Back at my desk, I get to work on Jack’s next set of spreadsheets. It’s not too hard to do using Savannah’s template. I make a few minor tweaks using functions that will help add things together easier. I’m so glad I took a course in excel during college. I knew it would come in handy in future jobs. I never used it at my last company, but I have a feeling I’ll be using it a lot at Snax.
I’m elbow deep in entering values when Cameron stalks over to my desk. “Is Jack here?”
I don’t have a chance to answer before he barges into Jack’s office.
“What the hell, Cam? Don’t you knock?”
“Stop reading my emails,” Cameron says. “I know it was you. I have a firewall up that tracks who tries to get into my server. Your IP address came up.”
Jack holds up his hands. “I don’t know what you’re talking about. I’ve just been working on my proposal for Dad this whole time. Ask Melody, she can vouch for me.”
“It’s true, he has. There’s no way he was hacking into your email. I think you’re paranoid because you know you don’t stand a chance in this competition.”
Cameron shoots me a dirty look. “You’ve been out here. How can you say for sure he hasn’t hacked my email?”
“Because I know he wouldn’t do that.”
Cameron pales. “Whatever. Jack, stay out of my email.”
He stomps back to his office, leaving Jack and me with dumbfounded looks on our face.
“I’m really sorry for Cam’s behavior,” Jack says from behind me. I turn in my chair so I can see him. “He’s not usually like this. I think he’s under a lot of stress. Maybe it would be for the best if he lost. Then he could leave and get some rest. I doubt he sleeps much these days.”
My heart aches for Cameron. Now I hope even more that Jack wins. I don’t think Cameron would ever step down on his own, based on his competitive behavior, but it would be good for him to have a reason to leave.
Jack goes back to his work, and I finish up a spreadsheet. Just as I’m hitting save, Cameron’s assistant approaches, holding her lunch. “Hey, I’m going down to the cafeteria. Want to come with me?”
I glance towards Cameron’s office, but the door is shut. It must just be the two of us. I can handle that. I actually like Emma.
“Sure. Let me grab my lunch.”
I found out from Emma yesterday that there’s a fridge up here, behind Cameron’s office. There’s also a small kitchen and eating area, but I’d rather be downstairs. It’s fun to meet the other people working in this office. I know I’ve only been here two days, but I can already tell I’m going to get lonely up here. I was an assistant to the CEO at my last job, but the company was a lot smaller and my desk was wedged between marketing and sales. It was a tight squeeze, but at least I had people to talk to during down time.
Emma and I take the stairs down to the third floor and quickly find a table where we can eat.
“So,” Emma says, taking a bite of her sandwich. “How are you liking Snax so far?”
I can’t help the grin that forms on my face. “I really love it here. Most people have been kind, and I’ve already learned so much about the company.”
“I’m so glad! I’m coming up on my two years, but I’m sad I have to leave. Cameron is going to give me a good recommendation and I’ll probably be able to get a job in marketing, but still. I love it here. I’d gladly stay on as his assistant.”
There’s a clause in the assistant contract that says no one can stay longer than two years. I asked about it when I was hired, and Jack explained that they don’t want anyone to get trapped in the role. Assistants aren’t supposed to stick around forever. The position is meant to be a gateway to another department or another role. I think that makes a lot of sense. I was an assistant for three years too long at my last company.
“I don’t know how you handle Cameron,” I say. “He’s terrible. You really want to work with him?”
Emma laughs. “You two got off to a bad start. He’s really not that bad, I swear.”
“Jack says he’s under a lot of stress.”
“Jack says a lot of things,” Emma says. “I suppose it’s true. We have a busy quarter coming up. But Cameron is a great guy. I wouldn’t want to work for anyone else here, honestly.”
I nod, but I don’t believe her. It’s been almost two years, so Emma is probably just blind to Cameron’s terrible behaviors. I feel bad for her. I’m glad she’ll be leaving soon and won’t have to put up with him much longer.
Emma and I continue to chat over our lunches, but we steer clear of our bosses. That’s probably for the best. Emma has something against Jack, probably because she works for Cameron. I don’t want to get involved in that drama.
“Thanks for having lunch with me,” I say as we take the stairs back up. Since we both sit all day, we figured the exercise would be good for us. “It gets lonely up here.”
“Tell me about it,” Emma says. “If you ever want company, come sit with me. We can chat while we work. Bring over your laptop and work there, if you want.”
“I might just do that,” I say. We head to our separate desks and jump back into our work. It may be lonely and quiet up here, but I’m glad I have Emma to talk to if I need a friend.
If only she didn’t come attached to someone as terrible as Cameron.
6
Cameron
Emma walks into my office without knocking first. This is a habit she developed over the last year. So far gone is the shy girl who first started as my assistant almost two years ago. Some days, I’m glad for her bigger personality. Others, I wish she would knock.
“Boss, you really screwed it up with the new girl,” she says, plopping down in her seat. I call it her seat because I don’t get a lot of meetings up here, so it’s basically only Emma who ever sits there. “She hates your guts.”
