His too-long blond hair caught the light as he pushed it off his forehead. His light-blue eyes alternately gazed at his phone and at me. He was young—early twenties, if I were to guess his age. There was a brashness to his stare, and he seemed at home in my office.
I bristled at his arrogance, his interruption, and his lack of respect.
Who the hell was he?
“Listen, Maddox, I need to call you back. I have an unexpected visitor.”
“No problem. Call the office later. I know Bent and Aiden want to say their own congrats.”
“Will do.” I hung up and studied the kid in front of me. His focus was on his phone, his thumb moving quickly over the screen.
I cleared my throat, and he glanced up.
“Oh, hey.”
“Who are you, and why are you in my office unannounced?”
His smirk was wide, and he leaned back, resting his arm across the back of his chair.
“Uncle Gray said to come find you, so I did. I wanted to check out my new digs.”
Uncle Gray? New digs?
Jesus.
This was Brad?
“Uncle Gray?” I repeated.
He leaned forward, resting his forearms on his thighs. His hair fell into his eyes, and he flipped it off his forehead, only for it to fall back. His words confirmed my fears.
“Yeah. When I was little, I couldn’t say Graham. Gray came out, and it stuck.”
“I thought you were arriving tomorrow.”
“I got here early. Wanted to check out the place.” He sat back again, flipping his phone constantly between his hands. “I heard we’ll be working together. I wanted to introduce myself and say hey.”
I was silent, studying him. When I spoke, my voice was low and controlled.
“And you thought the best way to say ‘hey’ was to barge into my office, unannounced, interrupt a personal call, and make yourself at home? You really thought that was the appropriate approach?”
His grin faded. “Uncle Gray said the office was casual.”
I stood, tugging on my cuffs. “Casual is not the way you’re acting. Rude is. You knock and wait to be told it’s okay before you come into any office in this place, do you understand? Even better, you check with the assistant.”
He pushed his hair back again. “She’s in the file room.”
“Then you show some manners and wait.”
“Oh yeah, okay. My bad.”
My bad? That was this kid’s apology?
“And so we’re clear, we’re not working together. You haven’t earned that right yet. You work for me. Until I’ve moved, this is my office, not yours, so remember your place. And when you’re referring to your uncle, it’s Graham during business hours, not Uncle Gray. Your family ties holds no weight for me.”
He swallowed, suddenly still in the chair. “Of course. I apologize.”
“Better,” I acknowledged. “Now, I have work to do. Go find Graham or Laura, and they’ll direct you to HR. Get your paperwork done, and come back and see me—knock this time before you come in. We’ll talk about my expectations.”
With another hair flip, he headed for the door.
“One last thing,” I called.
He turned.
“Get a damn haircut.”
He left, pulling the door shut behind him. I sat down, staring at the closed door. I was somewhat amused, a little annoyed, and mostly confused.
What the hell was Graham thinking?It wasn’t long before I had my answer. Graham appeared, pausing in my doorway, lifting his hand to knock.
“May I come in?” he asked, his eyes dancing.
I waved my hand. “Funny.”
He sat across from me, still grinning. His wife, Laura, followed him in as he sat down.
I stood and greeted her, accepting her kiss on my cheek and smiling at her. You had to smile at Laura—it was impossible not to do so. She projected a warmth I had tried to fight against at the beginning, but now accepted and liked.
She sat beside Graham and spoke first.
“I understand Brad made an appearance this morning.”
“Appearance is one word for it.”
Graham chuckled. “A grand entrance is more like it, from what I heard.”
“He said that?”
He shook his head. “Amy overheard most of your conversation.” He quirked his eyebrow. “I told you to knock him down a peg or two, Richard. Not bulldoze him.”
I was about to defend myself when I saw the amusement in his eyes and the way Laura’s lips quirked.
“I simply gave it to him straight.” I ran a hand over my chin. “Did he complain already?” If he had, we were going to have major issues going forward. I didn’t need him running to Graham every time I told him off, which I had a feeling was going to be often for the first while.
Graham shook his head. “Nope. Other than to tell me he had met you and had an errand to run, he didn’t say anything.”
I looked at Laura. She returned my gaze, amusement in her expression. “He said he thought maybe you got off to a rocky start.” She paused. “Then he asked me where the closest barber was.”