Chapter 3: I'm Sorry
Brittany's POV
*Wednesday 17th July 2019*
I barely slept last night because I kept thinking about how awful I was at work yesterday. Ms Lopez can be mean sometimes and I'm not used to that so I fought back when I shouldn't have. She has every right to talk to us all anyway she wants because we work for her. Today could actually be my last day working for her because nothing can excuse how I reacted yesterday. I didn't like the way she was talking to me but as the saying goes, two wrongs don't make a right so me fighting back was not appropriate in any way whatsoever. I am proud of myself for sticking up for myself but the way I did it wasn't right.
As soon as I walk into work, I go over to my desk and drop my things off before making my way to Ms Lopez's office. I want to talk to Ms Lopez first before I start work otherwise, I'll have it hanging over my head all day. I really hope things can be resolved but if they can't then it's my own fault. I knock on the door and as soon as I hear Ms Lopez yell to come in, I walk in.
"Can I talk to you for a second?" I ask my boss.
"If you make it quick" Ms Lopez nods.
"I'd like to apologise about yesterday and the way I spoke to you. It came across a lot more brutal than I meant it to" I say honestly. "It's just I've worked so hard at college to get to where I was that when you gave me the job, I got so excited to work here. Then things started to get stressful for me and I guess I sort of exploded" I shrug.
"Ok" Ms Lopez nods, unsure of what to make of this.
"I just don't take criticism lightly and I felt like you were telling me at the two meetings yesterday to do everything opposite of what I had been doing" I point out.
"I appreciate you apologising to me but it's not needed" Ms Lopez shrugs. "I don't care what my employees think of me because I know people always have a problem with their boss."
"I feel awful about the way I've been speaking to you" I say honestly. I'm a very defensive person so when someone is rude to me, I need to be rude back. I know I shouldn't do it to my boss though but it's her business after all so she has every right to say and do what she wants.
"Pierce, I don't really have time for childish games. I'd much rather you just got on with your work" she tells me.
"I know and I will do that. I just want you to know how sorry I am and are aware that I know how unprofessional I've been recently" I say.
"Ok" she nods.
"I also want to apologise for my actions because they haven't been much better either" I point out.
"I don't know why I'm telling you this but I'm going to anyway" she starts with a sigh. "I have to take some of the blame here. The way I have been treating you isn't the best example to set for you so I get why you did what you did but also remember, what I say goes" she adds.
"What do you mean?" I ask, still somewhat confused about what she's trying to say.
"The way you treated me is the same way I treat you so I get why you did and said what you did" she says and I nod. "But what you have to remember is that this is my organisation so basically whatever I say, you have to adhere to. If you don't like how I do things then you very well know where the door is" she says.
"Sometimes you said things to me and it seemed like you were just bantering with me so I bantered back but I realise now that you weren't. You were being very serious so I promise from now on I will do things properly and professionally" I assure her. I clearly have picked up things wrong because I sometimes thought she was just winding me up so I wound her up to but I've been mistaken. I still can't understand the coffee incident though. She came right over to my desk, sat on my desk and gave me coffee. I like Ms Lopez but that doesn't scream totally professional to me because it seemed friendly. I'm totally to blame for my unprofessionalism but it is confusing sometimes because Ms Lopez does seem like she's teasing me more so than being super strict.
"Just do as I say from now on, ok?" Ms Lopez states.
"Yes, of course" I nod. "I'll go and start work for the day now but please know, I genuinely am sorry for my behaviour recently. It wasn't until I was telling my friends about it that I realised just how bad things were. I would be fired if I did this anywhere else so I am grateful you didn't fire me" I say honestly.
"I will fire you if you don't get out of here and get to work. I'm almost late for a meeting now" she tells me.
"Sorry, again" I say. Fuck I just can't stop with this nonsense. "I'll go now" I say before rushing out of the office and heading to my department to get started working.
"Are you ok Miss Pierce?" Jack asks me concerned. "You look sad and stressed about something" he adds.
"I've messed up" I sigh.
"What do you mean?" he asks me confused.
"You'll find out in a second" I tell him.
"Ok" Jack shrugs.
"Ok, listen up everyone" I say to get my team's attention. They all turn around in their seats and look at me. "I want to point out that my behaviour yesterday was not appropriate and I mostly certainly was being disrespectful to Ms Lopez. From now on, things are going to change around here and we're going to do exactly what Ms Lopez says" I add.
"Did you get a roasting from the boss?" Jack asks with a smirk.
"Not exactly but that's nothing to be proud of. We do need to be more professional around here, especially me" I point out. "I have been joking around with Ms Lopez like I usually do with you all and even though we're just having fun, Ms Lopez didn't find it fun. She is our boss not one of our friends so like I say, from now on we need to be professional" I say. I have been messing around a bit too much at work and even though my team think it's funny and they do it back to me, Ms Lopez doesn't. I appreciate she has a business to run so I do need to clean up my act.
