Page 1 of Miss Manage

Chapter One

CHARLOTTE

My stomach pitched as the elevator doors opened onto the top floor. The glossy marble gleamed beneath the bite of my four-inch heels, each click a reminder that today was supposed to change everything.

“I deserve this promotion. I’ve earned it.”

I repeated the mantra in my head until my heartbeat slowed to a respectable pace.

Nobody knew the internal struggle I fought to appear calm under pressure. Especially today, I was determined to win that battle and maintain my signature composure. There was so much on the line.

The gravity of the situation was represented in the form of three men seated in the executive conference room, each of them dressed impeccably in suits and ties.

“Hello, Charlotte, thanks for joining us,” Wendall Wright greeted. Wendall was the outgoing CEO of Arrow Communications and had been both my mentor and my boss over the last nine years. That relationship would end tomorrow when he officially retired.

“Happy to be here,” I replied.

He leaned in, whispering. “Did you leave your phone downstairs, I hope?”

“Yes, of course.” I knew the rules. The owners had a quirk about cell phones being in their meetings and asked for them to be checked at the door, or better yet, left behind.

Reggie and Ronald McMillion sat at the far end of the gleaming table. Brothers in their mid-sixties, they’d been born into privilege as heirs to a newspaper empire which had once been profitable but had turned into a dying industry. Two decades ago, they’d been smart enough to pivot, buying Arrow Communications.

The brothers were opposites in look and manner. Ronald was tall and lined with age, from his weathered face to his hands. Reggie was squat with a thick middle, and the skin on his face was pulled taut from a number of plastic surgeries.

Both men rose to shake my hand, showing an effort to be personable. I suspected, soft skills didn’t come naturally to either of them. Nevertheless, the grip of their hands was firm. But their expressions showcased their differences in personality, with Reggie smiling warmly and Ronald holding a neutral expression in place.

Reggie, the more social of the two, greeted me first. “Charlotte, always a pleasure to see you.”

“A pleasure to see you both, as well. I hope you had a nice trip back from London.” They’d recently returned from a busy week seeing clients there.

“Yes, the trip was—” Reggie shared a look with his brother. “Successful.”

I took my position in one of the leather conference room chairs, sliding my gaze to Wendall for some sort of clue, but his expression was unreadable.

Reggie continued. “Speaking of the trip to London, we have some news to share.”

My hands clasped together under the table while I steadied my breath and facial expressions. No matter the decision regarding my promotion, I would react professionally and with calm.

“We’ve officially acquired one of our competitors, Juniper Communications.”

Not the news I’d expected to hear today. My head instantly filled with dozens of questions. Juniper was a smaller firm based out of London, but I hadn’t known they were in the market for a merger.

“That is news. Congratulations.” An expansion of our presence meant a foothold in Europe to better service our international clients.

“With such a transition, we couldn’t in good conscience appoint a permanent CEO,” Ronald added, his tone gravelly and matter of fact. “We’d like for you to be the acting CEO until we recruit for the position formally. You understand, of course.”

Acting. Interim. Temporary.

Acid crawled up my throat. “Of course. I understand.”

Wendall offered a reassuring smile. “I think we can all agree you’re the clear frontrunner for the permanent position, but with the timing of this merger, optics are…important.”

I forced a polite smile. “I look forward to proving myself in this role.”

Hadn’t I already been proving myself for years? That I could balance work and family without dropping the ball? For sixteen years, I’d juggled board meetings with school pickups, deadlines with midnight fevers, quarterly reports with science projects and baseball practices.

What was one more hurdle? This was what I did. What I’d always done. Kept the plates spinning, carried the weight people doubted I could, and made it look effortless.