Chapter 7—Willow
As soon as Bobby leaves, I read the papers he gave me twice, as fast as possible, watching the door like he might come back just as quickly as he left.
I want to have an answer ready the second he walks back in.
But the longer he’s away, the more I relax, enough to pour myself another coffee and grab a pen off his desk to make notes in the margins.
There isn’t anything here I’m against. It’s more than I ever thought I’d get by going from part-time to full-time. This promotion packet is more in line with someone who’s spent years at the company and was promoted several times over.
I mark up the pages, focusing on all the benefits, as there are several. I read things over and over to make sure I understand them, as some of the legal jargon is a bit more than I can handle. I’m smart, but not lawyer smart. I pick things up quickly, though, and I’m a sucker for details.
After a while, I start to wonder if he’s ever going to come back.
I stack the leftover pastries in their box, which is off to the side on one of the half shelves, and tidy the table as much as I can before setting my laptop on it.
I’m not going to sit here and do nothing, so I power it up and go through my work emails, then start focusing on a project that was put on hold while I worked the Charles and Myers files.
That’s when he comes back. I stand out of principle, since he’s the boss, and no matter what my new title says, I still work for him.
“Sir.” I give him a wide smile to show him my enthusiasm for the contract.
However, he just stops walking, the door clicking behind him, and he practically glares at me. “I swear to Christ, Willow, if you don’t start calling me Bobby, I’ll bend you over my desk and spank that ass of yours. And I don’t make empty threats.”
I swallow my tongue and wobble on my feet. I’m not sure if I should call human resources or the fire department.
“Yes, sir.” I breathe out and then shake my head. “I mean Bobby.”
He glares at me a second more before stomping over and giving me a box, then goes to sit on the other side of his desk.
“I take it you had time to look over the contract?”
He changes gears so quickly that I only have half a second to think I imagined the whole thing moments before.
“Yes, si—Bobby.” His eyes narrow, but nothing more than that. “I only have one ask.”
He waves a hand in the air as if brushing away my thought.
“I already had my secretary, Alfonso, look into childcare programs that you might find suitable for the girls. He should have emailed them to you by now. Take a look and let me know which one you would like. The company will take on the expense, and a car service will be provided for you and the girls on workdays to drop the girls off and then to make sure they get to the program you select for them, as well as your travel to collect them.”
I actually trip on my way to the chair in front of his desk. The box he handed me falls to the ground as I reach out to grab the nearest object to steady myself.
“Are you all right?” He’s at my side in an instant, and I can’t look at him.
Not because of what he said and how he thought of things that I was trying to work through on my own, but what came out of the box he gave me.
Heels. Black, red-soled heels. But unlike the classic shoe that the brand is known for, the heels are low and wide, with gel inserts already inside both shoes. Styled for work, but made for comfort.
I nod, swallowing the lump of emotion in my throat as I right myself with the help of his hand on my elbow. He steadies me easily, and I slide into the chair I was coming to sit in.
Then this man, who’s known for his global skills in negotiations and overtaking new businesses to make them thrive, bends down and picks up the fallen heels, putting them back into the box and handing them to me.
“Consider this a signing bonus.”
He turns and heads back to his desk. Unbuttoning his suit jacket, he sits down.
“Along with an actual bonus and back pay for the hours you weren’t compensated for when you worked off the clock.
Please make a tally of that, and I’ll make sure payroll is notified.
I also alerted human resources that those employees under your former boss might put in timesheet request changes due to also working without pay.
I had a memo sent out to them to alert them they have until the end of the week to put it in to keep with policy.
Despite what your predecessor claimed, this company pays overtime, and I don’t let anyone work for free. Not if I expect the best out of them.”
He folds his hands on the desk and leans forward as if warning me. But I had already planned to give him my very best, even without all the extras.
“Thank you for the shoes.” I slip off my tennis shoes and put the heels on. As expected, they fit perfectly. I never even doubted that he would know my shoe size.
