Chapter Two
Tabitha
Out of the corner of my eye, I can see Spencer wincing and wiping a hand over his face. He screws up his mouth too. Whatever his problem is, I won”t ask. Any good administrative assistant knows never to question what the boss does unless it might lead to an SEC investigation. If Spencer wants to act like he”s having an upright colonoscopy in his office, that”s his concern and none of mine.
But I do like him. I wasn”t bullshitting my new boss when I told him I think he”s very sweet and adorable. I”ve always loved the British accent, and Spencer”s deep voice makes his accent sound even sexier.
I”m about to shut the bottom drawer when I notice a piece of paper has fallen onto the bottom of the cabinet. That might be something important. Better nab it. So, I lay one hand on top of the cabinet to steady me, then I thrust my hand in there to rummage around and try to catch the errant paper. My fingers keep slipping. The page scoots further away. I duck my head inside the cabinet to get closer to that damn piece of paper.
Spencer coughs. ”Are you, ah, almost done there?”
”Yeah, almost.”
”Maybe I should do that.”
I turn my head, but I can only see a sliver of his face. ”No offense, but you wouldn”t fit in here. You have sizable arm muscles that would get in the way.”
”Right, of course. But I don”t want you to get trapped in there.”
”This is my job.” I finally get hold of the paper and carefully pull my head and shoulders out of the cabinet. I raise it triumphantly. ”Success at last. I was beginning to think I”d need to call Dr. Who to whisk me away to the alternate dimension where missing papers go to die.”
”I”m quite glad that wasn”t necessary. And I”m happy to hear you”re a fan of British television series.” Spencer offers me his hand, helping me get to my feet. ”I hope this won”t be the usual manner of retrieving documents.”
”No, I promise it won”t. Crawling around inside a file cabinet isn”t my preferred method of retrieving anything.”
Spencer shoves a finger inside his shirt”s neck and tugs on it several times. ”I”m sorry I was staring at your arse. I didn”t mean to do it.”
I pat his arm. ”Relax. I won”t be filing any sexual harassment charges. And I don”t blame you for staring at my ass. It was shoved in your face, after all.”
He blows out a breath, seeming intensely relieved. ”Thank you, Tabitha. I”d hate to be sacked on day one at my new job.”
”Why don”t we move on to the rest of your orientation? You”ve seen everything in this office.”
”Yes, please, let”s move on.”
I lead him out the door, but as we pass by my desk, he winces faintly. Does he think I have silly string in my desk drawer and I”ll spray him with it when he least expects it? Spencer had seemed so freewheeling when I first saw him. But he quickly shifted into anxiety. How strange. If I”ve done something to make him uncomfortable, I want to fix that.
Well, okay, I did climb into a file cabinet. And I shoved my ass in his face. I should apologize to him again. On second thought, I think I”d better just leave things as they are for now.
”How large is this building?” Spencer asks as we wander past various reception areas and open doorways to conference rooms. ”Does the company own the whole thing?”
”No. The building is eight stories tall. Didn”t you notice that when you drove into the underground parking area?”
”Someone else drove the car. I sat in the backseat, which had tinted windows. I couldn”t see much.”
”Oh, you poor thing. That”s no way to treat an executive, especially a new one who just moved to America.” I hook my arm around his bicep, and I can”t help noticing how firm and strong his arm feels. ”What can I do to make you feel at home here?”
”Give me an entire bottle of tranquilizers.” He smirks. ”That was a joke. I”ll be right as rain soon enough, once I get better acquainted with my new surroundings.”
”I know you will.” I pull us to a halt, then point toward an open doorway that”s labeled with the words Risk Analysis Team. ”Here we go. You”ll feel like your old self again once you meet your crew.”
”Thank you, Tabitha.” He straightens his jacket and smooths his hands through his hair. ”Into the breach, eh?”
”Absolutely. I”ll go in with you to do the introductions.”
He eyes me sideways. ”You”re the mother hen of the company, aren”t you? Everyone listens to you, I imagine.”
