Having Fun with Mr. Wrong (2 page)

“Only when I have to.” Carmala gazed at his back as he diced away. She could die for those incredibly wide lateral muscles.

Four years, and she still couldn’t take her eyes off him. Despite the drawbacks.

He turned and pinched her nose. “Anyway, the meal is going to be great. We haven’t had Italian in a while.” Guido poured himself a glass of wine and raised it to hers.

“I’m going to get more comfortable.” Carmala went into the bedroom to change into her pajama pants and T-shirt.

Guido’s jealous tantrums upset her. Even though he kidded her about it tonight, he still could be overbearing. Like when he disapproved of her after-work cocktail hours with the clients.

They’d fight over it—sometimes to an excruciating degree—but invariably, they’d both get over it, and she’d melt into his fathomless, seductive eyes and give in to the passion. What could she do? She had to socialize with her clients. It was part of her job. Really, he was overprotective. Maybe because he’d emigrated from Italy and had to take care of his mama in the absence of his father. Even though Carmala was one-hundred-percent-Italian descent—albeit third generation—this man took the proverbial cake with his accent and old-school ways.

After changing into her night clothes, she padded back to her barstool and swirled the remains of her wine. “Today, that dweeb Steve practically grabbed my almost-finished work out of my hands.” She sighed and drained the remainder of her wine.

Guido refilled her glass. “I could always come over there and rough him up a little.”

He was teasing, of course, but she wouldn’t put it past him.

“No, that’s quite all right. I can handle it myself.” She gave him a meaningful glance.

“I know you can.” He winked at her while tossing the salad.

“You’re in a good mood tonight.”

He placed the lasagna and the salad on the breakfast bar. “I got myself a little promotion. I’m lead electrician on the new hotel job. Ten-dollars-an-hour raise isn’t too bad, huh?”

“That’s wonderful, honey.”

He hadn’t been able to get the education she had, but he did well as a master electrician. And
he worked hard. He couldn’t help being overly protective or jealous. It was just his nature, and she had tried hard to accept it.

“I’m so proud of you, Guid.” She skipped around the breakfast bar, put her arms around him, and squeezed tight. “I love the extra effort you took with dinner.”

“I thought we’d celebrate. But I feel bad you’re not too happy with
your
job. You should work with people who appreciate you. That’s why I’m still with Bob after all these years.” He served them each a generous portion of lasagna.

She returned to her seat. “I know. It’s not that easy for me to walk away. I work for a good firm with some high-profile clients. The experience will help my resume.” She consumed a huge bite of lasagna. “Yummy.”

“Why can’t you get a job with one of your clients? You’re always talking about Synergy Plus. Why don’t you see if they have a position open?”

“Synergy Plus has been the silver lining in the corporate hell I’ve been battling. But, because I’m an independent auditor, I’m not supposed to seek employment with one of our clients. I heard through their staff grapevine that they were considering making me a job offer. But even though the audit is over, I haven’t heard from them. I’m due for a review by Banter on the audit this Friday.” She finished her chianti and poured herself another glass. Her third and, she promised herself, her last.

Guido stopped the forkful of food midway to his mouth. “Oh no, with the Dragon Lady?”

“Yep, the one and only Dragon Cathy. I’m sure she’ll have a lot to say, and none of it good. I can never please her.”

“Enough talking shop. Let’s finish eating and relax.”

They continued to eat in silence for a few minutes. “Your sauce has just the right amount of basil and spices. Delicious. I’m stuffed.” Carmala pushed her plate away.

He got up and cleared the bar. “You go and relax in the living room. Put on one of those
Real Housewives
shows you love. I’ll clean up.”

He certainly knew how to spoil her. Inside and outside the bedroom.

On nights like this, she was grateful to have him in her life. She smiled to herself. They’d had their share of heavy-duty fights. The relationship was fire and brimstone, but he was “Mr. Right Now.”

****

Carmala arrived at the office at a quarter to nine and went straight to Cathy’s corner office.

Cathy’s secretary, Mary, glanced up from her paperwork. “Hello, Carmala. You’re a little early. Good. I’ll let Cathy know you’re here.” She called Cathy on the intercom.

