I’m ninety percent sure that Marcus and Bethany will be joining but I’ll wait until after we chat to make sure they are right for the team.
A message alert flickers on the bottom of my screen. I roll my eyes. Please tell me, it’s not Trent again. I click on the box. It’s not Trent.
Do you have new people on your team or do we need to have a meeting with Elaine?
My stomach clenches tight and for once I don’t have the feeling of nausea. I respond to Javier.
About to interview two candidates. I think I’ve found the perfect ones. Will update you at noon.
Good to hear. Let’s discuss over lunch.
Sounds great.
I let out a deep sigh that is interrupted by a tap on my door. On the other side is Bethany.
“Hey, Bethany, nice to officially meet you.” We shake hands and both sit down.
“So, I need to hire a few more people for my team and I think you show signs of real potential. Can you tell me what one of your strongest characteristics is?”
Bethany runs a hand through her light blonde hair and nods. “Yes, wow, um I’d love to join your team. I would say my strongest attribute is my customer retention rate.” The sides of her mouth pull up and she glances at the ground for a mere second. “It’s ninety-nine percent, by the way.”
I raise an eyebrow and scan the paper in front of me with her numbers. “True indeed. Well, that is very impressive.” I nod. “Tell me where you see yourself in five years?” I hate to ask these standard interview questions but I have to ask something.
“I’m in this office, in your role and you are above me managing managers.” The glimmer in her eyes couldn’t be more pure and true. I can’t help but agree with her five-year approach.
“Nice, I like your five-year goal. Thanks for meeting with me.” We shake hands and she stands up to leave. “By the way, I’ll be sending you a meeting request, to discuss our team’s goals for this week.”
Her eyes light up. “Thank you, I look forward to receiving it.” Bethany closes the door behind her and I check the clock. I’ve got thirty minutes before my meeting with Marcus. My Starbucks coffee buzz is wearing off and I’m in need of another caffeine fix. I am in a better state here at the office. I don’t seem so frail and like I’m going to be sick. What was that all about? Am I just having anxiety issues about Jack? What does that mean? Should I be concerned? I shake my head and exit my office. I need some coffee. I’m making progress and coffee will only accelerate my speed. I’ve got to get on track and get to where I was before the Fourth of July when I had my team intact. Maybe this change of staff is a good thing. Maybe, after our meeting, things will be better than they had been before. I roll my eyes. I can only hope for such good luck. I shake my head. No. It’s not good luck. Hard work is what makes things happen.
I pick up the coffee pot and pour some into my mug. My cup is a recent present from my mom. She is always giving me various coffee mugs and other paraphernalia. This one says: “I’m about to say I Do” and has a picture of a bride who is trying to check out at a grocery store or something. I’m not sure what the point of this mug is other than my mom wants me to focus on planning my wedding and by using this cup at work perhaps I will be more inclined to do so?
I exit the break room and barely miss spilling my coffee over my blouse.
“Whoa, Lauren, are you okay?” Trent grabs my elbows and if it weren’t for my hot coffee, I would totally jerk my entire body away. But as it stands I can’t.
“Yes, I’m fine. Excuse me.” I cast my eyes on his hands to let him know to release me from his grip.
“Lauren, could we get lunch today? I’d like to talk about something. Maybe we could team up and be successful together.” His dark eyes warm over. They are filled with arrogance and a bit of sincerity. Yet, he is not to be trusted.
“I can’t. Excuse me.” I jut out my chin and motion for him to release me.
Trent takes a step back but his eyes don’t change. I move past him and down the hall. I internally kick myself for not nipping this situation in the bud long ago. But now things have gone on to a point where I feel as if I am partially to blame for not reporting it sooner. I don’t want to sound like I’m a part of the idea of victim-blaming and being okay with it. But maybe if I had reported something with the initial red flag? I shake my head. No. There wasn’t enough to report and now it’s still such a gray area. It makes me uncomfortable but…would anything actually be done if I were to report anything? And now, given my team’s ranking, would they even care knowing that Trent’s team is super successful? This isn’t my first rodeo. I know where most corporations fall in regards to which concerns to consider and which ones to swipe under the carpet, and right now I’m a crumb at Calstone Corp. I’ve got to pull up my team’s rankings in order to be of higher importance for several reasons.
I make it back to my office and take a sip of my coffee. Mmm… My IM pops up and it’s a message from Marcus.
Is it okay to drop by now?
Yes, please. I respond.
I sift through the résumés, find his, and download his most recent numbers to prepare myself for our meeting. He will arrive at any minute. I take another sip of the coffee—I really do need the caffeine. But I don’t want coffee breath during my interview with Marcus. I dive into my purse on the hunt for a spare mint. My fingers run over the metal of my vibrating phone. It’s Jack.
I can’t talk to him now. I don’t want to be in the middle of a conversation with him when Marcus arrives. I send his call to voicemail. A text pops up.
Really?
I can’t help but laugh. I text back. About to have a meeting, I’ll call back soon. Xs
I’ll take those Xs in person…thanks.
My cheeks warm. A piece of something white wrapped in plastic catches my eye. The mint is a bit crusty but it will have to do. I pop the mint in my mouth as a knock sounds on my door. I hop up and open it to find Trent. I can’t roll my eyes any farther back into my head. Why is he here?
“Hey, I wanted to see if you needed any help finding new candidates? I ran the numbers of several different employees prior to making my own team and—”
“Thanks, Trent, I think I’ve found my two.”
Marcus approaches us from the corridor and I can’t help but grin widely at the perfect timing. I like him already.
“Hi, Lauren, are you still available?” He eyes me and then Trent. The two men are about equal stature—Trent resembling Henry Cavill (unfortunately) and Marcus a version of Tom Hardy… I sigh. Not that I’m interested at all…but I can appreciate the idea of attractiveness in people. I swallow.
“Yes, thanks for coming so quickly, Marcus. If you’ll excuse us, Trent.” I barely let my eyes meet his before retreating to my desk. I assume that Marcus will follow without hesitation. What I don’t assume is that Trent will enter my office as well.
“Do you want
