by Wolf, Alex
It seemed like a weak defense. “Well, if they’re expanding, doesn’t that mean they’re growing? Maybe it could mean more opportunity. I mean, they just hired me.”
He still wouldn’t look at me. “It’s possible. Maybe it’ll go well. I think you’ll be fine. You’re a fantastic worker; the best I’ve ever had. I just wanted to let you know.”
I nodded. “I appreciate it. I really think this is the right move for me. I mean, there is so much they can offer me. Honestly, it’s like a dream come true. I’ve loved working for you. I really have, I just—”
He sighed. “I know.” He turned to me and smiled. “I know. It’s fine. It’d be hard to compete with them. I really can’t. I have to try, though. You’re an amazing worker, Rory. What if I could offer you more money? Would that keep you here?”
I hadn’t expected that. I looked away at the ceiling. This was so hard. I just wanted to work. I always hated this part of being an adult. “I don’t know.” I shook my head.
“Would you consider it?”
I shrugged. “Honestly, it’s not all about the money. I mean, they made me a really good offer. I was surprised to even get an interview, and I certainly didn’t expect to be having this conversation. I didn’t think I had a chance. It’s always been my dream to work there. I mean, it’s Hawthorne, you know?”
“I promise. I understand. How much are they offering? If you don’t mind me asking. I’d just like to see if I can even come close.”
I told him the amount. It was fifteen thousand more per year than what I made currently.
“Okay.” He reached for his phone.
I didn’t know who he was calling, but soon realized it was the HR department. I sat there, trying not to listen in on the conversation, but it was difficult. They went back and forth, and I considered leaving to give him time to talk to them. Just as I was about to get up, he hung up the phone and nodded.
“Done. If you stay, I can match it.”
I arched an eyebrow. In an instant, they could match what I was going to get paid? It didn’t make sense. None of this made any sense. It didn’t compute.
“Just like that? And I get a fifteen-thousand-dollar raise?”
He nodded. “That’s how committed we are to you working here. If that isn’t proof of the dedication to your strengths, then I don’t know what is, Rory.”
After hearing him suddenly announce they could match the pay, I knew I had to make the right call. Why hadn’t they bumped up my pay all along if they thought I was worth that much? I understood business, but we were close, and I’d worked my ass off for them.
I had already accepted the position, and in my heart I knew it was the right way to go. I didn’t want to work somewhere where I had to threaten to leave the company to get paid what I was worth. “Look, I just. I appreciate everything you’ve done for me, Mark. You’ve given me the opportunity that many others wouldn’t. For that, I will always be grateful.”
His smile faded once more, and it crushed me.
“I think I’m going to try this out. It’s seriously not personal. You know I’ve loved it here. I hate this part of it. I really hope you understand.”
He nodded, defeated. “I really wish you the best, Rory.” He reached out and I shook his hand.
“Thank you for that. Seriously.”
I stood up and turned away.
I was proud that I stood my ground, but it still hurt to leave the company I’d worked at for the last two years.
* * *
The two weeks between giving my notice and starting at my new job went faster than I thought it would. It was exciting and sad. I got up early on Monday and ended up at work a half hour before I was supposed to start. Thank God it wasn’t raining like the last time.
I sat in my car as the parking lot began to fill. With ten minutes to go, I got out of the car and headed up to the front of the building. Once inside, I strode to the receptionist’s desk and greeted the same woman from the day of my interview.
I started to speak, but she cut me off.
“Hello, Ms. Lexington. They’ll be with you shortly.”
I stood there, frozen for a second. I didn’t think there was any way she’d remember me. “Thanks.”
I went over and took a seat. It was much brighter today, and the huge windows cast large bars of shadows across the tile. I fidgeted with my purse strap, trying not to think too much on what the day would entail. I wasn’t sure who was going to come out and welcome me, but I was sad to see it wasn’t a Hawthorne brother.
A woman headed toward me, smiling. “Ms. Lexington.” She held out a hand and appeared in a hurry. “I’m Chandra with HR. Pleased to meet you. We’re all really excited about you joining the company.” She sounded like a voice recording, like she’d done this a hundred times already that morning.
I smiled as I shook her hand. “Rory, please.”
“Alright, Rory. We have some paperwork for you to fill out. It’s all standard, and then after that we’ll get you set up with a trainer. You’ll be working with her for the first two weeks at least. Any questions?”
My brain was a thick fog, but I shook my head. Figured you have to fake it ‘til you make it. “Sounds good.”
“Perfect. Follow me.” She turned on her heel and I matched her stride for stride. We entered an office and walked over to a desk, where she introduced me to an older, gray-haired woman. “Margaret will get you set up, and then I’ll be back to give you a tour.”
“Great. Thank you.” I waited until she walked away and then looked at Margaret.
“Here’s a packet for you to fill out. If you have any questions, let me know. You can use this desk over here.” She pointed to the corner.
“Thanks.”
She nodded and smiled as I took a seat. I grabbed a pen from my purse. It was mostly tax forms and stuff for insurance. It didn’t take much time, but afterward I looked at my watch. It was an hour later. I was shocked that it had taken me that long. I walked over and handed her the packet.
