Free The Sweetest Revenge by Jennifer Ransom Page B

dragging. I walked
unsteadily into my bedroom. It had been a while since I’d worn
heels.
    I looked at my full outfit in the
mirror. My hair fell softly around my face and to my shoulders. I
allowed myself to squeal in delight.
    I hung the suit up carefully and
put my jeans back on. But I put the heels back on so I could practice
walking in them. It was an art. I kept them on as I made a salad for
supper. I kept them on for two hours as I did laundry and cleaned the
kitchen. By the time I went to bed, I felt comfortable in them again.
    The next day, D-Day, I shampooed
my hair. I was worried I couldn’t get it looking the way Bridget
had, but it all fell naturally into place. That girl was a marvel. I
gently blowed it dry and the waves fell magnificently. I sprayed it,
as Bridget had done. I applied a little make-up. Not much. Some
blush, some gray eye shadow, some mascara and a very faint line of
eyeliner. I glossed my lips with a subtle shade of red.
    I literally strode into the
administration building. Janice was waiting for me right inside the
big glass doors.
    “ You’ve been hiding
yourself,” she exclaimed.
    “ I guess so,” I said,
pleased.
    We took the elevator to the third
floor where the vice presidents offices were. Janice told the
receptionist that we were there by appointment with Mr. Harrell. We
only sat for a moment before we were called back.
    “ Amy,” Steve Harrell said,
holding out his hand. “It’s good to see you.”
    I shook his hand, then he shook
Janice’s hand. “Steve Harrell,” he said to her smiling his big
development smile.
    We sat in the leather chairs
across from his big desk. We looked at him, waiting.
    “ Amy,” Steve said. “We have
done you a disservice. Sheila terminated your employment without
approval from her supervisor. That would be me.”
    “ I don’t understand how she
could have done that without permission,” I said. I wasn’t going
to make it easy for him.
    Steve looked a little uneasy, but
he continued. “I know it’s hard to understand,” he said. “But
it’s true she did that. I was quite shocked when I found out.”
    “ What does Sheila have to say?”
I asked.
    “ Well, Sheila is no longer with
the university,” Steve said. “She decided to move to a different
situation at another state college.”
    “ Oh,” I said. I wondered what
that was all about.
    “ What we’re offering you,
Amy,” Steve said, “is double your former salary. That puts it at
one hundred and ten thousand dollars. We’re also creating a new
position of Vice President of Advancement slash Communications, which
we are offering you.”
    “ I need to talk to Janice
alone,” I said.
    Steve stood up from behind his
desk. “Please use my office,” he said walking out.
    I looked over at Janice. She was
grinning.
    “ Tell them you want a hundred
and fifty thousand. I know what these vice presidents make. And you
want a guaranteed job until you say you don’t want it. In other
words, your job as long as you want it. Make them put it in writing.
And, make them pay my legal fees. You wouldn’t have had to hire me
if they hadn’t wrongfully terminated you.”
    “ Something’s fishy here,” I
said. “Why would they be offering all of this to me? Steve didn’t
call me when I was terminated. It’s been two months. No one has
called me about my job.”
    “ I agree. Something fishy. But
they know they’re going to have to give you a settlement either
way. For some reason, they want you back on the job,” Janice said.
    I stood up and opened the office
door. I signaled the secretary sitting at a desk outside the office
that we were ready for Steve to come back.
    Steve ambled in and took his seat
at his desk.
    “ My client wants a permanent
position that can only end at her say-so,” Janice said as soon as
Steve sat down. “In writing. She also wants you to pay my legal
fees, which will not be cheap.”
    Steve nodded at Janice, then at
me.
    “ And,” Janice continued,