Doukakis's Apprentice Read Free Page B

patronising. ‘I thought it would keep you busy.’
    ‘I’m not a child, Mr Anderson. I can keep myself busy. I’ve had no choice about that since the key players in this company do nothing but sit on their backsides eating and drinking their way through the profits.’ Dimly aware that she was burning every bridge, she stalked round the table and had the satisfaction of seeing Michael Anderson’s eyes widen in consternation.
    ‘What are you doing? Where are you—? I can see you’re angry, but—’
    ‘Angry? I’m not angry. I’m
furious
. You have one hundred employees biting their nails out there—’ Beyond caring about herself, Polly flung her arm towards the door. ‘One hundred people terrified of losing their jobs who right now are wondering whether they’re going to be able to afford to keep a roof over their heads and
you’re not even going to fight for them?
You’re a disgusting coward.’
    ‘That’s enough!’ His face was red and angry. ‘If it weren’t for the fact that you’re the boss’s daughter, you would have been fired long ago. You have a real attitude problem. And as for the way you dress—’
    ‘How a person dresses doesn’t affect their ability to do ajob, Mr Anderson. Not that I expect you to understand that. With the exception of the board—’ she cast a derisive look around the boardroom table ‘—this is a young, vibrant, creative agency. I don’t need to wear a boring suit with an elastic waistband to accommodate a four-course business lunch paid for by your unsuspecting clients.’
    Scarlet-faced, Michael Anderson looked as though he was at high risk of a stroke. ‘I’m going to overlook your behaviour because I know how difficult this week has been for you. And I’m going to give you some fatherly advice as your own father seems to take his responsibilities in that area so lightly. Take your redundancy money, go on a good long holiday and rethink your future. Apart from your extremely unfortunate temper, you’re a nice girl. Beautiful.’ Sweat beading his brow, he dragged his eyes away from her legs. ‘You’re only working on client accounts because of your father. In any other company you’d be a secretary. Not that there’s anything wrong with that,’ he said hastily as he saw Polly’s expression darken. ‘All I’m saying is that a girl with your looks doesn’t need to spend her nights with her head in a spreadsheet playing with business—isn’t that right, gentleman?’
    A murmur of agreement spread through the watching board members. The only person not smiling was Damon Doukakis. He stayed silent, his eyes hooded as he watched the antics from the far end of the table.
    Polly saw nothing through the red mist of anger that clouded her vision. ‘Don’t you
dare
criticize my father. And don’t you dare make those sexist, misogynistic comments when we all know who’s doing the work in this company. You sold out to the highest bidder for personal gain. You’re now multimillionaires and we’re unemployed.’ She tried and failed to keep the emotion out of her voice. ‘Where was your sense of responsibility? Shame on you. Shame on all of you.’
    Michael Anderson’s mouth was slack with shock. ‘Who do you think you are?’
    ‘Someone who cares about the future of this company and the people who work for it. If you make one single one of them redundant before at least considering other options then I’ll—’
What?
What could she do? Aware that she was utterly powerless, the anger suddenly left her and Polly turned and stalked back round the table, furious with herself for losing control. She felt spent and exhausted and utterly dispirited. She’d let everyone down. Instead of making things better, she’d made them a thousand times worse.
    Damn, damn and damn. Why couldn’t she stay cool and calm like these fat, overblown men in suits? Why hadn’t she gone to bed last night? Being tired always lowered her burn threshold.
    Deafened by the