by K. Anderson
It was certainly an added bonus that she got to work with people she had known all her life. The owners were friends of her parents, a man and woman names Mark and Elaine Mills, and Lindsay had been good friends with their daughter in high school. They had drifted apart since then, as people are wont to do, but Lindsay still appreciated the fact that she was able to retain some of her ties with the family.
Lindsay was very happy with her life, all in all. She did not live with her parents, but she still went over to their house practically every day. She rented her own, very nice apartment, which was home to her, as well as her tabby cat, Abe. She had a very stable routine that she abided by, and she was very happy with the state of her life.
Lindsay also really loved her job. She got to help people find a home that they truly loved. It was also a part of her job to acquire new properties for the agency. Fortunately, she knew how to drive a hard bargain, and she was often able to drive down prices, and then sell the homes for more than they had been bought for. Her employers of ten remarked that she had a talent for real estate. Lindsay wasn’t sure that was possible, but she was certainly happy that they were pleased with her work.
Lindsay had worked for them for over two years, and in those two years, the company had really begun to grow. They had expanded quite a bit, and even then they all seemed to be stumbling upon one another. They had taken on a few more relators to try and even out the workload, but for the most part they were all extremely busy. Lindsay certainly could keep up with the demands. In fact, she relished the constant flow of work.
It seemed, though, that as of late her employers had become more and more overwhelmed by the sheer success of their business. While this was good for them financially, they were beginning to feel that their business had grown beyond what they could realistically handle themselves.
“The truth of it is,” Mr. Mills had said to her one day as she had lunch with him and his wife at the office. “We aren’t educated enough to handle any of this. There’s honestly only so much we can do, and we’re definitely approaching that limit- fast.”
Lindsay nodded over her small meal of a half sandwich and salad.
“Well, you’re doing a great job so far,” she smiled at them encouragingly. They smiled between one another gently.
Lindsay had always admired the two of them for their tenacity as a couple. Along with her own parents, these people were surely one of the most devoted people she had ever seen. Then again, she had not seen all that many within the confines of her small town.
“Yeah, for now,” Mr. Mills sighed, shaking his head. “But to be honest… I don’t think we’re going to be able to stay in the game much longer.”
Lindsay frowned. She suddenly got the feeling that this conversation was about to take a serious turn.
“What are you saying?” she asked, looking between the both of them.
The two looked between one another and gave each other small smiles.
“We got a big offer to sell out,” Mrs. Mills said, always the one to get straight to the point.
Paige blinked in shock.
“Really?” she asked, her mind beginning to whirl. “From who?”
“We don’t really know him personally,” Mr. Mills admitted. “We just know that he offered us a lot of money to come in and essentially take over.”
Lindsay could hardly conceal her horror at the idea. Part of the reason she loved her job so much was that she was so close with them. If they were out of the picture, and no longer running the show, she wondered how very different things would become within the business.
“You can’t be thinking about it,” Lindsay shook her head vigorously, balking at the whole idea of it.
“We are,” Mrs. Mills nodded her head slowly and gave Lindsay a small smile. “And in fact, we’ve almost made our mind up about it.”
Lindsay felt her heart sink.
“Don’t worry,” Mr. Mills hurried to assure her. “He’s promised to keep on as many employees as possible. We made it clear that we still want the business to maintain its integrity.”
Lindsay could only shake her head. She knew that there was little chance of their small, family oriented agency maintaining its homey feel if it was taken over by some large corporation. She was beginning to feel more and more distressed and upset by the second.
“Have you told anyone else?” she asked, feeling suddenly very emotional.
“No,” Mrs. Mills shook her head. “We wanted to tell you first because… well, we feel like you’re family.”
Somehow, those words only served to upset her even more.
“When are you going to tell them?” she asked, fighting to keep tears from her voice.
“Probably when we come to an official arrangement with our buyer,” Mr. Mills gave a half smile.
Lindsay tried to keep her emotions out of the picture. She knew that this was a very sound, beneficial financial move for them, and it was not her place to try and dictate what they should and shouldn’t do with the company they had built up together, especially if they felt it had grown to a level that they could no longer manage. The last thing they wanted, she was sure, was to see their company grow out of control.
“When are you all going to make it official?” Lindsay asked.
“We have a meeting scheduled with him tomorrow,” Mr. Mills answered her. Lindsay could hear some of the tightness in his voice.
Lindsay felt her heart soften as she detected the emotion in his demeanor. This was surely not an easy choice for them, and they had likely spent a lot of time in thought about it before coming to this decision. She realized that it must take a lot for them to be willing to sell in the first place.
“Well,” Lindsay sighed, putting on a small smile in spite of her sadness. “I really hope the meeting goes well and you can all come to a reasonable agreement.”
“Me too,” Mr. Mills said, patting her hand affectionately.