Cathy came out and invited Carmala into her office. “Please, have a seat.” She directed her to a chair opposite her desk and then sat down. “I’ve completed the review of your work on the Synergy Plus audit. Your performance on the audit and business improvement segments was quite satisfactory.” She pushed the written review form to Carmala’s side of the desk. “Here it is. Go ahead, take a look.”

Unlike the other partners, Cathy didn’t give an employee an opportunity to read the review ahead of the face-to-face meeting. Carmala hated this practice, but Cathy sounded as though she was a
little
impressed with Carmala’s work. She took the form, noticing her trembling hands. Carmala focused on the overall-rating section. Satisfactory. Not above average or, God forbid, excellent.

“Carmala, you’re coming up on your fifth year with us.”

Uh-oh.
That didn’t have a good ring to it.

“And while your work is satisfactory, there are mixed opinions about your performance.”

Carmala’s heart sank. Was she being fired?

“You’re an enigma. You wow some and puzzle others. It’s not that we don’t think you have the talent. We wouldn’t have hired you in the first place. However, at this juncture, you should be ready for the audit manager position. And for that level, we expect something more than we feel you’re ready to give.”

“I don’t understand.”
Ugh!
She could hear her voice shake. “If the work is satisfactory and the clients are satisfied—”

“Don’t get me wrong. I’m not saying any of the clients are unhappy. Allow me to finish.”

Oh no.
“Of course, I’m sorry for the interruption.”

“That’s quite all right. The consensus is that you’re”—Cathy hesitated—“too bubbly. As public accountants, we must present ourselves as independent, professional, and unbiased in our work. While you perform your audits with technical accuracy, you lack a certain, ah, impression of decorum expected of Banter employees.”

Carmala leaned forward. “I’m confused. I dress and behave the same as my colleagues.”
Damn
. And to think she’d taken special care dressing to perfect android (as industry people jokingly referred to Banter employees). At home that morning, she’d changed clothes three times before she was satisfied. She finally settled on a dark gray classic two-piece suit and plain three-inch black pumps, which she thought would leave little room for criticism. At least as far as her clothes. Still, it was way too dweeb. To pop a little color, she’d tied a maroon polka-dot scarf in to a neat but simple bow around the collar of her white button-down shirt. Apparently, none of this mattered to the Dragon Lady.

“It’s the image you project to the client that concerns us, Carmala. To put it simply, you’re getting a little too friendly with the client—not only with Synergy Plus, with others as well. You know the old saying about familiarity breeding contempt. If you’re too friendly, you might be less willing to report an omission or error. That would obviously put us in a difficult position. Since you’ve functioned as a manager on some of your smaller jobs…”

She would have to emphasize that the jobs I supervised were small.

“…you realize the responsibility of presenting the audit results falls on the manager of the job, although the partner is available for support.”

Carmala couldn’t hold her tongue any longer. “Regarding my nature, ah, Cathy, that’s just my personality. I think we want to make the client feel comfortable. After all, they are opening their records up to us and…” She paused in midsentence because she frankly didn’t know what else to say.

“Yes, however, if we get too friendly we dim the image of independence. You’ve taken the course on decorum at the Charles Center, but I suppose we are in agreement that you behave the way you do because it’s inherent to your nature.”

Yeah, the Charles Center, where the androids went for all kinds of training that had nothing to do with the real world. No matter how many classes she took, she couldn’t fake android good enough. The job sucked.

Hands folded, Cathy leaned forward. “I don’t want you to think that we’ve received any complaints from our clients, Carmala. We haven’t. However, we don’t think you’re ready for a promotion to audit manager.”

“I’ll educate-up. I’ll adjust. I’ll enroll in more courses and change my disposition. It’s not impossible.”
Ugh!
She hated begging, but if she were fired, it would look horrible on her resume.

Cathy raised her eyebrows and nodded. “I’m sure you would be willing to do that. You have a great attitude. But be honest with yourself. Do you really want to? I don’t think you’re happy here. There are opportunities out there in which you can better apply your unique skills and talents.”

