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His boss had been leaving a lot lately. Eric was supposed to work under his boss—or at least around him—for a solid four months, but that wasn’t happening. If anything, Greg was a great delegator. His staff was overloaded, and even with the twelve interns who they forced menial tasks upon, there wasn’t enough manpower. People quit left and right, and interns filled full-time positions without being consulted or paid. Eric was at his wit’s end, but he liked the other part of management too much to quit. He and the other interns had formed a tight bond. They vented when they weren’t working and gave each other knowing looks during work to keep them going.
“Sorry we keep asking you,” Henry said. “Callie is in a board meeting.”
Callie was VP of the company and doing more than her share. He was happy to help. “Callie’s barely keeping things afloat on her own. It’s fine. I don’t mind.” He did mind most days, but it also gave him excellent management experience. Plus, his internship was halfway over, and he was itching for a break. “Let Veronica know.”
“Already did.”
Eric nodded and followed Henry down the hallway. It was just another day, another day away from his girl. As he inspected a shipment of cheese that would be sent later that afternoon, his thoughts were full of Holly. The beginning of their long-distance relationship had been rough, but every day they’d made time for each other, whether it was through texts, video, or phone calls.
If he hurried through his inspection, he could carpool back to the apartment with the interns and call Holly just as she got off work. He usually crashed early most nights, so his being a few hours ahead had been a hard adjustment.
“I think that’s it,” the guy said. “Just initial here.” He pointed to a slip, and Eric signed his name. “Thank you.”
“Not a problem.” He ran back to the employee lounge to change his clothes and grab his things when Callie stopped him in the hallway.
“Hey, do you have a minute?” she asked.
Crap! “Sure, what did you need?”
Instead of telling him what she needed, she headed toward her office, and he had to follow. He let out a sigh and hurried after her.
He sat in the chair across from her and waited, but she took a minute to straighten the papers on her desk. A full minute. “What’s up?” he finally asked.
Callie gave a nervous laugh. “Eric, where do you see yourself in five years.”
“Ah, working in a factory.”
She laughed. “Any place in mind?”
He shrugged. “Holly likes Logan, so I wouldn’t mind sticking around there.”
Callie ran a hand through her long gray hair. She was about his mom’s age and just as direct. “Look, I’m going to cut to the chase. I just had a board meeting without the boss. Not planned, but it turned out for the better. The board has decided to remove Greg from his position.”
Eric froze in his seat. Whatever he thought she’d been about to say, it hadn’t been that. “Oh, he’s probably not going to take that well.”
Greg was a beastly kind of man, yelling orders, red-faced when he was mad, and walking fast when he was chasing someone down.
“We’ve been collecting evidence for a while, but it’s taken the board this long to come to a decision. They didn’t want to shake things up, but after visiting the site last week, they saw my point within an hour of following Greg around.”
Eric nodded. “I think it will be good for the staff. Numbers have been dropping left and right.”
Callie nodded, and her gaze seemed to pierce him. “Which is why we don’t want any more turnover, even with our interns. It’s not a great time to lose stability, and you’ve become a kind of leader among the interns and around the office. Whenever someone needs help, you’re willing. It doesn’t mean you love it, but you keep your complaints to yourself. We really could use your stability and diligence.”
Eric licked his lips. He still had a year of school left, so what did this have to do with him?
“I’ve presented the idea to the board, and I’ve done some behind-the-scenes research. Your school is willing to extend your internship. There are one or two classes you’ll have to finish online, but they’re willing to count your extended internship as the final credits that you’ll need for some of the in-person practicums. You’ll also be paid a management income.”
Eric’s mouth dropped open.
“And a sign-on bonus,” she added. “That’s really a thank you for all the extra work you’ve put in. Your leadership has not gone unnoticed. And if, after another semester, you’d like to stay, we can increase your salary even more. And of course, this will be just the type of managerial experience you will need should you want to leave us.”
Salary? His head spun. Other than working as a bagger at a grocery store and a few odd jobs with his dad, he hadn’t had a real paying job since starting college.
“Don’t say yes yet. Ask your significant other what she thinks. We want this to be something you want to do. I told the board about my idea, and they are willing to consider it. Take a night or two to think it over and check in with me soon.”
He felt as if the floor had opened up and all of his insides had fallen three floors. Why now? The only thing that had gotten him through each day was the thought of Holly waiting for his call each night, waiting for his return. Could he really ask her to wait another six months or more?
“I’ll let you know,” he finally said. “Thank you for your consideration.”