I cover my face with my hands. “I keep thinking I should apologize but every time I try, I end up putting my foot in my mouth again.”
Emma laughs. “You’re a mess. I haven’t seen you like this in a long time. You must really like her.”
“I already told you, I barely know her.”
“You could like her, though.”
I nod. Melody really is exactly my type. I could see myself falling for her.
I try to tell myself it’s just been a while. I haven’t had a steady girlfriend in… a long time. Even hookups have been few and far between these days. Being the CEO at thirty doesn’t leave for much time for dating. Emma keeps saying I need to make time for my personal life, but what’s the point? If I don’t keep my head in the game, Jack will take everything, especially now that we’re competing for the sole-CEO position.
“I don’t want to talk about Melody anymore,” I say. “Can we talk about this competition?”
“Competition?” Emma asks. She was in the bathroom when I came back from the meeting with Dad, so I haven’t had a chance to tell her. “What are you talking about?”
“Dad decided he doesn’t want two CEO’s anymore. Jack and I have to submit proposals every week for ways to improve the company. The new sole-CEO will be in place on November first.”
Emma’s jaw drops. “You can’t be serious!”
“As a heart attack,” I say. “It’s just another game for Dad. You know how much he likes games.”
She nods. “Yeah, but I didn’t think he’d play around with his company like this.”
I shrug. “Honestly, I’m more shocked he went this long.”
“Well, what are we going to do? You and I both know Jack can’t run Snax on his own.”
“Jack has never even tried to make a difference here. I have sent a ton of proposals to the board. I don’t think he stands a chance. Honestly, I think my dad knows that. It seems like this competition is rigged in my favor.”
“Seriously? Your dad doesn’t seem like the type to rig a competition.”
She has a point. Dad loves pinning people against each other. But I can’t help bu
t remember the proud look on his face before Jack convinced the board to vote ‘no’ on my solar panel proposal. He seemed genuinely disappointed when my proposal was shut down. Maybe this is my dad’s way of ensuring I get to make the changes I want to make without worrying about Jack.
“I don’t know. Either way, I need to get to work. I have a few things that the board hasn’t seen, but I need something major for the fourth proposal.”
“Well, we’ve got a month to figure that out. Let’s start with the first one. What do you have in mind?”
I pull a bound stack of papers from my bottom drawer. I keep hard copies of all my proposals. Jack has a habit of getting into my emails, and I don’t want him stealing my ideas. He’s done it before, and I wouldn’t put it past him to try it again.
The only one of my ideas that ever went through the board was one that Jack stole. I couldn’t say anything, because I didn’t have proof. I’ve gotten a lot smarter since then. Keeping everything dated and printed, as well as on a backup hard drive, means that I can show the board hard evidence that Jack stole my plans.
It really sucks because the plan that Jack stole was to remove single-use plastic from our packaging. We had been using non-recyclable plastics to wrap the boxes before we sent them out. Now, we use 100% recyclable or recycled wraps. I was so happy that my plan went through that I didn’t necessarily want to tell the board Jack stole it. That might have delayed progress, and I didn’t want that.
“This is really good, Cameron,” Emma says as she studies the proposal. “Why haven’t you brought this to the board yet?”
“I only just got the quote from the local company,” I explain. “I was going to do it next week, but now I’m going to just give it to my dad, instead.”
She nods. “I don’t think you need to do any more work to this.”
“No graphics?”
“Oh, actually, that might be good. Can you make like charts or something? Some color would break up the text and make it easier to read.”
“I already have a couple charts made up that I just need to add into the file,” I say. “You really think it’s good otherwise?”
“I really do. There’s no way you’ll lose with this.”
I sigh, feeling relieved. Emma has never been one to pull a punch. If she thinks the proposal is good, then it’s good.
“Can you help me make it stand out? Between the fall and winter campaigns, I don’t know if I have time…”
She rolls her eyes. “That’s kind of my job, boss. I’ll make it pretty for you.”
This is why I wanted an assistant with a background in marketing and design. Emma has been an asset to me and my team. I’m going to miss her when her two years is up, but I have something in the works that I haven’t been able to tell her about. One of the members of our marketing team, a key designer, is leaving in a few months to pursue a different opportunity overseas. Severine is from France and has been dying to return, so when a job popped up doing design at a French company, she jumped on it. I’m sad to see her go, but it’ll open up a position on the marketing team. One that I think Emma will be perfect for.
“Let me go over this one more time, and then you can have your way with it,” I say, taking the proposal from the desk.
“You got it, boss. I have some other stuff to work on, anyway. Just drop it on my desk when you’re ready.”
Emma leaves me alone with my proposal. Since the company began, all production of the actual snacks has been done in the US. However, the packaging is outsourced to China. It’s cost effective to do the printing overseas. That has never sat right with me, though. If Snax is located in the US and we produce our food in the US, why not print our packaging and promotional materials here, too?
My proposal is to move all of our production to the United States. At first, it focused entirely on the company’s image, because the cost was going to increase if we used a printer here. That was until I got quotes from a few different companies. There’s one right here in Boston who is willing to match the price we were paying in China if we agree to an exclusive deal with them. That would mean that every single thing we need printed, from packaging to posters to billboards, would need to go through this company. We’ve sourced through multiple printers in the past, so this will be a change, but I think it’ll be a good one.
