Meg went in first, while Luc cooled his heels in the suite’s outer office. He could hear most of the conversation. He sat back and waited for Larken to appear. When Larken came into the office he was wearing a different suit than he had that morning. He also startled when he saw Luc. Before he had a chance to say anything to Luc, the secretary showed him into the office.
Luc could hear the shouting through the door. So could the secretary. She quietly put a set of headphones in her ears. Luc smiled at her. She smiled back. Then the door to the office opened.
“Mr. Moreau, would you step in here please?” asked Meg.
Luc stood and went into the office. Larken was beet red in the face, and the senior partner didn’t look happy.
“Now, what is this I hear about you scaring Mr. Larken here this morning,” asked George Davis.
“I walked into Ms. Stewart’s office for a lunch engagement to find Mr. Larken hear speaking rudely about our relationship, and violating just about every rule in most people’s HR handbook. When Ms. Stewart said that he should hold his tongue, Larken continued to be abusive, and I said hello. He jumped like a scalded cat and left the office. Ms. Stewart and I left for lunch,” said Luc.
George looked down at the folder Meg had brought in and then up at Larken. “You have certainly put the company in a bad position David,” he said to Larken. “You know the rules. Hell, did I ever say anything about you having that affair with that blonde in Denver? No. So what is your issue with two unmarried people having a relationship?”
“It’s unprofessional! She called him in here to wring money out of us because they were lovers! They decided that raking us over the coals to fix our office was a good idea!” Larken said nearly frothing at the mouth.
“Excuse me,” said Luc with a subvocal rumble in his voice. “Your office called mine. How Ms. Stewart and I came to date is none of your business, especially as it had nothing to do with the job that my company did for your business,” Luc said. “Furthermore, my bid was lower than Sheldon Electrics. The work was done on time and within the quote. In fact, due to a change in cost for the Cat5e cable, I saved your company over $500. I’d hardly call that ‘raking you over the coals’ considering all the work that was needed,” he said. “I believe that Mr. Larken here owes Ms. Stewart and myself an apology.”
George nodded. He looked at Larken and didn’t say a thing. Larken got red in the face and stormed out of the office.
“Sorry about that Margaret. Is there any chance you will reconsider?” George asked.
Meg thought for a moment. “No, I want my share of the company in a cashier’s check along with payment for vacation time unspent. In exchange, I want Larken canned, and Waters and Harlson promoted. In return for that, I won’t sue you for HR violations, and believe me at this point, you are so deep into the abyss, that I don’t see a way out.”
“Anything else?” George asked realizing that there was no way to change Meg’s mind.
“Oh yeah, a permanent statement in Larken’s portfolio on why he was fired. In exchange, I won’t take my client list,” she said.
George thought for a moment, and then called his secretary into the office. “I’ll talk to you later Margaret,” he said.
Meg and Luc walked out of the office and into Meg’s. Angie was already there with boxes.
“How did you know?” asked Meg.
“Offices have intercoms, and Betsy is a bitch when she wants to be. When she realized that Larken was getting canned, she let all of us in on the happy news,” said Angie.
Meg smiled. “So nice to know that Larken was universally loved,” she said.
“Oh yeah. I’m just sorry you’re going. What are you going to do?” asked Angie.
“I think she has a job interview with this computer company downtown at 4pm,” said Luc.
“Wwwhat?” said Meg.
“You heard me. I’d be crazy to let a top grade demographer get away. Besides, Ginny would kick my butt if I didn’t at least offer you a job,” said Luc with a shy look on his face.
Angie and Meg smiled. They turned to packing up Meg’s stuff. Thirty minutes later, Meg had all her boxes in the back of her car. So much of her stuff was ruined in the flood, that it hadn’t taken long. Once it was packed, she went back to George Davis’ office. Betsy let her in to see George.
“I’m packed and ready to go. Do you have that paperwork for me?” she asked.
“Right here. Betsy had it ready almost before you got out of the office,” he said.
“She’s a real asset,” said Meg, as she read over the papers and then signed them. She handed the paperwork back to George who glanced at it. In turn, he handed her a check for $35, 000. It was the amount of her buy in to the company. Meg looked at it. “What about the vacation time?” she asked.
George handed her a separate check. “Thought that it might make it easier if we didn’t cross pollinate funds,” he said.
Meg nodded. Looking at the check, she saw that it was $2500 instead of $2000. “George, you made a mistake,” she started.
“No, I didn’t. That’s a bonus for finally giving me a real excuse to fire Larken without loosing the company to him,” said George with a smile. “Now get out of here and go have a good dinner with that handsome man of yours,” he said. “Oh, and don’t forget to email me every once in a while and let me know how things go.”
Meg gave George a hug and headed out the door. She smiled all the way to the front door, where she left her keys with Angie.