I wouldn’t have done it for anyone else in the world but Lincoln. Never.
I was pretty sure that the final contracts for the new account had been signed and that we were all good. Since I hadn’t gotten to spend much time with my son over the course of this last week, I was really hoping that I could take a slightly longer lunch to see him.
“Joseph?” I called out from his door, not wanting to go into the belly of the beast unless it was absolutely necessary. My notorious boss had his head down, a pen in his hand as he scribbled notes on the document in front of him.
He didn’t look up when I said his name, but lifted his hand and made a circular motion with his index finger. Right, I guess that means I have permission to speak.
“Could I take a slightly longer lunch today? I really want to spend some time with Lincoln, maybe take him out of the building to grab something to eat.” My lower lip went into my mouth as soon as I was done, my teeth finding it and biting into it to keep from having an accidental outburst if he refused me.
Only, he didn’t refuse me. I could only see the top of his head, since he still hadn’t looked up but he was definitely nodding. A happy little thrill traveled through me at the thought of getting to spend some quality time with my little boy for the first time this week.
Every night I’d gotten home just in time to kiss him goodnight and in the mornings, we had rushed to get ready so I could get to the office as early as possible. I hadn’t had even one actual conversation with him since Sunday.
Turning around and walking away from Joseph’s office before he could change his mind or make another snide comment, I went down to the daycare to grab Lincoln. He looked up when I walked into the room, his entire face brightening when he saw me.
“Mommy.” He jumped to his feet and ran over to me, his lips spread into a wide smile and his blue eyes sparkling.
I held my arms out and caught him, hugging him to me and spinning him around. “Hi, baby. I came to take you out for lunch, how about that?”
“Yay!” he squealed, his thin arms tightening their grip on me before he started wiggling to get down. It always broke my heart that I couldn’t cuddle him as long as I wanted to anymore.
Soon enough, he wouldn’t want to be cuddled at all. But I didn’t even want to think about that. It threatened to make me burst into tears.
I set him down and watched as he ran back to the carpet to grab his inhaler. While I waited for him to make his way back to me, I spoke to Jodie. She had come over when I’d arrived, but had waited for Lincoln and me to exchange our hug without interrupting our moment.
“I’ll have him back in a little over an hour,” I said. “We’re just going to go for a walk to whatever the nearest food truck is, grab some lunch and then we’re coming back.”
“It’s no problem.” She smiled kindly, her eyes following his approach from the carpet. “It’s playtime now. We don’t schedule any activities immediately before or after lunch because we know the parents might come get their babies for a little while when they can.”
“Thanks. Can I bring you anything back?” I offered, wondering when she ever got time to eat.
She shook her head, but answered my question as if she could read my mind. “I’m fine, but thank you for asking. I eat when the children have their music appreciation time with Ms. Jones later.”
“If you change your mind, you have my number.” I flashed her a smile and took Lincoln’s hand when he reached us, looking down at him. “You ready to go?”
He nodded, grinning at Jodie. “Mommy is taking me out for lunch.”
“I heard. That’s going to be so much fun. Enjoy, buddy. We’ll see you later.” She patted his head, then moved deeper into the classroom to grab a crayon from a little girl who had been poised to start drawing on the wall. “No, Dot! You know you’re not allowed to do that.”
Lincoln and I left Jodie to the mayhem of the room, escaping quickly before anyone could tell me that we couldn’t or shouldn’t go. More specifically, I was afraid of getting a call from Joseph asking me why the hell I wasn’t back yet—even though I’d been gone less than ten minutes. The guy wasn’t exactly reasonable or even rational this week.
Once we hit the busy sidewalk, I relaxed. Outside of the building, I felt like I could breathe better. It was almost like Joseph’s attitude permeated the very air in the office and made it less breathable.
Soaking in the warm sun shining onto my bare arms and face, I grinned down at Lincoln. “How’s your day so far? Have you done anything cool?”
“We had to sort shapes and colors and then we played with a big ball and a small ball. Evie hit Josh in the head with the big ball.” He relayed the story of his morning while we walked down the crowded street. I sure hadn’t been the only person with the idea of escaping the office for my lunch hour.
Horns blared and traffic had slowed down to a crawl. There were people all around us, some dodging us and others not even noticing we were there. The energy in the downtown business district was electric over lunchtime, even if the air did smell like exhaust fumes and grease.
I hadn’t spent much time exploring the area where my new office was located, but I was looking forward to taking more walks like this one with Lincoln.
The first food truck we got to happened to be a gourmet grilled cheese truck. Lincoln cheered when he saw the pictures on the side. “I love grilled cheese. So does Ethan. Can we take grilled cheese for Ethan?”
I frowned down at him. “Who’s Ethan?”
Lincoln let out an exasperated sigh. “He’s my new friend, Mommy. He has red hair and he loves grilled cheese.”
“I’m glad you’ve made another friend, honey.” I had no idea how I was going to keep track of all the different names, though. I honestly didn’t remember him telling me about an Ethan even though the sigh indicated that he must have told me about him before. “Maybe we can bring him back grilled cheese next time. I don’t think we can take food for friends unless their mommy or daddy says it’s okay. We might get something on it that he’s allergic to.”