"Are we still allowed to hang out after work and stuff?" Rebecca asks curiously.
"Yeah of course" I nod. "It's mainly me that needs to be more professional during work but once we leave work, we can all hang out" I tell her. We were supposed to go for drinks tonight which we will still do but I probably won't join them until a little later because I need to be serious now so I'm going to work later.
"Cool" Rebecca smiles at me.
"Anyway, let's all get to work" I tell everyone. They all nod and we get started working. I'm only about an hour into my working day when I see Ms Lopez enter the department. She looks around for a moment before walking straight over to my desk.
"Pierce, my office" Ms Lopez states.
"Yes, Ms Lopez" I nod before quickly following her. We don't say anything else on the walk and when we walk into the office Ms Lopez shuts the door behind us and goes over to her desk.
"What the fuck is this?" she asks while holding up a piece of paper.
"It's the report from this month, is it not?" I ask confused.
"You haven't detailed anything I asked for. You've just gave me an overview of everything" she states.
"That's what I usually do though so you can see the overall picture of our performance" I reply.
"Yes, but I asked for a more detailed view on how the sales figures stacked up this month so I want it done now" Ms Lopez tells me.
"Ok. I'm sorry" I nod.
"Stop apologising" she shakes her head at me. "I don't want to hear apologies I just want done what I asked and this isn't it" she sighs.
"Ok" I nod.
"Back to work then" she states, looking at me.
"Could you just clarify exactly what information you want in it?" I ask nervously. I really am trying to be a better employee but I honestly don't remember what else I was supposed to put in the report. I think this might actually be a test to see if I'll cooperate because seriously, I don't think she did ask me for anything else in the report. I'm wondering if she just wants to see if I'll have another outburst so she can see if she has made a mistake in not firing me.
"I want the sales figures for each day to be listed not just the average for each week. I also want all the expenses we have listed for each day. That kind of thing" she tells me.
"Ok" I nod.
"Put it in charts though, I don't want a bunch of numbers across the report. I want it easy on the eye where I can see our sales at a glance and not have to work out which day was higher or lower" Ms Lopez adds.
"Absolutely" I nod. It is much better presented in graphs and things than in a table full of digits.
"Back to work then" she tells me seriously.
"Uh…ok" I say before hurriedly leaving. I'm really trying to be better but I am feeling today very stressful. Not only am I trying to do my work as normal but I also feel I'm second guessing everything I do in case I mess up again. I want to work here so badly because it's a good job for me but I feel like I'm on the edge of my seat at the moment where I could literally just be fired two seconds later. I'm actually surprised I wasn't fired already because thinking everything through, I have been an awful employee.
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*Tuesday 23rd July 2019*
It's been a week now since my outburst at Ms Lopez and things just don't seem to be getting any better. I have bit my tongue on a number of occasions because Ms Lopez is the boss so her way has to go but it's getting to the point that I can't handle the pressure anymore. I know I sound so weak but I'm finding it so hard to keep on top of her demands because I can't tell her I'm struggling. Telling her that would just make it look like I was disrespecting her again and that's not what I want to do at all. The truth is I really do admire Ms Lopez and how successful she's been.
"Pierce, I'm ready now" Ms Lopez tells me. I wanted to speak to her this morning about something but she was too busy to talk to me so now I'm finally getting to do it.
"Could we possibly go to your office?" I ask.
"Fine" Ms Lopez sighs. I really don't want to make her mad right now because she probably will get mad once I speak to her, but I do think it would be better to talk in private.
"Thank you" I nod. We then make our way to her office. Once we get inside, we both take a seat.
"Ok, so what is so urgent?" she asks me.
"My resignation Ms Lopez" I say nervously while handing her an envelope.
"Excuse me" she says angrily.
"I can't work here anymore, I'm sorry" I state. I've been making far too many mistakes recently and I can't do that to the business. My head isn't in the game anymore and Ms Lopez deserves someone who can handle pressure better because as we've seen I can't handle it.
"I didn't hire a quitter Brittany so what the fuck is going on. Why are you leaving?" she asks me confused.
"I'm not cut out for this place, I'm sorry" I say honestly. I have turned into an awful person so I'm surprised I haven't been fired yet. "I was struggling with the workload in the beginning and clearly my unprofessionalism demonstrated that. Then ever since I apologised to you, things have seemed to get worst and I can't keep up with the demands anymore" I point out.
"Do you enjoy messing me around all the time?" she asks me annoyed.
"I'm not messing you around right now" I say surprised.
