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“But you have a high staff turnover,” she said with the accuracy of a well-placed arrow. That was a problem for Ted, he couldn’t deny it.
“How the hell do you know that?”
She shrugged.
“A shrug is not an answer.” He was getting riled now.
“A shrug is useful when what you want to say is going to annoy someone,” she said in an uptight voice, sounding like his Sunday school teacher.
“How polite of you, Miss Robbins. I have big shoulders, lay it on me. Believe me, in my business I’m sure I’ve had worse.”
“I don’t know anything about what you do or how to run a business like yours—”
“But.”
“But if you have happy staff, then it follows things run smoother.”
“Are my staff all unhappy then?”
She blew out a loud breath. It was a revelation, seeing her like this. She could be fiery when she felt passionate about something, it seemed. As fiery as a woman who’d been contained her entire life could be, that was.
Ted wondered what it would be like to have that passion focused on him while she was naked underneath him.
Back it up, bud!
“Of course not. All I’m saying is it wouldn’t hurt to be a bit more…, well, human. Ask your staff if they are all right.”
“Human,” Ted said slowly. “As opposed to a cyborg?”
She gave him a look that could only be termed “pissed off in a Mandy Robbins way.”
“Have a few social events, put a float in the carnival. Show your softer side. Maybe be aware of birthdays, things like that.”
“I don’t have a softer side, nor do I want one.” He didn’t add that he was actually putting a float the carnival. Jack was making him do that.Did that mean he too thought Ted was a hardass boss?
She threw up her hands as if to say she gave up on him, which suited Ted. Mandy then stomped over to the stepper and fired that up. She ignored him and worked out in silence.
Ted thought about what she’d said. He didn’t get into personal stuff with his staff; it wasn’t his way. But because of that, Niki hadn’t felt she could talk to him… but would she have even if he was approachable? She was obviously dealing with something that was affecting her, and he needed to deal with it or let her go.
But did he really need to get more involved with his staff? Could Mandy be right there? The thought made him shudder.
“Bye.”
She didn’t wait for his reply, just raised a hand and left. He had to say he liked that she could be emotional; it told him that she’d been hiding so much of herself from the world. He felt it was his civic duty to start peeling back the layers of Mandy Robbins and had to say he looked forward to it. As long as she didn’t try and talk to him about his lodge again. He ran that and wanted no interference.
When he was finished, he showered, dressed, and went to work. Grabbing a coffee, he made for his office. Once there, he typed the name Mandy Robbins into his computer. An hour later he still couldn’t find any record of her.
Weird. Everyone usually left some kind of footprint on the web. Shelving that thought for now, he pulled up the roster and saw that Niki was on duty this morning.
Maybe he could talk to her. It wouldn’t hurt. He wasn’t going to do as Mandy suggested. Hell, next she’d be wanting him to run staff social nights just for the hell of it.
Heading downstairs, he saw one of the cleaners. Searching his memory, he came up with her name.
“Hi, Jackie. How are you today?”
The shock on her face strained his smile.
“I’m well, Mr. Hosking, thank you for asking.”