The man has a way about him. I’m not sure if it’s the dark eyes behind the thin black frames or the chiseled jaw dusted with a five-o’clock shadow despite the hour of the day.
But he sees details. If I knew nothing about him and went off looks alone, I’d know all that just by his appearance.
He’s perfectly put together, even down to each strand of his hair.
Cut short on the sides, tapered close to the scalp, while the top is left longer and thick.
Always styled back as if he ran his fingers through it, rising slightly at the front, deliberate and dominant.
An effortless look but controlled all in one.
The kind of style that suggests he cares about details without wanting anyone to know how much.
“And I wouldn’t usually ask for help with my girls, but I truly appreciate and accept the help.” I’m not about to turn down something that will make my life easier. I’ve been through enough to know when to accept a handout. Screw pride when it comes to providing for my girls.
“I was only going to suggest that it would be better to bring in two financial analysts to this new team instead of just me.” The job promotion isn’t to take over someone else’s spot, but to run a new group that focuses on double-checking the owner copies versus the physical.
A checks and balances system that I’m honestly surprised wasn’t already in place before all of this.
But I guess that’s how these things happen.
You don’t think you need a second team to review files when the others are already reviewing them.
The assumption that something will be randomly noticed by someone is the human error in it all.
“Anyone in mind?”
“Missy, my cubicle mate. She was the one who first alerted me to the issue, so she has an eye for detail even if she’s unaware of what she stumbled upon. She’s also young and eager, and I think it would be beneficial if you want this team running quickly.”
“Yes, I do. I’m meeting with a few others today who I plan to pull into this new team as well.
By Wednesday, I want us all on the same page and rolling over the files.
Spencer didn’t give me much, but he confessed to doing this for years.
I suspect more than a few files are compromised, and I want to know about them immediately and make sure the errors aren’t more significant. ”
And the embezzlement isn’t ongoing. He leaves it out, but it goes without saying. There’s a chance that others, like Bobby already suspected, are in on this.
“I want to keep this on a need-to-know basis until we get a grasp of the full damage. Do you think your colleague can handle that?”
I don’t know why the question of my loyalty to this company isn’t even on his mind like it is for Missy, but butterflies take root while I nod in earnest.
“She’s one of a kind. I’ve even trusted her to watch my girls once or twice.” Not sure if that’s the proof he’s looking for to trust her, but he must know by now that my girls are my world. And I don’t trust them in the hands of just anyone.
“Works for me. I’ll get her name added to the list to discuss it and see if it’s something she wants to be part of.” He types something on his computer and then focuses on me again. “What else? Any other areas you wish to discuss in your new contract? Any changes you want to go over?”
I shake my head. “No, your offer is more than generous. Thank you.”
He nods but then says nothing. Neither of us speaks as he stares at me. I worry my bottom lip between my teeth for half a second before deciding.
Standing, I hold out my hand to him, and as expected, he rises and takes it. “Thank you, Bobby. Not only do I appreciate this opportunity to start on this team, but I also appreciate you taking the time to share your breakfast with me.”
He holds my hand a little tighter when I try to pull it out of his grasp the first time but then lets me go. I put my old shoes in the new shoebox and go back to my laptop, closing it and putting my contract on top along with the shoebox.
“I’ll wait for human resources to send me the contract to sign, and I’ll wait for further instructions on where you intend to place the new team.”
I don’t expect it to be on level seven. There’s zero privacy there. If he wants to keep this away from prying eyes, it will have to be on another level that I haven’t been to, one that’s closed off from unwanted visitors.
“Thank you, Willow. This morning has been very productive for me as well. I should have the contract sent over within the hour. Please read it over once more just in case you see something not listed properly, and come find me or email me with any questions. I’ll also be in touch with your relocation in the building. ”
I try not to hyperventilate that the boss wants me to come find him if I have questions. Not human resources or someone else, but him directly. And from his whole “don’t call me sir” speech, I know he means it. He wouldn’t say it if he didn’t intend for me to come to him for something.
