Chapter 3:Fired Before Hired
673 Words
Calista walked out of Rowan’s office on shaky legs and tried not to cry in the elevator.
She got the job. 62K. Benefits.
Granny’s meds for a year.
She texted Granny from the lobby:
Me: I got it. Start Monday. Love you.
Granny: My girl. God is good ❤️
Calista smiled all the way to the subway.
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Monday. 7:55 AM. Crisoms Tech, 42nd Floor.
The office was different in the morning. Less glass, more knives.
People in crisp suits whispered as she walked to her new desk in Creative. It was small. By the window. With a company laptop and a sticky note that said “Calista – Junior Designer” in neat handwriting.
“Is that her?”
“The one he hired himself?”
“I heard he only hired her because she’s desperate.”
Calista kept her head down and logged in.
At 8:03, Marissa, the lead designer, appeared. Late 30s. Power bob. No smile.
“Mr. Crisoms wants you,” she said. “Now.”
Calista’s stomach dropped.
She knocked once on his glass door.
“Come in.”
Rowan wasn’t behind his desk. He was standing at the window, tie already loosened, reading something on a tablet. He looked tired. Angry tired.
“Sit,” he said without looking up.
Calista sat.
He turned the tablet toward her. It was an email. From HR. Subject: Hiring Compliance Flag – C. Cole
Rowan finally looked at her. “I made a mistake.”
Calista froze. “What?”
“Company policy. Junior Designer band requires a bachelor’s degree or 5 years agency experience. You have neither. Legal is saying we can’t approve the salary I offered you.”
The room got very quiet.
Calista could hear her own heartbeat. “So what are you saying?”
“I’m saying,” Rowan said, jaw tight, “we either downgrade you to Intern. 22K. No benefits. Or I let you go before your first day officially starts.”
22K.
That wouldn’t even cover 3 months of Granny’s treatment.
Calista gripped the arms of the chair. She wanted to yell. She wanted to beg. She did neither.
She stood up. Slow. “Right. Well. Thanks for the chance, Mr. Crisoms.”
She turned to leave.
“Wait.”
She stopped. Didn’t turn around.
Rowan sighed. Loud. Like this was personally offending him. “Sit back down, Ms. Cole.”
Calista sat.
Rowan ran a hand through his hair. “I don’t like losing. And I don’t like being told I can’t hire who I want. So here’s what we’re going to do.”
He picked up a pen and started writing on a legal pad.
“You’ll be a ‘Contract Design Associate.’ Not an employee. 62K. 6-month contract. No benefits. Renewed quarterly if you perform. HR can’t touch it.”
Calista stared at him. “That’s... legal?”
“It’s legal enough,” Rowan said. “Sign this NDA and contractor agreement by end of day.”
She blinked. “Why are you doing this? You don’t even like me.”
Rowan met her eyes. “Because your work is good. And because I hate it when HR tells me what to do.”
A pause.
“Don’t make me regret this,” he added. “One late project. One missed meeting. And you’re out. No second chances.”
Calista picked up the pen. Her hand was shaking again. “Deal.”
She signed.
As she stood to go, Rowan said, “And Ms. Cole?”
“Yes?”
“Welcome to Crisoms Tech. Try not to get fired in your first week.”
Calista walked back to her desk, contractor papers in hand.
She still had the job.
She still had a boss who was rude, impossible, and looking at her like she was a problem he hadn’t solved yet.
The office was already gossiping well she’s use to it already all she needed to do was to try hard and not get fired on her first Monday.
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