Chapter Twenty Four
NATALIE
I was surprised when I got a call from Maddox's head of HR, Carmen. I'd sent him my résumé yesterday during the party, and today was a Sunday.
"Hey," I told her after she introduced herself. "I wasn't expecting to hear from you today."
"Oh, trust me, we’re in a pinch, so when Maddox emailed me your résumé, saying he thinks you're a good fit, I jumped at the opportunity." She sounded like a can-do sort of woman, and I liked that in a person—no nonsense.
"He also said you have several other candidates."
"Yes, I spoke with them Friday. You’re the only one who can start right away. And Maddox has got a good feeling for the game," Carmen said. "If he's good with you, then so am I. He did tell you it's only for six weeks, right?"
"Yes, yes, he did," I said. I had no prayer of actually receiving one of the other jobs I'd applied to during that time, so this worked well.
"We have a flexible schedule. It's not exactly nine-to-five. We would expect you to be there at the events themselves."
"That's no problem."
She mentioned the salary, and it was very attractive.
"Also, we have a flexible workplace policy. You can work from home on the days when there isn't an event."
"Got it."
I wasn’t going to do that. I needed to be where there was AC, and that was any place except my home.
I leaned against the edge of the desk. Jake was watching me from the couch. He was wearing shorts and looked 100 percent sinful and 200 percent sexy.
I couldn't wait to celebrate this with him.
"I've got a lot of meetings tomorrow," she said, "but come to the office Tuesday at 8:00 a.m."
"For an interview?" I asked.
"Forget that. You're hired."
"Thank you. That's amazing and surprising."
She laughed. "We're a pretty informal company. I’d probably make you jump through hoops if it were a permanent position, but I’m relieved someone can pick up the slack immediately because we have an event coming up."
"I'll be at the office Tuesday at eight."
"Perfect."
"Thank you, Carmen. Have a great Sunday."
The second I put the phone down, I noticed I had five missed calls from a number I didn’t have saved. Maybe Carmen called from a different phone before switching to the one she just spoke with me on? It didn’t matter. I got the job.
Jake said, "Congratulations, babe."
I practically ran over to him, jumping into his lap, putting my ankles at the sides of his thighs. He grinned at my enthusiasm.
"I'm so happy this worked out." I also had a small plan. Maybe I could bring him and Maddox closer. Some barriers seemed to have lifted between them yesterday. Who knew what else could happen?
"How do you want to celebrate?" he asked me.
"We can continue in the same fashion we did last night. You can have your way with me, and then we can order some room service and so on. I really like this place." I couldn't believe it was so huge. "Though it's a bit cold. Empty."
"True."
"One of my massive paintings could certainly fit above your desk."
"Then bring it," he said. “I’ll talk the hotel into hanging it for me.”
"Really?" I grinned.
"I like the idea of having something of yours here.”
His eyes locked on mine, and my breath caught. He wants a piece of me right here!
“You don't have to tell me twice. Who knows what else I might bring?"
"I can take it, babe. Go wild."
"Oh, I will."
On Tuesday, I arrived at the office at eight o’clock sharp. The weather was warm but very humid. Clouds hung low in the sky, obscuring the sun. There was even a bit of fog.
The building was a converted warehouse in the Waterfront neighborhood. From the second floor, you could even see boats in the harbor despite the fog.
Carmen welcomed me, and we went through the formalities quickly. Then she told me to head to Maddox’s office. He was expecting me.
"We’re so glad you could start right away," Maddox said the second I entered his office.
"I'm happy for the opportunity, and I can't wait to get to work."
"Right. I'll give you the basics. We have a flexible work-from-home policy. We've got this lavish office because our job is to create kick-ass workspaces, so we needed one for ourselves. And it’s a great perk.”
"It is," I said, "and this one has an amazing view and so many delicious places to eat all around here."
"True. But we don't particularly care where you work from. You can come to the office, or you can work from home. You can work from out of the country, but we do need notice if you choose to do that, for the insurance."
"Don't worry. I don't plan to leave the country any time soon, trust me."
He grinned. “All right. You don’t have a department, per se. Marketing focuses on online advertising mostly. You’re a one-man show.”