She looked it over then stuck it in a filing cabinet. “Give me a sec. I’ll call Chandra.” Thirty seconds later, she turned to me. “She’ll be back in a minute. Has to make a quick phone call.”
I took a seat and crossed my legs, attempting to look as comfortable as possible.
Chandra walked in a few minutes later. “Ready?”
I stood up, relieved. “Yeah, thanks.”
I followed her clacking heels out of the room.
She took me around the building, pointing out the mailroom, conference rooms, and an auditorium. We walked through the different divisions—accounting, advertising, operations. The place was huge.
By the time we reached the elevator, all I could think was there was no way I would remember everything.
We got on the elevator and she pushed for the second floor, then turned to me. “Overwhelmed yet?”
I laughed. “A little.”
She nodded as we rode up. “I’ve been here a few years now, but I remember my first day. Didn’t think there was any way I’d ever figure this place out.” She shrugged. “Now, I could do it with my eyes closed. So don’t worry.”
The door opened, and we walked out onto the next floor.
She turned to me and smiled. “This is the creative department floor. It’ll be your home. Get used to living here.” She chuckled at her joke, then walked me through a giant bullpen of cubicles. Fingers clacked on keyboards and idle chatter filled the room. We strode through design rooms with people giving presentations and working at tables. When we reached a few offices on the outer walls, she slowed to a stop next to a couple desks outside of them. “Here’s your workstation. You can put your purse in the drawer and lock it up. Here’s the key.” She handed it to me, and I took my purse and slid it into the drawer, then locked it and slid the key into my pocket. “Let’s go meet your trainer.” She motioned with her head for me to follow, and we went down an aisle, until we reached another cubicle. “Knock knock.” S
he tapped on the edge of the wall.
A woman, probably mid-forties, stopped working at her computer. She looked up and smiled. “Hi.”
“Hi.” I returned her smile and held up a nervous hand.
“Brie, this is Rory. Rory, Brie. She’ll be training you. You’ll learn a ton.” She turned back to Brie. “Don’t be mean.” She pointed a finger, as if to warn her.
It seemed like a joke, but it didn’t help my stomach not twist a little harder.
Brie laughed. “Me? Mean? Never.” She winked at Chandra.
Chandra turned to me. “Teasing. Brie’s the best. You’re in good hands.”
I smiled.
“Well, I’ll leave you to it. If you need anything, my extension’s on the phone. Just give me a shout.
“Okay. Thank you.”
“We’ll be fine.” Brie smiled at Chandra.
“All right then. Good luck, Rory.” She turned and disappeared into the sea of cubicles.
“Welcome to the company. Don’t be nervous, we’re like a family here, as dysfunctional as it may be sometimes.”
I let out a huge sigh of relief. The fear still coursed through my body, but I was ready to get started. At least, I thought I was.
* * *
Brie was right.
I immediately noticed just how close of a family they all were. I also couldn’t help but notice it was mostly women, especially in my department. It was nice, but the place was going to be a gossip haven. The last thing I needed was to be on anyone’s shitlist.
I hadn’t seen Hayes, once. And I still hadn’t met his brother.
Brie and a few co-workers invited me out for lunch. I’d considered hanging back, to see if I could find Hayes and thank him for the opportunity. But, I didn’t want to be rude and decline their invitation. I figured maybe I could casually bring up the brothers and see what I could find out.
I thought it was weird that I hadn’t seen them. My old boss was everywhere, constantly hovering, so much so that I had to tell him to leave. Getting some insight into how the bosses operated could only serve me well going forward.
I rode with Brie to meet the others at an old diner down the road. We all placed our orders, and I sat there, waiting for the right time to bring it up. I told myself it was to gain insight that could help me at the job, but if I was being honest, I was just curious about Hayes. The way he’d looked at me the day of my interview, walked me to the car—the man was intriguing.
A few minutes into lunch, my opportunity came. “Tell me about the Hawthornes.” I winced a little, hoping I wasn’t being too forward.
Brie looked up at me, along with the three other women. “What do you want to know?”
I shrugged. “I’ve been here a few days and haven’t seen either of them. Is that normal?”
“It can be. I know there are some things going on and they’re busier than usual. I always say if they aren’t around, I must be doing something right.”
All of them laughed and nodded in agreement.
I smiled. “I wanted to thank Hayes. But, I haven’t seen him since he called with the job offer.”
They all looked back and forth at one another.
Shit, what did I say?
One of the ladies, Noelle, leaned in toward me. “Hayes called you himself?” She arched an eyebrow.
My eyes darted between all of them. Shit. I didn’t want to make anyone mad, but they all looked at me like I’d just grown another head. I slowly nodded. “Yeah. Is that not what usually happens?”
They glanced around at each other, waiting for someone to answer.
Brie finally broke the silence. “It’s not a big deal. I think HR calls most people.” She shrugged. “Maybe you made a good impression.”
The way she said it didn’t sit well. I didn’t want them to think I was getting special privileges.
