All He Needs

by Shirley Hailstock

  “Great.” Eloisa didn’t inject any excitement into the word. “Does that mean you’ll take it?”

  Renee looked at her. She nodded, unable to speak. All she could think of was that Carter Hampshire was only twenty floors above her. Thankfully, she’d noticed that the set of elevators that serviced her floor was different than the ones that went to his. They weren’t even in the same hallway. She wouldn’t run into him if she was lucky.

  But where Carter was concerned, luck had never been on her side.

  * * *

  Numbers don’t lie, Carter thought. It was a mantra his father had taught him when he was showing him the business. And Carter didn’t like the numbers he was seeing. He was going to have to do something about it soon.

  He heard a tap on his door. “Come in,” he called.

  Blair opened the door and smiled as she walked into his office.

  “What’s new?” she asked. “You usually like to come down and walk through the office.”

  Carter did. Instead of asking his division heads to come to his office, he’d go to their offices. That way, he could smile at the staff and get to know them. Again, this was something his father had taught him and Carter continued to do it. It was also how he had first met Renee.

  Suddenly, she walked into his mind and filled it with her presence. He imagined her standing in the middle of the conference room. She was talking and the glass wall allowed him to fully stare at her.

  “Carter,” Blair called him, doing the same thing now that she’d done years ago.

  “I’ve been looking at the reports on the bridal division,” he said.

  “We’ve had a setback, but we discussed that. We’ll bounce back.”

  Carter stood up and walked around the office. “Do you think so?”

  “What?” she asked. “Do you think Renee can have that much impact on the market with a small magazine?”

  “It’s not Renee. Her magazine hasn’t launched yet, despite all the buzz in the air. But we’ve been losing market share for some time now. If we don’t get sales up, I’m going to have some very bad reporting to do.”

  “It’s the market,” Blair stated. “The number of weddings is down, so we won’t have the same number of brides looking for magazines.”

  “The number of weddings is actually up,” Carter corrected her. “I thought that might be the reason, but after getting the statistical reports, I found the opposite to be true.”

  “Well, we’ll just have to come up with a campaign to put us back on track.”

  Carter didn’t smile. “That will be a start,” he said. “But we’ll have to keep it up issue after issue. Confidentially, we’ve now begun losing money on this division. If we don’t turn it around, we’ll have to put it up for sale or close it.”

  “You’re not serious,” Blair said. The surprise was genuine on her face.

  “I’ve been covering for the sales for a while. I can’t keep operating the division without it holding its own.”

  Blair looked directly at him, although she remained in her seat. “I guess we’ll have to come up with something so irresistible to the bridal market that they have to buy it. But don’t worry. I have an idea or two up my sleeve.”

  * * *

  Moving day was never easy. Renee knew that from the many times she’d moved with her family. Her father was in the military, and every couple of years they’d pull up stakes and relocate, most times to another country. The army had packed and shipped their things, but her mother insisted on unpacking and putting everything away, along with the help of her twins, Renee and her brother, Roger. During summers, Dana would come and stay with her until school started. They’d had some of the best times of their lives those summers.

  Renee’s new house was filled with boxes, and she could barely walk around. But instead of completing her home move, she was focusing on setting up her new office space. Everything and everyone was there at the same time: electricians, the phone company, furniture deliveries. So much for an orderly move. The place was chaos central. The only person who wasn’t there was Carter, and she had to be thankful for that. He was twenty floors above her and she hoped she could avoid him for the rest of her life.

  The sun had set ages ago, and finally the place had some semblance of order. She didn’t worry about organizing her office as long as the heavy pieces, like her desk and cabinets, were in place. The other areas of the office space had desks and equipment. She was also in the process of hiring people to fill those spaces.

  There was a small kitchen along the opposite wall from her office. Renee headed there to make herself a cup of coffee. Even though the sun had gone down, she had hours to go before heading to her new home, where an equally chaotic bedroom awaited her. She wasn’t planning to open anything there tonight.

  “Do you mind if I have one of those?”

  Renee jumped at the sound. Twirling around she saw a thin woman with long red hair standing in the doorway. Renee had seen her most of the day, directing and helping with the placement of furniture.

  “I’m sorry. I thought everyone from the moving company had gone.”

  Renee poured a second cup of coffee and handed it to her. “Milk is in the fridge and sugar on the counter.”

  The woman smiled and added milk and one sugar to her cup. She turned back to Renee.

  “You don’t have to stay after you finish your coffee,” Renee told her. “I can handle things from here.”

  “I’m not with the moving company,” the woman said. She smiled as if she had a secret. “I’m Wanda Guilliard, your three o’clock.”

  “My interview! I totally forgot.” Renee stood up straight. “I am so sorry.” She looked at her watch. It was nearly seven o’clock. “Why didn’t you stop me?”

