Chapter 6 Gwen
GWEN
The scramble to properly welcome me to Ashford made it clear that Harrison could move mountains.
Well, some of them, at least. They didn’t actually have my office ready when I showed up at eight thirty. But Denise, the lovely woman who welcomed me, swore it would be good to go by lunch and set me up in a gigantic conference room until that time.
Everything else I’d need to do my job, from the new hire paperwork to the laptop and phone to the badge with my name on it, was waiting for me. My time as an afterthought at McPherson was over.
At Ashford, I mattered, even on day one.
“We feel terrible that your office isn’t ready,” Denise frowned at me apologetically. “It’s not like us at all, but the speed of your onboarding was a little, um, unusual.”
I grinned at her as I arranged my things on the long table. “Unprecedented times…”
“Indeed,” she agreed. “But that’s about to change, thanks to you.”
I should’ve felt nervous because of the out-of-the-gate pressure, but the only sensation coursing through me was excitement.
Because I knew my plan was solid. And if his marketing team was any good—which I knew they were, because I’d done my research—I was sure they would back me.
Which would come in handy since the grump who was going to be signing my paychecks would hate it.
“There she is!”
Denise and I turned toward the door when we heard the sing-songy voice. It was another woman who looked to be a few years older than Denise, with a salt and pepper updo and a kindergarten teacher vibe. She was even wearing a fuzzy pink cardigan with a brooch.
Sort of the last type of person I expected to see employed by someone as cutthroat as Harrison, but the man kept surprising me.
“Is it blasphemous to call you our savior, Gwen?” The woman walked toward me with her arms outstretched and took my right hand in both of hers. “I’ve already heard wonderful things about you! I’m Harrison’s executive assistant, Susan Miller.”
I tried to hide my frown of confusion. She’d heard wonderful things about me from whom? Because there was no way Harrison was singing my praises.
“Oh, that’s kind of you to say,” I responded. “I’m ready to help shift the narrative here.”
“Boy, do we need it,” she chuckled, throwing a glance at Denise. “Our fearless leader has moods, but this one won’t quit.”
As much as I wanted to pump her for details about Harrison’s grumpiness, it was too soon for me to get personal. Based on how friendly the pair were, I hoped we’d eventually wind up as gossip buddies.
I bobbed my head agreeably. “I see a way forward, if all goes according to plan.”
The only potential issue was the man at the center of the controversy, but I hoped he’d give in once he realized he was outnumbered.
“What can I get for you?” Susan asked. “Water? Coffee? An energy bar? Because it sounds like Harrison has a big day lined up for you.”
I chuckled. “I’m fine, thanks. I made crepes for breakfast.”
Susan’s eyebrows shot up. “You made them? I’m impressed!”
“I like to bake when I’m stressed, and I’d say my whirlwind hiring here at Ashford qualifies as stressful.”
“Well, I have a feeling you’re going to be firing up your oven quite a bit over the next few weeks,” Denise replied. “Working at Ashford is phenomenal, but it can get tense at times, you know?”
“Well, if that’s the case, you’ll both be beneficiaries of my baking,” I smiled at them despite the butterflies in my belly. “I hope you like sweets.”
“Like them?” Susan laughed. “I’m addicted. Bring it on! We’ll leave you alone so you can prep for your big meeting. The projector is right over there,” she pointed to the corner of the room. “Our IT guru Rakesh will be up in a couple of hours to get it set up.”
The butterflies started swarming. “Okay, but, um, Harrison said I needed to present to his team first thing? Is there any way Rakesh can come now?”
“Oh,” Susan frowned at me. “He’s tied up with our CFO at the moment, but I’ll let him know you need him ASAP.”
“Don’t worry about it,” I said quickly. I didn’t want to cause a fuss right off the bat. Besides, I’d watched IT guys set up about a million presentations over the years. It didn’t seem that complicated. “Maybe I can figure it out.”
Ten minutes later, I was on my hands and knees on the floor next to the projector, watching a YouTube instructional video that wasn’t making the setup process any clearer.
“Why don’t I have that hole?” I asked out loud, clutching the connection wires in my hand. “It’s the exact same device as the one in the video, but I only have one hole!”
I leaned down to reexamine the connection box on the floor, hoping that I’d somehow missed the elusive extra hole. As I stared at the machine, I noticed movement in my periphery, and I glanced at the window in front of me. There in the reflection I spied none other than the man of the hour.
The Jetliner Jackass was standing in the conference room doorway, staring at my ass.
