Year-end bonuses at the company had always been tied strictly to performance, ranging anywhere from tens of thousands to over a million dollars.
And Derek Voss, in his two years with the firm, had racked up more disasters than anyone could count.
The worst had happened just last month. Through sheer carelessness, he'd left a decimal point off a critical financial report, costing the company a staggering eighty million dollars in losses.
When Gladys found out, she'd pleaded on his behalf, her voice soft and coaxing, even squeezing out a few tears.
I'd gone soft. In the end, I only docked a month of his salary and let the matter drop.
Because of that, based on his annual performance review, his year-end bonus came out to a token six thousand dollars.
He threw the money on the floor right then and there. In front of every employee and executive in the room, he pointed at me and shouted.
"Mr. Barnes, I already stopped contacting Miss Pruitt like you demanded. Why are you still humiliating me at an event like this?"
"Don't think that just because you have power and a fat wallet, you can trample all over my dignity!"
I was so furious I laughed. I had security escort him out of the venue on the spot.
I also told him that if taking money from the Barnes Group felt like humiliation, he was welcome to resign. You don't eat someone's cooking and then complain their hands are dirty. That's not how the world works.
That day, Gladys had been in the audience too, but surprisingly, she didn't leap to his defense the way she always did. She didn't even spare a glance at Derek as he was dragged out.
A pitiful illusion flickered to life in my chest. I thought she'd finally seen through certain people, that maybe she was coming around.
I didn't expect that just a few days later, when I showed up at the Pruitt residence as promised to take her to meet the elders at the family estate, she'd already gone out with Derek to "clear her head." And then she had the nerve to make those outrageous demands.
If I hadn't made a snap decision and switched who I was bringing home, I'd probably be a laughingstock all over again by now.
Murmurs rippled through the conference room.
"So that's why he called an emergency meeting? Transferring shares just to grovel to that pretty boy."
"Has Mr. Barnes lost his mind? That Derek guy cost the company eighty million last month and he still hasn't been fired? Now we're supposed to reward him?"
"It's all because of Miss Pruitt's influence. If you ask me, these past few years Mr. Barnes has been at her beck and call. The second she doesn't need him, he's nowhere to be found, like a..."
The sentence trailed off, but everyone in the room knew exactly how it ended.
My grip tightened around the pen in my hand. The cold in my chest sank deeper.
Over the past three years, Gladys's stunts could fill an entire book.
She'd used a dare as an excuse to make me dance at a bar.
She'd told everyone she was happily single.
The worst time, she'd called claiming someone was harassing her at a club. I'd rushed over so fast I nearly got into a car accident. When I arrived, I found her playing a drinking game with her friends. I was the punchline.
Every single time, looking at her pouting face as she batted her eyes and apologized, I forced myself to believe the same thing.
This is the last time. She's just been spoiled. She isn't bad at heart. Just a little too used to getting her way.
The moment Gladys heard me mention transferring shares, a smug, knowing look spread across her face.
"Asher, so you want to use shares to apologize to Derek? To buy my forgiveness?"
"You're that terrified I'll call off the engagement and make you and the Barnes family a joke?"
"Then transfer fifty percent of your shares to Derek right now, and throw another gala to publicly apologize to him."
"Do those two things, and I'll consider forgiving you. I might even agree to marry you."
I set the pen down and let out a cold laugh.
"When did I ever say I was giving him a single share?"