She made it seem as though Carmala’s skills were distasteful. Beneath Banter.

Carmala squared her shoulders and lifted her chin, although her heart beat wildly. “So what are you proposing? Should I begin to put my feelers out in the job market?”

“I know this is hard to hear. But you now have experience with a world-premiere accounting firm. You’re a marketable asset. I suggest that you continue with your current assignments, for now. Begin to hunt around for a better situation. There’s no rush, and you can take your time. Your job is safe while you seek other opportunities.”

Other opportunities
. It sounded so final. “Wow! I’m rather surprised. I’ll have to give it serious thought.” Like she had any choice. The last thing Carmala expected from this meeting was to learn she had to find another job. Dragon Cathy and the lot of Bantor Androson & Co. were something else.

“That’s all we’re asking. And good luck. You know I’m here to help you.” With that, Cathy stood up from behind her big mahogany desk and walked around to give Carmala a hug.

The Dragon’s show of affection was so unnecessary and contrived.

Dejection settled in the pit of Carmala’s stomach, making her instantly nauseous. Of all things to happen, instead of a possible promotion, now she had to look for a new position elsewhere. In truth, she hated the damned job but kept at it because she worked for the most prestigious, elite accounting firm in the world. Or so the company touted itself.

But after absorbing the initial shock waves, she realized Cathy had done her a favor and given her the little push she needed out of the proverbial nest. Only what would she do next, and where would she go?

Chapter Two

Carmala felt her cell phone buzz in her purse while she waited in line at a deli to pick up a sandwich.

“This is Paul Synder. I’m a recruiter from John Halfway and Associates calling on behalf of Synergy Plus, Inc.”

Her heart pounded in her chest.
This is it!
After a nail-biting week, he’d finally called. “Yes, Tom Johnson telephoned me last week and mentioned you’d be calling.” Tom, Synergy’s CEO and her favorite client, had become friends over the company’s past couple of audits.

“Are you free to talk?”

“Yes, no problem. I’m picking up lunch.”

“Good. I’ll cut to the chase, Carmala. Synergy Plus is very impressed with the ideas you had for business improvement during your audits. They think your experience would be a perfect as a business consultant on their team.”

Yep, she’d fit in fine with Synergy. The employees there viewed her as bright and resourceful. Finally, she might have a chance to work with an employer who’d appreciate what she had to give. She didn’t care that Tom hadn’t followed the proper protocol by calling her at the office because soon, hopefully very soon, she wouldn’t have to worry about watching everything she did and said.

“I’d like to set up a lunch with you this week,” Paul said.

“I’m on an engagement the rest of the week and usually eat with the audit team, but…” She pulled her calendar out of her purse and checked it. “Friday is good.”

They set the time and place to meet.

****

Rosie’s bustled with the Friday midtown lunch crowd. Instead of feeling awkward, like the unpopular kid at a school lunch table, as she usually did with her audit team, Carmala felt exhilarated. Change was in the air. Still, she needed to proceed carefully and not burn the proverbial bridges with her current employer.

After they placed their lunch orders, Paul Synder straightened his jacket sleeves. “Synergy Plus wants to make this move as seamless as possible. They need you right away. They’ll sweeten the deal by paying for you to move to an upgraded apartment and kick in the rent for the first six months.”

Based on her research, as a business consultant she would get a salary increase plus commission income, and that could bring her well over a potential three-quarters of a million dollars a year. However, the commission would be fifty percent of the projected income, and
that
had her concerned.

If she took the deal, she’d be under no obligation to stay with the Synergy Plus beyond the initial six months.

“The reason why Synergy Plus is being so dogmatic is that your CPA license and diverse public accounting background are going to come in handy. In addition, your experience with consulting work in the small business and nonprofit sector appeals to them.”

She didn’t like to gloat, but she enjoyed the validation of what she already knew: she
was
good at her work. She’d never get that satisfaction from Banter. “This is exciting. I’d like to set up a meeting with Tom to negotiate the terms of the position.”

“Absolutely. We’ll do that for you. What days are good for you in the next two weeks?”