“I take it this means you got the merger done?” he asked with a congratulatory grin as we headed down the hall for the morning staff meeting.
I tossed my hair back with casual arrogance. “Sure did.”
He cocked his head to the side. “Or I should have said, you got your part of the merger done? You know, you’re not the only one who worked all weekend.”
“Yes well,” I stretched ostentatiously, lowering my arms quickly as it pulled up on my already rather short skirt. “I think they just recognize true talent when they see it.”
“Uh-huh.” He gave me a sarcastic grin, indulging my victory lap. “So what do you say, Superman, should I take this ‘write to California’ memo Macer just sent over seriously or what?”
I snatched it out of his hand at the speed of light. The next second, it was crumpled up and tossed into the nearest trash. “What memo?”
“Goodness, I’ve created a monster.”
“A monster that just wrote a three hundred page merger, son!”
He blinked mildly. “Did you just call me son?”
My cheeks flushed, and I ducked into the conference room. In moments like these, I had the unfortunate habit of slipping into certain colloquialisms a girl like me just couldn’t pull off.
Once the rest of the office had settled down, Mr. Trask walked slowly inside, flanked by both Larchwood brothers. The rest of my co-workers sat up automatically a bit straighter, but I kept my eyes firmly on the wall. To be frank, I didn’t trust myself to look at either one.
I didn’t trust myself not to smack Michael across the face—again. And when it came to Tom...? There was a long list of things I didn’t trust myself not to do.
“This is going to be a very short meeting,” Trask said robotically, going through his list of notes. “First of all, I’d like to thank legal and PR for putting together something so quickly. I know it wasn’t a fun weekend for anyone here. But that brings me to my second point.” His colorless eyes peered out from overtop his papers. “Miss Harks?”
Every head swiveled around, and Jamie nudged me comically in the back. “He actually doesn’t remember which one you are,” he whispered with a chuckle.
Taking my cue, I raised my hand slightly, and half stood to get his attention. The second those creepy eyes fixed on me, I tried to sit back down, but he motioned for me to keep standing.
“I’d like to take a second here to acknowledge the hard work and dedication of our most recent addition. Miss Harks was given this assignment in her first week, and managed to single-handedly write the bulk of the first draft—finally getting us back on schedule with the Chinese.”
The room burst into applause, and my cheeks flushed pink. “Oh no, it wasn’t just me—” I tried to say, but both Larchwoods were clapping along with everyone else. Blushing even brighter, I gave a small smile and sank back into my chair, intensely pleased but uncomfortable with all the attention.
When it finally died, Trask stepped forward again and began running through the rest of his list. To be honest, I scarcely heard him. It was too caught up in the excitement of the moment. My first big day. My first big splash into the world of financial investment. And it wasn’t with just any company; it wasn’t with some second rate Wall Street firm.
This was Larchwood. It was exactly where I wanted to be.
“Which brings me to my final point—the company retreat.”
There was a low murmuring all around me, and I looked up in surprise. Larchwood had company retreats? For a second, I imagined a five class resort in the Bahamas. A kind of super-concentrated spa. People bathing in sunsets and rum. Luxury hotel rooms...
My eyes flickered to Tom before I could stop myself, but he was staring straight ahead, face drained of all emotion as he listened to whatever Trask was saying now. Michael, on the other hand, didn’t miss a thing. I saw his wide smile in my periphery, and I dropped my eyes quickly to my lap, praying for the end of the meeting.
I didn’t have to wait long. All at once, the lights snapped on, and people started filing out. I squirmed my way to the door through a crowd of ‘great job, Jenna!’ and ‘congratulations, Jenna!’ My face, it seemed, had been stained a permanent shade of pink, and I was still beaming when I was accidently half shoved right into Tom.