"One minute you're doing your job then the next you're being rude then you're telling me you can't handle the department head job then you're doing it and being rude again and now you're telling me you're leaving" she lists off. "I need a fucking employee that I can rely on Brittany and as the days go by, you're not that person. You are so unpredictable at the moment and I don't need that. I have a business to run."
"I know that so that's why it's best for everyone if I resign. Otherwise you're going to end up firing me sooner rather than later and then I'll never be able to get another job" I point out. Employers won't want someone who was fired.
"Perhaps you could think about more than just yourself. You're leaving because you can't handle pressure but you owe me to stay here. You're right you haven't been professional recently but I've had to let it go because believe it or not I need you Brittany. I don't like admitting it but you have helped me a lot recently so I couldn't fire you even though I so wanted to" she tells me.
"I don't understand what you want from me" I sigh. "You're only the 3rd boss I've ever had and the one before you never looked the road I was on so I had to just get on with things on my own" I add. I'm used to working on my own and making my own decisions at work but here it's different. Ms Lopez actually talks to me so I struggle to keep up.
"It's simple Pierce. I want you to do what I say" she shrugs at me while tearing my resignation letter up. "If you can do that then forget about these silly little tantrums you've had including this one and do your job. That's all I ask."
"I won't disrespect your decisions Ms Lopez but ever since my outburst things have been ten times harder for me and I'm not imagining it. So, are you…you know?"
"Am I what?" she asks amused.
"Like testing me to see if I'll break?" I ask nervously. Evidently, I have broken.
"I guess you could say that" Ms Lopez shrugs at me.
"Ok, phew" I sigh in relief. Thank goodness I wasn't totally out of my mind.
"I had to see if you would disrespect me again because if you did then you were 100% fired. You haven't exactly disrespected me since which is good but I didn't think you would get so stressed though. You haven't handled the pressure as well as I thought you could have" she points out.
"I know which is why I thought it would be best to leave" I admit.
"Like I say, I just need you to do as I ask and we're all happy. I will stop putting so much pressure on you because it's not fair. I have demanded a lot more than needed to test you and I see now you have somewhat passed the test" she states and I nod. "Do not pull a stunt like this again because the next time you resign, I'll personally walk you out the door without another thought."
"Ms Lopez, I didn't want to quit. I thought that's what you wanted me to do" I say honestly.
"I won't apologise for testing you but no, I didn't want you to actually quit. I am hard on my staff Brittany but I know I went too far in your case. I had to do it though because I had to make sure I made the right decision in not firing you" Ms Lopez replies.
"I really like working here and if I haven't just blown my last chance already with the drama moments ago, I'll prove to you that I should be here" I say.
"You haven't blown it yet but this really is the last chance I'm giving you Pierce" she tells me. "If this was Jack or Rebecca then they would have been instantly fired but with you, I do need you so that's why I'm giving you another shot. When you work, you're excellent but when you take tantrums it really drives me mad" she adds.
"Ok" I nod. "I promise not to upset you or mess you around again."
"I'm not upset" Ms Lopez laughs. "I have more to worry about than to get upset every time my employee is rude to me. On that note though, I have fired many an employee that was rude to me so this is the last straw Brittany."
"That's totally fair. I will keep out of your way from now on and do what I'm supposed to do. In fact, I'll work late tonight to make things up to you and get things completed" I state.
"Wonderful" she smiles. "That's the attitude I like" she adds.
"Well, uh…enjoy the rest of your day Ms Lopez. I'll go back to work now" I say and then I leave. Ok, this is it for me. This is my last shot so I need to make it count. Ms Lopez has given me another chance and I cannot let her down.
Santana's POV
*Monday 29th July 2019*
It's been a week or so now since Brittany handed me the resignation letter and things have been good. I can see she is really trying to prove that she should be here which is good. I'm not a soft person and I won't admit many of the things I've done wrong but I will admit that I pushed Pierce too far. I wanted to test her to see if she would disobey me again but ultimately, I think I kinda broke her. I didn't always like the attitude from her but at least with it she handled things but now she seems so fragile or something. She certainly does know how to run the department though so hopefully she gets the confidence back and things get better again.
I'm just about to go to a meeting right now when suddenly I see my best friend out of the corner of my eye. She is talking to a few of my employees that she knows well. I like that she's visiting me at work but I also don't like it because I didn't say I was free today so I have no time for her.
"Quinn?" I say surprised. "I'm a little bit busy right now so I can't really hang out right now" I say regrettably.
"I'm not here for you" Quinn smiles.
"Then who?" I ask confused.
"Brittany" she replies. "I'm a little early right enough so I was just talking to a few of the others while Brittany finished up" she shrugs.
