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“Well, honestly, Ms. Lapman, it was a bit of a disaster.”
Paula nodded gently, settling back into her chair as she appraised me from six feet away.
“I sensed a bit of a defeated air from you when I walked past your cubical toward the end of the day yesterday. Plus, I couldn’t help but notice the brown stain on your shirt didn’t seem to be an intentional fashion choice. Tell me, Charlotte, have you heard tales of my first day at the IBA yet?”
“I can’t say I have, Ms. Lapman,” I said, somewhat warily. Where was she going with this?
“Please, call me Paula.”
I nodded, eager for her to continue.
“It was the early 1990s, and I was coming to the IBA from a bookseller background, like many of our employees do. I hadn’t hidden in my interview that I would be moving here with my partner, now wife, and our young child. This ruffled some feathers, so I was already highly anxious. This was my dream job, but I wasn’t about to hide who I was to have it. To make a long story short, I ended up calling my boss by the wrong name all day, and no one bothered to correct me. I considered not coming back the next day, but knew I had something to contribute and, even more so, something to prove to the doubters and to myself. Sound like anyone you know?”
I nodded again, dumbstruck that this powerful woman was sharing something so personal with me.
“Thank you, Ms… Paula. Just… thank you.”
Paula smiled gently, before morphing her face into an expression that showed personal bonding time was over, and she was ready to be all business once more.
“All right, then. So, shake yesterday off, and let’s get down to work. Let’s start by discussing the Storybook Ball Gala that will be happening near the end of October.”
Chapter
Five
Hayden
The car service Duncan added me to pulled up in front of 525 Massachusetts Avenue to deliver me to my first day of work at Brandt Investing International headquarters. The evening of baseball and beers wasn’t quite enough to erase the rest of yesterday’s altercations, which, combined with the apprehension of this first day, made for a hell of a case of insomnia. I hadn’t even needed the alarm I set for four, so I could talk to Duncan as he started his day. After the disappointing text exchange, I lay there staring at the ceiling fan above the king bed before dragging myself out at six to go for a run. It was at the end of that run I found myself greeted by Charlotte exiting our building much earlier than I expected her to leave.
I barely took in the granite tile floors and sterile white walls brightened with run-of-the-mill wall sconces, as I flashed my badge to the security guard waiting inside the building’s front doors and crossed to the bank of elevators. I thought instead of my brief run-in with my temporary roommate. She seemed to have shaken off her bad day better than I had, looking like she was ready to eat a man for breakfast as she power-walked through the lobby to the front door. I’m not sure what compelled me to wait for her to exit, but when she looked up at me, inches away from her face meeting my chest again, her eyes had taken on a green tint from her dress.
The sound of the elevator doors opening on the fourth floor brought me back to the present. Waiting for me at the end of the elevator’s hallway was Leslie, the administrative assistant Duncan had assigned to get me up to speed on operations around the office. We had met briefly via video call last week, but it surprised me to find her greeting me straight off the elevator.
“Good morning, Mr. Brandt,” she said, handing me the waiting cup of coffee in her right hand.
“Good morning, Leslie. Hayden is fine. I wouldn’t want to scare anyone by thinking Duncan has returned from across the pond earlier than planned.”
Leslie chuckled politely. She gestured to the right, indicating the direction we should move and fell in step next to me.
“I hope you weren’t waiting there for me long, Leslie. I can only assume you have better things to do with your time. Thanks for the coffee, by the way. Not to be that boss, but can you tell me what’s in it?”
“Your driver gave me a ring after you got out of the car, and it’s an Americano with a splash of oat milk. I tracked down your old assistant in Boston with Mr. Brandt’s help and got her to give me a list of some of your favorites. Not a dairy allergy, but a preference when it comes to coffee. It’s all locked up here.” Leslie tapped her temple and pointed at the office right in front of us.
What I assumed was her desk sat in a vestibule, with an open door directly behind it, setting her up as a gatekeeper of sorts. I could tell she would be an efficient one, already laughing at my bad jokes and sourcing out my coffee preferences all on her own. My old assistant, Danielle, was good, but nothing like this.
I found myself comparing Leslie’s dark ringlet curls to blond hair that fell to one’s shoulder in waves. Snap out of it, Brandt. Charlotte will be gone before you know it, and you need to stop further connecting yourself to anything and everything Duncan throws in your lap, accidentally or intentionally.
I looked up to see Leslie looking at me curiously and realized I had stopped even with her desk, about eight feet away from the office door I should have continued to. I smiled the disarming Brandt smile at her as I continued into the office, noting the nameplate that read “Hayden Brandt, Chief Information Officer” as I entered.
“There’s an ample budget to order any additional furniture or supplies you may need to make this office your own, Hayden. I have some catalogs out here if you need them, or I can make some suggestions if you describe what you might need and your preferred style. We’ll make you feel at home here before you know it.”
As I gazed out the window at the grid of streets and buildings below us, I thought how unlikely I was to feel settled in a place so urban and impersonal. But I was here. I made a commitment, and one thing Duncan had taught me was that we kept our word to each other.
“Thanks, Leslie. I’ll probably see how things flow over the next few weeks before committing to anything major, to make sure I’m not purchasing anything too rashly. I’m guessing when I open my desk drawer, I’m going to find my favorite pens, notebooks, and sticky notes, so I’ll be good to get started for the day.”
Leslie looked pleased with my observation of her attention to detail.
“Prudent, just like Mr. Brandt. I look forward to our work together, Hayden. All your access information is on your desk there. Shall I let you get settled, and then we can review your schedule in about thirty minutes?”
