She's the Boss Read Online Free PDF Page A

wearing that dress?”
    “Oh this?” I curtsied prettily. “You like my frock?”
    Truong crossed his arms and made a great play of studying me. “Erm . . .” His words petered out.
    “What?” I asked. “What?”
    “You look like shit.”
    “Why thank you, Truong! You’re a real boost to a girl’s ego.”
    “No, seriously. Why are you dressed like a deranged Amish woman? It’s tragic!”
    “The real tragedy,” I said with a strained smile, “is your whole outfit.”
    “Hey!” he said a touch defensively. “I’m on your side, Kars. If I were a supervisor, I’d dress as though I meant business.”
    I lifted a skeptical brow. “Really?”
    “Really.”
    “Then how come you’re dressed like Mrs. Roper meets the Chiquita Banana Lady?”
    Truong sighed in a way men do when faced with unreasonable women. “First of all, it takes a village to look this good, thank you very much,” he said with offended dignity. “And secondly, I’m not a supervisor; I’m just a lowly minion here. I’m not trying to claw my way to the top. But you , my friend, are . And Coco Chanel once said that if a woman is poorly dressed you notice her dress and if she is impeccably dressed you notice the woman. Right now honey, all I notice is your dress.”
    “Point taken,” I conceded. “Just make sure you read Carter’s dossier and comply with it or else I’ll be forced to write you up.”
    Truong pulled a face. “Someone’s throwing her weight around.”
    “It’s not me. It’s him . You heard what Carter said; he seems to think he’s God, so really, his word is Gospel. And since you’re on my team, you’re going to have to buck up. Your sales are stellar so keep up the good work on that front, but you seriously need to improve your Auxiliary Time.”
    “I’ll work on it,” Truong said amiably.
    “Thank you. I have a feeling we’re all going to see some changes around here, whether we like it or not.”
    “You better like it, Kars.” Truong coughed lightly. “Don’t let Carter get under your skin. It’s only his first day here and the two of you are already butting heads. Trust me, you don’t want to go there.”
    “I can’t help it.” As far as I was concerned, Carter Lockwood was a douchebag and I took great pleasure in rattling his cage. After how he’d humiliated me, he’d forfeited any rights to be treated nicely.
    “Kars, don’t go head-to-head with him. Even if you win the battle, you’re gonna lose the war.”
    “What if I’m right?” I said indignantly.
    “Then keep your mouth shut. The more right you are, the more damage it will do you in the long run.”
    I sighed deeply.
    “So you’ll try?” Truong persisted. “You’ll try to get along with Carter?”
    “I guess,” I said noncommittally. The idea of getting along with Carter seemed as impossible as scaling Everest in a bikini.
     
     
    I was threading my way through the maze of cubicles when I caught Jennifer Carley idly browsing the internet.
    “Jenn, why are you logged out? You’re supposed to be on the phones right now.”
    “I’ll hop on the phone in five minutes.” Her voice was laced with irritation.
    “But you’re supposed to be on the phone now. ”
    “Well I’m busy,” she hissed.
    “Busy doing what?”
    “Checking out job-posting sites so I can get the fuck out of here.”
    I was momentarily flummoxed and rendered speechless, slightly taken aback by her abrasiveness. Before I had the chance to be mortally offended, Jenn caught herself and quickly apologized. “Sorry Kars, it’s not you. It’s this job. I need a change and I need to be making more money. Working for a paltry twelve bucks an hour just isn’t cutting it for me.”
    I twisted my lips. “Why don’t you stop by my desk in twenty minutes? I’ll have Scheduling Ops take you off the phones.”
    “For what?”
    “We need to have a talk,” I said in all-seriousness. “In the mean time, you need to log in and start taking calls.”
    Jenn