"Ok well don't go before saying goodbye to me" I state. "I need to be somewhere right now though" I point out before hurriedly making my way to Brittany's department. I need to talk to her about this because I don't really like it.
"Why are you hanging out with my best friend today?" I ask Brittany, not even bothering to say hello first.
"Because Quinn is fun to hang out with and we both like the same movies so we're going to see this new one that has just came out. It's about…"
"I don't care what it's about" I state.
"Ok well, we're hanging out and going to the movies" she sums up.
"I don't want my best friend and my employee hanging out" I say seriously. Brittany works for me and Quinn is my best friend so I am the link between the two. I don't need them making their own friendship when they have no business doing so.
"It's outside of work though so it won't affect my performance at work" she points out.
"That's not what the problem is" I sigh.
"I don't understand then" she tells me confused.
"You work for me so we're professionals around here" I state. "As for Quinn, she is my best friend. She's the person I lean on when I need to talk or shit like that. It's awkward having someone you trust hang out with someone that works for you" I admit. Quinn and I share personal things so I don't want the risk of Quinn oversharing something with her new bestie and then Brittany knows my personal business. I wouldn't care so much if I didn't know Brittany but because she works for me it's different. I don't really want my employees knowing my business.
"Quinn is so sweet; she would never do something to upset you" Brittany points out.
"She's my friend, not yours" I whine.
"Fine, I'll cancel" Brittany sighs. "I want you to know though that she wouldn't share anything with me that you wouldn't be ok about and vice versa, she wouldn't share about me to you" she adds.
"Whatever. I need to talk to Quinn" I say before walking away to find my best friend.
"Hey, you ok? You look mad" Quinn tells me as I approach her.
"I don't think you and Brittany hanging out is ok with me" I state. "You and I have a bond so I don't want someone I know also having something like that with you" I add.
"You could hang out with us too if you want tonight" Quinn suggests.
"I don't know if I want to hang out with Brittany" I state.
"You do know how bad Brittany feels about the other week, right?" Quinn asks me.
"I honestly don't care Quinn" I sigh. I haven't gotten this far in life without complaints or whining or people giving me attitude. It really doesn't bother me when I know it's to do with my business. If you fuck me over in terms of business then we're done but if you're doing it to try and be beneficial then I can handle it.
"I'm surprised you didn't fire her for the way she spoke to you. She told me all about it and it was quite unprofessional" she points out. "And the way she has been messing around with you. I can't see how you would have liked that."
"I know but I couldn't fire her when what she said had an element of truth in it" I state. "You know I'm better at designing than handling the business side of things so in this case I was in the wrong. Don't get me wrong, I wanted to fire her so badly but, in all honesty, I need her right now" I admit. I hate admitting that but let's be real. Who can run a business all on their own? What I have learned so far is sometimes you need to do what you hate to get far and I've had to hold back against Pierce because in this instance she knows better than me. If she does ever speak to me like that again then I will fire her ass.
"She's a sweet girl at heart, honestly" Quinn assures me.
"That doesn't interest me" I state. "I don't honestly care if she winds me up or not as long as she works" I shrug. I would say I can wind her up to so that doesn't bother me.
"Seriously though, come and hang out with us. Don't let what's happened stop you because you might like her in a friends way" she replies.
"Oh, that's not why I said I didn't want to hang out" I point out. "I meant I don't want to mix business and pleasure. I don't work with friends so workers don't hang out with me either" I shrug.
"Fine, ok" Quinn nods. "I am still going to the movies with Brittany though because I can have more than one friend. Don't be worried though, we don't talk about you. I would never hurt you Santana, you know that" she smiles.
"Ok" I smile back. I trust Quinn so maybe I could let it slide for tonight.
"So anyway, how was the date the other night?" she asks me curiously.
"Awful" I say while rolling my eyes. "She didn't even know about my fashion line so that ticked me off right from the start" I shake my head.
"I thought you two would really hit it off" she sighs.
"In all honesty, I get more fun by Pierce winding me up than I do on any of these dates that you've set me up on recently" I shrug. I would rather be talked back to than stomach some of these dates I've been on.
"Do you have a thing for Brittany?" she asks with a smirk.
"No" I shake my head. "I meant I would much rather deal with a little shit at work than entertain these awful dates. What on earth makes you think I would suit any of these people?" I ask.
"I thought you would but obviously I've been mistaken" Quinn shrugs. "I'll do better next time though" she adds.
"Don't bother because I've already sorted something myself" I state. After my disastrous date the other night, I bumped into an old flame shall we say and we're having drinks in a couple of nights. We met at college and weren't ever anything serious but there was an attraction there so I'll see how things go.
