Читать книгу I Hate Walt - Vicki Andree - Страница 19

“I could kill him,” Mary Lou shouted into her Bluetooth. Hot breath clouded the frosty windshield in front of her.

“Mary Lou Stots, you do not talk like that,” her sister reprimanded her. “‘Do not let any unwholesome talk come out of your mouths, but only what is helpful for building others up according to their needs, that it may benefit those who listen’—Ephesians 4:29.”

Mary Lou squinted and brushed the clouded windshield with the back of her glove. “I know it’s wrong. I’m sorry. I wish I didn’t feel this way, but you should have my job for just one day and see how he treats me. Oh, dear God, You don’t have to make him suffer. Just make him disappear.”

Eileen scolded, “Mary Lou, stop talking like that. God’s not the only one who could be listening to this conversation. You’re upset. Now say you didn’t mean what you said. Besides, if Walt disappeared, you wouldn’t have a job.”

Mary Lou felt her eyes drip. “I know it’s wrong, but I hate the man.”

Eileen sucked in a breath. “You need to get a grip, girl. What brought all this on?”

Mary Lou sniffed and turned the defroster on. “I just sat through the most demeaning, demotivating sales meeting ever. Walt viciously attacked me, made fun of me, and embarrassed me in front of the rest of the team. Sure, he owns the company, but he’s not even my direct boss. Joe’s my boss. It’s hard being the only woman in sales. I’m selling more than anyone, yet Walt constantly beats up on me. I don’t understand it.”

Eileen cleared her throat. “Are you at home?”

“I’m driving.” Mary Lou pushed the button on the console to open her garage door. “I just got to the house.”

“I’m coming over.”

Mary Lou drove her Nissan Rogue into her double-car garage. “Thanks, but right now I need someone to take my side.”

“See you in a minute; you know I’m always on your side.” Eileen hung up.

Mary Lou got out of her car and walked up the two steps to the door to her living quarters. She pressed the garage door button and entered the white-tiled laundry room of her modern two-bedroom home. She crossed further white tile through the kitchen to her small gray-carpeted home office. She laid her purse and briefcase on the desk, tore her coat off, and threw it into the desk chair. After that she made her way to the living room, unlocked the front door in anticipation of Eileen’s arrival, kicked off her shoes, and flopped on the blue-flower-print couch.

She took a deep breath and forced the tension to leave her body. “Oh, that’s better.” She closed her eyes.

Two minutes later, a quiet knock announced Eileen’s arrival.

“Come in, Eileen! It’s unlocked.”

Eileen entered and sat on the arm of the couch. “Are you all right?”

Mary Lou sat up. “I’m at the end of my rope. Can’t you tell? I’m so ready to quit this job. If I didn’t make so much money, I would leave. Walt is unbearable. Usually Joe stands up for me, but I think even he’s getting tired of all the drama.”

Eileen slid from the couch arm onto the cushion. “Does Walt have a woman problem?”

Mary Lou scooted over to give Eileen more room. “What does that mean?”

Eileen shrugged one shoulder. “Some men can’t work with women. It’s a pride thing. Women scare them. And with you being so successful, Walt could feel threatened.”

“Threatened? He hired me. How could he be threatened? He owns the company. Besides, Walt Pederson is twice my size. He takes every opportunity to make fun of how short I am. No, you’re wrong there.”

Eileen grinned. “Yeah, well, elephants are afraid of mice. Go figure.”

Mary Lou welcomed the humorous thought. “Oh, I should remember that one. Next time Walt teases me about being short, I’ll just call him Dumbo.” She giggled. Then her face turned somber. “He would fire me. But you might be right about the woman thing. His wife is the quietest woman.”

Eileen nodded. “I’ll bet he’s intimidated her into submission. She’s as tiny as you are—no, she might be an inch taller than you. I remember her from high school. Not exactly a wallflower. She always had the popular girls around her. You know, the beautiful people. She was not the quiet woman she is today. I saw her and Walt at the country club a few weeks ago. Talk about Mutt and Jeff. But tell me—what happened today? What brought out all this anger?”

Mary Lou sucked in a deep breath. “Walt’s looking at the sales numbers for last year. From my monthly observations, I should be leading the team by quite a bit. Especially after the Zedlav, Alaska, fiasco.” She smiled to herself. “I’ve had a very good year. Anyway, he called a sales meeting just before quitting time to give his projections for year-end totals. About a month ago, Walt announced that the prize for top sales this year is a cruise to the Bahamas. Anyway, everyone’s excited to hear their numbers. I would love to win a cruise.”

Eileen leaned back into the couch. “Okay. Why are you so mad?”

“Because, after we got in there, he spent an hour telling us that he wasn’t going to give us the numbers until Friday. Then he said for us to get out of the office and make some lucrative deals for this year. He stuck out his foot and tripped me as I left the room. I fell flat on my face. I can still hear everyone laughing. And he says, ‘She’s all right. Didn’t fall far.’ He treats me worse than a dog.”

“The Bible says, ‘In your anger do not sin’—Ephesians 4:26. Be careful what you say and do when you’re angry.”

“I’m not going to do anything stupid. I like my income and everything else about the job. Besides, my credit card bills are staggering. Suing him would only make my life more miserable. Thank Heaven I have a sister to talk to. Otherwise I’d go nuts.”