He nodded.
“But why would the Boss want to buy apartments for his staff?”
He shrugged, “It was actually Betty’s idea. She and her husband are downsizing, they want to move out of their house now that all their kids are gone and she talked to me about helping her find a place near work, so she wouldn’t have the commute.”
“Oh.” I thought about that. “And the Boss just decided to purchase five floors in a skyscraper overlooking Millennium Park?”
“If you think about it, it makes sense.” He stood, took one step, grabbed my hands in his, then brought us both back to the window seat. “It’s a nice perk for employees. This is a nice place to live, near the Loop and the rest of downtown, the park. Cypher’s main business is security. Having employees spread out all over Chicago makes it difficult to ensure everyone’s safety. If everyone were to live here then, it’s close to work, it’s easier to keep tabs on people-”
“You think the Boss wants to keep tabs on people?”
“Yes and no, not in the way you mean.”
“In what way then?” I was frowning.
He sighed, running a hand through his hair, and studied the floor for a tense moment before speaking; “You don’t work much with the private accounts.”
I blinked at this assertion, wondering where he was going with the seemingly out of left field statement, “Yeah, so?”
“I can’t explain what I mean in much detail.”
I searched this statement and came to a speedy conclusion, “Does this have something to do with the nondisclosure agreements?”
“Something like that.”
“Are they- the private clients- are they bad guys?”
He gave me an assessing sideways glance even as a whisper of a smile brightened his features, “No. Not exactly bad guys. Just powerful.”
“Hm.” I began tugging at my bottom lip again, my eyes wandering over the apartment without seeing. Without meaning to speak the words out loud I said, “Are you moving into one of the new apartments?”
He hesitated then said, “No. Not one of the new apartments.”
“Oh.” I looked at the door leading to the bathroom, “Do you know how much the rent would be?”
“Yeah, I have an idea. It would be more than what you two are paying now, probably a little less than double.”
“Oh. Well. That makes sense. It isn’t a lot actually.” I crossed my legs, my foot started tapping the floor, “It would be strange to live and work with the same people… What if I quit my job? Would we have to leave?”
“Are you planning to quit your job?” His voice was monotone but held just a slight edge.
“Well, no. Not right now. Not anytime soon, actually.”
“Do you like it there? Do you still like the work?”
I nodded, “Yeah. I do. It’s strange but I never much enjoyed account management at my old job. All I could think about was applying for one of the architect positions. Now I actually really enjoy it. It’s different.”
“What’s different about it?”
I glanced at him; he appeared as interested as he sounded so I drew my leg up to the wooden seat and faced him, the view of the park momentarily distracting me; “It’s- well- it’s better. I’m learning about a new business which is- on its own- interesting. And Carlos and Steven are really open to my ideas for improvements to billing structure and operations whereas, at my old place, they weren’t interested in any new ideas. I also like the people-”
Quinn’s eyebrows lifted and he gave me a broad grin, “Oh, you do? Which people?”
“Well, let’s see, there is of course Keira, she’s very nice, and Steven. Dan is also very friendly. And Carlos...”
Quinn frowned. “What about Carlos? He hasn’t been making the moves on you, has he?”
I chuckled, actually chuckled, and gave him a big grin, “No. No, not at all. Don’t be ludicrous.”
“Why would it be ludicrous?”
“Because Carlos is my boss. I’d never be interested in my boss.”
Quinn’s face froze; he blinked at me like I’d said something truly disturbing, “Why not?”
“I-“ it was my turn to frown, “Are you trying to get me to go out with Carlos?”.
“No- no, definitely not. But, just because someone is your boss shouldn’t put him into the automatic no category.”
“Uh, yeah it should. Dating your boss immediately puts you at a disadvantage.”
“Like dating someone who is wealthy?”
I huffed, “Yeah, I guess. It’s similar but worse.”