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*Thursday 1st August 2019*
It's another busy day at work so as usual I'm on the lookout making sure everyone is working hard. I'm in the process of opening up a store for my clothes and also developing a new line so it's all go. I currently need to speak to Pierce about a few things so I'm looking for her right now. When I do find her though at her desk and not holding a meeting like she said she would, I get a little pissed.
"Pierce, what are you doing?" I shout and she jumps in fright.
"I'm just taking my break" she tells me.
"No time for that. Get back to work" I tell her.
"Um…ok" she nods before quickly getting back to work. I'm actually quite surprised how quickly she got back to work.
"Stop typing though, I need to talk to you about work" I say as I sit down next to her. I may have just taken a colleague's chair from them but I don't care. I need a seat right now because I have been on my feet all day.
"Ok" she nods. "What's going on?" she asks as she stops typing on her computer.
"What's all this expenditure here?" I ask confused as I place a printed balance sheet in front of her. We've got some amount of expenses this month and I need to know where it's coming from.
"It's all the things the marketing team needed to develop their advertising scheme and the money needed to launch the new design" she replies.
"It's well over the budget I planned for it" I state.
"I know but the marketing team said this was your plan so they had to use all of that money to do it. I only drew up the accounts. I wasn't part of the final decision on how much you were spending" she tells me.
"Why didn't you say something?" I ask confused.
"It's not my place Ms Lopez" Brittany replies.
"I can't have us spending more than a thousand dollars over budget on something. This is not appropriate and we're going to run the business down into the ground" I sigh. How the hell has this happened.
"I know" Brittany nods in agreement.
"This is my fault, isn't it?" I ask, annoyed at myself.
"Uh…I…I mean…"
"I need you to be honest with me Brittany. Have I totally messed up here and spent too much on something?" I ask.
"I will admit, you have gone down the more expensive route" Brittany replies nervously.
"I know I told you to be more professional and I can't say I like having things questioned but you have to tell me when I make a mistake like this" I tell her. This is all my fault and now Brittany is too scared to question my decisions which leads us into a financial shitstorm.
"Maybe I could try and do something to fix this" she suggests. "Perhaps we cut back on a few other expenses this month until the finances go back up."
"What expenses are we willing to cut back on?" I ask.
"That's your decision obviously but I could give you some suggestions of which ones" Brittany tells me. "Perhaps revisit the coffee situation?" she suggests.
"I could cut back on the expensive coffee beans I get brought in and just go with regular coffee for a few days" I sigh. I do love my coffee but I'm not stupid enough to pay more on coffee than on my business.
"To reclaim some of this money, it would need to be at least a month Ms Lopez. A few days of no expensive coffee beans wouldn't be enough" Brittany points out.
"Fuck!" I say in frustration.
"I know you're pissed but it is just coffee" she points out.
"It's just annoying that I've done this. I've fucked up and now I'm paying the price" I sigh. Maybe I am going overboard but I need my coffee to function.
"I'll look into some other options too" she tells me.
"Ok, good" I nod. "Just get back to me when you have thought of some more. I'll go now and leave you to work" I say before leaving.
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*Monday 5th August 2019*
I need to speak to Pierce again today because she still hasn't gotten back to me on the expenses issue and it's been a couple of days now. I know I messed up and went over budget on things but as my account's manager, I need her to tell me how to sort things out. I'm not exactly in a crisis at the moment so I think we're still making a profit but knowing we can make more money makes me want to cut back on things. If I know I made a mistake and know I could fix it then I want to do it especially when it involves money.
"Where is Pierce?" I ask Jack as I enter the department.
"I just got here so I'm not sure" Jack replies nervously. "I was at the emergency dental appointment you said I could attend so I…"
"I don't need to know your life story Jack. Telling me you don't know where Pierce is was enough. I don't need to know what else has been going on with you" I reply.
"Ok" Jack nods before going to his desk to get started.
"Pierce, what the fuck?" I ask waving my arms in the air as I see Brittany walking slowly towards her desk from the bathrooms.
"I think I have food poisoning Ms Lopez, I'm sorry" Brittany replies weakly as she approaches me near her desk.
"So, you thought why don't I go into work today and infect everyone" I state. In an organisation this size, it's not appropriate for sick people to be floating around. If this isn't food poisoning and a virus like the norovirus then she has just caused me some serious problems.
"I swear it's just food poisoning" she assures me.
"Just go away" I sigh.
"Ok" she nods before going back to her desk.
"No Pierce, go home. I can't risk having you here right now" I say seriously. I would rather be behind on my accounting than have my whole workforce absent with an infectious virus.
"Um…ok" she says surprised before putting her jacket on.
"Wait a minute, you're actually leaving?" I ask.
"You just told me to go away" she frowns at me.
