devices would coerce Rox. “This is enough money to buy a house.”
“It’s illegal to put a device on someone’s door without going through the proper eviction procedures, which take months. I pointed that out, including sending pictures of the device and the proper statutes, and the property management company became unnerved, offering settlements. I negotiated a nice settlement for you in exchange for not turning the documents over to the D.A. The key is to a storage unit with your other property in it.”