my hair over my shoulder. I wish I could toss him off a bridge. Ha! Not really hurt him but just kind of kick him off my island or something. I exit my office and head towards Trent’s cubicle. Which is empty, of course. The desk is barren of any personal items and the computer is missing. I tap the laminate with my finger. Great.
“Trent has an office now. You know, since he has the same position as you.” Leena is peeking her shiny auburn hair over her cubicle wall and staring at me with her red lips pulled up higher than would seem possible. I get it—she’s happy.
“Right.” I nod and exit the cubicle area. Trent is standing in the doorway next to my office watching me. His eyes darken as I get closer.
“Hi, Trent, congratulations.” I do my best to smile. Even though every centimeter of my lips is protesting.
“Thanks, Lauren, it came as such a surprise.” His eyes twinkle with such cynicism I can hardly stop myself from rolling my own eyes. A surprise.
“So I’ve heard. Hey listen, since you are no longer on my team—”
“And Hallie’s gone too now.” Trent makes a hissing sound with his teeth.
“Yes, anyways, I need the candidate list. Are you finished with it?” I press my lips together.
“Sure, come on into my office.” He opens the door for me and makes his way around to his desk and sits down.
I’m not going to sit down. I just need the list and I’m out of this toxic room.
“Hey, have a seat. Tell me about your vacation. Did you finally choose a wedding date? Or did you decide to call things off?” He cocks his head to the right.
I sigh. “Trent, do you have the list?” I tap my foot against the floor.
“Yes, but what’s the rush? Come on, sit down, talk to me. We’re both managers now. You don’t have to worry about not being on the same level anymore.” He stands up and closes his office door.
Trent’s hand is on the small of my back as if he is trying to guide me to the chair. I take a step towards his desk.
“Trent, I don’t have time to talk. Please just give me the list.”
“All right, let me see if I can find it.” He opens up his desk drawers and begins sifting through papers. “So, I’m taking by your demeanor that you and Jack broke up?”
I roll my eyes. “No, we did not break up. Seriously, Trent, you have to stop this.”
“Stop what? I’m just a concerned co-worker—is there a problem with that?” He raises an eyebrow at me.
“Do you have the list?” I’m about to leave and just go up and down the cubicles and see if I can spot new people on my own. Our floor is not that big—maybe fifty or more rows. I should be able to run the whole floor before noon.
“Yes, Lauren. You seem really on edge. You’re not worried about competing against me, are you?” He winks at me.
“Oh come on, Trent. I’m not worried about you being a new manager or competing against you. My love life is great. The only thing I need from you is the list. Now do you have it or not?” I glare at him.
His mouth turns into a full-on smirk. “Well just between you and me, I plan on taking over Javier’s position next. But don’t worry, I’ll make sure I keep you on the payroll when I hire on the next group of managers. I’ll be bringing in some of my old co-workers from Masters and Schmitt.” He hands me a stack of papers that have been sitting on his desk the entire time.
I shake my head. “I’m not worried and if you think you can take Javier’s position, then you must really have your head in the clouds.” I grab on to the doorknob.
“Really, Lauren? I got in this position, didn’t I?” His hand is on mine. “You might want to change how you think and talk to me. I would if I were you. Pretty soon, I’ll be your boss.”
I jerk my hand off the knob and march out into the hallway. There is no way Trent could ever be my boss. He hasn’t worked here that long. My chest is so tight it’s like it is going to explode. I close the door to my office and lean my head against the laminated wood. This is not good. I’ve got to hire two new people for my team and figure out a way to let Javier know about Trent’s plan without sounding like a paranoid insecure wreck. I need to grab some coffee and tackle this—and not the kind from our break room. This requires Starbucks. I head down the corridor to the elevator.
The elevator is shiny and bright full of promises for a ride to success and yet I can only imagine the opposite of that. I haven’t felt this down about Calstone since I began working here several years ago and now I’m a manager and my aspirations are plummeting. So much has changed since that day. I’ve got to change my attitude and really get things righted on this track with my team… Can I even call it that? There are only three people on it now and I used to have five. I should be adding people, not having them leave in droves.
In my determination to get to the elevator, I barely miss running into Elaine.
“Whoa, what’s the rush?” She grabs on to my elbows.
“Sorry about that, I’ve got a lot on my mind.” I try to push past her but she doesn’t release me from her solid grip.
“Yeah…” She shakes her head. “How are you dealing with losing so many members? What’s your game plan?” Elaine’s eyes zoom in on my face as if she is truly concerned.
“Well, I’ll be adding new ones…excuse me.” I eye her hands with a glare that is not exactly full of friendly vibes. I do not have time for this. I have got to get new team members lined up and quickly. I use as much force as I can without seeming physically aggressive and push past Elaine. I’m sure she is saying “I told you so” in her head. After all, back in January she had an entirely different idea about who should be on my team and why. But that was seven months ago and no matter what it is still my team. I’ve just got to increase the head count. No big deal.
Later I slide into my office chair, complete with much-needed coffee, and power up my computer. As soon as my screen illuminates I see that I’ve got an IM from Trent.
Hey there, I hope there are no hard feelings between the two of us.
My eyes cannot roll back in my head far enough. The nerve of this guy. Hard feelings. There are no feelings…except regret for ever hiring him. He has been trouble since day one. I should have realized it. But as the saying goes…hindsight is twenty-twenty and in this case twenty-zero. As in adding him to my team brought me zero benefits. Argh.
I minimize my IM. I’m going to let that sit and pretend that I didn’t see it. I really don’t care. My number one concern is adding more people to my team and getting our total numbers up. I cannot be on Javier’s no bueno list, as he calls it. There is no need to have taken Spanish in college to get the gist of what that means.
I scan over the résumé list again. Slim pickings…but I’m going to have to work with the hand I’ve been dealt. I can do this. I can find a good group. I’m confident. A name sticks out at me, Marcus Scalia. I nod. I remember hearing good things about him. I send him an IM and flip through the stack once more. Bethany Carlson. Yes, she will be the perfect candidate