”I”m the mother hen of your crew, not the entire company.”
”Of course.”
Spencer lifts his chin and marches into the large room, halting about ten feet from the threshold. ”Hello, everyone!”
He smiles as all his employees turn to look at him, swiveling their chairs.
I come up beside him. ”Good morning, gang. Let me introduce our new Chief Financial Risk Analyst here at Bramson Feigenbaum Investments, Spencer Halfenaked.”
Though I glance at him out of the corner of my eye, expecting him to flinch at my use of his surname, he remains calm and resolute. Everyone seems a touch confused.
Spencer hooks his thumbs inside his waistband. ”Don”t worry, ladies and gents, I will expect you to just call me Spencer.” He winks. ”And I assure you that I never go half-naked at work. It”s starkers or nothing.”
The second the new boss grins, everyone starts laughing.
One hand rises.
Spencer nods to that person. ”Did you have a question?”
”Yes. I”m Lydia McDonnell, and it”s great to meet you, Spencer. But I”m wondering what ”starkers” means.”
”Didn”t you ever watch British TV, Lydia?” a young man in the corner shouts. ”I thought everybody knew ”starkers” meant bare-chested and bare-assed.”
I glance at Spencer, then point toward the man who spoke. ”That”s Brian Tonkin, our youngest team member. You”ll get used to his frat-house humor.”
”Oh, I know all about that sort of comedy,” Spencer says. ”I have a brother and a sister who love to harass me, not to mention shedloads of mates who have strange taste in jokes.”
Another hand pops up from the peanut gallery. ”Oh! Mr. Half---I mean, Spencer. Are you really British?”
The big boss chuckles. ”Yes, pet, I am. Born and raised in Tottenham, a working-class neighborhood in London.”
”My family is working class too. I”m Kelly Jones, by the way. I”ve only been here for a few months.”
Spencer strides over to the girl”s desk, clasps her hand, and kisses it. ”What a pleasure it is to meet you, Kelly.”
The girl giggles.
I can”t deny I was a little skeptical of how Spencer would respond when he met his underlings. But he has stepped into the leadership role with grace and ease. Hard to believe this is the same man who was twirling his chair around and who worried about whether he could handle his new position.
A gray-haired woman rises from her desk at the front of the maze of cubicles and approaches the new guy. She thrusts a hand out to him. ”Welcome to the team, Spencer. I”m Gladys Markowitz, your second in command when it comes to risk analysis. Tabitha here is the boss of me and everyone else in this room---except for you.”
Spencer shakes her hand. ”I”m chuffed to meet you, Gladys. And I”m just as chuffed to meet the rest of you also. For anyone who doesn”t know, the term chuffed means I”m very happy.”
I open my mouth, ready to suggest that he should give a little speech. But Spencer gets there first.
He removes his suit jacket, hanging it over his arm. ”I know this must be an awkward transition for you lot. Your former chief risk analyst must have been a good friend to all of you, based on the welcome you”ve given me. I”m new here, so I don”t want to shake things up right now. Keep doing what you”ve been doing. In a week or so, when you”ve gotten used to me, I”d like to watch each of you doing your job so I can get a feel for your style of analysis. But I”ll wait on that until a bit later.”
”Don”t worry about offending us,” a man with salt-and-pepper hair pronounces. He strides up to Spencer and shakes the boss”s hand firmly. ”I”m Larry Harper. And I think I speak for everyone in this room when I say we”re damn glad you”re here and that jackass Don Masters got the boot.”
”He was fired?”
”Yep. The guy had the personality of a Shar-Pei. In other words, he was a mean old cuss.”
I clap my hands. ”Okay, everyone, meet-the-boss time is over. Spencer and I need to get going.”
Larry slaps the boss”s arm, then flashes me a grin. ”Giving him the grand tour, eh, Tabitha?”
”Of course. It”s my job.”
I hook my arm around Spencer”s bicep once again and guide him out into the hall. ”Now, it”s time to show you the most important space in this building.”
”What is it? The loo?”
”You”ll see.”