Who: Octavius Pepper and Charlotte Sweeting
What: Uh oh.
Where: WWN Offices
When: Tbh, I would assume a week ago? Fluid time ftw~~
New Year’s Eve had been a bit of a disaster, there was no denying that. There was also no denying that Lottie had ordered and signed for the masks responsible for the whole ordeal. However, she was finding it incredibly hard to see how exactly that meant it was her fault that all these husbands were kissing not their wives.
She hadn’t even been at work for five whole minutes before she was summoned into Octavius Pepper’s office. Which wasn’t nearly enough time for her to once again go over her (very flimsy) argument in her defense. What she had to do was suck it up, let him yell at her for however long he felt was necessary and then apologize profusely. Promise it will never ever happen again and that in the future, she would be extra careful to read the fine print. That was that. Then she would go back to work and eventually all would be forgotten.
Everything would be just fine. “Mr. Pepper?” she knocked softly on the open office door, hesitant not seeing Mira anywhere in sight. “You wanted to see me?”
Octavius had become something of an expert in fielding the chaotic aftermath of a disastrous, extravagant affair put on by the Wizarding Wireless Network, though it was against his will and better judgment.
No one, absolutely no one, had learned the horror of the magic masks more deeply than Octavius, suddenly coming to his senses as he had, and realising he was tongue deep in Celestina Warbeck's mouth. After fending off his lovelorn performer, he had then been literally slapped by the witch forty years his senior and metaphorically slapped with a mountain of legal paperwork, including a gag order on ever disclosing what had happened behind the curtains backstage at the stroke of midnight.
Not that he was in any hurry to spread the story.
When he found out what, or more aptly who, was responsible for the fiasco, he knew he shouldn't have been surprised… And yet his boiling blood was just one indication of that shock.
"Miss Sweeting," he began, in a voice loud, clear, and not devoid of sarcasm. "Are you aware that you have been employed by the Wizarding Wireless Network?"
Charlotte hovered warily just past the door. She knew exactly why she was here but suddenly it felt very much like a trap. Obviously she was aware she had been employed by the Wizarding Wireless Network. Clearly. It was why she showed up to the building every day. Why else would she have a fancy WWN badge that let her past security. She certainly hoped Octavius didn’t think she was so daft, she was unaware that she worked for the network.
“Er. Yes, I am aware,” she said looking very much confused as she felt. Maybe she should just go ahead and apologize. Certainly it would look better if she broached the subject first. Wringing her hands, Lottie perched nervously on the edge of the chair opposite the desk. “If this is about the party, you have to know that I did not---it was not my intention--”
The look that he was giving her made her heart race. Lottie was quite sure that out of all the looks Octavius Pepper had sent her way over her employment, this was by far the worst. “I am so very sorry. I didn’t know the masks were jinxed.”
He held up his finger in a motion that both demanded her silence and illustrated his following point. "One job," Octavius said, increasing his voice by one decibel over Charlotte's harried apology. "You had one job in this affair, Miss Sweeting. One job. A painless job, an uncomplicated job. A job you told me had been done, a job you in fact told me to stop haranguing you about, because of course it had been done."
Clearing his throat, Octavius settled back in his "Would you say, Miss Sweeting, that this was a job completed satisfactorily by its given date, as outlined in the contract you signed upon employment by the WWN?"
Lottie bit her lip as he went on about her one job. She had been painfully aware that she had one singular effortless job when it came to this stupid party, while Octavius went and hired an outside source to plan everything, who ended up leaving him high and dry at the end of it all anyways. So perhaps Charlotte had been a bit more than bitter when he ignored her offers to plan the party. Clearly he didn’t understand that planning parties was something she excelled at and it was an insult to assign her to just ordering masks. She allocated what she thought was the appropriate amount of time she thought was required to the task, and technically she did not fail to do what she was asked.
“I-- that is--” she stuttered out not sure if he was actually ready for her to talk. He was just a bit more upset that she was expecting. Perhaps now would be the time to stop apologizing and start defending herself. She sat up a bit straighter in her seat. “It was.” Charlotte said confidently. “You asked me to get masks for the ball, and I did. The were gorgeous and lovely, and I really don’t see how it is my fault that the salesman tricked me into buying jinxed products. You should be going after him, not me.”
"Believe me," he blustered, holding up his hand, "this—this Ali Bashir character has received more than an angry earful on behalf of the WWN!"
Octavius had perhaps sent a flock of owls bearing Howlers to his place of business.
"And if this incident wasn't following countless requests, then reminders, and finally admonishments for you to actually do your job, this would be nothing more than a warning." Which Octavius himself had bestowed many a time, and thought himself rather lenient for not taking more effective action sooner.
Then, it didn't seem wholly unfair to expect the people you paid to do the job you paid them for, but that was neither here nor there.
"But since you have seen fit to paint your nails, apply cosmetics, gossip with the other staff, and attend to your own social affairs rather than the job I pay you to do—" Octavius threw his hands up in frustration, finding no pleasure in what he was about to say but having to say it nevertheless. "I'm sorry, Charlotte, but—you're fired!"
“No.” The word quietly fell from her mouth the second Octavius said ‘this would be nothing more than a warning. Charlotte was not dumb, it may have taken her up until this very second, but she could clearly see where this was going now. Tears welled in her eyes as he continued on. The painting nails, that was once...occasionally. And she had to look her best considering that she was representing the WWN so obviously she had to make sure her make up was never smudged. She could not deny that she was a gossip fiend, but that was just--- the WWN was at points a news organization. Staying on top of the gossip was part of cultivating her skills for the future. It all--- it all came back to the WWN!
“No!” She said standing from her seat as Octavius finished his sentence. She could not be fired. What would-- Gleny wouldn’t-- This was her job! She loved working here and had never once imagined working anywhere else. Gleny never complained about her work. Tears fell as opened and closed her mouth multiple times trying to form an argument. But all she could think of was she was certain that this was the first time he had ever used her first name and it was followed by ‘you’re fired’.
“You can not fire me for this! I refuse to accept it. The stupid masks were not my fault. And the other things… they-- it’s just,” she floundered. It was just who she was. She could not be fired for simply being Charlotte Sweeting. “You can’t fire me! I love the WWN. This is where I belong.”
"I'm sorry, Miss Sweeting," Octavius said, gently but in a tone which brooked no refusal, "but it's too little, too late. If this change of heart had happened after the first warning, or even the fifteenth, I could have been persuaded. But I'm afraid this is the last straw."
It wasn't that he didn't feel for her, he did, truly. There were times, however, the hammer simply needed to come down, and this was one of them.
"I'll give you until the end of the day," he cleared his throat, expression softening slightly, "to collect your personal things."
Charlotte swallowed thickly as the tears streamed down her face. What could she say? What could she do. She just couldn't process the fact that this was it. She had been fired and her hopes of her dream job had just died. "This is a mistake." She told Octavius, her voice barely managing a whisper. "I can't-- You'll-- This is a mistake, I was going to be great." She was! She was going to be a house hold name and everyone would have adored her. Now, now she would be lucky set eyes on these walls again.
Covering her eyes with her hand, a choked sob escaped her lips. Fired. After another sob bubbled up, Lottie turned on her heel to leave the office unable to muster up the ability to thank Octavius for the opportunity to work for him for the amount of time that she did. She had tried, but it was over shadowed but the hiccupy sobs that she couldn't control any longer. He wasn't going to budge, she couldn't salvage her job, so now the only thing left was to leave.
