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"I'm so happy this worked out." I also had a small plan. Maybe I could bring him and Maddox closer. Some barriers seemed to have lifted between them yesterday. Who knew what else could happen?
"How do you want to celebrate?" he asked me.
"We can continue in the same fashion we did last night. You can have your way with me, and then we can order some room service and so on. I really like this place." I couldn't believe it was so huge. "Though it's a bit cold. Empty."
"True."
"One of my massive paintings could certainly fit above your desk."
"Then bring it," he said. “I’ll talk the hotel into hanging it for me.”
"Really?" I grinned.
"I like the idea of having something of yours here.”
His eyes locked on mine, and my breath caught.He wants a piece of me right here!
“You don't have to tell me twice. Who knows what else I might bring?"
"I can take it, babe. Go wild."
"Oh, I will."
***
On Tuesday, I arrivedat the office at eight o’clock sharp. The weather was warm but very humid. Clouds hung low in the sky, obscuring the sun. There was even a bit of fog.
The building was a converted warehouse in the Waterfront neighborhood. From the second floor, you could even see boats in the harbor despite the fog.
Carmen welcomed me, and we went through the formalities quickly. Then she told me to head to Maddox’s office. He was expecting me.
"We’re so glad you could start right away," Maddox said the second I entered his office.
"I'm happy for the opportunity, and I can't wait to get to work."
"Right. I'll give you the basics. We have a flexible work-from-home policy. We've got this lavish office because our job is to create kick-ass workspaces, so we needed one for ourselves. And it’s a great perk.”
"It is," I said, "and this one has an amazing view and so many delicious places to eat all around here."
"True. But we don't particularly care where you work from. You can come to the office, or you can work from home. You can work from out of the country, but we do need notice if you choose to do that, for the insurance."
"Don't worry. I don't plan to leave the country any time soon, trust me."
He grinned. “All right. You don’t have a department, per se. Marketing focuses on online advertising mostly. You’re a one-man show.”
“I can work with that. I assume I’ll have access to all the previous employee's contacts and suppliers and so on?"
"Yes. You can use them as you see fit."
Maddox had seemed laid-back at the party but more so now. As we walked through the open office space, I took note of the various common sectors as well as the break area, which had a little sign to identify it as such. I peeked inside. There was a coffee machine and a juicer. A basket full of apples, oranges, and lemons sat next to it.
“I can’t believe there’s a juicer.”
"People are thrilled with it. Not my thing."
Only management had individual offices. Everyone else worked in the open office space. The desks were placed at a comfortable distance, so you didn’t feel that anyone was breathing down your neck. There were plants and sound-absorbing panels strategically placed throughout the room.
After Maddox went back to work, I introduced myself to everyone who was sitting around me. Carmen had already given me a laptop, and I started inspecting the files my predecessor had saved in the Cloud.