"I said it in the heat of the moment but I didn't actually think you were going to take me up on it" I state. I said it to seem like I was saying the right thing but knowing she wouldn't actually leave me in the lurch. Technically as the boss, I would be in serious shit if a virus did go around the workforce so the right thing would be to eliminate it so I had to make sure I was aware of that.
"Ms Lopez, I really don't feel well and all this confusion is making me worse. Do I go home or not?" she asks me.
"You can work in my office today" I state. Ok, before you think I'm being too nice I'm not. If she works in my office then she can keep away from everyone else and not infect them and I can have a fully functioning team at work. Also, I have a bathroom right next door should she need to frequent it.
"Where will you work?" she asks confused as she gathers her papers together to take to my office to work.
"I have meetings and things like that so I'll be fine" I shrug. I was on my feet a lot today so I wasn't really going to be in my office too much. "Come on Pierce, let's go" I say while walking towards my office.
"Ms Lopez, would it be ok if I just help Brittany carry her things because she's struggling?" Jack asks from behind me.
"Oh, for fucks sake" I mutter while walking back over to the two of them. "I'll do it and you get on with work Jack" I state while picking up the rest of Brittany's things.
"Thanks" Brittany smiles at me.
"I'm not doing it for you. I'm doing it to make sure Jack isn't delayed in starting work now let's go" I state before making my way to my office once more. Once there, I get Brittany settled in and she starts work.
"Not again" Brittany sighs to herself as she makes her way to the door.
"Where are you going?" I ask. I haven't left my office yet because I need to do a few things before I head to my first meeting.
"The bathroom and no it can't wait" she tells me seriously. I honestly didn't think it could fucking wait. When you've got food poisoning you have to go when you need.
"Take this with you" I say while throwing her a can of deodorant.
"Uh…why?" she asks me confused.
"The bathroom next door doesn't have air freshener and so this is the next best thing you'll use to spray the bathroom once you're done" I shrug.
"That's extremely rude" Brittany glares at me before dashing off to the bathroom. She's away for about 15 minutes before she returns to the room and gently sits down.
"Were you really in the bathroom that whole time?" I ask curiously.
"I'm sorry" she sighs. "I was ready to leave after a few minutes and the feeling came over me again so I had to remain" she sighs.
"TMI Pierce, jeez" I say frowning in disgust. "A yes or no would have done because it's kinda gross" I add.
"Again, I'm sorry" she sighs.
"Stop apologising, it's not your fault that you ate something weird" I shrug.
"No, I am sorry though for making things hard for you recently" she tells me honestly.
"All this feeling sorry for yourself routine is really putting you off your game. You used to be so good at your job and now you're not. I need the first Pierce back please" I say seriously. "I don't want such rudeness to come from your mouth mind you. I want the confident and hardworking Pierce back minus the ugly tantrums" I add.
"I just can't risk my job again. I handled things so badly" she sighs.
"Your job is safe for the moment but pick up the pace because like I say, the feeling sorry for yourself issue isn't working on me" I state. I'm not talking about her feeling ill today. I mean in the last few weeks she has been acting differently.
"I was way too unprofessional at times" she tells me.
"I could fire you for just having a horrible attitude but at the same time, what good does that do when you're not affecting my business. From my understanding, you're doing it because you care about your job and you want to make good in this company" I say seriously. I am seriously pissed off with her sometimes but at the same time, I'm not stupid. I hate the attitude but she is good at her job. I would just be cutting off my nose to spite my face if I fired her. I can't lose my accounts manager right now when I'm in the middle of launching a new line so I need her more than I need less of the attitude.
"You put me in charge of my department Ms Lopez so sometimes I do need to say something because I do have more experience in that area than you. You have to understand though that I do respect you and I know you are the boss here. I've made a lot of mistakes and I own up to them all but I'm still learning to deal with this responsibility" she tells me.
"That's fair enough but you're not doing it in the right way" I tell her.
"I see that now but like I say, I've never had to take on so much responsibility before so it's stressful. I wanted to show you I could make a difference to your company but it backfired" she points out. "As for the unprofessionalism, that's just me and I'm trying to stop it. I'm still young and I like to make things fun at work and joke around otherwise morale goes."
"I don't do fun, ok" I tell her. "You don't joke around with me but if I'm not there and it doesn't affect work then by all means have a laugh with your team. You have to keep working obviously" I add.
"Absolutely" she nods.
"I do like your fun attitude sometimes though because I could walk in here in the mornings and it would depress you because everyone is so scared of me. Then when you come in, my staff do cheer up a little" I point out. I'm a serious person so you'll never see me joke around at work but if it helps productivity then my team can do that.
