by Parker, Ali
I didn’t want to cut it out. I wanted to have it out, but my dad was right. We had business to attend to and didn’t have time for immature pissing contests. Even though Danny would always try and get into one. “Let’s get started with the briefing.”
My dad nodded and breathed out a relieved sigh. “First things first, Danny and I have been talking about these promotions he suggested when we talked in Florida. We are going to go ahead with them. It’s that time of year when everyone is getting tired and we need to motivate some of our employees.”
Fucking Danny. He might have convinced dad that the promotions could be used as an incentive, and they could have, had he not been using them to push his own agenda.
I had no problem with an internal campaign incentivizing people to work harder by promising to promote them. In fact, there were a lot of our employees that deserved promotions. Aston, for instance, jumped to mind at the very top of the list.
However, there was only one spot as the Group General Manager, and I had no doubt Danny had promised it to Dustin.
Whatever. Let the campaign launch, I wasn’t going to let anyone be promoted into a management position at the executive level if they didn’t deserve it. I would deal with my brother later.
“That’s a great idea, Dad. I’m sure they’ll all be very excited. We have some excellent people within the group who deserve a shot at a position like this.” We would be launching the campaign in respect to more than one position, sure. But the only one at executive level would be that of the Group General Manager, which meant that would likely be the only one we would end up fighting about.
“Some deserve a position like this more than others.” Danny spat my way, his eyes shooting daggers at me through the camera.
Two could play that game. “Yes, some do. I can think of at least five of our branch managers who would be terrific at a higher level.”
Dad looked pleasantly surprised that I wasn’t arguing with Danny. “Wonderful news. Get their names to me as soon as possible. I’ll want to make sure that they all apply. I’m excited for this campaign, I think it’s about time we started hyping people up internally.”
“I agree.” I said. Danny’s eyes were narrowed to slits by now, it was clear the conversation wasn’t going quite the way he wanted it to. Danny being Danny, he quickly rectified that. “We’ll be having a press conference later this afternoon to announce our new strategies. This round of promotions and the opening at the executive level will be one of the announcements I will make. If you get any press calls, redirect them to me. I’ll deal with the media.”
“Of course.” I wanted to roll my eyes so badly it almost hurt. Danny always dealt with the press, he knew exactly how I felt about them. There was a reason why I’d gone through all the effort to carefully conceal my identity. I was perfectly happy with him being the face of the company and the McAllen group as a whole.
“Have fun with your press buddies. I’ll be sure to send them to you if by some miracle one decides to phone me.” It would be my pleasure not to have to deal with the press fallout after the announcement is made. I wouldn’t have thought that companies like ours making announcements like these would cause such a splash, but somehow they always did.
“After the announcement is made, there is likely to be a barrage of questions from our employees.” Dad said, getting the conversation back on track. “I’ve asked human resources to designate someone who will answer on our behalf. Be careful not to provide any direct answers to staff members. We want the process fair and I don’t want anyone saying one of us made them false promises afterward.”
I snorted while trying to hold back a laugh. I loved how Dad could just work these things in sometimes. He never made it sound like he was berating or targeting one of us, yet both of us always knew which of us he was talking to.
Danny opened his mouth to protest, but Dad deftly cut it off while pretending not even to notice that he had done so. “Any questions, Blake?”
“Yeah. One. What does any of this have to do with me? Danny is doing the announcements and human resources are managing the questions.” It wasn’t like my father to include things like this in the weekly briefing if they didn’t affect both of us.
Dad nodded, smiling like a professor who appreciated a question from a student. “Yes, we have everything handled on our end. But you have an excellent network of people on the ground level you can reach out to. I want you to help us gauge how the branches are reacting.”
Technically, this wasn’t part of my job description. But hey, it was our company and I often had to do things outside of my regular duties. “Fine, I’ll make a couple of calls and send through reports as I get them.”
“Fantastic. I want to know how people are responding to this.” My father liked having his ear on the ground. He was a respected CEO not only because of his business sense, but also for the way that he treated his employees.
His eyes slid to Danny’s screen on his computer. “Blake and I need to talk about a few more things, Dan. You’re excused. I’m sure you have a lot of preparation to do before the conference this afternoon. Keep me in the loop.”
“Fine, we’ll talk later. Bye Dad. Cheers Blake, try not to let the numbers get away from you.” The screen went black where his face used to be before I could retort.
Dad sighed. “He’s quite convinced you are wrong about his friend.”
“I know, but I’m not.” After my run-in with Danny in Florida, I’d gone over all the evidence again. I was still confident his friend was stealing from the business.
“I don’t doubt it, but let the investigation run its course. There is no need for you boys to keep arguing about it.” Dad had been mediating between us since we were young, but I didn’t need him to do it now. I vowed not to keep getting into this with my brother, because it was business not personal. We disagreed on enough issues, and sooner or later the investigative report would come back and prove I was right anyway.
