Thank you all very much for all of your feedback! It seems this little tale of mine is quite polarizing! It's either that you love it or you hate it, and you haven't been afraid to tell me all about it either way! LOL! Which is actually a great compliment to any writer, I have to say, to know that your readers are as invested in your story as they are to feel such strong emotions about it! So thank you! I appreciate you all, and hope it continues! At least then I know I'm doing my job! :D

"You're...firing me?" I gasped, in complete shock, as I sat in front of Obie's desk in his office later that morning. I couldn't even grasp how unfair and over-the-top this reaction was to my mistake. "And after all of the years of loyal service I..."

"Which is why it was so surprising to me that you'd make this kind of mistake, Pepper. You know how crucial it is during this time every month to maintain efficiency. In every department," he tried to explain. "If I let this slide, what kind of precedent would I be setting for..."

"So, that's it, then. You're making me the example," I argued, cutting him off. I frowned, narrowing my eyes. He shrugged sheepishly and nodded. "Does Tony know about this?" I asked defiantly.

He stood up from behind his desk, and buttoned his suit jacket as he made his way to me. "And why would he need to? So I could get his permission? Please, Pepper. I think that you and I both know that would just be..."

"What? Fair?" I said, cutting him off again. "I am his assistant, yet he doesn't get a say?" He gave me an uncomfortable chuckle in response and gently grasped my elbow, lifting me out of my chair. I frowned at him, glancing between his hand holding my elbow and his face, which had this fake "smile through the unpleasantness" look on it. He shifted his grasp to where he had his hand now in the crook of my elbow, and the other in the small of my back as he began walking me toward the door.

"I don't need Tony's permission for anything, Pepper," he said with a firm, low and rumbling growl as we walked. Then, he gave me another fake smile once we'd reached it. "Mmmkaaaaayy?" he said softly, letting go of my arm finally, as if what he'd just said was meant to be some kind of threat and I dare not test him.

Just then there was a firm knock, and I startled. Obie reached to open it, and an SI security guard nodded sternly to acknowledge him as he stepped through the door.

"What is this? Obie? What is going on here?" I begged, shocked that suddenly the situation felt less like a termination, and more like a prisoner transport.

"As per company policy, Pepper, you'll understand the need for security to escort you off the premises. You can leave your badge, cell phone, and car keys at the front desk before you go. And there's a town car waiting to take you home," he explained.

I glanced at Patrick in confusion and then back at Obie. "Obie, I hardly think that all of this is..." I started to say.

"Oh, and, per the employee by-laws, you'll need to vacate your condo within the next thirty days. Since it's a corporate lease, as you know. You understand," he said, nonchalantly. He smiled another plastic smile, and nodded at Patrick to take me away. Patrick motioned for me to follow him, but I refused.

"Obie, get Tony on the phone right now," I demanded through gritted teeth. "I'm not leaving until you do."

"I think we're done here," he said to Patrick, ignoring my demands. He shoved his hands in his pants pockets and turned his back to me, strolling back to his desk as Patrick now grasped my elbow with a firm squeeze.

"Okay. Let's go, Miss," he said sternly.

"Ow! You're...don't touch me!" I spat out, yanking my arm out of his grasp. "I won't have you dragging me out of here like I'm a common criminal. This is..."

Just then, Patrick grabbed the radio on his shoulder, and called for assistance while trying to grab my arm again. I heard the private elevator doors just outside open within seconds, and another security guard appeared, grabbing my other arm. "No!" I shouted, as I began to struggle against their grasp. "You can't do this! I don't deserve...don't touch me!"

"Let's keep this civilized, shall we, Ms. Potts?" I heard Obie purr from behind his desk. He then gave a dismissing wave to the guards, and I looked back at him with as nasty a glare as I could muster. With my hands behind my back, they hastily started marching me out into the reception area, in front of all of the other ladies in the office. I could have just died, especially with all of the pointing and hushed whispers I noticed as we walked through the glass double doors, and down the corridor to the main elevator banks. Why couldn't we have taken the private elevators?, I wondered. Did I really need to be paraded around in front of the entire company to be made a mockery of?

The elevator doors finally opened, but not before a few people had left their offices to watch the commotion. My cheeks were burning with humiliation, and I felt like I wanted to curl up in a ball and cry, but I refused. I couldn't give these people the satisfaction. So I gritted my teeth instead, and willed the elevator doors to open, which was taking an eternity in my mind.

Finally, they slid open and the three of us entered. As soon as we turned to face forward, I yanked my arms away from them, and huffed, completely exasperated and fuming on the inside. Tony may be a lot of things, but he never would have stripped me of my dignity like this, even at his angriest. I admit that I made a mistake, but he and Obie both knew I valued my job more than anything, so a simple reprimand would have been in order. Not this...this demonizing that had just taken place. None of this made sense to me. How could Obie treat me this way? Wasn't I entitled to some kind of disciplinary procedure, other than termination? For God's sake! It's not like I was caught embezzling, or having sex in the break room, or some other such nonsense. I just forgot to turn in a file to accounting! And then I remembered I'd forgotten it, in the middle of the night no less, and drove an hour out of my way to get it from Tony's so I could deliver it to the proper department! It was late! It wasn't missing! A slap on the wrist, or even a short suspension, I would have agreed to! But this! This was ridiculous. I was damn good at my job. But, if they didn't want me that bad, they didn't have to have me. It was their loss. Despite Obie trying to quickly dispatch with me, they still owed me a nice little severance package. It was in my agreement. So I was going to take it, and maybe take some time off before I went to find a new job. Maybe I'd even relocate to somewhere far away from here, seeing as how I had thirty days to vacate my condo anyway. Besides, I was sure Tony would give me a glowing recommendation to anyone who needed one. He couldn't deny that I'd been an asset to him for all of these years, regardless of how he felt about Obie's decision.

We reached the ground floor, and walked out of the elevator, this time the guards allowing me to walk under my own volition. We reached the security desk, and I immediately removed my ID badge before I cleared my purse of my cell phone and car keys, slapping them down on the black marble counter top with added ire as the guards watched me silently. Then I put my hands up in surrender, and backed away, letting them know I wasn't going to fight it, and I'd cleared myself of everything pertinent to my employment that I'd had on my person.

"Thank you, Ms. Potts," one of the guards said politely, but I ignored him, turning toward the glass entrance doors and marching outside with my head held high, but my teeth still gritted. As promised, the town car was waiting for me, and the driver was at the back door ready to open it upon my arrival. He swiftly swung it open without a word as he saw me approach, and I climbed in without making eye contact.

Once inside, I waited for him to get behind the wheel, my stoic countenance crumbling by the millisecond. I assumed he knew where he was going, as I was sure Obie had directed him to take me home promptly. I put my fist to my mouth to hide the corners turning down as the burn of tears started coming on now. We pulled out from in front of the building, and into traffic.

"Privacy, please, driver?" I requested as calmly as possible. He nodded at me in the rear view, and pushed the button for the privacy window. My eyes followed it all the way up, and then I sat back in my seat. I took a deep breath, and then my shoulders began to shake as I could no longer maintain my composure. Hot tears filled my eyes, and instantly spilled down my cheeks. I grabbed a tissue from the courtesy box in the passenger console between the back seats, and blotted them away, not wanting to look a complete mess once we'd reached my condo. But I took advantage of the time alone and I cried. Silently, but hard. I couldn't help it. All of this had happened so quickly. And on top of everything going on with Tony, and being completely powerless to stop it, my heart was just shattered, and I was left reeling from the thought of how everything around me had come crashing down without warning. And with such brutal force.