  “You were so busy and you looked like you really needed help.” Wanda looked through the kitchen door at the chaos that was still in the outer rooms. “When I arrived, a man thrust a box at me and said to put it over there.” She indicated one of the offices.

  “But you worked all afternoon. I saw you and I thought you were with the movers. I did wonder why you were wearing a skirt, but only in passing.”

  “I was dressed for an interview. But I had walking shoes in my tote bag, so I changed into them.” She put a foot out and Renee looked at the tennis shoes.

  She laughed. Wanda joined her. “I can’t thank you enough. If you work as well with the computer as you did with the move, the job is yours.”

  “I am qualified,” she said.

  Renee gestured for her to sit down. They both moved to one of the two round tables.

  “I have a degree from Columbia. I studied design and business, and I can show you my portfolio of other publications I’ve designed. I can break down and troubleshoot the insides of a computer and I’m fluent enough in Microsoft Office to teach.”

  “How are you at digital publishing?”

  “I know it cold.”

  “You’re very confident,” Renee said. Despite her selling herself so hard, Renee liked her. Even if Wanda could only do half of what she professed, she would fit in. Renee had managed before and she knew that if someone didn’t work out, she would terminate them.

  “I don’t mean to be overbearing. I can do what I say and probably more. It just depends on what you need.”

  “I need someone who can run the digital design side of the business. We will produce a full print issue each month, and I need someone to lay out the pages so they can be sent to a printer for the final product.”

  “I’m sure that won’t be a problem,” Wanda said.

  “Have you ever worked for a magazine before?”

  Wanda shook her head. “I’m currently employed at Parks, Kagen and Cooper, a law firm in Jersey City.”

  “What do you do there?”
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  “I run their website. And before you ask, I’m looking for something more challenging.”

  “I’m sure we can fill that bill,” Renee commented.

  “How many people will be in the production and design department here?”

  “Right now, there’s only you.”

  “Does that mean I have the job?” Wanda bit her bottom lip.

  Renee smiled. “If the salary meets your requirements.” Renee told her what she’d budgeted.

  “We’re good,” Wanda said. “When do I start?”

  “You tell me. We have to do a background check. And I suppose you need to notify the law firm of your decision.”

  “Two weeks will work for me,” Wanda told her.

  “By then I’ll have this mess in order.” Renee smiled again. She liked Wanda. Apparently, she was a pitch-in-when-and-where-needed type of person. And Renee needed someone like her.

  “If you don’t mind, I’d like to help with the computer setup and arrangement,” Wanda said. “I want to make sure all the programs I need are properly installed and ready for use.”

  Designed for Brides officially had its first employee. Wanda wasn’t afraid to get her hands dirty, and she didn’t ask for much direction. She was exactly the kind of person Renee had hoped to find.

  One down, seven to go, Renee thought when Wanda waved good-night. Renee went around turning out the lights and locking up the place. She’d be in the next day to continue putting things in order. One office at a time, she told herself.

  She left the building by a rear exit and walked around to the front heading for the subway.

  “Renee.” Carter’s voice stopped her. She’d reached the curb and was waiting for the light to change.

  A shudder went through her at both the sight of him and the way he said her name. She glanced over her shoulder, hoping there was someone or something there that would give her an excuse to get away from him quickly. Nothing materialized. Her day had been long, and she wanted nothing more than to grab something to eat and take a long bath before going to bed.

  “Late day?” he asked.

  She nodded.

  “Just going to pick up something and go home,” she answered.

  “I was about to get something to eat. Why don’t you join me?”

  “I’m a little tired. I think I’ll just go home.”

  “Renee, you have to eat. And it’s only a quick bite together, not a full dinner. Although we could go to dinner if you wish...”

  “I’m just going to pick something up, but thank you. Good night.” She darted across the street and buried herself in the crowd.

  In front of her was her favorite deli, but she walked by it. There was another one on the next corner and she’d rather not have Carter following her inside a place so close to the office. There was a traffic jam of people already standing in line to order something to eat before heading home, and Renee joined the crowd. She could cook her own dinner, but she was too tired. Her back and neck hurt and doing nothing when she got home was her goal.

  Placing her order, Renee stepped back. She bumped into someone and instinctively turned to apologize.

  “I’m sorry,” she said. Then she saw who it was. “Carter, what are you doing here? I thought you’d spend your dinner hour in a fancy restaurant with the opposite sex.”

  “And look at you, the bridal wizard, fulfilling every woman’s dream of grabbing a sandwich and a drink and taking it back to your lonely kitchen.”

  “You don’t know that,” Renee said.

  “Don’t I?”

  The clerk called her order. It was obviously a sandwich for one. Renee took it, paid and left, hoping to get away from Carter before his order was ready.

  He caught up with her before she could find a cab. Without asking, he took her arm, hailed a passing taxi and pushed her inside.

  “Where are we going?” she asked.

  “Your place,” he said.

  She leaned back, her eyebrows raised.

  “Would you rather go to my place?” He leaned forward and put his hand on the latch of the connecting window.

