Chapter 30
The next morning, Walton called Dorothea into his office.
“Dorothea, I heard you and Nash had a bit of a disagreement yesterday p>
Dorothea smiled, calm and gentle. “Did Nash come running to complain to you, Walton p>
Walton hadn’t expected her to come right out with it. For a second, he was caught off guard. “No, I just heard some things from around the office p>
“HR might have it easy most days, but you still need to care about team spirit. You were brought in from the outside, so it’s normal for Nash to have his opinions p>
Dorothea didn’t back down. “Walton, first, if he did complain, that’s jumping the chain of command. Most companies really don’t like that. Second, if he didn’t, then there’s nothing wrong with how I handled it. Let’s be real, this is a company. We have plenty of people who like to do their own thing, but what we really need are people who actually listen. Wouldn’t you agree p>
Walton looked at her, surprised these words were coming from a twenty-five-year- old.
His gaze grew thoughtful. “You’ve clearly put some thought into this p>
“Not really p>
Dorothea smiled softly. “Walton, the company wouldn’t have grown from a single hotel into a whole chain without your hard work. I just came back because I wanted to see what my dad built, and I want the company to keep getting better. We want the same thing, you and I p>
Her words seemed to put Walton at ease. “You’ve got a good heart p>
And with that, the whole Nash incident was over.
Nash had thought that spreading rumors would at least cause Dorothea some trouble. But when he saw her return to the office, calm as ever, and even posting the monthly work tasks in the group chat, he started to panic.
Was she really going to dock his bonus?
Dorothea ignored Nash completely, treating him like he was invisible. There were plenty of people ready to do the work, she didn’t need to beg a deputy director.
Around noon, Carmen called Dorothea in a rush.
“Dorothea, let’s go camping tomorrow. Please? We haven’t hung out in forever p>
Dorothea thought for a second. It was Saturday tomorrow, and she was free. “Sure, I’m in p>
They picked a time, and Carmen said she’d come pick her up. Dorothea didn’t think much of it.
But the next day, when she saw Albert’s familiar license plate at the meeting spot, Dorothea pressed her lips together her moon shifted in an instant.
“Dorothea, hop in!” Carmen called out, all smiles.
She was clearly trying to play peacemaker Dorothea and Albert had some unresolved issues, and Carmen was hoping this trip would smooth things over. Most of the people going were Albert’s friends but Carmen brought Dorothea and another friend too, just to make things less awkward.
Dorothea really didn’t feel like going anymore.
Albert shot her a challenging look. “What’s wrong, Dorothea? You quit, and now
you’re treating me like the enemy p>
Dorothea felt a wave of frustration and let out a cold little laugh.
Fine. She’d go. She got in and sat right next to Carmen.
Carmen suddenly felt like maybe she’d made things worse instead of better.
“Albert, what’s with the attitude? Don’t you think it was a bit much, telling Dorothea she couldn’t work anywhere else p>
Albert turned from the front seat and gave her a frosty look. “Carmen, that was business p>
“No one needs to beg him. I already found another job p>
Dorothea’s words hit Albert hard. He narrowed his eyes, like he was trying to figure out if she was telling the truth.
“Really?” Carmen sounded genuinely happy for her. “See, Albert?
doesn’t need your help to Dorothea
find a job
she actually likes content
Albert just snorted and didn’t say another word.