9. Lucy
LUCY
T aking a deep breath, Lucy packed the last of her things into the cardboard box she’d found in the copy room.
It was hard to say goodbye to the desk where she’d done such good work, and it was hard to imagine being a CEO, but she was excited, too.
She knew everything Dominic had wanted for Borderless, and she was confident that she could make it happen just the way he’d hoped.
Lifting the slightly heavy box, Lucy made her way down the corridor towards Dominic’s old office.
She’d have to share an office with Elliot, which wasn’t ideal, but she’d make it work.
Anyway, she was in the office early, as usual, so Elliot probably wouldn’t be there yet.
She could get settled in before he came.
It would be a good way to stake her claim after he’d tried to oust her from her new role the day before.
Yet when Lucy nudged the door open with her hip, she saw that Elliot was already sitting at Dominic’s old desk. Her eyebrows shot up as she eased the rest of the way inside.
“You’re here early,” she said, trying to keep her tone neutral.
Elliot raised his gaze to hers. He’d been looking at something on his laptop, and several documents were spread across the desk in front of him. Lucy also noticed a paperweight with the Keype logo — a key and a circle — emblazoned on it and a silver pen in a special stand.
“I wanted to become more familiar with the company before getting started,” he said.
His words were brisk, professional… and more than a little icy.
Lucy’s heart froze. She bit her lip. In an instant, the harsh words Elliot had spoken to her back in college came rushing back, but she tried to ignore them.
This wasn’t about long-ago feelings. This was about business.
“That’s great.” Lucy set her box down on the desk. “I see you’ve made yourself comfortable, but we’ll need to work out where everything goes.”
“What do you mean, where everything goes?” Elliot asked. “This is my office now.”
“Ha.” Lucy folded her arms. “What makes you say that?”
“Well, there’s only one desk in here, so only one of us can work here. I should have the office. I’ll need it more.”
“Why do you need the CEO’s office more than me?” Lucy shook her head. “Sorry, but that doesn’t make any sense.”
“I’ll be handling meetings with the C-suite and with investors, and I need a good office for that.”
“I’ll be handling those meetings, too.” Lucy’s temper flared. “You’ll need another excuse.”
“Try this on, then,” Elliot retorted. “I was here first. This is my desk now. Find another office unless you want to work on the floor.”
Lucy bristled, but Elliot did have a point.
There was only one desk. She picked up her box and left, her steps brisk.
The door swished closed behind her, but she was almost certain that Elliot was gloating.
He might think he’d won, but he hadn’t. Lucy went straight to the HR department, where she found a friend who’d started at the company around the same time she had.
“Gabriel.” She set her box on the edge of his desk. “I have a bit of a situation, and I need your help.”
“Anything for you, Lucy.” Gabriel tilted his laptop closed and looked up at her. “What’s going on?”
“Well, Dominic appointed me and Elliot Cobb as co-CEOs of Borderless,” Lucy began.
“Congratulations.”
“Thanks, but it doesn’t really feel like a promotion. Anyway, Elliot seems to have decided that he alone has claim on Dominic’s old office because there’s only one desk in there. Can you help me get a second desk?”
“Right away.” Gabriel stood, then hesitated. “Won’t it be a little crowded, though? I could get you your own office. I think the head of marketing just moved to another floor…”
“It’s about the principle as much as anything,” Lucy explained. “I need to show that I belong in Dominic’s old office just as much as he does.”
“Understood.” Gabriel straightened his glasses and stepped out from behind his desk. “I’ll get on that right away. If it would help, I could also set everything up to have your calls forwarded there.”
“Perfect.”
Ten minutes later, Lucy was back outside Dominic’s old office with her box.
She opened the door to see that Elliot was now on the phone.
Based on what he was saying, he seemed to be talking to a Keype employee about something.
Lucy stepped inside, set the box down, crossed her arms, and looked pointedly at Elliot until he sighed and bid the other party goodbye.
“I thought we discussed this,” he said. “Couldn’t you find another office?”
“We did discuss this.” Lucy smiled. “You said we couldn’t both work here because there’s only one desk, and you made a good point.”
“I also pointed out that I should have the desk, but you’re still back,” Elliot added.
“True. I am back. Gabriel? Tory?”
The door swung open again as the two employees carried a desk inside. It was a couple inches smaller than Elliot’s, but it would do the trick. Lucy directed them to set it down.
“Just push it right up here,” she added.
Together, they pushed the desk until the long edge pressed against the edge of Elliot’s desk.
Gabriel disappeared to wheel in a chair.
When he returned, Lucy sat at her new desk, directly across from Elliot, so close that, if they both reached out, their fingertips would have brushed.
“I’ll grab your computer,” Tory put in.
“Thank you, that would be wonderful.”
Tory and Gabriel exited while Elliot stared daggers at Lucy across their desks.
“I don’t know what you’re trying to prove, but this isn’t going to work. How will we hold meetings in here? How will we get anything done when we’re so… close together?”
“It won’t be a problem for me.” Lucy began unpacking her photo, plants, and other small trinkets she kept on her desk. “We have plenty of conference rooms for meetings. And I can work here just fine. I may not be used to the work of a CEO, but that means I can do without the perks, too. Can you?”
Elliot sighed. “Fine. But in a few days, when you regret this, I’m not helping you move that desk out.”
“No problem.” Lucy smiled sweetly. Just then, Tory returned with her computer, and Lucy distracted herself by getting everything set up the way she needed it.
In truth, Lucy found Elliot’s nearness deeply distracting.
She was curious about what he’d been doing for the last ten years — and what had happened to turn him from a goofy college boy to a cold businessman.
But Lucy also knew that being a co-CEO was more important than finding out anything about Elliot.
She needed to maintain distance, focus on her work, and try to get things done.
The rest of the day passed slowly. Lucy was painfully aware of each of Elliot’s movements. Despite herself, her eyes tracked him when he got up for coffee or to make a call. Each tap of his keyboard sounded like a hammer.
For her own part, Lucy did her best to familiarize herself with the documents left for the new CEOs, but it was a lot of business and legal jargon she didn’t understand.
It was true that she was much more familiar with the creative side of Borderless than the business one.
If she could have asked Elliot for help, she would have, but it seemed better not to show any weakness in front of him.
Instead, she spent half the day on Google trying to figure out what everything meant.
By the time evening came, she was exhausted, but her inner stubbornness forbade her from leaving until Elliot did. So, she sat at her desk, working, until after seven that night, when Elliot finally stood, stretched, and packed his backpack.
“Did you have a productive day?” she asked sweetly.
“Not really.” Elliot sighed. “I guess I’ll see you tomorrow.”
“Yep.”
Then he left. Lucy waited five more minutes to be sure he was gone before she followed. Working with Elliot was going to be nearly impossible, but she would do what she had to. Even if that meant starting every morning on the receiving end of Elliot’s icy stare to prove she had a right to be there.