I swear you could hear a silent fart, the room is so quiet.
“You are aware that I am on the Autism Spectrum?” Jonas waits for her nod. “Well, there are accommodations I require in order to function at the highest level. Some ‘quirks’, as my brothers call them, that I just have to work around. To the outside world, I’m considered disabled, even if I don’t think of myself that way. But Ransom saw I am skilled in certain areas and allowed me to work in a way that makes sense for me.” He clears his throat. “Would you consider yourself to have a disability?”
Janey sags in her chair. “A doctor hasn’t ever told me so, but I’ve done some research on my own. So yes, I probably do.”
Jonas nods, unsurprised. “We have employees that use wheelchairs. Some who use ASL, some that are blind. They are all provided with accommodations, and in return, they are productive employees. Why should we not do the same for you?”
“Oh,” Janey breathes, sitting up in her chair. “I didn’t really think about it like that.”
Jonas nods, satisfied, then crosses his arms and looks at the floor, done talking. Everyone’s staring at him, shocked as shit.
I get it.
The last time Jonas talked that much, he was explaining the difference between two brands of staples and why we should stop buying the one he hated.
Ransom shakes off his shock. “Jonas is right, we’re flexible as fuck when it suits us…well, when it serves us. We want something from you. So we’ll make whatever adjustments you need so you can do what we want you to do. It’s really quite mercenary,” he finishes with a smirk.
The realization breaks over her face. That we’re serious. It’s heartbreaking and amazing to see a grown woman realize for the first time that she’s valuable and needed.
“In that case, I would really like to try…but if it doesn’t work out,” her forehead wrinkles, “can I have my other job back?”
I’ll take that one. “Yeah Janey. If you don’t want the job anymore, I promise you can go back to the front desk.” That’s not what she meant, I know, but she’s not going to fail, and I won’t reinforce that fucking belief.
“Ok. Then maybe I can talk with Cara first. Then on the next sunny day, I can visit Mr. Lee and see if we can help with the headaches.”
“Jonas, not Mr. Lee. I don’t like that.” Jonas mumbles at the floor.
Since fucking when? Everyone else calls him Mr. Lee, and he hasn’t said a damn thing. But suddenly this woman has to call him by his first name?
This is going to be fun to watch.
She smiles at Jonas, then turns to Zach. “The woman you’re trying to hire for the marketing department…don’t send her a basket of girly stuff.”
Zach sits up straighter. “How do you know about that?” She quirks her brow and my brothers shake their heads. Didn’t we just go over this?
“Think about everything you know about this woman. What makes you think she’d appreciate that kind of thing? Does she seem really into makeup and perfume?”
“I haven’t actually met her. Or seen what she looks like. Or spoken to her.”
Janey nods, clearly already knowing that too. “Then if you send her something, make it something she might actually use, or at least something she could share with other people. I’ll write you out a list.”
She leaves soon after, crossing the hall to Cara’s desk before they walk out together. We sit silently, staring at each other until we hear the elevator doors shut.
“He was in my fucking IT department, and she’s the one that figured it out? I think my fucking testicles just crawled back up. It was bad enough when I thought Horsey’s guys figured it out. But the woman at the front desk? Fuck.” Declan drops his head into his hands.
I clap him on the shoulder, “Yeah, well, you’ll fucking survive. My turn. How do you break a curse? Like, is there a chant or something I can do?”
My brothers are staring again. Dumb fuckers. “Yo, wake the fuck up. This is serious shit. My balls are so blue they’re about to fall off. There’s gotta be some mystical shit going on here.”
Zach smirks. “You having trouble closing the deal, Horsey?”
“Fuck off Zach. I can’t get more than five minutes alone with her lately. You fuckers are supposed to be watching Mia, but ever since she got sick a couple of weeks ago, she seems to always be there. You guys bring her home too soon, or you’re texting all night, killing the mood. I love that cock blocking little girl more than my own life, but seriously, fuck, I need some alone time. I mean, Evie and I said ‘I love you’ for fuck’s sake. You’re supposed to fall right into bed after you do that shit, and nothing!”
Pacing, I stop to kick Kade when he slides off his chair, laughing. “Hey,” he yells through his giggles, “You’re reading too many romance novels.”
“Blasphemy. Take that back.” I swing away, wishing Micah was here. He’d get it. He’s the one that got me hooked on those books to begin with. “Seriously, I’m taking her out along the waterfront tomorrow night. You guys have to keep Mia distracted. Go to the pet store again, buy more of those bitey furballs or something, just keep her away from Evie.”
“I got you man, promise,” Nick says, holding back his smile. “I’m on babysitting duty tomorrow. It’s my turn.Princessaand I will go out and have some fun.”