Brittany's POV
*Thursday 31st October 2019*
Things have been going great at the company the last two months and I think Ms Lopez and I have a better relationship again which is good. Things have been good at the company but Ms Lopez has decided to build morale a little more and suggested we do some team bonding. I know it doesn't sound like her so technically the idea wasn't hers but she finally agreed to it after some convincing from Quinn when I told her about my idea. Tonight, we're having a Halloween party at the company and since there is going to be drinking then Ms Lopez has agreed for people to have the day off tomorrow provided, they worked hard this week which they have done. Also, today we're all coming into work all dressed up in different costumes and surprisingly Ms Lopez has agreed to dress up too. I'm sure she'll look great but not to be arrogant but I've got a pretty good costume on myself today.
"Brittany?" Jacks asks unsure as I walk in so I whip off my wig.
"Yeah, it's me" I laugh.
"That costume is so well done" he tells me. "Although you do look taller obviously but that is because you're taller" he shrugs.
"Do I pass as Ms Lopez?" I ask curiously. Yep, that's right. I am indeed dressing up for Halloween as my boss Santana Lopez. I've got my makeup done almost like hers, I've got a wig on since I'm naturally blonde, I'm dressed very like her in some seriously smart clothes and I have on some nice bling too. I do look slightly different than her since I have paler skin but I think I'm close enough to looking like her.
"Yeah I definitely think you do" Jack tells me. "Did you really need to stuff your bra though, isn't that slightly inappropriate?" he asks me.
"Not really because it's no secret that she has a bigger bust than me" I shrug.
"It's insinuating you're looking at them though, is it not?" he queries.
"I could say the same thing to you since you seem to know I've stuffed my bra in the first place" I point out with a smirk.
"Ok, whatever" he laughs.
"Seriously though, I'm not making fun of her like this. I spoke to Quinn about it and she said she thinks it would be ok" I say. I never want to make the same mistake again by disrespecting Ms Lopez so I asked Quinn first. I'm doing it because I admire her not because I'm making a laugh out of her. Quinn seemed to think Ms Lopez would like it because she would feel good about people wanting to be her.
"The dressing up was Ms Lopez's idea so I can't see she'll be too bothered by it as long as like you say, you're doing it for the right reasons" Jack says.
"Yeah, exactly" I smile. "Anyway, enough chatting" I say while walking to the front of the room.
"Yeah" Jack nods while going back to his seat.
"Ok everyone, I just want to talk about something really quick" I say to my team. "Even though we're having the party tonight and getting to dress up this morning, we still need to work hard" I state.
"We will" Jack smiles at me.
"We've got a lot to do today so we need to get through it before we can even think of the party. If it doesn't all get done then we might not even make the party so let's do our best because Ms Lopez is giving us this party so let's not let her down" I tell everyone.
"We want this party so we will work hard" Rebecca tells me.
"Good, that's what I like to hear" I smile at my team. "Ok everyone, get started. I'll be back in 15 minutes, I've just got a few things I need to do so in that time, I want the first draft of the finances done" I tell everyone. They all nod and get started on work. I then make my way to Ms Lopez's office because I need to talk to her.
Santana's POV
Today everyone is dressed up for Halloween. It seemed like an ok idea at the beginning but as I see more of the costumes, I'm not liking the idea. One member of staff came dressed as a bikini model which I thought just wasn't appropriate. Many of the male members of staff were having trouble focusing so I had to send the bikini model home to change because this is still a working day so we do need to work. It is my fault though for some of the ridiculous outfits because I didn't specify what kind of costumes were and weren't allowed.
I'm currently just looking over a few marketing ideas that my team pitched to me to launch the new kids shoe range I'm starting. I'm going to be honest, it all looks pretty crap so I think I'm going to need to come up with something myself. I'm just brainstorming some ideas when there is a knock at my door.
"Who's there?" I ask.
"Pierce" Brittany replies.
"In you come Pierce" I state so she does just that and walks into the room.
"What have you come as today?" I ask Brittany.
"You" she smirks at me.
"Halloween costumes are generally meant to be scary" I point out.
"I know that which is precisely why I have come as my boss" she smirks at me again.
"Whatever" I say while playfully rolling my eyes at my employee.
"This was meant to be light-hearted and fun but I can see you're not amused so I'll go and change. I honestly meant it as a compliment though because you're very successful so everyone wants to be you" she tells me.
"It's fine Pierce" I shrug. Why would I be offended by this when she clearly wants to be me?
"It's not because I'm supposed to be on my best behaviour and I guess this has rubbed you up the wrong way. I don't want to possibly lose my job again so I will change. My second costume was wonder woman and it's in my car so I'll go and get it" she states.
"Don't" I state. "Stay as you are because I think it's actually starting to freak people out. Someone just had to double take a second ago to see if they were seeing things" I laugh. This could be interesting having someone look like me and be able to freak out the others. Don't get me wrong, she doesn't look exactly like me because that would be impossible.