  “No!” she stated too quickly and too loudly.

  Renee gave her address and Carter slid the window back in place.

  He relaxed, leaning back in the seat and sighing.

  “Bad day?” Renee asked.

  “A little more than usual.”

  “Wanna talk about it?” Renee regretted her words as soon as she said them.

  Carter looked at her. Both of them remembered when they’d worked together. When he’d had a bad day or she’d had one, they would always vent about it together.

  That was how it had begun. Those talks at the end of the day. Soon they’d added food delivery, then picking up something and eating together, until finally dinner and making love had followed. She wasn’t going down that road again. They no longer worked together, and they were no longer lovers. They weren’t even friends anymore. They were rivals.

  “I’ll work it out,” he said.

  Renee wondered if he hadn’t answered because it had to do with the bridal division. Her heart constricted a moment. She missed their long after-work conversations. She couldn’t stop the regret that spilled out of its hiding place.

  They might be colleagues, but friends they weren’t. And lovers they would never be again.

  * * *

  Carter’s week had been one crisis after another, mainly in the bridal division where two graphic artists had resigned. He barely had time for anything but the office and thoughts of Renee, whom he hadn’t seen since that night in the deli.

  Heading into the Hampshire Building, he wondered where Renee’s offices were. They had to be close by or he wouldn’t have run into her.

  Carter stepped into the office elevator. For a moment his finger hovered over the buttons before he punched thirty-eight.

  He’d been trying to reach her for the past two weeks. But each time he dialed her number, it went to voice mail. Obviously, she did not want to talk to him. Carter understood when no meant no. And Renee was telling him no. He’d thought that after the frank conversation about the layouts that the two of them were heading toward a new road. But something was still going on to cause her to refuse his calls.

  Exiting the elevator, he spoke to pockets of people as he made his way through the hall toward his office. Two secretaries carrying cups of coffee passed him. He looked into the room where the coffee machine sat and decided to stop and get a cup.

  “Good morning, Carter,” Marjorie said. Marjorie worked as an assistant to the company’s legal director.

  “Good morning.”

  She poured a cup of coffee, then headed in the direction of her office.

  Just before Carter reached the door to his own office in the corner he heard a name that stopped him.

  “Renee Hart. I was so surprised to see her. It’s been years.”

  Carter turned back, coffee in one hand, his briefcase in the other.

  “What’s she doing here? I thought she moved to New Jersey.” The other woman asked.

  “I don’t know, but she looks like wherever she’s been, it agrees with her.”

  “She was always beautiful. I wish I had her complexion, so smooth and clear.”

  They started to walk away, when Carter called out. He didn’t intend to, but he heard his voice. “Sandra?”

  She turned toward him as the other woman walked away.

  “You saw Renee? When?”

  “This morning. A few minutes ago, actually. It was strange. I got on the wrong elevator, the one that only goes to the twenty-fourth floor, and she was there. I was talking and turned into the first bank instead of the second.

  “I didn’t realize I’d gotten in the wrong elev
ator until we’d passed the sixth floor where I could switch from one bank to the other. So I rode up with her.”

  “Where did she get off?”

  “On eighteen,” she said with a sly smile.

  “Thanks.”

  Sandra gave him a look that said she wanted to ask a question, but thought better of it. She turned and walked away. Carter went into his office and pushed the door closed.

  Here? What was she doing here? Who was she visiting on the eighteenth floor? Carter put his coffee and briefcase down and opened his computer. As soon as it booted, he pulled up a list of tenants. Filtering them by floor, he checked the names of businesses and there it was. The name jumped out as if it was a viper. Designed for Brides. It was the only business on eighteen. She’d taken the entire floor. As the building’s owner, Carter had access to other information about the tenants. Opening the file for Designed for Brides, he saw the space was leased to Weddings by Diana with a contract that had been signed by Renee Hart.

  Renee was opening her magazine in his building. In the same place where he had his own bridal magazine’s offices. Had she thought he wouldn’t find out?

  Carter closed the file, clicking the mouse button harder than necessary.

  He wouldn’t go down there. She had a right to lease the space. Her magazine was just a start-up, and there was no need to worry that it would cut into the profits of his company. Carter opened the sales figures for the previous day. Usually he started with the men’s magazines, body building and car repair, but today he went straight to the bridal sales. Releasing a sigh, he checked the numbers. Sales were exactly as expected. Quickly he did a comparison of sales for the same week last month and last year. They were slightly down, but that was understandable. None of it had anything to do with her.

  She hadn’t launched yet, a voice inside his head gave him the logic. Sitting back in his chair, Carter stared at the screen and wondered when she planned to launch. There was nothing to worry about. Renee had been away three years, and she hadn’t even been working in the industry. Three years was a lifetime in the magazine business. It didn’t matter how well she’d done three years ago. It was all about who advertised in the magazine and what was happening in the bridal industry.