Not only will it be cost effective since the company is matching our old deal, but it’ll be more convenient for my team. They won’t have to worry about sending graphics to a million different places. Everything will go to one company, and it’s located just a few miles away in the heart of Boston.
I can’t wait to share the proposal with my dad. There’s no way Jack can get in the way of this. After my dad sees it, I’m sure he’ll be the one to take it to the board. Jack wouldn’t dare counter our father, and the board agrees with everything he says.
I head out of my office and drop the proposal on Emma’s desk. She looks up from her phone call and smiles at me. “Thanks, boss. I’ll make it nice and colorful for you.”
“Thanks, Emma.”
I turn to go back to my office when I spot Melody over by the coffee maker. Now is as good a time as any to attempt an apology. Another apology.
“Hey,” I say. Melody jumps, startled. “Sorry. I just wanted to apologize for the way I acted earlier. And yesterday. I’m not usually so…”
“Angry?” Melody suggests. I nod. “It’s fine. I’m not the one you should be apologizing to, anyway. You were awful to your brother. I don’t know how you could accuse him of looking at your emails. Jack would never do that.”
The statement takes me off guard. “You barely know him.”
“I’ve read his proposals,” she says. “He’s smart on his own. He doesn’t need you. It’s probably your fault he didn’t get the solar panels he wanted.”
“Solar panels?”
Melody rolls her eyes. “I appreciate the apology, Cameron. But I need to get back to work.”
She leaves me there completely dumbfounded. What did she say about solar panels? Did Jack really try to take credit for my work with his assistant?
I blow out a breath. I can’t deal with this right now. If Jack wants to let Melody believe he was the one who came up with the solar panel idea, then whatever, he can do that. What matters now is that going forward, I get credit for my work, and that credit gets me the position of sole-CEO.
Back at my desk, I slip Emma a note.
“Guard that proposal with your life,” it says. “Jack is up to something.”
She nods after reading it and throws the proposal into a drawer that locks. Jack won’t be getting his hands on it.
I meant what I said to Jack after the meeting. It’s on, and I don’t plan on losing.
7
Melody
The competition for CEO officially starts tomorrow, and I honestly can’t wait until the end of October when it’s finally over. Things have been really tense between Jack and Cameron this week. Emma says it isn’t usually like this. Apparently, the brothers get along every once in a while. Competition brings out the worst in them.
It was nice of Cameron to attempt an apology yesterday. I might have been a bit too harsh on him. He was right when he said I don’t know Jack enough to be so confidence in his motives. That being said, I still don’t think Jack would stoop so low as to hack Cameron’s email. I mean, he has plenty of ideas of his own. He doesn’t need to take Cameron’s.
“Hey, Melody,” Jack calls from his office. Most of the time, he leaves his door open so we can communicate easily. The only times it’s closed are when he has a visitor or is on a phone call. I wish he would let me sit in on some of those meetings, but he said they’re usually private. Maybe after I’ve been here a few months and earned his trust, he’ll let me listen in.
“Yeah?”
“Can you run down to accounting? Damien has a report for me. It’s going to be a mess, so can you organize it before you send it my way?”
“Of co
urse,” I say, getting up from behind my desk. I take the stairs down to the accounting floor. Damien is waiting for me at his desk, holding a stack of papers.
“I dropped them,” Damien says with a shrug. “They’re out of order, but you should be able to figure it out.”
I struggle not to roll my eyes. In the four days I’ve been on the job, this is the third time Damien has given me a mess of a stack of papers and expected me to fix it. How is this guy in accounting if he can’t stay organized?
“No worries,” I say through gritted teeth, keeping my voice quiet so as not to bother the workers. “I’ll get it cleaned up. Thank you, Damien.”
He salutes and heads back to his desk. I climb up one flight of stairs and stop on the landing to silently scream.
This job is more than I expected. I still love it, especially getting to learn about Snax, but it’s nearly impossible to keep up with everything Jack wants me to do. How is Emma always so happy? I suppose Cameron doesn’t have as much for her to take care of, since he only handles marketing and design. Jack is in charge of the numbers for the entire company. It’s no wonder he’s always stressed out.
Back at my desk, it takes me a full two hours to comb through the data Damien gave me and get it into something resembling a coherent spreadsheet. I email it off to Jack just in time for lunch.
Emma and I have been spending a lot of time together. Despite her awful boss, she’s actually pretty cool. We don’t talk about Cameron or Jack when we’re eating or working at each other’s desks. It’s nice to have a friend at work. I had some at my last place, but after everything…
I shake my head. No need to go down memory lane right now. I walk over to Emma’s desk and find her nose deep in ad sketches.
“Hey, want to grab lunch?” I ask.
She startles and looks up at me. “Is it lunchtime already? Goodness. I’ve been going over these ad campaigns for typos all morning. I’ve found three. Considering there are hundreds, that’s not too bad.”
Cocky S.O.B. Page 4
