My mind reeled. It spun in circles until the truth hit me like a Mack truck. Grant. The Abbot family had strong ties with the owners of all three establishments. My mother taking the stand against me had been a brutal blow, but losing my job, my sense of security…I wasn’t sure I could stand it. And Grant knew that. I’d always held so tightly to every job I’d ever had, forgoing date nights with him to work extra hours, being an exemplary employee so I’d never be let go. Because having a job, a way to provide for myself, had always made me feel safer. If everyone around me left, I’d still be okay. I’d be able to take care of myself.

I cleared my throat. “I believe this is because of the current legal case with the Abbot family.”

Chris made a tsking noise like I was a naughty child. “It really doesn’t show a lot of wisdom on your part to antagonize such a prominent family. You should probably reconsider that legal battle.”

My hands fisted in my lap, my nails digging into my palms where the skin was still tender from yesterday. “I don’t believe that is any of your concern.”

Chris’s eyes narrowed on me. “It is when it affects this company. As manager of this branch, I spoke with the board this morning. They agree with my assessment. We’re going to have to let you go. You’ll have two weeks to transition your replacement.”

My jaw fell open. This wasn’t happening. I’d worked so hard to become the best accountant possible. I’d given my time and energy, everything I had to this job. My chest squeezed at the knowledge of how disposable I was to Cornerstone. How easily I could be cast aside.

I wouldn’t give Chris the satisfaction of seeing how much it hurt me. That the words he’d so casually thrown out may as well have been a death blow. “I’m sorry to hear you feel that way. I have two weeks of vacation stored up, so I think I’ll be using that starting now.” If he thought I was going to sit by and help him make screwing me over easy, he had another thing coming.

The redness in Chris’s face was back, a deeper shade now. “If you leave without training your replacement, you won’t be receiving any sort of recommendation from me.”

I let out a snort. Like I would ever ask this man for a reference. It would likely be a letter cataloguing all my perceived shortcomings and none of my attributes. “I think I can live with that.”