Page 56 of For One Night

“Good afternoon. As some of you already know, I’m Lola Turner.” I get several hellos to which I respond with a smile. “For the last three weeks, I’ve combed through your financial records, year-end takeaway, probabilities and more importantly, possibilities for the future growth of Carolina Marketing.

“As always, there’s a list with graphs and charts to help breakdown and understand where and why this company isn’t growing. The bottom line…” I love this part, everyone sits up straight as I hit the projector. “You’re not doing your damn well best for this company.”

Kurt Baugus, the COO of the company, shifts in his seat. I can see him sweat from here. “Excuse me, Miss Turner.”

“Yes, Mister Baugus.” I cross my arms, flexing my fingers.

“How can you make a clear evaluation in that short of time?” He leans forward, challenging me.

Reaching down, I click the next chart. “If you will, in front of you I have added a document. One that Mister Baugus signed off on five months ago.”

“How in the hell did you get that?” He knocks his chair over as he scrambles to his feet.

I hit the button again, flipping the screen. “With this one, you can see the fine details of Kurt here giving himself a bonus with every ad sale in Charleston and Myrtle Beach. It’s the equivalent to three average paydays a month.

“He did so on the guarantee of doubling the ad growth, which are the biggest markets you serve. He knew you could grow in those areas, but knowing this, he never detailed the amount of growth needed for said bonus.” I focus on him, never looking away as I tap my heel on the floor.

“Once you sold a spot, garnered a new sale, or even grew the existing client’s ad spend, he profited when even the company may not have. He has three others working with him, and their ad sales haven’t grown.

“Is there room for improvement in other areas of this company, yes. I can help you fine tune those places to be more productive and grow your reach. But my first and most important suggestion is to clean the house.” I grab the papers from the folder, laying them out for all to examine.

“Adam, I can explain,” Kurt pleads with the owner.

Adam Rossi, the CEO and sole owner of Carolina Marketing, sits forward as he narrows his eyes. “There’s no need. Lola brought this to me as soon as she found it. Not only did she scour these papers, but I had my attorney do it also. You’re fired.”

“What? Because some bitch with a hard-on to prove herself comes in here and tells you to fire me? Fuck you.” Kurt kicks his chair backward, as he sets his sights on me. “As for you, you fucking cunt.”

I square my shoulders, waiting for him to get in my face. “What? You bring nothing to this table I can’t handle. You cheated, you’re done, and it wasn’t even my call.”

He rounds on Adam. “You did this to me?”

“Yes, it was my call.” Adam stands beside me. “Now, get out.” Security comes plowing through the door, dragging him from the room.

I take a deep breath, releasing it through my nose. “For my second act…”

The room gasps, quickly turning into laughter, though it’s a nervous one. My eyes flicker around the room, checking on the others. I’m trying to gauge if I can continue, or if this needs to be picked up another day.

“Are you alright?” Adam’s hand presses into the small of my back.

I force my best smile. “I am, shall we go on?”

The meeting forges on, and by the second hour, all is well. I’m busy packing my things when Adam returns with my bonus. The last few months have given me a new confidence, and I like this feeling.

“Here you are, Miss Turner.” Adam slides an envelope across the table.

I glance up before reaching for it. “Thank you.”

“I appreciate all you’ve done for us, and I’ll be sure to recommend you to all of my friends.” He steps closer to me, as his eyes wander down my body.

I nod as my face flushes. “I appreciate it. Thank you again.” I pick my bag up, hoping to signal this is over.

“I was wondering…” Oh shit. Here it comes.

“Yes?” Act concerned.

He rubs his hands together. “Would you like to have dinner?”

Pretend to be surprised and say you can’t. “Oh, no. I’m sorry, I can’t tonight.”