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“Bye, Alice,” I said, and I hung up. I put my phone in my handbag and hurried down the street.
Today was the first day of the rest of my life. Today, I was starting a career. Granted, it wasn’t a career I really wanted, but the pay was absolutely fantastic. I’d finally be able to be independent. I could pay my bills and afford an apartment I could love.
I was counting down the days till I had enough money for the deposit to rent a new place and get new furniture. Maybe I’d even fly back to San Francisco and see my friends and family. I just had to make sure I kept my job and Travis didn’t mess this up for me.
I was embarrassed about what had gone down. Yeah, the sex had been amazing, and I’d had a great time. But I was foolhardy to hook up with someone I knew would be my future boss, no matter how much chemistry and attraction there was between us.
And I’d been even more foolish to go off on him. He was definitely within his rights to have me fired right away, especially if I was late on the first day. I couldn’t afford to give him any ammunition to fire me. All I could hope for was that he was traveling somewhere on business.
I had just seen a newspaper article about him opening a branch in South America. Brazil, to be precise. Maybe he’d go to Brazil and meet some hot Brazilian supermodels and forget I ever existed. That would be just what I needed. And even though a niggling head in my voice didn’t like the sound of that, I knew my heart would.
Chapter 8
“And so whocan tell us the difference between mutual funds and ETFs?”
The HR lady at the front of the conference room beamed at all the new hires. I looked down at the table. All I could think inside was,Please don’t ask me. Please don’t ask me.I’d watched the PowerPoint slide along with everyone else, but I still wasn’t quite sure exactly what the difference was. I looked over at Alice, and she smiled at me. I could tell from her expression that she was unsure as well.
A guy at the end of the table cleared his throat. “Well, it really depends on the stocks that are in the fund. You see, some funds are US stock-based only, and some funds are a mix of international and US stocks. And other funds are a mix of stocks and bonds, and—”
The lady at the front cleared her throat. “Indeed, but that doesn’t tell us the difference between a mutual fund and an ETF,” she pointed out.
I looked over at Alice and whispered, “I wonder if we’re all going to get fired.” I giggled slightly.
“It sounds like we should,” she said, nodding. “I mean, I feel bad because I don’t know any of this stuff, but how is it that no one here knows it?”
“I’m guessing that all of us got the job because we knew someone.”
I bit down on my lower lip. “Once again, Alice, I am so thankful to you.”
“Don’t thank me yet,” she said, shaking her head. “I don’t know how long either one of us is going to have the job. In fact, I don’t know how long anyone in this room is going to have the job.”
I was going to start laughing when the door opened, and I saw Travis Covington walk in. My face went bright red, and I turned away to look at the guy at the edge of the table instead of at Travis. I wondered if he would notice me, if he would see me, if he would speak to me.
“Oh, look, it’s Travis,” Alice said, sounding happy.
I wasn’t sure why she sounded so happy. It wasn’t like he was Brad Pitt or George Clooney or anything.
“I wonder if he’s come to welcome us all to the company.”
“I guess so,” I said, turning to look at the front where he was speaking to the HR lady.
“Oh no, there’s Foster,” Alice said, her face turning red. “I hope he’s not going to say anything in front of everyone.”
“Me too,” I said, though I wasn’t talking about Foster. I was talking about Travis.
“Okay, everyone, we’re going to take a little break,” the HR lady said. “And then when we get back, we’ll discuss your placements for the mentorship assistants.”
I bit down on my lower lip. “You want to come and get a coffee?” I asked Alice, and she shook her head.
“No. I think I’m going to speak to Foster for a second.”
“Okay, sounds good.”
I got up and hurried out of the room. I didn’t want to have a conversation with Travis. As soon as I made my way out of the room, I felt a hand on my back.
“Hey.”
I knew the voice. I frowned, but I didn’t stop. I kept walking.