Which just happened to be up in the air like I was a cat in heat.
“What’s this about your holes?” he asked, amusement in his voice.
I spun around. “Excuse me?”
I had to struggle to hold onto my indignation, because the moment our eyes connected my heart pulsed.
Heat pooled in my belly, my skin felt too tight, and I had to fight the urge to smooth down my dress.
It didn’t matter how much of jackass the man was, my body apparently had no pride when it came to Harrison Ashford.
He looked even hotter than usual if that was even possible, in a black suit that made his broad shoulders look twice as big.
He wasn’t the only one who’d put effort into looking good. I was in an emerald-green belted dress short enough to show some leg but long enough to be office appropriate…when I stood like a normal human. I had no idea how much bare upper thigh and butt cheek I’d just exposed to my new boss.
“I heard you muttering about holes,” Harrison replied. “Do I need to get HR involved?”
My face went hot. “You wouldn’t have heard a thing if you hadn’t been…” I struggled for the appropriate word, “loitering in the doorway like a stalker.”
“I was walking in to say good morning and welcome. I’d hardly call that stalker behavior,” he mused. “Now what’s the problem here?”
“No problem,” I snapped back at him as I refocused on the projector since looking at him made me shaky. “I’m fine.”
I could feel his eyes on me.
“I agree.”
My hands went shaky at the timbre of his voice.
“That’s why I hired you,” he continued. “You seem like the kind of person who gets things done by any means necessary. So if that machine needs an extra hole, I have no doubt you’ll punch one in it yourself.”
Okay, so I was wrong. The man was being professional, not flirty.
Why was I disappointed?
“In any case, I hope you figure it out soon,” he continued. “The whole team will be here shortly.”
“I’m trying,” I grumbled over my shoulder. “But you didn’t hire me to be a projectionist. And your IT guy is busy.”
“Well, at Ashford we all pitch in as needed. You’ll get used to stepping up.”
And on the one hand…yes, that was fine. I had no problems with stepping up.
But on the other, I couldn’t believe this guy, of all people, was lecturing me about following through.
After walking out of my life without any sort of explanation, making me feel like he’d hired me for the week like an escort.
“Right,” I narrowed my eyes at him. “And if I need any lessons on stepping out, I’ll come to you.”
“What’s that supposed to mean?” Harrison asked, genuinely confused, which just ticked me off even more. Bad enough that he did what he did. I wasn’t about to let him forget that he did it. The laws of karma required him to feel guilty about it for at least the next fifty years.
I stood up and strode closer to him, fuming. “You know exactly what I mean.”
He sighed. “Aspen? Again? Come on, Gwen, you need to get past that.”
“I’m sorry, what? Get past being ditched when you were done with me, like I was an escort you hired for the week?”
“Oh come on.”
“Not even a note,” I fired back at him, stepping closer until I could see the gold in his green eyes. “You just vanished.”
Harrison’s jaw tightened. “This isn’t the time or place to get into it, but I do apologize for the way I left things. I was dealing with—”
“Hey, folks, I heard there was a projector emergency in here?” A dark-haired man walked in clutching a small canvas bag. He reached his hand out to me. “I’m Rakesh Durvasala.”
I finally managed to stop fuming at Harrison and looked at him. “Gwen Ackland, and thanks for getting here so quickly. I have a pretty important presentation coming up.”
“On your first day?” Rakesh let out a low whistle. “Okay then, let’s get to it.”
As expected, he had my laptop connected within minutes, which gave me time to collect myself and prep for the meeting to come.
The meeting time arrived, and people started filtering in. Janet, Brianna, Jim, Thomas, Jack, Claire…I forced myself to remember each name as they took their seats around the table.
Harrison stood up at the head of the table and the chatter in the room stopped abruptly. “Folks, you’ve all had a chance to meet Gwen now, so let’s get started. I want everyone locked in as we work through the plan.”
I straightened up. “Good morning,” I began, glancing around at the team.
My palms went sweaty. I’d given more presentations over the years than I could count, but it had never felt like I had quite this much riding on one before.
Harrison—for all his many, many faults—had taken a big chance, bringing me on the way he did.
Now was my one and only opportunity to prove him right.
“I’m happy to be here, and I’m excited to map out a new way forward. If I were to sum up the plan with one word, I’d choose sincerity. It’s what the Rushies value most about Scarlet, and it’s the best way to win their forgiveness.”
A few people nodded, which gave me a shot of confidence. I started the projector.