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“Come on, I’ll take you by the new headquarters. I know you’ll see it tomorrow at the ribbon cutting, but might as well see it today too. The site looks different when it’s empty.”
She followed my command, and as we drove away from the construction grounds, I felt some long-held tension in my shoulders relax. I’d been private and closed off for a long time, but it felt freeing to share my vision with someone else, even if they were a member of the media. Rebecca might be a journalist, but she was also interested in her own way.
Robert was right. This interview was a good idea.
CHAPTER NINE
REBECCA
We finished the nickeltour of Chatter’s new headquarters around eleven thirty. By then, my stomach rumbled from hunger, and I could have eaten anything, but I ignored it in favor of keeping the conversation going. There was so much to see in the cavernous space, which was one of the largest near the airport and full of state-of-the-art communication, collaborative spaces, and amenities. In fact, it was more like a college campus than a typical office.
And Landon was proud of it all.
“I know people don’t like coming into the office, but it’s my hope we can change that here when we officially move the team in,” he said once we arrived back in the large lobby, a space rounded out with splashy modern artwork, a huge crystal chandelier that glinted in the sunlight, and Chatter’s distinctive logo painted on the wall behind the slick reception desk.
“Chatter has had a healthy work-from-home culture for years,” I pointed out. “The company is famous for it.”
“I’m a firm believer in the power of in-person collaboration. That happens in an office.”
“The staff seem to think they work better remotely.”
Landon shook his head.
“Plenty of your new employees disagree with you.” I studied him. “In fact, a number have said they’re concerned about working at a company where you’re the leader.”
“I’m aware of that too.”
“Does it bother you?”
It was, in some ways, a rhetorical question; I knew a lot of peoplewouldbe irritated if most of the people working for a company that they’d bought were hostile to the acquisition. But maybe he had thick skin, calloused and hardened from years of the tough turns that came with living.
“Should it bother me?” he asked back, which wasn’t really a reply.
I walked to a nearby tufted leather sofa, sat down, and placed my recorder on the glass coffee table. “I’ve read some of their takes, and they haven’t been shy about vocalizing their concerns. They have many.”
“One of the best parts of Chatter is it’s a platform for free speech. I don’t want to take that from them.”