“Maybe HR was behind or something?” All I could think of was how he’d also walked me to my car. Definitely wasn’t going to tell that story. “So, what’s their story? The brothers?” I tried to change the subject.
Brie’s eyes darted around. “Well, they’re pretty much polar opposites.”
The others laughed in agreement.
“Hayes runs the business. He handles most of the operations, and pretty much runs the place. He can be awesome or your worst nightmare. So stay on his good side.”
I nodded.
“And then there’s Hunter. He’s, well, Hunter.”
Everyone laughed at that. When the food arrived, she stopped for the waitress to set the plates down before continuing. “He’s, umm, how would you put it?”
“Flirtatious?” Noelle didn’t look up from her plate, but she grinned when she said it.
Deb nodded. “There’s a rumor he’s slept with every woman in the ad department.”
My mouth dropped open, and they all grinned.
Deb looked over at me. “It’s just a rumor. I doubt it’s true. But yeah, he’s flirtatious. He’s not bad to look at either.”
I stared around at all of them nodding. “Okay then.”
I took a bite of my sandwich.
Deb glanced over. “He’s a decent guy, though. Very funny and not creepy like what you might think. Most of the women here love when he flirts.”
Brie laughed. “Don’t worry, Rory. Just highlighting that they’re very—different. You’ll see. They’re both—” Her words trailed off, as if she was searching for the right word.
Shana, who hadn’t said a word the entire time, didn’t even look up from her plate when she filled in the blank. “Fucking hot.”
My mouth dropped open again, and the table burst into laughter.
Deb could barely keep from choking on her water. “Shana doesn’t speak much, but when she does, it’s the truth.”
The group was silent after that, and my thoughts were all over the place. I wanted to make sure I got a chance to thank Hayes, but I found myself wondering about Hunter. What was he like? What did he look like?
The table started gossiping about someone named Rayna in another division and how they thought she was sleeping with Max from accounting. I zoned out, wondering if the reason I hadn’t seen them was because Hayes and Hunter were busy working on the expansion my old boss had talked about.
* * *
A week after starting, I still hadn’t seen them, and I’d been on the lookout non-stop. Once afternoon rolled around, I decided I’d go by his office before I left. Brie needed to go drop off a file in the ad department, so it was a perfect opportunity.
“Sit tight and I’ll be back. I have to run this downstairs.” Brie stood up.
“Here, let me do it for you.”
She shook her head. “That’s all right. It’ll only take a minute.”
“I know. I’m just still trying to figure out where everything is. This would be great, actually having something to do, so I don’t look like a weirdo walking around the building and staring at everything.”
“Oh, okay.” She smiled. “Take this USB drive to the ad department and give it to Frank.”
“Okay. Be right back.”
She nodded and went back to work.
I hopped on the elevator and rode it to the first floor. When I stepped out, my first thought was that I was already lost. However, I spotted a sign that pointed to the ad division. I weaved my way through the first floor and finally reached a set of double doors marked Advertising Team. I opened them up and walked inside.
Hmm, where the hell is Frank?
I walked around, looking at the names on the cubicles, but I was lost. I finally spotted someone heading my way.
“Can I help you?” the lady asked.
“Looking for Frank.” I held up the USB drive. “Need to drop this off to him.”
“Follow me.” She smiled, then led me around the office and motioned to a cubicle that was buried in the back. I would have never found it.
“Thanks.”
“No problem.”
I walked over
and tapped lightly on the door.
He looked up and his brows knit together. He was an older guy, probably in his seventies. “Can I help you?”
I walked over to his desk. “Brie asked me to bring this to you.” I handed him the USB and stepped back.
“Oh yeah, thanks. And you are?”
“Rory. I just started here.”
“Nice to meet you, Rory. Thanks. Tell Brie I’ll get the design on my next spread.”
“Will do.” I smiled and headed out of his office. I went back the same way I’d come, remembering the turns, until I got out the door. I stood there for a moment, still wondering how to get back to the hallway near Hayes’s office.
I had to think back to the day of my interview. I went through a maze of hallways and spotted the front door and the receptionist desk. I knew where to go from there.
I walked past the desk and headed over to the hallway of executive offices. There were two doors, and I couldn’t remember which one was which.
I looked at them, wishing they were marked with a name or something. I took a deep breath, and knocked on the one I thought it was.
“Come in.”
I opened it and his back was to me.
The minute I saw him, I knew I’d chosen the wrong door.
He slowly turned around, and his eyes widened.
Rory
Well, well—”
Everything clicked into place all at once.
The huge house, cars—I stared at the name plate on his desk. Hunter Hawthorne.
Shit!
He stood from his desk and walked around, then leaned against a filing cabinet. “Isn’t this a pleasant surprise.”
My face had to be ten different shades of pink. I couldn’t do anything but stand there, hands on my hips, and shake my head. “I can’t believe you’re Hunter Hawthorne.”
He walked toward me, and stopped a few feet away. His eyes narrowed. “What are you doing here?”
“Umm, I work here now. Your brother hired me.”
“Did he now?” He laughed. “Hmm.” His eyes got that mischievous look about them.
