“I can’t wait to tell them,” I said.
“I want to be there.”
“Of course you’ll be there, Ella! You have to be.”
Ella shifted on the sofa so she could lean back and put her heels up on the glass coffee table littered with photographs. “Then tonight’s work is done. And thank God for that. I’m tired.”
“Yeah, it’s later than we realized.”
“Great,” Ella said, rubbing at her eyes.
My phone buzzed on the coffee table, skidding to the right with the vibration. I scooped it up and stared down at a message from Max himself, checking in on me and asking if I needed anything from him. I put the phone face down on the coffee table.
Ella narrowed her eyes at me. “Who was that?”
“Max.”
“And what did he want?”
“To check in. I’m sure it’s driving him nuts that I didn’t get back to him right away. He never was good at waiting.”
“Most people aren’t. Especially rich people who are used to having everybody at their beck and call.”
“Actually, that may be why I’m making him wait,” I giggled.
“Bad girl.”
I shrugged, “He deserves it. He’s been a complete ass. Not that I’m not grateful to him for what he’s doing for the kids. I just don’t think his intentions are as pure as he’d like me to think they are.”
“At least you’re going into this with your eyes open,” Ella said.
“Wide open.”
“What ever happened between the two of you?”
I sighed. “Nothing happened, per say. We were just incompatible. He was entitled, and cocky, and I was never a priority. He was young and so was I. I thought a guy like him was what I wanted, but after a while I realized there was supposed to be more to a relationship than just good sex.”
“Well, good sex in college is a great natural stress reliever.”
I laughed and shook my head at my friend. “Yeah. But Max was more stress than the sex was worth. Way more stress.” I considered the words that had just come out of my mouth. Being with Max had been a roller coaster. I never knew what he wanted or how he felt about me, and he was all over the place in terms of the direction he wanted his own life to go.
I might be getting in over my head by partnering with him for my foundation.
Suddenly nervous, something tightened in my chest. Was this the right decision to make? Yes, it would be good for the kids, but was it only temporary? Was I setting them up to be excited about something that wasn’t going to last, or that would end badly? Max had an uncanny way of derailing perfectly laid plans like no other man I’d ever met in my life. If he let these kids down, it would be on my head for getting them involved in the first place.
“What are you thinking about right now?” Ella asked.
Concern was evident in her voice. I looked up at her as she took her heels down from the coffee table and leaned forward to rest her elbows on her knees. I shook my head. “Nothing.”
“Liar. I know that look. It’s the same look you get when you’re worried about someone hating the Christmas gift you got them.”
“I’m worried that this whole thing might be a mistake.”
“What thing?”
I stared blankly at her. “Letting these kids work for Max. He’s unpredictable, Ella. For all I know he has no plans of actually helping these kids. Maybe he’s just in it for personal gain.”
“But that’s why you’ll be there to keep him in line.”
“Is that worth it? I have enough on my plate. I don’t want to—”
“Oh no. You’re not backing out of this now,” Ella scolded. “This is too good of an opportunity for the kids and for the foundation. If it goes badly, then it goes badly. You can tell the five kids before they start that this is just a trial and error thing. They shouldn’t go into it thinking this will solve all their problems anyway. Staying realistic and grounded is important. It’s real life experience, which is exactly what they need. You can’t deny them because of drama between you and your ex college boyfriend. It’s been a decade, Laura. Time to move on.”
I loved Ella for many reasons, and one of them was her ability to be real and honest with me in times of crisis; or times when I couldn’t make heads or tails deciding what the right choice was.
Raking my fingers through my hair, I stood up. Ella watched me collect all the photos and put them in a neat pile. The pictures of the five kids we chose for the internship were set off to the side. I straightened up and put my hands on my hips before nodding decisively. “You’re right. Thanks for keeping a level head through all this, Ella. I think I’ll need your advice even more often than usual going into this mess.”
“I’ll be here for you babe. Always.”
The weight on my chest began to ebb away.
“Now,” Ella said, pointing at my phone. “Tell Max you’ve decided to take him up on his offer.”
“Right now?”
“Right now. Before you get cold feet again.”
Knowing she was right yet again, I picked up my phone and opened my email app. I wasn’t going to text him—not if I could avoid it. I wanted to keep things between us as professional as possible.
Max,
Thank you for giving me the time I needed to make a decision. I’m happy to tell you that I would like to work together for the sake of the kids at my foundation. I can’t wait to tell them about your generous offer. They will be excited to meet you. Are we still on for starting on Monday, December 10th?
Regards,
Laura Wessex
I hit the send button, feeling satisfied with the tone of the message. There was no way he and I would get our wires crossed again—and no way that he would have the nerve to invite me up for a night in a damn Jacuzzi. We were business associates, nothing more.
“Done?” Ella asked, as she got to her feet and stretched her arms up over her head. With two sharp twists she cracked her back and then bent over to touch her toes. She groaned as all her tense muscles were pulled. “We’ve been sitting here way too long.”
I looked at the clock on my wall. “Six hours since the office closed.”
