Page 45 of Finding Love

CHAPTERFIFTEEN

Ryder stood back in the elevator as a group of workers stepped inside. He only went up another two floors, but in that short time he heard a conversation between two employees that shocked him.

It had been a week since he’d returned and, in that time, he didn’t like what he’d been hearing. Most of the employees treated him like he already had one foot out the door. In his mind, he did. But he wasn’t going to leave everything behind like last year. Changes were coming and he hoped to make them all good ones.

“I hear the guy is back,” a tall balding man said.

Ryder was leaning against the back corner of the elevator wall. He’d been looking down at his phone when eight employees had stepped in.

“Who? James Gallant?” the shorter dark-haired man asked.

“Yeah, finally. The guy takes off for a year doing god knows what. Probably jet-setting around the world or shacking up with some movie star. Anyway, a year later and he expects to waltz back in here and take over like he never left us to fend for ourselves against that shark.”

“Now there we can all agree,” a dark-haired man said loudly. He glanced around quickly, most likely to see if said shark was in the elevator with them.

There were a couple people between him and the men, so he was sure they hadn’t seen him. When the doors opened on the fifth floor, he waited until the elevator emptied before stepping out.

He’d scheduled a meeting with each department that week. He was due to speak with the accounting team and assumed that the two men worked in that department. Instead of heading to the meeting room on that floor, he disappeared into the bathroom and gave everyone time to assemble.

When he stepped into the full meeting room, he noticed both men standing against the back wall. The room grew quiet as he took his place at the front of the table.

Since the second day, he’d made a point to dress more casually. Today, he had on a gray short-sleeved button-up shirt and dark gray slacks. Every single man in the room had on a full suit, while the women were all dressed in skirts or slacks and blouses. They all looked as uncomfortable as he’d felt wearing those clothes. What he’d wanted to see were happy faces. People who loved where they worked and wanted to be there.

The changes he had in mind would hopefully make that come true.

“Thank you, everyone, for gathering on such short notice,” he said, getting everyone’s attention. He had planned on making the standard speech that he’d given the other departments, but instead paused. His eyes ran over everyone in the room. “Instead of plowing through my planned speech, I’d like to take this time to hear from each of you what you think we can do differently to make Gallant a better workplace.”

He waited, but the room remained silent for almost a full minute. Then, finally, a woman sitting near the back of the room raised her hand.

“Yes.” He motioned towards her. “Please tell me your name first, then proceed.”

She cleared her throat as she stood up and straightened her blouse. “I’m Missy Williams. I’m a new mother, Jacob is two months now…” Several people clapped and the woman’s smile grew. “It would be helpful to have at least one lactation station in the building. I know there are several new mothers in the building who pump. We have to either sit at our desks where we can be interrupted or try and stuff ourselves into a bathroom stall for more privacy.”

He nodded as he wrote down the idea. “Done,” he said absently. “Next?” He glanced up and saw that everyone in the room was looking at him, surprised.

“Seriously?” Missy asked. “You’re going to give us a space?”

“Yes.” He turned Lindsey Jackson, the head of the accounting department, whom Ryder had hired himself a little over two years before. “Do you have an empty office? One with a door and a window to the outside?” Lindsey frowned at him as if she was thinking, but then nodded slowly. “Until something more permanent can be arranged, for now, make it available to all new mothers. Can we have a small refrigerator put in there as well? Maybe some bottled water?”

“Yes,” Lindsey said with a smile as she made notes.

“Next?” he asked and several hands went up.

An hour later, he sat at his desk. Now that he was back in his old office and Mark was back in his, he felt more at home.

He sent a companywide email about the changes and mentioned that, if anyone else had thoughts or ideas, they should respond to him or talk to Karen Leif, the HR director.

Half an hour after this, Mark Lindgren stormed into his office, making a point to slam his office door behind him.

“What in the hell do you think you’re doing?” Mark barked loud enough for the entire floor to hear him.

Ryder glanced up from his laptop screen and raised his eyebrows. He would have wagered everything he had that Mark was going to visit him after the email. It had taken him fifteen minutes longer than Ryder had expected.

“My job,” he answered, turning back to his screen. He’d run through many scenarios about how to handle Mark’s temper. Faking indifference was the best option.

“Your…” Mark sputtered a few times. “You can’t just go around making changes. The office on the fifth floor was earmarked for Roy Gusset, the new head of accounting that I hired. The man is supposed to start on Monday.”

“What’s wrong with Lindsey?” he asked Mark.