Page 104 of Hidden Ties

Upon hearing Livvy’s muted voice, she opened the door, finding her standing by a filing cabinet. Livvy eyed her before going through files in a drawer.

“What can I do for you, Sage?” Livvy asked without glancing at her again.

“I just wanted to be reimbursed for the money you owe me.”

Taking a file out, Livvy snapped the drawer closed. “Certainly.” She gave her an assessing gaze, then gracefully moved to her desk to take out her purse. “Sorry, I forgot, or I would have made sure I paid you back.” Withdrawing a designer wallet from her purse, she took out several bills.

Sage watched as she counted out three twenties before handing them to her.

“You owe me two hundred and eleven dollars.”

Disdainfully, Livvy stared at her doubtfully. “I’m sure I don’t owe you that much.”

Sage opened her purse, took out the receipt from lunch, and handed it to her. “I circled my part of the ticket. I also circled the tip. Since it was my decision to tip, I deducted that from the total you owe me, which leaves two hundred and eleven dollars.”

“How generous of you.”

The snideness in Livvy’s voice hit her like a sucker punch to her pride.

Taking more cash out her wallet, she held it out with a sharp motion of her wrist. “This should take care of what I owe you.”

Pride made her shoulders stiffen. The money she had earned cleaning the house gave her a small breathing room; it had made her consider to not ask for the money back. The problem was after her bills were caught up, she had no doubt another expense would pop up with the girls. When that happened, she would be sick to her stomach that such a large sum of money had been bamboozled out of her because she hadn’t wanted to ask for the money back.

She accepted the money and placed the bills in her purse. Not telling Livvy where to shove it took every bit of restraint she had.

“Thank you.”

Livvy went around her desk to sit down. “No problem. I just forgot it. I’ve been swamped with work. Thank you for reminding me … I should have realized you’re barely making ends meet and paid you back immediately. My bad. It must be hard having to live payday to payday.”

She swallowed down her indignation at the insincere way Livvy was speaking to her while looking down her nose at her clothes and purse as she was tapping her purse with a manicured nail. It was like waving a red flag in front of a bull. Her clothes and purse might not be a luxury brand like Livvy’s, but she had haunted sale racks and was proud of each as if she had scored a prize when she managed to buy them.

So, done with taking Livvy’s toxic attitude, she didn’t hold back. “I won’t have that problem after today, will I?”

Livvy’s lips pursed. Her jab had missed the mark.

“I wouldn’t be so confident you’re going to be hired permanently, if I were you.” Pleasure shined out of her malicious eyes.

The email hadn’t been an accident. Livvy wanted her to see the bad performance review.

“Even if I am hired here permanently, Bree made it plain the most I can look forward to is part-time. The temp agency that contracted me to work here has offered me afull-timeposition at another law firm, starting Monday.”

Sage could tell from Livvy’s surprised expression that she hadn’t expected there would be another option so readily available to her.

“I’m never late, and I complete all my tasks before they’re due. I have been an exemplary employee here, despite the evaluation you gave me.”

“I beg to differ.” Livvy’s expression grew calculating. “I wouldn’t count on that new job, if I were you. The temp agency hasn’t received the evaluation from Hollingsworth yet.”

“Whether I receive a good evaluation from my time here or not, I have several recommendations from my previous employers. I don’t anticipate any problems. My agency is well aware of this company’s tendency to give negative reviews to their employees, which is why they sent me particularly to this placement. They knew if I wasn’t hired, being their top placement, that the firm had no intention to hireanyoneregardless of how well they performed.”

“There is nothing in our contract with the temp agency that states we have to hire anyone permanently,” Livvy snapped at her.

“True,” she conceded. “But …” Sage kept her voice and expression calm while Livvy was becoming decidedly flushed with anger. “Bree has been using Hollingsworth’s dissatisfaction to garner a lower wage for the employees being sent here while expecting a higher skill set from them. When I’m not hired, plus given a low evaluation score, my agency won’t be sending any more workers at a discounted rate, if at all. The owner of the agency prides herself on finding permanent placements for her workers.”

“Well, isn’t that just so peachy of her.” Livvy made no attempt to hide her snideness.

Sage continued as if she hadn’t spoken. “Yes, it is. Nikki is a good person. She will also be sending a formal letter to Mr. Hollingsworth, detailing why he will have to find another agency to provide employees, or hire them himself.”

The fire went out of Livvy’s expression, as if she had dumped a bucket of water on her. “HR handles the hiring and firing.”