"There's no seat for you at this table. Get up. Right now. Go clear out your things and give your chair to Tom."
"After all, he's the one who landed us the partnership with the Gilbert Group, the biggest player in the game. He's more than qualified to sit as vice president."
Tom brokered the deal between the Hardings and the Gilbert Group? I turned, fixing him with a cold stare. He looked back at me, swollen with pride.
"Who else would it be, if not me?"
"I know it's got to sting, having to give up your seat."
"So here's what we'll do. We'll put it to a vote."
Amanda Harding regarded Tom with something close to admiration.
"Jude Gilbert, you see that? That's how a man with actual brains talks!"
"Not like you, spouting big talk that only makes people laugh."
I said nothing, waiting to see how the Harding people would line up.
Amanda swept her gaze across the room, her voice carrying an edge that brooked no argument.
"You all heard what was just said, didn't you?"
"Then I'll cut the chatter and get straight to the point."
"Do you support Tom as the company's vice president? Or do you still back Jude Gilbert for the position? Raise your hands to show where you stand."
"Now, everyone who supports Tom as vice president, raise your hand!"
Anyone could see how much Amanda valued her little assistant. Who would be reckless enough not to raise a hand?
Every hand in the room went up. Every hand but mine.
Tom smirked, thoroughly pleased with the picture in front of him.
Amanda's lips curved, and she nodded, just as satisfied.
It hit me all at once. This was her humiliating me in front of everyone.
"Everyone who supports Jude Gilbert staying on as vice president, raise your hand!"
The room exchanged uneasy glances. Not a single hand went up.
Tom snorted and raised his. Even Amanda looked thrown.
Only I knew why he'd lifted his hand.
"Oh, come on! How can you all treat our outgoing vice president like this!"
"Couldn't even one of you raise a hand, just to spare Jude Gilbert the embarrassment?"
The confusion lifted, and the mockery only thickened.
"Good thing I know how to be gracious. Jude looked so pathetic, I raised my hand for him."
"Jude Gilbert! Don't take it too hard. I'll keep that seat warm and steady for you."
He watched me with a smile that never reached his eyes. I didn't lose my temper. I just smiled and rapped my knuckles once against the table.
"Amanda Harding, it's not that I'm underestimating you."
"The Hardings is supposed to be a legitimate company. You fire a vice president and let a school of minnows make the call? No need to consult the shareholders?"
I was leaving, yes. But not because this pack of dead weight could simply toss me out.
And I'm not just talking trash. Without me, the Hardings wouldn't be far from bankruptcy.
"Jude Gilbert, are you looking down on us?"
Someone slammed a palm on the table and shot to their feet, openly turning on me the moment they sensed I was cornered.
"Exactly. We're senior management at the Hardings. Don't tell me we don't even have the right to vote."
I pulled out my phone, sent a message, and rose to my feet.
"That's right!"
"One thing. Dismissing me requires the support of the board of directors."
Seeing me about to leave, Tom called after me with a laugh.
"Hold on!"
"Didn't you say the Gilbert people would be sending a contract over to cancel the deal?"
"What's the matter? Can't keep the act going?"
"Hahaha, see that! This is the kind of talent our dear vice president brought to slaving away for the Hardings."
"Laugh all you want."
"Everyone's this arrogant when they think they've got the upper hand."
"The partnership between the Gilbert Group and the Hardings comes down to tomorrow's board meeting."
If they wanted to dig their own graves, I wouldn't stand in their way.
Only after I'd vanished through the doorway did their laughter finally die down.
