Sit

“Please sit down, Emily,” Bryan said, motioning to the black chair in front of his glass and steel desk.  “We have much to discuss.”

Emily did as she was told, folding her hands in her lap to hide their tremors.

“You’ve only been with us a few months,” Bryan said, fixing her with his dark blue eyes.  “But we’ve been watching you carefully.”

Emily tried not to fidget.  Bryan’s face gave away nothing.  She started to think back over the week.  What had she done wrong?  The reports had been on time.  She had even washed all the dishes in the break room sink.

“We want to offer you the job as manager,” Bryan said, derailing her mental checklist of possible offenses.

“What,” she stammered.

“You’d make a great manager.  You’re kind, approachable, and people could learn a lot from that work ethic you’ve got.”

“But I didn’t know Pete was retiring.”

“Well, you see Emily, Pete’s performance has been a little off recently.  We’re firing him.  Or rather you are.  As the new manager.”