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Interesting. Her little spy game still hasn’t helped her figure out everything.
“If you’re standing in for Lucy, you need to know how,” I tell her, ignoring her probing questions.
“Everything has a folder and it’s color coded. I’m not a complete moron, Burns,” she says sharply, looking up through her lashes.
Goddamn her and that stubborn little pout.
In another universe, I’d grab her by the shoulders, not caring about any bystanders. I’d find a better use for those strawberry lips that doesn’t involve endless scorn.
“Did you reschedule the call with our Italian designer?” I ask.
“Her office is slammed. She requested the rescheduling, actually. I found an available time on your calendar and booked it in the system. Pretty intuitive.”
“I only take meetings at certain times.”
“Did I schedule it when you’re free?” she asks.
“Yes. How did you know?”
“She has a recurring space on your calendar for ‘no meeting blocks.’”
“What about the invoices? They need to go straight to accounting. Proposals from businesses we’ve established relationships with get forwarded to me, the proper department, and accounting. Unsolicited proposals can come to me if you think I’d be interested, but only then. Anything else that comes through with an attachment needs to be printed and filed. The filing room is behind Ida’s office, and she can show you our simplified system.”
She nods briskly, that stark blond hair waving.
“Should I start filing from today? Or do I need to go back and check if Lucy had everything filed through the end of yesterday?”
“Just start with today. If she didn’t have it filed through the end of yesterday, she can deal with it when she gets back. If an invoice goes unpaid, accounting will notice and you can print it then.”
“Got it.”
“Since it’s your first day on a new job, let’s go for lunch.” As soon as the words leave my mouth, I regret them. Private lunches with an employee who gives you a hard-on bigger than a Starship rocket aren’t wise.
Too bad she takes her job seriously, though, meaning I have to respect her despite all the hell she gives me.
Even when she gawks at me right now, as frozen as a deer in front of a speeding semi.
“It’s tradition,” I explain. “Every EA I take on gets fed while they’re spending time with me. They should know my thinking, right down to my pastrami on rye. And since you’ve been sharing my breathing space since I hired you and we never got the chance, we’re past due.”
“I can’t, but thanks anyhow.”
I square my shoulders and blink. No one ever turns down a free lunch.
“Why not?” I grind out.
“Lucy’s been getting emails since one a.m. I need to go back and work on whatever needs filing, digitally or by hand. Cheryl’s sending me a new ad mockup by four and I’m sure it’ll need corrections. Plus, I have to write a series of social media posts for Anna, so...double duty, half as much time to chitchat.”
Why do I fucking hate that she’s armed with good excuses?
My hand balls into a fist.
“Cheryl Helen’s been here longer than me. Almost twelve years. Why are you correcting her ads?” I ask.
She gives me a dismissive flick of her hair.
“Yeah, well...I’m not trying to step on any toes, but Anna wasn’t thrilled with her last round of concepts. Cheryl is worried about submitting it, and it’s got my copy attached. She’s just doing the visuals, so I’d like it to look good. The colors are bleeding together, and I’m not sure she sees it. You need an eye for that sort of thing.”
“In your professional opinion, is Cheryl’s current role a good fit for her?” I ask carefully.
It’s not that I’d fire her. If, however, I somehow missed optimizing my human assets, I need to know.
Dakota thinks for a few seconds too long.
“Out with it, Miss Poe. I assure you I’m not looking to reprimand her,” I say, leaning in.
“Well...I don’t know her super well, but I’m worried she might be going color blind. I’ve heard her talking about vision issues. Also, she prefers writing copy to graphic work, but Anna said her copy feels sorta dated.”
“She’s worked here for ages,” I say, mulling over what she just said.
“Don’t get me wrong. She’s very helpful, and she knows a lot. Deep knowledge. I’m glad I’m not management so I don’t have to worry about these things...” Poe frowns, a nervousness on her face at affecting any staffing decisions.
“So you’re admitting I do hard things?” I say smugly.
Her face jerks up, souring at my mock ego.
There’s my little fighter. And if she needs my bad attitude to distract her from fretting over Cheryl for the rest of the day, so be it.
“Someone has to handle staffing, I guess. It’s probably easier if he’s self-absorbed,” she says.
“Again with the selfish asshole remarks? You must rehearse your insults to keep them so fresh,” I say with a sarcastic head shake.