“Seriously?” Ella asked, straightening up and blinking at me. “No wonder I’m so stiff.”
Nodding, I slipped out of my shoes before padding over to the bar fridge in my office. I liked to keep the place stocked with all my needs for nights like this when I had to stay late, which happened nearly once a week, and sometimes more these days. Frequently, if I was here late, Ella was here as well. Crouching down in front of the fridge, I pulled out some eggnog, Bailey’s and a plate of chilled Christmas goodies one of my employees had given me earlier in the week.
I poured Ella and myself a glass of eggnog and Bailey’s, then went and sat back down on the sofa. Ella thanked me and peeled the plastic wrap off the top of the plate of goodies. Her hand hovered over the assortment of treats until she decided on the Nanaimo bar. She took a bite and closed her eyes as she chewed. “How do people make these things taste so damn good? I’m a nightmare in the kitchen.”
“Melony has talent, that’s for sure.” I went in for a butter tart. It was sweet and savory— heavenly goodness.
Ella finished her Nanaimo bar and licked melted chocolate off her fingertips. Then she uncrossed her legs and reached for her drink. “So, I’ve been crunching the numbers of next year’s projections and the money we’ve earned through fundraising.”
“Oh?” I asked. This was something I hadn’t planned on getting to until the middle of January, once all the hectic Christmas festivities were over.
Ella nodded. “I couldn’t wait. I had to know what we were looking at and I figured you might like having something off your plate.”
“I appreciate it. What did you find?”
Ella grinned. “I think we’ll be able to start hiring contractors and builders for the children’s home by February.”
“Are you sure?”
“Positive. I know we still have a lot of money to raise before this can become a reality, but I think if we start taking steps toward building the children’s home it will increase our exposure and we’ll be able to reach even more people who want to help out. And let’s be honest. We have to start eventually. It can’t just be a dream forever.”
I shook my head in disbelief. “We’re really doing this thing, aren’t we?”
“Hell yeah we are,” Ella said. “It’s a Christmas miracle!”
I giggled and we tapped the edges of our cups together. “Can you believe how far we’ve come in the last decade?”
“No. Not at all. I still feel like that wide-eyed girl wandering around the hallways halfway lost.”
“Lost? You were only ever going one place. The—”
“Cafeteria. Yeah, I know. My priorities were a little askew back then, okay?”
I laughed and reached for another sweet. I chose a salted caramel square this time. “You were overwhelmed with your philanthropic studies and philosophy classes. Plus that one really random economics course you took.”
“Worst semester of my life. I ate way too many bowls of mac and cheese.”
I thought back to when Ella and I had first met in one of our classes. She was shy—really shy. Our professor called on her to answer a question. I was sitting beside her taking notes on my very old, very heavy HP laptop, and when I saw she couldn’t speak in front of the two hundred other students in the lecture room, I answered the question on her behalf.
We’d been inseparable ever since.
And we had done great things since then, excessive mac and cheese and self-involved ex-boyfriends aside.
Chapter 15
Max
There was a good reason for the spring in my step on Monday morning, the tenth of December: I was early for work.
I rolled into the office at quarter to nine in the morning. My usual arrival time was generally anywhere between nine thirty and ten. Sometimes noon on a bad day.
But today was different. I was looking forward to seeing Laura and meeting the crew of five she was bringing in to fill the intern positions I had. I’d alerted the staff last Friday as to what the plan was with the kids. I took five top employees and asked if they were willing to work one on one with the interns to get them oriented and comfortable. I knew they’d all say yes, but I wanted to make sure they weren’t stretched too thin with their workloads as it was. All of them seemed as intrigued as I was by the potential this program offered, and jumped at the idea.
After being at the office for no more than five minutes on Monday morning I was assaulted with wise cracks from my team.
“You know it’s not even nine yet, right?”
“Who are you and what have you done to Max Miller?”
“Did all the clocks jump forward in your house or something?”
“Good one, but April Fool’s Day is still months away.”
“Is there a meeting this morning I don’t know about?”
Casey, in all her smug glory, sat behind her desk giggling every time someone said something. I shot her a dark look. “Go ahead. Is there something you’d like to say about my overly punctual arrival?”
“Oh no, not at all,” she said, clasping her hands together in front of her computer keyboard. “I think they already covered all the things I was thinking.”
“Nice. Real nice, Casey.”
She grinned. “No problem.”
I went into my office, ignoring all the sniggering of the other employees around us, and closed my door behind me. I knew they were still watching me through the windows, more than a little bemused by the whole situation. I kept my back to them and pretended not to be bothered in the slightest as I hung up my coat and sat down at my own desk.
It was hard to keep my eyes downcast as everyone walking by cracked a joke about my ass being in my chair before nine o’clock.
The bastards would pay. I could take it off their Christmas bonuses. Or stop buying lunches on Fridays. Or not let anyone go home early once or twice a week just because I liked to keep morale up.
Who was I kidding? I was more of a slave to them than they were to me. I wanted to keep them happy. And if keeping them happy meant being the brunt of a few—or a hundred—tardiness jokes, then it was worth it.
