His father gave my father his start in real estate.” Normally, she might not have revealed that. But it was better to clarify up front that she and Eric had never dated or otherwise had any romantic entanglements. In an office of this size, gossip could make her life a living hell. “Our parents still send Christmas cards to each other.”
Steve looked amused by this. Meryl said to her husband, “There. Now you don’t have to pry anymore. We’re planning a trip to St. Louis next month,” she went on, turning back to Sofia without pausing for breath. “They recently lost their football team and there’s a section of the downtown that’s depressed. We wouldn’t expect you to be involved in negotiations, but planning trips like this would be your responsibility. So far, Heather and I have been handling this together, but I think it would be a good idea for you to join us. That way, in the future, you’ll know how Mr. Jenner likes things done. You do have a background in real estate, correct?”
“I’ve been in real estate since I was fourteen. However, this is a different level,” she admitted. Okay, she could handle a business trip with Eric. No problem.
“That’s why the St. Louis trip will be good,” Meryl said decisively. She definitely talked like a negotiator. “You get a chance to see what Mr. Jenner is trying to accomplish when he branches out into smaller markets and how you can help make that happen. Understanding the business is key to understanding how the office works.”
Sofia glanced at Steve. For the project manager, he wasn’t doing a lot of talking. He looked like he wanted to ask her something else that was probably personal, but Meryl plowed ahead. “I’ll email you the current itinerary. We look forward to working with you, but no one expects you to manage Steve. That’s my job,” she added with a wink.
Steve protested loudly, although Sofia could tell it was all for show. Meryl waved Sofia away—but as she shut the door behind her, they were both laughing.
Sofia stood for a moment on the other side of the door, trying to get her bearings. She’d expected the interview to last an hour, if that—but she’d been here for almost four hours. Mom would worry, although the situation wouldn’t get desperate until the twins got up from their naps. They had just come through a protracted period of clinginess and it was still touch and go when Addy and Eddy were waking up.
Eric’s office was to the right of Steve and Meryl’s. His door was closed. There was a window to the left. It didn’t have a sweeping view of Lake Michigan, but it was no hardship to look at the Chicago skyline.
She stepped into a warm shaft of afternoon sunlight and checked her messages. Mom had texted a photo of the twins destroying their lunch. Sofia’s heart clenched as she looked at her babies. When she and David had discovered they were having twins, she’d planned to take time off after their birth. She’d even entertained the notion of a maternity leave that lasted several years. But the life insurance policy had run out and honestly, as overwhelming as today had been, it’d been nice to have a conversation without someone screaming.
She replied to the text message with what time she thought she’d be home and then paused to look at the office.
It was spotless and gleaming. Eric’s executive suite had been practically a temple to wealth and privilege, but even the carpet in the general areas was thick and plush. The office equipment she’d glanced at was state-of-the-art, and he provided snacks and beverages to everyone, not just coffee. Eric didn’t cheap out on providing for his employees.
This office—this job—represented so much for her. There was more to her than life as a widow and mother of two babies.
Eric Jenner was giving her the opportunity to be more.
She worked her way around the front of the office, where trendy Heather was still behind the receptionist desk. “Um, hello. Mr. Jenner told me to—”
She cut Sofia off without even looking up. “One moment.” Sofia swallowed. After a minute that felt painfully long, Heather finished whatever she was doing and stood, straightening her jacket. She had shimmering golden hair that fell halfway down her back. She was so young and effortlessly beautiful that Sofia couldn’t help but feel old and fat by comparison.
“The supply closet is this way.” Heather led Sofia back to a closet tucked behind the emergency stairwell. When they were inside with the door mostly shut behind them Heather turned to her. She cast a critical eye at Sofia’s outfit again. “I don’t know if anyone has said this to you yet,” she began and Sofia braced herself. Here it comes, she thought. Heather went on, “But we’re really glad you’re here.”
Sofia’s mouth dropped open in shock. “I’m sorry?” Of all the things she’d expected Heather to say, an expression of welcome hadn’t made the list. “You are?”
“Oh my gosh, yes. Stacy—the previous office manager? She got married and had a baby and decided she wanted to be a stay-at-home mom. Mr. Jenner offered me the job? But I’m almost done with my MBA and he’s already promised me a job in the contracts department. I’ve been doing this job and the receptionist job and training for the contracts department while finishing up my schooling and it’s exhausting. I’m beyond thrilled to hand the reins over to you,” she said and her smile seemed surprisingly genuine.
Sofia realized she had misjudged the young woman. Just because she was pretty and fashionable didn’t mean Heather was catty or vain. “Do you like working for him?” Because Sofia had not forgotten those cheeky winks. “I mean, what kind of boss is he?”
“The best boss? I mean, really. The company is paying for my MBA. They already put my fiancée on the benefits package and we’re not even married yet?” She had this habit of ending her statements on an up note, as if she were asking a question. “You’d think that a billionaire like him would be a total jerk, but he’s actually really down-to-earth. The benefits package alone is worth this job? Everything else is just icing on the cake.”
Fiancé. Sofia took a deep breath and smiled widely. “Congratulations on your engagement. What’s his name?”
Heather slanted her a sly smile. “Her name is Suzanne.”
Sofia felt her cheeks go bright red. “Oh, I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to assume. It’s just that...” Well, there had been those winks.
“Oh, no worries,” Heather said, waving away Sofia’s embarrassment. “It’s a known fact that Mr. Jenner flirts with everyone. He’s an equal opportunity flirt. But he keeps a hard line between flirting and hitting on someone.” She leaned forward, her voice quieting to a whisper. “We’re not supposed to talk about his former fiancée—and I don’t recommend bringing it up—but there was a young woman who’d just started in the agent department when Mr. Jenner got dumped. She made a move.”
It was wrong to gossip about Eric, both as an old friend and a new boss. That noble sentiment didn’t stop Sofia from asking, “And?”
“And not only did he rebuff her advances, she was gone a month later.”
“He fired her?”
“No, actually. That’s the weird thing.” Heather looked just as confused as Sofia felt. “She got ‘a better offer’ from one of his business rivals. The rumor is Mr. Jenner engineered it. I overheard him tell the Nortons that Wyatt got what he deserved out of the deal.”
Wyatt—hadn’t there been a kid named Robert Wyatt back when they were kids? If she was thinking of the same boy, then that was the kid who’d cornered her one time while