“I can work with that. I assume I’ll have access to all the previous employee's contacts and suppliers and so on?"
"Yes. You can use them as you see fit."
Maddox had seemed laid-back at the party but more so now.
As we walked through the open office space, I took note of the various common sectors as well as the break area, which had a little sign to identify it as such.
I peeked inside. There was a coffee machine and a juicer.
A basket full of apples, oranges, and lemons sat next to it.
“I can’t believe there’s a juicer.”
"People are thrilled with it. Not my thing."
Only management had individual offices. Everyone else worked in the open office space. The desks were placed at a comfortable distance, so you didn’t feel that anyone was breathing down your neck. There were plants and sound-absorbing panels strategically placed throughout the room.
After Maddox went back to work, I introduced myself to everyone who was sitting around me. Carmen had already given me a laptop, and I started inspecting the files my predecessor had saved in the Cloud.
She’d been very well organized. Everything was labeled accordingly, the suppliers as well as the various points of contact I might need. There was also a list of the next events. She'd only started prepping the next one, and that was exactly where I planned to begin.
I couldn't believe my luck. Even though the weather was gloomy, I felt more optimistic than I had in weeks.
This wasn't a permanent job, and it made no use of my degree, but it was a start, and I took it as a great sign that things would turn around for me.
I could finally put my history to rest and simply focus on the future.
I could probably even apply for jobs in event planning after I finished this one.
At least I would have something on my résumé that opened doors out of the scope of my computer science degree.
And it was a better income than what I could do on my own for now.
My phone beeped as I started emailing the contact person for the next party, setting up a meeting. It was a message from Jake.
Jake: How is your first day?
Natalie: It's amazing.
Jake: How is my half brother treating you?
Natalie: He's great. He welcomed me personally. He seems like a really friendly guy. Quite your opposite, Jake.
Jake: Are you trying to make me jealous?
Oh hell no! That backfired quickly. I was just trying to tease him. It was such a pity that he didn't have a relationship with his half brothers.
He messaged again.
Jake: Natalie.
I shimmied in my seat. I could practically hear him call my name in that bossy tone when he wanted me to do exactly as he asked. Holy shit, this was not the place or time for those types of thoughts!
Natalie: You can always come and check for yourself.
I felt like a genius. The second I sent it, I realized I could make impromptu meetings between Jake and Maddox happen.
Jake was a gentleman anyway, so if I asked him to pick me up, he'd probably do it.
He and Maddox were too proud to talk to each another, but I had a hunch I could help them out with that.
With a chuckle I realized this was exactly what Jeannie meant when she told me, "You'll bring their spirited minds together." Hell, maybe it was even her own way of planting the idea in my subconscious. At any rate, it worked.
I was so happy right now that I thought nothing could drain my good mood.
I was wrong.
Midway through the day, I got an email on my personal account. From Vince.
Vince
Let’s meet. I need to talk to you. Just once.
My stomach lurched. Really? Today of all days, he chooses to email me?
Natalie
No, we don’t. Not at all. Stop trying to contact me.
Vince
I will if you agree to meet. Or at least answer the phone. I called you five times this weekend.
My stomach lurched. So, the missed calls were from him. He couldn’t possibly want to try to get back together again, could he? Why now?
I didn’t reply. Maybe he'd go away. He did once before. As far as I was concerned, there was no reason to see him again.
I immediately got back to work, losing myself in all the pending tasks.
After lunch, someone called my name.
"Ms. Natalie?"
"Yes!" I rose, peeking throughout the room to locate the voice.
The doorman walked quickly in my direction. He was carrying a huge bouquet of red roses.
"We've got this delivery for you," he informed me.
My face instantly turned into a grin.
"Oh my God." I put them on my desk. They were gorgeous and taking up half the space, but who cared? I knew they were from Jake.
He'd sent me flowers. I could’ve danced with happiness as I read his card.
Good luck on your first workday. I can’t wait to pamper you this evening. Jake.
I pressed it to my chest, smelling the roses before sitting down. Despite the cryptic message from Vince, I was going to consider this an amazing day. Plus, I already had an idea about how to lure Jake here. I couldn’t wait to see him.