For the rest of the day, Lindsay was hardly able to think of anything but the conversation she had had with them over lunch. She found her mind drifting and her mood sinking with every passing minute. Some of her clients even went as far as to ask if she was alright.
If she was perfectly honest with herself, she could easily say that no, she was not.
Lindsay had fallen in love with her job and with her small work family. She loved going to work each day and settling into her usual routine, and now all that was going to change. It was with great relief for her that the day ended and she was able to pack up her things and drive home.
Once inside, Lindsay was immediately greeted by Abe, who rubbed his head eagerly against her calves. Abe was always glad to see her, and he certainly broke the mold for grumpy cats. Abe was the friendliest animal she had ever met, and she was grateful to have such a steadfast companion to spend her time with.
Lindsay moved through her apartment to her bedroom. She decided to take a shower, and took off her clothes to get in. She allowed her mind to clear as the hot water ran over her body, and she began to feel a little better about the situation at work. Yes, she had worked for the Mills’ for years, and she was comfortable in her situation. On the other hand, though, she was still very young. With this change, she could go out and do new things and see a whole new side of life.
Lindsay did have to admit, though, that the idea of change was still very unnerving to her. So, she finished up her shower, and dried herself off, changing into a pair of cotton shorts and a tank top. She grabbed a blanket from her bedroom and then moved back into the living room, sitting down on the couch and turning on her television. Abe meowed at her as he hopped up on the couch beside her, and she gave his head a scratch.
Eventually, Lindsay made herself some dinner and when she had eaten, she found that she was incredibly tied. The shocking news must have done more to tire her out than she had originally thought. She turned off her television and moved back into her bedroom, leaving the door open for Abe if he decided he wanted to curl up and s
leep with her.
Lindsay had anticipated that she would toss and turn a bit before falling asleep due to the unfortunate news she had gotten, but much to her surprise she was able to fall asleep. Her sleep was, in fact, more restful than she had managed to achieve in weeks. By the time she woke up, she was feeling incredibly refreshed. She didn’t even have to snooze her alarm before she rose and began the process of getting ready for the day.
He moved into the kitchen and served Abe his breakfast, which he ate immediately. He meowed for more, but Lindsay knew that he didn’t really need it. Then, she began the process of making herself a nice breakfast of fried eggs. She had eaten, she went back into her room and changed into a pair of slacks and a nice red blouse, then applied a tasteful brushing of makeup.
When she was satisfied with her appearance, she gathered up her purse and keys, and headed out the door. She moved over to her car and opened the back door, putting her purse and bag down there. Then, she got into the driver’s seat and turned the key in the ignition. The car, an older model, sputtered a little bit before finally coming to life. Lindsay breathed a sigh of relief that her car would live another day, and she pulled out of her driveway and began her short commute to work.
Upon arriving at the office, Lindsay parked her car and gathered up her things, then headed for the front door. She took a deep breath and began to coach herself. She decided that no matter what news they gave today, she would handle it with dignity and try not to let her emotions get the better of her.
As soon as she walked through the front doors, though, she was having trouble keeping her promise to herself. Not far from the entrance of the office, the Mills’ were speaking with an unfamiliar man in a suit. Lindsay felt an immediate rush of irritation and sadness.
Lindsay sighed quietly to herself and moved over toward her desk. She arranged her things and sat down. Soon, everyone was at their usual place in the office, and the Mills moved to stand at the front, the strange man beside them.
“Good morning,” Mr. Mills spoke up pleasantly. Lindsay couldn’t believe how calm and collected he was when she wanted to scream.
“We have an announcement to tell you,” Lindsay finally heard some sadness creep into his voice. “Though my wife and I have loved every minute of running this agency, we have decided that at the rate it is growing, we can no longer continue to manage it.”
A rush of murmurs and whispered traveled through the office. Lindsay simply looked down at her desk, trying to keep quiet and still.
“It was an incredibly difficult decision,” Mr. Mills said. “But it is ultimately what we feel would be best for the company. We’ve already settled a deal.”
There was another rush of quiet comments and noise of concern.
“Today, we’ve brought in a representative from the company that had acquired us,” Mr. Mills explained. “This is Scott Reynolds, and he will explain everything about the change of hands.”
The murmur in the office grew louder.
“We know this is a sudden announcement,” Mrs. Mills finally spoke up. “And we will be free to speak with any of you about anything once Mr. Reynolds has explained the details of the acquisition to you. As it is, he is currently very busy, and he needs to get back to his own work as soon as possible, so we will go ahead and let him say what he needs to say.”
The office quieted down and waited, and all eyes were on the strange man. Lindsay took a moment to really take in his appearance. He looked very young, though still older than she was. He was probably not long out of college either. His hair was dark and slicked back off his head. His suit was well fitted, but of average quality. Lindsay vaguely noted that he seemed nice enough, and that he did not seem to have an overly inflated ego.
