Stolen Innocents (The Shadow Series Book 2) Read Free Page A

reminded Felix curtly.
     
    “You would have gotten paid!” exclaimed Felix in a petulant voice.
     
    “Would I? You still owe me overtime from last month,” reminded Angie. She was nobody’s fool.
     
    Before Felix could answer her, there was a knock on the door.
     
    “Now you’re just being petty! Open the door. It’s probably Swanson.”
     
    Timothy Swanson was fresh out of college and eager to build a name for himself. He did whatever Felix asked of him. Felix could ask him to go detail the advertisement on the highway and Swanson would be out on Route 99 with a bucket and rag, shining it up. Swanson was like a puppy dog, albeit a really hyper and well-caffeinated one.
     
    “Yeah, boss?” said Swanson, poking his head into the door. He had clearly already guzzled down his Espresso Grande and was ready to tackle whatever Felix wanted to throw at him.
     
    “Ah, Timothy… You’re looking well rested today!” said Felix in his most charming voice. Angie rolled her eyes.
     
    “Thank you, sir. What can I do to help?” Swanson said in a chipper voice. Angie glared at him venomously.
     
    “I’m going to assign you the Thire deposition. This is a very high priority project, and it is for the San Francisco based biotech company, Thire Biotechnical Products. It’s coming off of Macklon’s desk, along with all of her other assignments. Swanson, welcome to my elite team. Macklon… You’re out.”
     
    Both Macklon and Swanson had to catch their breath.
     
    “I’m sorry. What?” Angie asked, unsure if she caught Felix’s drift.
     
    “You’re out. Pack up your desk. I’m terminating your contract.”
     
    “Because I’m late with one project?!”
     
    “Among other reasons. It was an important project. This will teach you that I mean business. You have to prioritize.”
     
    Angie could feel her anger rising inside of her. She just couldn’t control herself any longer.
     
    “I put you before my husband for three years and now he’s gone! Shove this job! You are the most inconsiderate and undermining employer I’ve ever had in my life.”
     
    “Maybe you didn’t hear me the first time. I don’t have time for your melodrama. Pack up your desk because I’ve terminated your contract. Swanson, be sure that you get the Thire deposition from Macklon before she leaves. Security will be up in fifteen minutes to escort her out.”
     
    “Bastard!” Angie exclaimed vehemently.
     
    “I’ve been called worse,” said Felix, unfazed.
     
    Angie stormed out of the office knocking over Felix’s “World’s Best Boss” trophy that sat on his desk. A crowd of employees had gathered outside of Felix’s office. They were all eager to hear what was going on inside. Angie gave them all a heated glare.
     
    “Don’t you all have deadlines?!”
     
    At the sound of her agitated voice, the crowd dispersed, all acting as if they weren’t really trying to hear the conversation inside the office. Anger took over Angie’s body as she made a beeline for her desk. Swanson had disappeared and that suited Angie just fine because she found him to be an insufferable pest. She wanted to get her belongings, but she didn’t plan on going down quietly. From behind her, Swanson reappeared with a set of brown legal boxes in his hands.
     
    “Here are some boxes if you need them,” said Swanson with a friendly but smarmy voice.
     
    “Oh, shove off. Kiss ass,” Angie replied nastily.
     
    Howard Cosgrove, an elderly accounting clerk who sat in the adjacent cubicle raised his bushy eyebrow at his saucy office mate before turning his eyes back to his work.
     
    As Howard pecked at his keyboard, he said, “I told you he would get back at you for rejecting his offer for a date.”
     
    “I’m married. He should know better.”
     
    “What are you going to do now?” Howard asked sensibly.
     
    Angie pondered his question. She stood perfectly still as a devilish smile grew across her pretty face.
     
    “I’m