Page 20 of Painted Truths

Alexander DeMarco

Acquisitions

"Here we are." He steps to the side of what will be my desk going forward. I can see a little rainbow-coloured banner with Congrats on it running along the computer screen and a red foil balloon tied to the desk. To one side, there's an enormous bunch of sunflowers, which we always call the “happy flower,” since both of us agree that the sight of the big yellow blossom always brightens our days, and an envelope with my name on it.

I'm floored by all of it.

"Alex. I don't know what to say. You… you are just too good to me." Stepping forward, I hug my friend before recalling where we are.

"Umm… what's the deal with office fraternisation? Oops, you know, umm. That's to say, is it still okay to hug you even though you're my boss now?"

His eyes light up with barely suppressed laughter, knowing my tendency to blurt things out without thinking when I'm flustered. He reaches for me and pulls me in for a side hug. "Boss best friend, Liv. First and foremost, I'm your best friend, though. Don't forget it!"

Stepping away, Alex tucks his hands into his suit pants pockets and rocks back on his heels as I walk around him and get settled at my desk.

"Martha Goode from Human Resources will be swinging by within the next thirty minutes, so she will go through all the ins and outs of your position, holiday entitlements, company perks, et cetera. She'll also give you a tour of the building and bring you to the places you most need to know about. If you need to use the Ladies’, there's one back the way we came, just to the left of the elevator. I've got a 9 am meeting that I cannot be late for; otherwise, I'd wait with you…."

I cut him off with a quick, "Nope. No. No. No. You will not be giving me any preferential treatment at all. During working hours, you have to treat me like everyone else."

Looking up at him and that wide ass grin on his smug face, I know my words are landing on deaf ears. Alex has always been a fan of listening to your demands and doing his own thing anyway.

"I mean it, Alex."

He raises his hands in defeat, but not actually acquiescing, slowly moving backwards away from his office and my desk. "I'll see you later, Liv. Have a great first day."

Watching him leave, I can see a steady stream of employees begin to appear as if by multiplication, and it is only when I realise HR will be popping by soon that I make any kind of move from where Alex had left me.

I bend down to grab my handbag from where I'd abandoned it on the floor, spotting the envelope with my name on it that had somehow been forgotten until now. Picking it up, I rip it open without pause. Upon further inspection, I see it contains four tickets for Misdirection, my absolute favourite band, who are playing a London gig at the O2 Arena in a couple of weeks, and a card from Alex that simply says:

Happy first day, sweet girl.

Love, Gaffer!

I can feel my mouth drop most unbecomingly. Alex has always tried to spoil me whenever he can, not that I often allow him to do it in fairness. After my parents' deaths, he was such a constant, despite needing to go away for work and other commitments regularly once he started at DeMarco.

This was a different kind of spoiling, though. While extravagant, Alex knew I had been desperately wanting to go and couldn't get tickets for love or money. They'd sold out months ago.

No way was I looking this gift horse in the mouth.

Misdirection, I'll be seeing you real soon.

* * *

Martha Goode from HR is an absolute godsend. After introducing herself later in the morning, we get the boring stuff out of the way before she brings me to meet Tim Nash, a tall, thin man with sharp eyes hidden behind the most enormous pair of horn-rimmed glasses I've ever seen.

"His bark is worse than his bite, sweetie."

Martha winks exaggeratedly as she explains that Tim has been the Head of Security for the London branch of DeMarco for almost as long as I've been alive.

He has everything set up and ready to go—my ID badge, all my company logins for email, intranet and, of course, all the logins for Alex's accounts, too, which I will need to access from time to time. After we visit with Tim on the second floor, Martha takes me to several different floors, showing me the ropes and the perks of being a DeMarco employee.

Finance and Human Resources share the fourteenth floor, which I file away for future reference. Unlike any regular canteens I've seen, the ninth floor houses the most extravagant workplace restaurant imaginable. It serves food all day, and not just any food—gourmet, Michelin star quality stuff.

I can see myself needing to do a whole lot of running in my future to offset the excellent food if the smell alone is anything to go by.

It's a good thing that there is an office gym with every kind of exercise equipment known to man, with floor-to-ceiling windows wrapping the entire floor, allowing gym goers to experience the most spectacular view of the Thames and the city beyond the eighteenth floor. Each employee is welcome to use the floor as they choose, but must enter their details on the office intranet before using it to avoid overcrowding.

Martha shows me how to do it for both myself and Alex, as booking his gym time also falls under my jurisdiction.