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My mouth might have dropped open, but with the fog in my brain I wasn’t sure. It sounded like he’d saidsupervisor.
“You’ll have two open reqs, one for a senior accountant, and a junior as soon as you can recruit candidates,” he continued.
He had meant it when he saidsupervisor.
I nodded. Minions working for me was a serious step up career-wise. And a supervisor position had to mean more money—a promotion.
A godsend.
After Mark moved on to the next person, Ernesto leaned over. “Congrats. You deserve it.”
The praise sent a tingle sent up my spine. Ernesto was right. I did deserve it. I’d worked hard here—not because I was devoted to the company, but because that was the way I was wired. Giving a hundred percent was the way I’d been raised, and there wasn’t any alternative.
“Thanks,” I whispered back.
“Now, HR has new packages to go over with each of you downstairs before you leave for the day. Also, we’ll be moving into our new digs in Pasadena over the weekend.” He slid a pile of papers down the table, and we each grabbed one. “That’s the address of our offices starting next week.”
Pasadena was not too far, but it would add more than an extra half-hour each way for me and half the people in the room. So much for keeping my access to this building.
Ernesto grinned. Pasadena wasn’t far from his home in the valley—a win for him.
I couldn’t help but slump in my seat. An extra hour-plus of daily commute torture in my car was going to be one cost of the promotion. The other would be an end to my quest for revenge on Benson, and that was the worst of all.
A series of meaningless questions from the others followed as I concentrated on the paper in front of me. Without access to this building, I’d never be able to feed Hydra the material that would make Dennis Benson pay. And who knew how many other families would have to pay the price in the coming years if he wasn’t brought down.
“Any more questions?” Mark asked.
I had one I couldn’t ask.
“Very well then, welcome aboard. HR is expecting you downstairs. And we’ll start off right back here tomorrow morning at seven-thirty.” He stood, and the happy group followed him out.
“Jenn, you okay?” Ernesto asked as we passed through the door.
“Oh, sure. I’m just thinking about the commute is all.”
“Yeah, that can be a drag, but you made supervisor.”
He and I took the second elevator down to HR.
A half hour later, I sat across the table from an HR specialist with a written compensation letter in front of me.
“The salary increase will be fourteen thousand a year,” she said.
I could hardly believe it as I read along. Over a thousand a month extra gross pay would go a long way toward making life livable for all of us. Between my student debt and helping with Ramona’s schooling, I’d been getting further behind on my credit cards every month.
“The option package is twenty thousand shares vested over four years,” she added.
That was huge as well. I’d only been awarded two thousand when I started.
Everybody in finance knew how valuable the options could be over time. Nobody in her right mind would pass on a deal like this, despite the extra commute.
I sat back. “How long do I have to consider this?”
Her brow shot up. “It’s quite an opportunity, Jennifer. I can check, but as I understand it, these transfers are mandatory.”
“What if I don’t want to drive all the way to Pasadena?”
“If you’re not satisfied, I suggest you talk to Mark. He might be willing to sweeten it a bit. But I’ll tell you right now, this is quite generous.” She shrugged.
