“Oh,” Anne replied. She turned her head and stuck out her tongue at him.
He chuckled. “Score one for Gherring.”
“What?” asked Katie.
“Nothing,” said Gherring and Anne in unison.
“Will you mind if I read all your business email?” Anne asked Gherring. “I know it won’t make any sense at first, but eventually it’ll all fall into place.”
“Yes, but that’ll need to come later. First, I need you to meet with Jared and get an understanding of your responsibilities with the Swiss companies. These first few weeks are really critical. They could still back out of the deal. I’ve already sent out an office-wide memo and spoken to HR about the new department. And I’ve set up for you to meet with Jared this afternoon.”
“What did Jared say about my new job?”
“Why would he say anything about it?”
“I just thought it might bother people for me to get some sort of promotion when I don’t have education and experience.”
His face darkened. “No one here would dare to question my decisions.”
“No, of course not.” But Anne had her doubts. “Okay, I’ll go meet with Jared.”
Working with Jared was even more entertaining than she’d expected. His constant jovial attitude, funny stories, and clever quips made the time pass quickly. But Anne was surprised both at the amount of work they accomplished and the knowledge she gained in a single afternoon.
“Let me ask you something, Jared. Will you be honest with me?”
“Sure thing. What’s up?”
“I just want to know if you think I can do this job. Almost everyone here has an MBA and, I don’t know…”
He smiled. “You can do anything. I’ve never seen any other employee with the b—I mean gumption—to chew out Mr. Gherring.” He laughed. “And then you end up with a promotion.”
“Yes, I’m trying to learn to control my temper,” sh
e said, averting her eyes from his curious inspection.
“But seriously, you catch on to everything really quickly. I didn’t even understand some of the stuff you talked about on Jeff’s part of the presentation.”
She smiled gratefully. “Thanks, Jared. You’ve got a really encouraging personality. Do you have a younger, single brother I could fix my daughter up with?”
“Ha! Nope, I’ve got five, count ‘em five, older sisters. That’s why I laugh about everything. In my house you had to learn to laugh to survive.”
Gram called just as Anne was about to leave for the day. “I’m picking you up for dinner. We need to talk.”
When she climbed into the back seat with Gram, she noticed Gram appeared to be upset.
“It’s about Michelle,” said Gram. “She’s back in town again… and I think she’s set her sights on Steven again.”
Anne swallowed. “I guess that’s good, isn’t it? Didn’t you want them to get married?”
Gram frowned. “I’m not sure I trust her anymore. Last week she was going on about Henri DuBois.” She spat out his name like it tasted bad. “And I know you like Henri and you think I’m misjudging him, but there’s no comparison between him and my Steven.”
Gram was obviously waiting for her to agree, so she nodded her head in response.
“She’s a manipulator, that one. I’ve loved her since she was a baby, but I’ve always known her parents spoiled her rotten. She’s always had her daddy wrapped around her finger so tight he’s still bent when she lets him go. And she always gets her way.”
“So you don’t want Steven to marry her?”
Gram squinted. “I think he can do better, don’t you?”