“It’s okay,” he said, never breaking eye contact with Vivian. “Jules, will you please leave? I need to talk to Vivian alone.”

“Simon, wait. Let me talk to her first—”

“Vivian,” Simon said, “I insist. Trust me.”

“Vivian—” Jules began.

“Julia, please leave,” Vivian said.

Jules froze.

Now Vivian was looking at Simon with that same deadly focus, as if she’d already figured out what he was going to say. Maybe she had.

“We’ll talk in a few minutes,” she finished.

And…that was that. There was no arguing with Vivian when she used that tone of voice. Jules slunk out of Simon’s office, feeling as pathetic and inconsequential than she had on her first day as an intern. No, more pathetic. At least she’d had a job then.

“Jules?” Allie whispered when Jules returned to their desks. The phone rang, and she jumped to answer it. “Vivian Carlisle’s office…”

Allie was going to be the only one doing this after today, Jules realized as she sat heavily in her chair. Allie Lake, holding down the fort as an intern. Would Mr. Tavio even let Vivian hire a real assistant again? Would he degrade Vivian as much as possible in the name of cutting costs before moving in for the kill?

She grabbed her purse and headed for the ladies’ room, where she did her best to fix her ruined makeup. When she returned, she was just in time to hear the click of Allie’s phone going back into the receiver.

“Jules?”

She sighed as she headed over to Allie’s desk. Her shoes, fringed ankle boots today, pinched her toes. She usually didn’t notice things like that anymore. “All right, Allie. Mr. Tavio says I have to be out of here by the end of the business day, and I can’t come back.”

Allie’s eyes widened with horror. “But what about two weeks’ notice?”

“That doesn’t apply when you’re firing people.” Jules pushed her hair out of her face, which was when she realized that her hands were trembling. She tried to stop them—she couldn’t quite.

“Oh no,” Allie gasped. “Then…then—”

“So you have to do all this yourself,” Jules confirmed. “I’m sorry. I don’t even know if he’ll let Vivian hire another assistant right away.”

Allie went pale.

“Listen, I’ll do my best.” Jules swallowed. “If you can handle the phones, I’ll throw together a couple of lists for you before I leave. Stuff you need to know, like phone numbers, the people you should always try to speak to, and Vivian’s favorite restaurants and florists—”

“Jules…”