“He’s not allergic.” Lincoln pouted, but quickly forgot about his disappointment over not bringing takeout back for his friend. We ordered our sandwiches and once we had them, found a bench a little ways down to eat at.
Lunchtime flew by and before I knew it, we had been away almost an hour and a half. If I stayed out any longer, Joseph was going to have a coronary or something. I dropped Lincoln back off at daycare, hoping I would get to be the one to pick him up again later and that it wouldn’t be Alisha again, then made my way back to my office.
It was amazing how in the space of a week my feelings about this place had changed so drastically. Last week I had been walking on sunshine and super excited to be here, now I was dreading going back up there.
I need this job. I need this job. I repeated the mantra over and over again in my head. Joseph might be an ass, but we got the work done and really, that was all that mattered. I didn’t have to be buddy-buddy with my boss.
I had known coming in that getting to the point where I would be taking over the CFO position would mean a lot of hard work, and that was all this was. Also, I needed this job really badly so it was essential that I refrained from hitting my boss.
I sighed. There had been a couple of moments this week where I honestly hadn’t known what he’d needed more to come back down to earth: a good slap or a good kiss. For heaven’s sake, it was like the guy wasn’t even human sometimes. Like he was some kind of machine sent here from another planet to see how far he could push people before they snapped and punched him.
When I got back to my floor, I walked back to my office as fast as I could without breaking into a run. I was hoping I would be able to slip past him, that he wouldn’t see quite how long I had stayed away after I’d asked him for only a slightly longer lunch.
I almost made it. I came so close I could practically smell the vanilla-and-cherry scent of the diffuser I’d bought for my offic
e when I heard him calling my name. “Lilac, get in here.”
My shoulders slumped before I could stop it from happening. Crap.
Squaring the offending body parts before facing the undeniable winner of the “Dick of the Week” award, I backtracked away from my office and walked into his instead. “I’m well aware that forty-five minutes isn’t only a ‘slightly longer’ time to take for lunch. I’ll make it up sometime, okay? I promise.”
Joseph frowned, confusion clear as a bell in the eyes I really shouldn’t have thought were pretty anymore after the way he’d been acting all week. But damn. They really were such pretty eyes. It was a pity they were stuck in the face of the devil incarnate. Okay, so maybe he’s not quite that bad.
“What are you talking about?” he asked, his head cocked.
“I asked you if I could take a slightly longer lunch. That was almost two hours ago. I thought that was why you were calling me in.”
His dark eyebrows pulled even closer together and he waved his hands in a dismissive motion. “No. Why would I call you in because you were out for lunch? You told me were going to be gone for longer than an hour.”
“Yeah, I know. I was just worried that I’d stayed out too long.” I refused to bow and scrape in front of this man. Too many of the employees were terrified of him, some were so intimidated that they could barely utter a word in his presence.
Early on after seeing this side of him, I’d resolved that I wouldn’t become one of those people. I had only just started working here. The way I acted now would set the precedent for the rest of my career here and well, as my mantra went, I needed the job. I needed to stick around for the long haul, but I refused to become a punching bag or a floor mat in the process.
Joseph shook his head. “No, that’s not it. I called you in because I wanted to tell you that you did a good job on this account. It tied up a lot faster than I thought it would, and that was because of you.”
I nearly swallowed my tongue when I realized he was complimenting me. Like, for real. I couldn’t detect even a trace of sarcasm in his voice.
While I tried not to gape at him, he went on talking. It was obvious that he was completely oblivious to my surprise. “You can clock out on time tonight and the rest of the week. We’ll get back to normal tomorrow.”
“Uh, thank you.” I didn’t know what else to say. No more words came to mind. Why are words so hard?
When I got back to my office, I spun in my chair and tried not to let my goofy, pleased smile breakthrough. Getting complimented by Joseph after the week we’d had felt really good. It made me feel validated in my position, like I wasn’t a waste of time and resources.
Bending over, I rummaged around for my phone in the purse I’d dropped next to my chair. I tapped out a quick text to Alisha, staying down while I did it. I really didn’t want him to see me screwing off after such a good compliment.
Me: I’m out of detention. Will be able to get Lincoln tonight. Thanks again! :-)
Once my phone was safely tucked away, I made duplicates of the account file for our records and called Ollie to collect it. I had no idea where he went with all this, but he’d asked me earlier to let him know when I had it ready.
He came in immediately, grinning as he raised his fist for me to bump it. “Well done, Lilo. I overheard what the boss said to you. He doesn’t dish out compliments very regularly, so whatever you did must have really impressed him. I’m proud of you, girl.”
“So am I.” I bumped his fist and returned the grin. “So am I. I honestly wondered if I was going to survive this week at times. I never thought I’d get a compliment at the end of it.”
“The boss’s mind works in mysterious ways.” He winked, took the file and walked away without saying anything else, but I had to agree with him. The boss’s mind definitely works in mysterious ways.
Chapter 13
Joseph
It was overcast outside, the whole city covered in a blanket of gray clouds. The mood inside the office didn’t match the dreariness of the outside world, though.
