The few interactions I did have with Shayne were completely professional and clean of the innuendos that I had come to expect from him. I’d reviewed the last months of receipts with him. There had been a dramatic change in his spending that would have been hard not to notice considering I was watching his finances like a hawk. Where he used to go out and drop at least a grand partying several nights a week had almost completely stopped. What had increased, though, were receipts to the liquor store down the block from his high-rise.
I sat across from him pointing at a pie chart I’d created and explained that he had crossed into a net positive on his income versus spending for the month for the first time in over twelve months. I looked at him expectantly but found that he seemed to be staring at something over my shoulder.
“Shayne? Are you listening to me?”
“Positive. Ra-ra,” he said as he leaned forward in his chair. “I gotta get back to Maury. We done here?”
I braced myself for what I was going to say next. “If you keep on this track, I don’t see any reason why I wouldn’t recommend to Cal that you can handle this on your own. I’ve cleaned up all your accounts, and I’ve found some software that you can put on your phone that’ll make tracking your expenses a lot easier.”
His eyes found my face for the first time since he’d sat down. The corner of his mouth turned downward in a frown. “You ready to ditch me for a corner office with my dad now?”
I wasn’t sure what I had expected. When I started working with him six weeks ago, he’d been eager to get rid of me. “This is what you wanted, and what you asked me to do when I first started. I thought you’d be happy about this.”
“I’ve got a fight in less than a week. I don’t have time to keep track of any of this,” he snapped. “That’s why you’re here, and now you’re ready to go just when things start turning around, and my dad is finally off my ass for once? That’s fine. You know what? You should probably pack up your shit and go now.”
Stunned by his words, I felt the anger rise in the back of my mind. “My contract is for another two months. I’m not ditching you. I’m just letting you know that since we implemented the things we’ve talked about, you’re showing a lot of progress.”
“Progress,” Shayne scoffed. He glared at me. “Yeah, I’m showing progress. Like I’m all grown up and finally able to take care of myself. Thank God. Everyone must be so relieved. Like I said. Sounds like we’re done here. Get your shit and get out.” He turned on his heel and slammed the door behind him as he exited the room.
I felt tears welling in the corners of my eyes as I stood up and started to stuff my things in my bag. I thought that I was starting to see something different in Shayne. I wanted to help him. Now, I was getting thrown out with the rudest of dismissals. As if turning around and sleeping with another woman the night after sleeping with me wasn’t rude enough.
“Fuck him,” I said as I tried to gulp small bits of air into my lungs. I wasn’t going to cry. I wasn’t going to give him the satisfaction of seeing that he had upset me. If he wanted me gone, I was going to leave. I didn’t need the aggravation. Cal knew how difficult Shayne was. I could at least show that I’d done a portion of the job he’d sent me to do. Maybe he could find another assignment for me earlier than expected.
I grabbed my jacket and my bag and looked around the small office that had become my second home over the last six weeks. I felt a wave of nostalgia, but I batted it down. That kind of thinking wouldn’t do me any good. I opened the door and kept my back straight as I walked through the gym for the last time. I heard the murmurs of voices following me. The slamming door would have been a good indication that something bad had gone down between me and Shayne, but I wasn’t going to let them see me rattled.
Shayne was in the main ring with Maury. He appeared to be trying to beat the shit of Maury’s padded body. I didn’t care about that anymore. If he thought that I was going to spend even an iota of time being upset about him firing me, he was wrong.
I realized as I stepped outside the gym that I had forgotten to leave my passcard to the front door on my desk. I wasn’t going to need it anymore. I found Marcus standing outside waiting for a delivery for Shayne. So in addition to all his other duties, it seemed that Marcus was also Shayne’s package delivery service. Packages. Women. Whatever Shayne needed. I let out a mirthless laugh before shoving my passcard into Marcus’s hands.
“Make sure that gets back to Mr. Malone since I won’t need it anymore.” I didn’t wait for Marcus’s response as I started walking down the street.
My path was aimless. I knew I should get a cab, but I needed the fresh air. I should be happy that Shayne was letting me out of my contract early. I was going to get to go back to Connecticut and my new car and forget all about him.