Dad shuffled a few papers on his end and picked up a file labeled California. “How are things going over there?”
“Looking good. I’m in the process of compiling a complete report but this branch is in good shape generally.”
“Have you met our new manager there yet?” So Dad did remember about Aston.
I considered asking if he had met her or if he’d ever seen how beautiful she was, but I didn’t want to give him hope that I was taking his advice about looking for someone to share my life with. “Yeah, I did. I liked her. She’s really personable. A great find.”
He smiled, then lifted his glasses to rub his eyes.” Good. That’s good news. I just wanted to check on her.”
“Why are you checking on her? You don’t usually do that with new placements.”
“No, I don’t. She had very little management experience at a former employer, and none in her time with us. She came highly recommended though. I was just checking to make sure it was the right move to put her in that position.”
“She didn’t strike me as having little management experience. From what I’ve seen since I arrived, she is well liked and seems to be coping well.”
“I figured as much since we haven’t had many staff complaints about her, but it’s an important job and she’s still young. Younger than you, even.”
“Are you worried about it?”
“A little,” he admitted. “There are some people who thought they were better candidates for the job. I just wanted to be sure she was the right fit.”
“If you ask me, based on first impressions, of course, she is a great manager. But if you’re worried, I can keep an eye on things. I can try to get closer and see what I can find out.”
Dad flashed me a grin, suddenly no longer seeming worried. “Would you? That would be good. Set my mind at ease that I did the right thing.”
“I’ll get right on it.” Dad and I talked about the improvements I’d noticed so far that needed to be made to the California property and then he signed off
.
I worked for another couple of hours before realizing it was almost time for Danny’s conference. Remembering my promise to my father, I decided to go watch the announcement downstairs. It would allow me to gauge the reactions of the staff members watching first-hand, but would also give me an opportunity to get closer to Aston.
If she was smart, she would realize that the announcement was going to cause her to be inundated by applications for several of the promotions available in California. It would be interesting to see how she handled the news.
With that in mind, I grabbed my phone and wallet and headed down to the hotel lounge. There were only a couple other people in the lounge, but there were quite a few employees milling about. I overheard two women talking about the notification that went out company-wide earlier, informing the employees about the press conference.
Apparently, I’d made the right decision coming down to the lounge to watch the news conference, since some of the employees seemed to have the same idea. Aston walked in a couple of minutes after I did. A gorgeous, genuine smile spread on her lips when she spotted me. “Blake. How are you enjoying your stay with us?”
“It’s been pretty good. Room service is fast and I love the views.” I glanced down at my watch and realized that the press conference was about to start, but no one had switched on the TV yet. “Could you turn on Channel five, please?”
“Of course.” She strode over to the TV and complied with my request without asking any questions. Danny’s face filled the screen almost immediately. He was wearing his charismatic grin that the press usually ate up.
Immediately, I knew he was going to play this conference up. I better brace myself. He was definitely going to be dramatic about it. The article in The Times must’ve reminded him how much fun it was for him to be talked about publicly.
A hush fell over the lounge when the employees saw who was on screen. Well, well, well, let the games begin.
Chapter 8
Aston
Tiffany and I gathered in front of the TV. Blake came to stand next to us. A handsome man appeared on the screen and most of us in the lounge went quiet. Tiffany gasped. “Oh my God, that’s Danny McAllen, the big boss’s son.”
I frowned, wondering what could be so important that one of the McAllen’s themselves would be making the announcement. I didn’t follow society gossip much and I hadn’t met any of the family in person since I started working for the McAllen group. “Have you met him?”
Tiffany shook her head. “Can’t say that I wouldn’t like to. He’s damn good-looking isn’t he? And can you imagine how rich he is?”
I suddenly became very aware of Blake standing right next to me. He probably hadn’t known who Danny McAllen was either, but he still didn’t need to hear Tiffany make those kinds of comments about the guy.” Tiffany!”
She glanced at Blake, but shrugged. “What? I bet he’s loaded. I would sleep with him for a portion of his money, even if it was just a small portion.”
Seriously? We had a guest standing right next to us, but Tiffany didn’t care. I shot her a look but she simply smirked and winked at me. “You know, I bet that for all his money he probably has a very small dick.”
My eyes flew wide open, but Blake snorted beside me. He didn’t say anything. “Tiffany!” I admonished, but I knew it wouldn’t make a difference. The girl said whatever she wanted to say and she never apologized for it. I’d had to deal with several guests to smooth things over after she said something they found insulting. Not everyone got or appreciated her honesty and dry sense of humor.
I snuck a glance at Blake to see how he had taken her comment, but he no longer seemed to be paying attention to us. His eyes were glued to the TV where Danny McAllen had started the press conference.
He was standing behind a podium in front of one of the other McAllen Group Hotels. I wasn’t sure which one, I’d missed the introduction while Tiffany was talking. He was in the process of giving a broad overview about the company and then moved on to his announcement.