Whenever we tied up an account after a push like the one we’d had this last week, there was an overall sense of victory and achievement in the offices. It didn’t hurt that the top performers for the deal knew to expect a decent bonus check, which threw a bit of anticipation into the mix as well.
I had my music on in my office, soft rock today. My door was closed, but I could feel the infectious lightness and positivity from the employees seeping in through the crack under the door.
Sitting with my back to the door, I looked out over the city and reflected on the work we’d done this week. Frankly, I was amazed at how quickly we had gotten that account tied up. It had been done in record time, even for us and really, Lilac’s contributions had been a big part of that.
Linking my fingers together behind my neck, I contemplated how best to recognize her efforts. A bonus, of course, but it had to be a good one. One that showed her that we not only recognized her efforts, but appreciated them. One that would hopefully incentivize her to keep up the good work.
Finally coming to a decision, I rolled my chair back to my desk and picked up my phone. My accountant answered almost immediately. “Mr. Matthews. What can I do for you today?”
“I need you to draw up a bonus check made out to Lilac Hawkings, the new CFO. Five percent on the closing of the account we just wrapped up.”
“I’ll get that sent up to you right away, sir. Anything else?” My accountant didn’t even flinch at the instruction I’d just given him. Five percent didn’t sound like a lot until you did the math on the closing of a multi-million-dollar account.
Roger was used to these requests of mine, though. He never questioned me. “No, that’s all. Thank you.”
I hung up the phone and called Ollie in. His dreadlocks were loose today, a sign that he was also feeling the more relaxed vibe in the office. Grinning as he sauntered in, he came to stop in front of my desk and lifted his trusty tablet. “Okay, shoot. What do you need me to add to the to-do list?”
“Nothing,” I said. “There’s a check coming up for Lilac. Look out for it and leave it with her once you get it.”
Ollie’s dark eyes crinkled on his smile, white teeth flashing. “Already, huh? Don’t you usually make the new recruits wait a bit longer before you start spoiling them?”
“I’m not spoiling her.” But he was right, I did usually make the new recruits wait a bit longer. It wasn’t always prudent to let them get used to the big bonuses right off the bat—made them keep expecting more.
I tried not to think about why I had softened toward her, why I was bending my own rule for her. “I’m just rewarding her good work. We’d have been fucked if no one had picked up on what she did. Also, she’s not just another new recruit. She’s our future CFO, that means something.”
He lifted his brow and gave me a look that told me he knew I was full of shit, but didn’t comment on it. “I’ll be on the lookout for it.”
“Thank you.” I didn’t need to tell him to leave, he just did.
Once he was gone, I turned back to my emails and started sifting through everything that hadn’t been a priority earlier in the week.
Right before lunch, I knew Lilac had gotten the check because I heard her through the glass separating our offices. “Holy fucking fuck!”
I snorted. That woman was something else, all right. When she came storming into my office the next minute with her cheeks flushed, waving the check around like it was the red cloth kicking off a bullfight, I started laughing.
“Seriously?” she asked, her voice high-pitched and her eyes wild. She was slightly hysterical, actually. “What is this?”
“It’s a check,” I replied once I’d regained my composure, but I was still trying not to laugh. I wondered how long it was going to take her to start accepting the amounts of money I gave her without these little showdowns.
She narrowed her blue eyes and huffed out a breath. “I know it’s a c
heck, but why is it made out to me and why is it for so much money? You gave me a check just last week.”
“Yes.” I kept my voice low and even, hoping the calmness would bring her back from the edge of hysteria. The laughter sure as shit hadn’t helped with that. “In your paperwork it said that bonuses are awarded for exemplary work, and you helped me close a deal that should have taken a week and a half at least, in three days. You deserve that.”
She just glared at me, but I knew her well enough now that I waited her out. Staring at the check, then at me, then at the check again, she swallowed hard and took a deep breath.
When she looked back at me, I saw that she had calmed down considerably. She parked a hand on her hip, popped it out just a fraction of an inch and lifted a blond eyebrow. “Well then, I can deal with you being a dick for this much money. Carry on.”
After that, she swanned out of my office without another word. I was still laughing about it when Ollie popped in for lunch. “How do you feel about Thai food today?”
“It’s like you read my mind,” I said, standing up and heading over to the conference table. I was still smiling, but at least the laughter had stopped.
Ollie shot me a questioning look, but when I jerked my head in the direction of Lilac’s office, he put two and two together. “Yeah, she’s a real firecracker, that one. Did she take it?”
“She did.” I sat down and Ollie called in our usual order before joining me. Considering that he had become a casual friend to me as well as being my assistant, I let him in on the joke. “She called me a dick, but told me she’d deal with me for that much money.”
Ollie’s eyebrows climbed up, but then he started roaring with laughter. “She really called you a dick?”
“Yeah.” I smiled. “Imagine that.”
He shrugged, his eyes sliding to her office for a moment. “She’s not wrong, but she has balls of steel to come right out and say it when she hasn’t even been here for a month.”
“She’s not scared of me,” I mused, scratching my chin as I followed his gaze to her empty office. She must have gone out for lunch. “I have a feeling we’re going to work well together.”
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