“Thanks for coming everyone.” Graham made his way to the stage and has started the meeting without me even noticing.
Get it together, Ali.
The room quiets immediately as Graham begins to speak. “As you may know, I received a file containing several complaints about the marketing department. Because of those complaints, I hired Alison Kirby to investigate the veracity of the claims in the file, and she’s done just that. As a result, Sam Ford and Ben Schilling have been placed on paid administrative leave until the issues related to those claims can be resolved. In the meantime, I’ve asked Alison to step in as interim department head.”
Grumbling sounds begin to erupt from the crowd, but Graham isn’t deterred. “She’s more than qualified for that position. She’s been chosen because I need someone at the helm who isn’t personally involved with the dra—the issues currently impacting the work being done in marketing.
“In addition, Gladys has decided to take early retirement to spend more time with her grandchildren.”
I look over at Meghan and raise a brow.
Interesting.
“Clive Burgess has accepted a new position as executive assistant to our chief fiscal officer, Molly Adams.”
“Executive assistant?” Meghan whispers at the same time she rubs her thumb and fingers together, indicating money. It’s definitely a promotion. I merely nod.
“There will also be some changes in office locations, which will happen in the next few days.”
Meghan and I look at each other again, both of us curious about those changes. Maybe Ben will get something larger. Clive’s office? Doubtful. But one can hope.
After Graham finishes listing all of the changes, he pauses. Taking the microphone in hand, he walks around the podium so there’s nothing between the man and the department. “I’m only going to say this once.” His voice has dropped an octave, and it’s a little growly. “You all need to get to work. If I have to personally address another issue in marketing, I’m not going to be happy about it. We’ve got a company to run. So if any of you have issues, come to me. Call my assistant and make a goddamn appointment. I want to hear it from you, not in some file that took God knows how many work hours to compile,” he says angrily, but he doesn’t look at anyone in particular.
He takes a breath. “I care about this company and those of you who work for me. I hope these changes show you that much. Ben and Sam will return at some point, and when they do, my hope is the changes and the transition will be seamless and you can all do your jobs with minimal distractions. Thank you.” Graham moves back to the podium, slides the mic back into its stand, and leaves.
“Well, that was interesting,” Meghan says with large round eyes.
“It was.”
When we stand, I notice several people looking my way. Lindsay raises her hand in a small wave, and I do the same in return. Silvia gives me a smile, and Brendan warms my heart with a scowl.
Why are some men such jerks?
Back upstairs, I see the cleaning crew is just finishing up. The person in charge appears to be a man named Hal. At least that’s what the patch on his shirt says. When he approaches me, I stand and wait for his assessment of the office.
“We’ll need to come up after hours to get that carpet cleaned.” Hal visibly shivers. “We were able to locate the origin of that smell, and that’s been removed as well.”
The origin of the smell? Now it’s my turn to shiver.
We’ve stacked up all the papers and folders and so on onto the sofa and chair in the sitting area. We made sure not to throw anything away that looked like it was related to the job, just garbage like wrappers and empty boxes.
I peek into Sam’s office and count five large garbage bags filled to bursting. Wow.
“Thank you,” I say with a smile. “I appreciate how fast you got up here.”
He chuckles. “We’ve wanted in there for months, but he… Sam wouldn’t allow it.”
Why?
“Well, you won’t meet with any resistance from me.”
Leaning forward, Hal whispers in my ear, “We found sixteen empty bottles.” He arches his brow. “If you know what I mean.”
Alcohol. “That may be something Graham needs to be made aware of.”
“Up to you, ma’am.” He takes a step back. “We’ve left those in a box in the closet in case you wanted to handle that.”
“Right.” Great. I was hoping Hal could be the bearer of bad news, but I suppose the buck stops here. “I’ll take care of it. Thanks, Hal.”
“No problem, ma’am.”
“Alison. Please call me Alison.”
“Right, Alison. Have a good day.”
“You too.”
I watch as they remove their cleaning equipment along with the bags of trash.
When I step into the office, the smell is considerably better, but something still lingers. “I need a candle or something.” I’m talking to myself, but Meghan is close enough to hear.
“I’ve got one in my old cubicle.” She turns to leave. “I hope you like the smell of Christmas Essence, whatever the hell that is, because that’s all I’ve got.”
I laugh.
“It was a secret Santa gift.” She shrugs and she’s off.
I really like that girl. It’s too bad I’ve only got a couple more weeks with her. Maybe we’ll be friends after all of this.
Stepping farther into the office, I take my briefcase and purse and make my way over to the desk. The crew has stacked up the papers that were once strewn across the top of the desk and placed them on the upper left corner. The top of the desk is spotless; I can almost see myself in the dark finish. The large computer monitor is just as sparkling and placed at an angle on the opposite corner. I’m tempted to turn it on to see what he’s got on the screen, but I’m not ready for that. Besides, I’m sure I’ll need to get IT up here to let me in. I’ll save that for another day. Right now, I need to set up my own computer and check email first. Then I need to sit down with the managers and give them my expectations for the next two weeks.
As soon as Meghan returns with the candle, she clears a safe place for it on the small coffee table next to the sofa. After she lights it, we both wait for the scent to waft into the air.
“Cinnamon,” I say with a smile. “I guess that could be Christmas Essence.”
“Thank goodness it’s not Santa’s Fart scented.”
Oh my God. This girl. I crack up. She’s giggling too. That’s when I bend in half with my hands on my knees, laughing so hard that tears start to flow down my cheek. Because of that, I miss the sound of stomping feet as they enter the office.
“What the fuck is going on in here?”
My laughter stops as I jerk back up to my full height. “Sam?” What’s he doing here?
“I asked you a fucking question. What are you doing in my goddamn office?” He scans the room, and I know what he’s going to say next. “Who the fuck cleaned in here?”
“Maintenance,” Meghan says softly.
His head rotates slowly until his eyes meet hers. “Clean out your fucking desk.”
“Uh….” I’m about to tell her do no such thing when Sam stomps closer. So close that I get to smell his breath again. Alcohol.