“Thank you,” the man stepped up, giving them all a small smile. “My name is Scott Reynolds, as they said. I am a representative from Ryan and Davis, and I am in charge of making your transition as smooth as possible. There are going to be a lot of changes made, and the first of them is going to be a physical move from here, to our downtown office.”
Again, there was a moment of unrest in the office. Even Lindsay frowned. Currently, they were situated in a quiet, very calm part of the city. It was a smaller community within the city, and everyone knew each other. Downtown was practically an entirely different city. It was clear that this announcement was not being received entirely well.
“It is going to be a lot different than what you are used to here,” Scott warned them fairly. “There will be a much higher demand for business, and you will be working alongside our own team of realtors and brokers.”
Lindsay could feel the atmosphere of the room change into something more fearful. If there was already a team of brokers and realtors, they were all suddenly very concerned about whether they would be keeping their jobs.
“Rest assured,” Scott spoke, raising a hand. “We will be able to retain as many of you as there are currently working. Of course, it is ultimately up to you whether you make the move with us. In addition, any of you who do not meet the standard of discipline and work that we require will be let go.”
Lindsay bristled a little bit at his tone. She was grateful, though, that at the very least they were all being given an opportunity to show their worth at the new place. She knew very well that in some acquisitions, the former staff was entirely replaced by the team of the larger company.
“Our goal is to have all of you, or at least those of you who wish to join us, relocated within the week,” Scott announced. “We will have a team of movers come in and collect all of your files and anything of value, and then transport it to the new office. Other than your own personal things, you will not be required to do anything for this process.”
Lindsay was pleasantly surprised by that news at the very least. She imagined that if they had tried to move without a major acquisition, the whole affair would prove to be very stressful and laborious. At least this way, there was a team of professionals handling it for them.
“I will explain a lot more when we get you all settled down in the downtown office,” Scott said. “I am excited to begin working with all of you, and I hope you are all ready to take the success of this company to even greater heights. Thank you all for your time.”
With that, Scott left the office. For a moment, there was complete silence. Then, it seemed that everyone suddenly had something to say. Emotions were running very high, and it took the Mills quite some time to get everyone to settle down and be calm.
“I know this is likely upsetting news for some of you,” Mrs. Mills said. “But ultimately, we both feel like we did what was right for the company.”
Lindsay felt a tickle at her eyes. She knew that this decision must not have been easy for them, but it was not easy for anyone. The whole mood of the office was one of distraught surprise.
“Now,” Mr. Mills said loud enough for everyone to hear. “The decision is final, and we thank you all for helping us to make the company what it is today. We really couldn’t have done it without each and every one of you.”
Lindsay felt herself beginning to get emotional, and she clenched her jaw tightly to try and maintain her composure.
“I’m sure we’ll still see you all around town as we continue with our lives,” Mrs. Mills said. “But we wanted to host a gathering to say goodbye to our small little company, and hello to the new company. We’ve invited over the team from Ryan and Davis, as well as one of the owners of the company, Erik Davis.”
That news definitely set the office in an entirely different mood. The Mills’ were notorious for their gatherings. They owned an expansive ranch house just outside of the city, and they always served excellent food and drinks. Lindsay had to admit that this would definitely be a great way to start off right with the move to the new company, and also bid a fond farewell to the old.
“This will be on Friday night, starting at seven,” Mr. Mills announced. “Until then, we’ll all carry on as normal for the most part, and be flex
ible when it comes to the relocation of all our files and documentations. Thank you all for this portion of your time, and we’ll be available for any questions at all whenever any of you have a free moment.”
The Mills’ then moved away from the main room of the office and into their respective offices. Everyone was quiet as they attempted to process what was going on. Lindsay could feel the fear and anxiety in the room, and she certainly understood why everyone was feeling that way.
As the day passed, several of Lindsay’s coworkers filtered in and out of the Mills’ offices, presumably to talk about their feelings about the move. It was just the beginning of a very long and more than a little strange week for Lindsay and her coworkers.
Chapter Two
As the week drew on, movers began to appear and start to transport files from their small building to the downtown office. The men were very nice, but Lindsay got a sinking feeling each time she saw one of them. The time finally came fore Lindsay to gather up her own possessions and prepare for her own personal move. On Thursday afternoon, they were all notified that Friday would be their final day in their familiar office.
Friday morning, there was an unmistakable air of sadness in the office. Everyone was very quiet. The day came and went faster than usual. People gathered up their things off their desks at the end of the day, and then went to their separate homes.
Lindsay couldn’t help but feel anxious, and she suspected that everyone else was feeling the same level of apprehension about the future. When she got home, she set her box of desk items on her kitchen table and simply stood there looking at them for a while. She knew her life was going to change very dramatically very soon.