XXX
After a hard day at work, we all finished things off and the party got started. I got a bunch of people to come in and set things up for the party so my employees didn't need to do it when the party is for them. I got people to decorate and then I brought in caters to provide the food and I have also lined up some entertainment for everyone. Obviously, I have supplied plenty of liquor for everyone because a party needs alcohol and so do I for agreeing to do this.
I thought since it was a party after all then we could all invite other people outside of the building if we wanted to. I did have to get each of my employees to write me a list of who they invited though so I knew how many people were coming exactly and things didn't get out of hand. I didn't want them all inviting people who then invited other people and then they would all turn up and trash my business. Mostly everyone had just written down their partner or a best friend that was coming but Brittany decided to invite her whole apartment building, I think. To be honest though, I think she had about 20 names written down just to piss me off. I told her outright that she wasn't getting all those invites and 2 or 3 people max could attend with her.
"Pierce, where are all your guests?" I ask Brittany. She eventually agreed to only invite two people which were her best friends Tanya and Miranda.
"I was just trying to wind you up. I didn't want to actually invite the 20 or so people I said I did" Brittany shrugs.
"I know" I nod. "I thought your best friends Tanya and Miranda were coming though" I point out. There doesn't seem to be anyone here that she's invited so I'm guessing they're not here.
"Tanya and Miranda?" Brittany asks amusingly.
"That's what I'm asking. Where are Tanya and Miranda?" I ask again.
"Tina and Mercedes couldn't make it" Brittany shrugs.
"Wait a second…are Mercedes and Tina your best friends?" I ask curiously. I thought they were called Tanya and Miranda.
"Yes, they are and they can't come tonight" she nods.
"So, who have you brought with you tonight?" I ask curiously.
"No one" Brittany shrugs. "I'm just hanging out with Jack and some of my team tonight" she adds.
"Quinn might come along later so I could share her" I suggest.
"I might not even stay long tonight anyway because everyone has brought their partners with them so it's highlighting the fact I'm single in a big way so the mood has sort of left" she admits sadly.
"Are you looking for someone?" I ask curiously. I don't even know why I'm asking because it's not like me to take an interest in my employees love life but for some reason I want to know.
"I'm not looking to get married or anything for sure but I am sick of being alone" she tells me.
"The right person will be out there for you because I can't see why anyone wouldn't want you" I admit. As much as she has pissed me off in the beginning, she does have many good qualities. She's hardworking, funny, friendly…like there is so many things about her. Obviously from a boss point of view I don't find some of those appropriate but in normal life why wouldn't that appeal to people?
"Are you feeling ok tonight Ms Lopez?" she asks in serious concern.
"I'm fine" I look at her confused.
"You just gave me another compliment which is totally out of character so I'm worried you're coming down with something or worse losing your mind" she tells me.
"Very funny, but I'm serious" I state. "I've seen a different side to you recently and it's made me question a few things" I shrug. We're outside of work so I am taking a new approach to things and I do have somewhat of a heart so I do feel for her a little bit. Don't get me wrong though, as soon as we're back to work it's back to business and seriousness.
"Maybe you and I could be friends?" she suggests seriously. I can tell she's not making a joke right now or teasing me.
"It's not you, ok. I still can't really be friends with my employees because it's a professional boundary I don't want to cross. I'm sure you are great outside of work; I mean I can sort of see that now but I can't risk being friends with people who work for me" I point out. It sounds good but once you become friends, they could start taking advantage. I mean for example Quinn, if I told her to get her ass in gear and get a report finished, she would look at me rolling her eyes and just tell me to fuck off. It just becomes very awkward because you want to be nice to your friends but you also don't want to offend them when you need to tell them to pick up the fucking pace.
"I know what you're saying and it's cool" Brittany shrugs. "Sometimes I just think it would be easier because we could work together and make things good but if you don't like me then it won't work."
"It's not a case of who I like" I state.
"So, you do like me?" she asks hopeful.
"You're not a bad person Brittany but I am your boss so that's how it has to be. I will admit you are one of the best employees in terms of hard working so if I do come down hard then it's because I know you can do better" I say. "At the same time though, any accounting mistakes or finance issues you have you tell me because you know best in that regard" I add.
"Ok" Brittany nods.
"Do it professionally though" I start. "No moaning to your team and calling me all the names under the sun. Pull me aside and explain" I say.
"Totally" Brittany smiles. "Anyway, enjoy the rest of your night" she says before walking away.
I did kind of mess up with this story so things maybe haven't progressed as much as I wanted but hopefully by the next chapter, I can move things along. Let me know what you think anyway.
