Page 70 of The Chemistry Coach
Rob clicked away on his computer, and Daisy’s voice rang out, the first episode with Hazy ringing out through his office.
“This is you and the client discussing your relationship.”
“It is, but that wasn’t the point of the episode.I didn’t reveal any details about the nature of our relationship.”
“The fact remains that you can’t exploit Collaborative Craft’s clients for your own personal gain.Anyone smart enough to read between the lines could tell you are working with them on a professional level.This is enough to violate your agreement.”
“Rob, I’m not exploiting them for personal gain.I didn’t ask them to be on my podcast, Hazy offered.”
“See, right there.Grossly unprofessional.You should refer to clients by formal names.Mr.Hale could say you were disrespectful.”
“I really don’t think he would say that.”
“He doesn’t have to.It’s not his responsibility to keep you professional.We’re going to have to let you go.”
The air rushed out of Daisy’s lungs.After five years of dealing with bullshit, she was being fired.For no real reason.
Daisy gathered her belongings, frustrated to find the scavenger hunt cards she’d been putting together had disappeared off her desk.Fucking Annie.
She stormed out of her office in a daze.
Once home, it took Daisy two hours to file for unemployment and update her resume.She was furiously applying for jobs when a knock came at her door.She hadn’t told anyone she’d been fired yet, but Roxie was supposed to come by to record a podcast episode.
It was weird she didn’t come right in.Daisy opened the door and found the Connors staring at her.
The sight of them at her doorstep further ignited her fury.How dare her employer claim she was using them?She could never take advantage of these men.They had become some of her closest friends.She would ride into battle for them if they asked.
Daisy failed to hide her anger.The smiles they were wearing when she answered the door slipped from their faces.
“What’s wrong?”Connor asked.
“I got fired.”Daisy shrugged.
Connor slipped his arms around her and dragged her closer, kissing the crown of her head.She returned the embrace, arms snaking around his neck and cheek pressing against his chest.His touch calmed her nerves, and her anger ebbed.
Hazy’s anger remained.“For what?”he demanded.
“They said I violated my NDA and acted unprofessionally toward you, using you for my own gain by having you on the podcast.”
“Well, that’s fucking bullshit,” Hazy said while Connor stroked her hair.
“What are you guys doing here?”Daisy asked.“Collaborative Craft should have your last activity ready for you.”
Valentine laughed humorlessly.“We aren’t going anywhere with them.The new guy wouldn’t tell us where you were and kept trying to manhandle us into a van.I was pretty sure we were being human trafficked.”
Daisy snorted.The idea of someone trying to force these three into anything was both infuriating and hilarious.“You would have had fun.It was a scavenger hunt.”
Connor released her, and she tried to move to the couch, but Connor’s arms got replaced by Hazy’s.“We wouldn’t have gotten anything out of it without you.Can we hang out here?We can help you do your resume or something.”
Hazy let go and passed her to Valentine, who squeezed her tight and whispered, “I don’t actually know how to do a resume.But I can be your hype man.”
“That’s very sweet.But I already updated my resume.I’ve been applying to a zillion jobs.”
“Damn, girl,” Hazy said.“You got fired and you’re automatically doing all that work?You didn’t let yourself wallow for five minutes?”
Daisy studied her face in the mirror at her entryway.She wiped away the makeup smudges from her eyes and redid her messy bun, feeling a little better with those two fixes.
“I can multitask,” she said.“I wallowed while fixing my life.”
