Jenna took the seat in front of my desk. “Skip the booze, unless you want ‘drunk’ added to the phrase ‘in love’ that’s floating around about you now.” She snickered.
“You have to pick more obscure pop culture references to slip into conversation, Jenna. Queen Bae was too easy.”
“Shoot. Anyway, at least I got first crack at the melded name.”
I lifted an eyebrow. “Maybe you’ve already hit the Laphroaig this morning, because you’re not making any sense.”
“Melded name. A new moniker. Like Brangelina. Or Kimye. I’ve dubbed you and Lennox . . . Brannox.”
“You’ve got to be kidding me.”
Jenna grinned. “Nope.”
“Maybe I should work from home today.”
“In all seriousness, I’m happy for you, Mr. Lund. I never would’ve put you and Lennox together, but you’re a good fit.”
“I hope she can withstand the scrutiny.”
“She’s no shrinking violet. She’ll do fine.”
And there was my opening. “Someone mentioned Lennox isn’t well liked around here.”
Jenna snorted. “You know I can’t dig for dirt if you don’t point me toward the right pile. Someone who?”
I told her everything Jensen had told me and it did feel like junior high gossip. But it bothered me and if there was something—or nothing—to it, then Jenna would suss out every detail.
Her light mood had turned somber. “This stays strictly between us, boss. Nolan’s admin, Toni, is a snake. That’s why I hope Archer doesn’t retire too soon, because if Nolan takes over as CEO, Toni will have an immense amount of power. Ash’s admin, Olivia, is loyal to Ash and only Ash. There’s something hinky going on there but it’s not against corporate rules. I’ll see what I can find out.”
“Thank you.”
She stood. “In the meantime, I e-mailed the month-end reports you requested. You have meetings at two, three and four—I set the reminders on your daily calendar. The details for the separate agendas are in the zip files coded for each department. Since you’ll forget to eat and work right up until your first meeting, I’ll send for lunch.”
“You are a goddess among admins, Jenna. Thank you. No interruptions this morning, at all, for any reason.” I had hundreds of pages of financial documents to dissect and diagram. It required my full focus. “On second thought—”
“Reschedule your meetings.”
Sometimes it scared me how quickly she anticipated my needs.
*
Lennox
Lola pulled me into her office first thing Monday morning.
That was a little frightening.
“Lennox. Are you involved in a personal relationship with Brady Lund?”
This was really not how I wanted to start my week. “Yes, I am. Why?”
She smiled. “Cracked the Ice Man. Bravo. I’ll bet he’s hot as fire under that stuffed shirt. But watch your step. LI is a different place for you now.”
“Is it a different place for Brady?”
“No, honey, it’s not. But he’s at the top of the food chain and you are chum. The sharks will swim in closer and eat you alive.”
I had to bite the inside of my cheek to keep from laughing. How long had Lola had this shark analogy speech prepared? Because she looked pretty excited that she got to use it.
Hey, how about you focus on the real meaning behind her words?
“If your relationship with him inhibits your ability to do your job, you come to me right away.”
“Lola. My relationship with Brady won’t affect how I do my job.”
“I believe that. But it may affect how other employees interact with you while you’re doing your job.”
I wanted to point out that there were fifteen hundred LI employees in this building. I doubted anyone would know what was going on with the CFO and the lowly temp—to say nothing of caring enough to gossip about it.
“Lennox?”
I looked up at my boss. “Thanks for the warning.”
“You’re welcome. Today I’m sending you to main reception on the first floor. You’re manning the call center.”
Hooray, my least favorite job. “Thank you for calling Lund Industries. How may I direct your call?” Ninety-five percent of callers had no problems navigating the automated phone system. The other five percent, callers who wanted “to talk to a real, live human and not a damn machine” . . . those were the calls I’d get to deal with. All day.
My day was fully complete when I looked over and saw Renee sitting in the reception area monitoring me.
The situation felt like punishment.
*
I didn’t think it was a coincidence I didn’t see Brady all day.