“On that note, I’m gonna head over to my new office.” I smirked at him as I got into the elevator, taunting him just a little bit. “Good luck with everything.”
He narrowed his dark eyes at me, watching every move I made. The sides of his jaw ticked in anger, and for first time ever, for just a split second, I was worried about my safety. I swallowed the growing knot in my throat and pushed the Lobby button, not taking my eyes off him.
“Good luck to you, too, Danicka. You’re the one who’s gonna need it.” He lifted the corner of his mouth in a deranged smirk just as the elevator doors closed. As soon as the elevator started moving, I exhaled deeply, propping myself up against the elevator wall. That was not the interaction I wanted to have on my way out the door, but I was so relieved it was all over. I was happy to end the Leighton Management chapter of my life.
I drove happily, bopping my head and singing every song on the radio, over to the Shaw Management office. My heart was still racing, and I definitely would have liked my week to start off on a better note, but I was ready to kick some serious ass and make a name for myself with my new job.
Tapping my foot nervously on the elevator floor, I watched the screen as it made the long climb to the forty-second floor. The doors slid open, and I was greeted by Ellie’s smiling face.
“Hey! Welcome!” She gave me a big, warm grin, and I instantly felt like I was home.
“Good morning.” I smiled back. Ellie and I had only talked for a very quick second the day of my interview, but I’d been the only woman in the entire office over at Leighton, so I was ecstatic to hopefully have a built-in friend here.
She clasped her hands together and pulled them up under her chin, raising her eyebrows. “Are you excited?”
“Very. Beyond. Totally.”
We both laughed as she stood up from her desk. “Let me show you where you’re going, and then I’ll show you around the office a bit.”
As she came around the desk, I noticed her bright blue heels. “Oooh, cute shoes!”
She looked down toward her feet and back up at me. “Thanks! I’m a bit of a shoe hoarder.”
“Me too.” I nodded with excitement. “We can do some damage on our lunch breaks together sometimes.”
“Uh-oh, I might have to ask for a raise,” she joked, elbowing me playfully as she walked past. I followed her to the other side of her desk, opposite Andy’s office. The setup for the office was actually pretty great. When you stepped out of the elevator, you walked right into Ellie’s desk. To the right were the waiting area and Andy’s office, to the left was going to be mine. There were another couple of doors in the back corner, but I wasn’t sure what was behind those yet. Ellie opened the door to my office and stepped back. I walked into the room and immediately over to the large, floor-to-ceiling window on the far wall.
“This view is amazing!” I stared at the antlike people down below.
“There’s really not a bad view in the whole place,” Ellie said, walking up next to me. “Down in the corner is the supply room. Copy machine, fax machine, extra paper, files we no longer use, junk like that . . . and next to it is Ethan’s office.”
I looked over at her, tilting my head to the side just a bit. “Ethan?”
“I’m sorry.” She closed her eyes and shook her head quickly. “You probably haven’t met him yet. He’s our contract attorney. Our final set of hawk eyes that reviews every single contract to make sure everything is perfect before it’s signed.”
“Great.” I nodded with a smile. Turning away from the window, I looked at the stark office. A large table with a folding chair sat in the middle of the room, but not much else. I’d been so enamored with the window that I’d forgotten to ask about it. “Sooo, the furniture . . .” I peeked at Ellie out of the corner of my eye, praying that she would tell me this wasn’t Andy’s final decision on office decor.
Her eyes bulged. “Oh! I forgot!” Without saying anything else, she scampered out of the office, which was a feat in and of itself in those heels, returning quickly with a catalog. “Andy left this with a note on my desk this morning. He had to fly out for a quick meeting before the sun came up so I don’t even want to know what time he was here.” She chuckled and shook her head. “Anyway, he said to give this to you and that you should pick out anything you want, he’ll make sure to have it delivered and all set up for you this week.”
“Sweet. Thanks!” I took the catalog from her.
The phone rang from Ellie’s desk, and she looked toward the door and sighed. “Okay.” She turned back to me and smiled. “Fun’s over. Time for me to get back to work. We’ll chat more later.”