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“My name is Violet Miller,” I remind him. “Tom’s sister.”
His eyes widen. And then he winces. “Fuck. I forgot you were starting today. This is the last thing I need right now.”
“I’m here to help,” I say. I’m trying to come off as supportive, but it might be a tiny bit sarcastic.
After all, hedidforget I exist.
He frowns, massaging his forehead like he’s got a headache coming on. For a second he looks almost...human. Just like the rest of us mere mortals.
Then I blink, and he’s back to his normal ruthless corporate-god mask. He snaps and points at the stern bespectacled woman who ignored me earlier. “Tina. You should have had her H.R. paperwork done three hours ago.Fix it.”
“Um,” I clear my throat. “In Tina’s defense, I only got here about fifteen minutes ago. The website says you open at nine, so that’s when I tried to get here, but then the subway was a mess and—”
“From now on, you show up at seven-thirty every morning, or don’t bother showing up at all.”
“Seven-thirty,” I yelp.
Gage’s face turns thunderous.
“I mean...seven-thirty it is.” I paste a smile on my face.
For a second he just looks at me, like I’m an injured animal who wandered in off the street, and he’s trying to decide whether to send me to the vet or just shoot me and put me out of my misery.
I take a deep breath and hold out my hand, trying to get us back on the right foot. “Anyway. Nice to see you again. I look forward to working with you—”
“Get her up to speed,” he tells Tina, not even bothering to look at me. “I don’t have time for amateur hour. Understood?”
Tina pales. “Understood.”
And then Gage strides onto a waiting elevator and disappears.
Everybody in the room breathes a sigh of relief.
As I glance around, I finally realize one of the reasons the place looks so soulless. No employee has a single personal item on their desk. No photos of their families. No goofy mugs. No inspirational posters. Nothing.
The whole place is tasteful and dead, and I hate it here.
“Thank you for saying that thing,” Tina says quietly. “About being late.”
“It’s no big deal,” I say, because it isn’t. “Honesty is the foundation of good working relationships, right?”
She gives me a look like I’m insane. Nice, but insane.
I look over my shoulder in the direction Gage vanished. “Is he always like that?”
“No,” Tina says, and I relax.
Until she adds, “Normally he’s worse.”
* * *
By 10:00 a.m.,I’ve decided I hate Gage’s phone system. So far, I’ve dropped not one, but two calls while trying to transfer them to Gage’s office.
At least no one was there to see it since I sit alone at a desk outside Gage’s office.
The phone rings again, and I jump, glaring at it like it’s my personal nemesis.
“You can do this,” I mutter to myself. I pick up the phone. “Gage Crawford’s office. How can I help you?”