“As you know, McAllen Property Group is one of the fastest growing hotel chains in the country. We have hotels in almost every state and we plan on changing that to every state within the next five years. We’ve also been expanding internationally and we will be increasing our global footprint with three more properties scheduled to go up within the next three years.”
Jeez, I didn’t know if Tiffany was right about his dick. But he certainly was one. I might never have met him, but he seemed to have the same arrogance those frat boys and so many of our businessmen guests had.
“As the company is growing, so is our workforce. Obviously, it’s very important to us to make sure that our valued employees know how valued they are. We are launching a round of promotions today which will be taking place on a company-wide basis. Any of our employees are eligible to apply for any spot if they meet the selection criteria on the advertisement. This is regardless of where in the country or even where in the world you might be stationed.”
This part of his announcement caused a round of murmurs around the lounge before somebody shushed them so we could hear the rest of the announcement. “We’re also going to be making a big investment into a social media chain. Technology is the future and McAllen plans on staying with the times.”
Tiffany scoffed beside me. “And just where are they getting the money for this big investment? I’ll tell you where. They are going to start making cuts. We’ll all be out of jobs soon.”
Was she right? I dismissed it when she’d mentioned the other day how we’d all be out of jobs soon, but now I wasn’t so sure. “Do you really think so? He did say the workforce was growing, maybe the company is doing well enough to hire new people, promote those of us already here, and expand into social media. I read the quarterly report just the other night, the numbers looked good,”
“Good enough to support this kind of expansion?” Tiffany clearly didn’t believe it. I caught a few of the murmurs around us. She wasn’t the only one worried about losing her job. Looking around the lounge, she sighed. “In this economy, we’re lucky enough to have these jobs. I mean, I don’t love mine nearly as much as you do, but it is a job.”
To Tiffany, working the front desk at the hotel really was just a job. It paid the bills and that was it. “Maybe you should apply for one of the promotions.”
She waved me off, scoffing. “No, I wouldn’t get a promotion even if I applied. I don’t want to anyway. A new job means more responsibilities and starting from scratch to learn how everything works. I don’t want that.”
“But you’re worried about losing the job you have. A promotion would mean you keep working at McAllen.” I pointed out.
Sucking her thin lips into her mouth, she released them slowly. “If I got a promotion, I would still only keep working here for now. This is what I meant when I told you the company didn’t care about the little people. They care about their bottom line, not their bottom staff. Making a big announcement of promotions, expanding to more states and into social media? It’s all to make themselves more money. They don’t care if a few of the little people lose their livelihoods because of it.”
“Jeez, Tiff.” I glanced at Blake again. He was still watching the TV, seemingly following the ads in the break. There was no way he couldn’t hear what she was saying though. I was worried about a guest hearing her talk this way, but Tiffany wasn’t deterred.
And to be fair to her, Blake didn’t look like he cared about hearing her rant about the company she worked for.
Even so, it was unprofessional. “Maybe we should continue this discussion later. How does that sound?”
“No need.” She hopped off the stool she was sitting on when Danny McAllen came back on the screen. “I’ve said what I needed to say. Let’s hear what more of what he has to say.”
We turned our attention back to the TV just as Danny started talking again. “This is an exciting time for the McAllen Group. We urge all our employees to join us i
n celebrating these new developments and we hope to be seeing you all in a McAllen Hotel someday soon.”
When he started taking questions from the reporters at the press conference, Tiffany stuck out her lower lip. “I take back what I said. I wouldn’t sleep with him for all the money he has.”
“Really? If Danny McAllen were to walk through our doors right now, you wouldn’t be interested if he offered you say, a million dollars?” My teasing question was out before I could stop it.
Horrified to have spoken that way in front of a guest, I turned my head to apologize, but when I saw Blake chuckling into his drink, I decided it was okay to have slipped just this once.
Tiffany feigned a shocked expression, letting her mouth hang open and bringing four of her fingers up to cover it.
“Me? Sleep with someone for money? Never. I’m not a prostitute,” she said primly before letting the act go. “But seriously, I would say no. The guy’s obviously a dick. I don’t need to meet him to see that. Did you see his smile? He looks like a shark. Sleeping with him would definitely come back to bite you in the ass. And not in the good way I mentioned the other day. Am I right?”
To my surprise, she was looking at Blake for an answer. He laughed and nodded his agreement. “He is a dick, but I’m more interested in knowing what kind of good way there is to bite someone in the ass. Care to enlighten me?”
Heat rushed to my cheeks when I realized he was waiting for me to answer. Tiffany walked away as soon as he agreed with her. I guessed she considered her point proven and in a classic mic drop move, she glanced back at me with a smirk. “It’s nothing. Just a joke we made a little while ago. I’m sorry about her. She should never have said all those things. Would you like another drink? It’s on me, to make up for my friend and slightly wayward employee.”
Blake frowned, tilting his head questioningly. “Why? You have nothing to apologize for. Neither does she. She has good reason to feel the way she does.”