He stands the entire time it takes me to leave, and when I close the door behind me, I see Marco is standing by his seat. I just nod to him and the man behind the desk, who gives me a raised eyebrow, before scurrying away.
I’m not fleeing. This is simply going back to my desk. Sure, I do it with a quickened pace and don’t make eye contact with anyone who passes as I go, but it’s not a retreat.
This is a victory lap. I just need to get to my desk and sign the damn contract before this Cinderella miracle moment disappears and the clock strikes midnight.
I’m sipping my Diet Coke through a straw and munching on the last of my carrots when Missy comes over to me.
I’ve been watching the elevator not so casually for the last hour, ever since she told me she had a random meeting to attend.
Poor girl thought she was being fired. I said nothing other than “I’m sure it isn’t anything like that. ”
Bobby trusted me to keep this discreet, and I don’t want to dishonor his wishes, especially after just signing off on the new contract. I’ve already logged the hours I predicted I spent working on unpaid overtime. I couldn’t recall all of them, but I did what I could.
“Oh. My. God,” she squeaks out before going to her side of the desk and leaning over the cubicle with both arms folded over the top. “Did that really just happen?”
“Depends. What happened?” I’m not giving anything away, because I honestly don’t know what was said in her meeting. It could have actually been a random one, since it wasn’t clear who she was meeting with. I’m not about to assume anything.
She looks around before leaning closer over the barricade between us, whispering softly. “You and I are going to be part of a new team to look for financial discrepancies that might be linked to an embezzlement ring that Mr. Folly was a part of?”
Guess the meeting was exactly what I thought it was.
“Yes.” I stand and lean just as close to speak low with her. “Did you accept?”
“Duh! Did you see the offer level? I would have been stupid not to.”
I laugh, knowing I felt the same way.
“That’s like a twenty-grand pay increase.
” She shakes her head in wonderment, but it has me stunned.
I know what Missy makes, and this doesn’t match.
She’s been open about it because I asked about the full-time benefits and average pay, and she was very honest and shared more than I expected.
Still, what she got and what I got are completely different amounts.
“Ms. Frazzer.”
I jump with a gasp, and Missy lets out a cry she covers up with her hand over her mouth as we both turn to see Marco standing right next to us.
We were so focused on each other that we missed him showing up.
I half wonder if he’s a ninja, because I could have sworn I would have heard if someone else had come close.
Marco just has special skills that make him unique in that manner.
“Jesus, Marco, don’t do that again. I’m too young to have a heart attack.”
The man actually grins at my words. Okay, one corner of his lip rises, but I call it a win.
“Mr. Leone would like to offer you his car service to pick up the girls since it’s expected to rain today.”
“Is it?” I look at Missy, who shrugs as I pull out my phone to check the weather. But before I can even open the app, Marco puts his hand out and pushes my phone down.
“He also thought you might want to take a look at some programs Alfonso, his secretary, sent over earlier,” he says casually, but I don’t miss the wide eyes Missy is sending us.
I choose to ignore it because I do want to look at the programs I highlighted as possibilities for the girls.
And if there’s a car, that would make it easier to see so many in one day.
“Right. Let me just pack up.”
It’s only ten minutes earlier than I usually leave anyway. And with the specific request from Bobby, I almost feel like it would be an insult if I say no.
Besides, I didn’t pack for rain. And my new shoes? Definitely don’t want those to get wet.
I smile at Missy, waving farewell as I step in line with Marco and head to the elevators. My phone pings with a notification from my bank as we enter. I look at it out of habit and almost fall on my ass.
“Problem?” Marco asks as he looks at the concern on my face.
I shake my head and then nod but say nothing. He wouldn’t know why I just received a deposit of forty grand into my account. Men don’t do things like this without expecting something in return. And Marco won’t know what it is that I’m meant to do for it.
But his boss will.