I’d just gotten my email open when I looked up and saw Laura standing in front of Casey’s reception desk. She was wearing dark blue jeans and a pair of little brown boots that were slouched around her ankles. A long cardigan was tied around her waist and the multicolored scarf she had on was eye catching. I could hear her and Casey’s voices but couldn’t make out the words.
Behind Laura, and hanging back from the reception desk by a good ten feet or so, was a cluster of five teenagers.
They were what you would expect from a cluster of five teenagers. They stood together like pack animals. Their eyes drifted around the room as they strained their ears to hear what was being said between my receptionist and their savior, Laura Wessex.
Most were dressed in dark pants and button up shirts. Basic office attire. The two girls had on pants as well and had their hair nicely done. I wondered if Laura was behind that.
I stood up, adjusted my jacket, and walked out of my office. As soon as I pushed my glass door open, the kids all turned to look at me like their heads were on swivels. I gave them a polite nod and muttered, “Good morning.”
The two girls said good morning back. The three boys simply blinked at me and watched me approach Laura.
She turned to me. I noticed her multicolored scarf was in the pattern of small flowers. “Good morning,” Laura said, looking me up and down. “I’m half surprised to see you here this early. I thought I’d have to sit and sip your fancy coffee again.”
I cleared my throat as Casey started to giggle. She clamped a hand over her mouth and I smiled at Laura. “That was a one-time thing.”
“Sure it was,” Laura said knowingly. She turned to the kids and swept her arm in an encompassing gesture over all five of them. “This is Abigail, Jade, Everett, Lewis, and Jim.” The kids gave me well-rehearsed smiles.
“Welcome to Nova Corp,” I said. When the kids all bowed their heads together and whispered to one another I could feel the excitement radiating off of them. It seemed that Laura had chosen well. All five of them seemed eager—so eager in fact they were almost brimming over with excitement.
I rubbed my hands together. “I’m glad you’re all here. Laura is a very special woman and she went through a lot of hard work to make this happen. I hope you’ve all thanked her work in getting you this opportunity.”
Laura rolled her eyes at me, “Come on. Skip ahead to the relevant stuff, Miller.”
Grinning sheepishly, I tilted my head in the direction of the hallway that led to the waiting room, kitchen, and break room. Past that was where the office opened up to a full open concept floor of cubicles and desks where my staff worked. “Follow me. I’ll show you around the office and get you each to your personal mentors. Then you can start working right away.”
More whispering ensued as they all fell into step behind me. The heels of Laura’s boots struck the hardwood as she followed, hot on my heels.
At my instruction we stopped at the kitchen first, where I told them they were free to bring their own food. I assured everyone that their food would not be touched by anyone else in the office. I also made sure to inform them that I provided snacks at all times, and if they didn’t bring their own food there was more than enough here to go around. These kids weren’t well off and I knew there was a high chance all of them would be showing up to work every day with no meals.
I also informed them that lunch was brought in for them on Fridays and they were free to use all the coffee machines at their own discretion. The fridge provided filtered water, and inside contained a couple different types of juice, much to my disapproval but at the insistence of my staff. In my mind juice was not a beverage to be had in the workplace. Ju
st like soda. I’d managed to keep it out so far, but it was clear that I was fighting a losing battle. The people wanted fizzy goodness.
I wanted them working at their optimum level, rather than being powered by caffeine and sugar. In the back of my mind somewhere, I was aware of the hypocrisy, since the fancy coffee machines produced drinks containing the very same ingredients.
After I finished my briefing on the kitchen we moved to the break room. “This room is to be used as you see fit. If you need to come in and take a break from staring at a computer screen, I completely understand. Take as long as you like. So long as you get the work done and done properly, I don’t care where you spend your time. My other employees will enforce that. Don’t work yourself so hard that you burn out. I always have that issue with interns.”
One of the kids muttered, “Did he just tell us not to work too hard?”
I peered at the one who had spoken. I was pretty sure he was the one Laura pointed out as Lewis. I nodded at him. “You heard correctly, Lewis. Don’t overdo it. My people are my assets and without them Nova would be nothing but a pile of rubble. I believe in frequent oil changes to keep the car running smoothly. Make sense?”
Lewis nodded, “Yes sir.”
“Please. Call me Max.”
I led them through to the rest of the office. We emerged in the open concept area with floor to ceiling windows all the way around. Bright sunlight streamed in, lighting up all the dust particles in the air but also making the room appear very welcoming and spacious. The staff who had arrived for the day all looked up and smiled. Some offered friendly hello’s as I walked through the middle of the office to set the kids up at their desks with their temporary mentors. I wanted to have them all sitting together so they could maintain a sense of camaraderie. I wouldn’t be like one of those grumpy old high school teachers who refused to let you sit with your friends.
Unless of course they proved to me that they were incapable of getting their work done while sitting with said friends. And of course we couldn’t have them disturbing other workers and things of that nature.
I introduced the kids to their mentors, five senior developers on my team with the skills and patience to make excellent trainers. They kept it fun and light and within minutes everyone was cracking jokes and swapping stories.
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