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Ransom's face turns calculating. It's the same face he has when he's about to buy another company. That face usually means things are going to get good.
"I've been watching you over the last few weeks," Colton says. "And it occurred to me we're pretty fucking stupid, not seeing how useful you would be in other areas of our business. Everyone talks to you. But not because you're at the front desk. They talk to you in the break room, in the parking lot, in the hallways. They seek you out."
"I like people. I like listening to them," she says softly. I like the way she speaks. Her voice is calm and soothing. It feels like towels hot out of the dryer on my skin.
Colton crosses his arms over his chest. That he can do that seems to defy the laws of physics. Arms that big shouldn't bend. "I can tell. So how would you like a job doing more of that? I think you should be in HR."
Janey's body is still, but something crosses her face that makes my fingers curl into my palms. "You want me to work in HR?"
"No, honey, I want you to run it. You'd answer only to us," Colt says.
She stiffens, eyes darting between all of us, then her wide eyes fill with tears. Colton made her cry. I'm on the verge of lunging at him when she takes a deep breath and folds her hands tightly in her lap. "I am so honored that you would...trust me with a role like that. But I don't think I can do a job like that."
"Why?" I ask quickly. I'm sure my brothers are wondering too, but I want her looking at me when she talks. I need her eyes on me.
Janey exhales, sitting taller, lifting her chin the same way I've seen boxers do. Like she's daring us to knock her down. "I have some...difficulties. I struggle with staying organized. I read really slowly. And I have a hard time writing. HR would need all of those skills. I couldn't do a good job for you. I mess up at reception, but I can usually make it better. But HR...I don't want to make a big mistake there."
"Janey," Ransom says softly, using a voice he only uses with some of my brother's women. It's soft and gentle. I like that he's using it with Janey. She should always be spoken to like that.
With kindness.
"Do you know what the best thing about being a boss is?" he asks.
She tilts her head, studying him. "No, I've never been in charge of anything."
Ransom’s lips curve. "It's having minions. Not the little yellow ones." I like the little yellow ones. I watch them with Mia, Evie's little girl. We're going to go trick or treating next year dressed like them. "I mean, people to get the shit done that needs doing."
She grins at him. Not at all intimidated by him. "Like me, answering phones." She's funny. How did I not see her before? Truly see her?
"Like answering phones," Ransom agrees with a smile. "So the job you're being offered comes with minions. You can let the other people in HR handle the paperwork and organizing. If you need information from them, you'll be given it in any form you like. Because what you do, honey, I can't teach. I see Jonas every day. And not once did I realize he gets headaches on sunny days. Did any of you?"
My brothers all shake their heads. I'm not surprised at all.
"So what exactly do you want me to do?" she asks.
"I want you to talk to people, just like you have been. I want you to wander the hallways during the day, looking for people, for situations that don't look right. And then fix them, or bring them to us."
"Like stealing, or like Cara?" We all freeze. Cara, Ransom’s ’assistant and the glue that keeps our business together, has been struggling since the night her sister was attacked. Since Cara killed her sister's boyfriend. She’s not been herself since. She shows up to work and acts like everything’s fine, but it’s not. Even I can see it. "Cara's hurting. Is that the kind of thing I could help with?"
Colton clears his throat. "Yeah, honey, that's exactly the kind of thing you could help with."
She nods, looking out the open doorway toward Cara’s desk. "I would share anything that worries me with you, but I don't have to tell you everything...right?"
Ransom fields this one. "I expect the same judgment you used when you talked to Colt will be exercised in all aspects of your work. We'll give you the resources to handle things as you see fit."
Images of the person who was stealing from us, along with a flash of every bad guy from every movie I've ever seen, go through my mind. My stomach clenches. "As long as it won't jeopardize your safety or anyone else’s,” I say firmly. Kade's staring at me with my mouth open. I ignore him. I’m too busy staring at Janey.
She nods absentmindedly, staring at some point on the floor. Her lips firm as she turns to Ransom. "You're sure? I —“ She stops, straightening her shoulders. "I barely graduated high school. I'm not very smart. I've figured out how to do a good job at the front desk, but I..." She trails off, scowling.
I move closer to her, angry at the way she put herself down."Why do you think you're not very smart?"
All my brothers are staring now. I ignore all of them, tuning out the buzzing on my skin from so many eyes so that I can focus on her.
Janey winces. "Because everyone said so. I have to work really hard to be on the same level as other people."
I tilt my head, studying her. She's been lied to. "Our school system teaches facts. Perhaps your brain is less suited to facts. But you will never be on the same level as any of us." Her face twists with some emotion, but I don't stop. I can't. She has to understand how incredible she is.
"Your observational skills are leagues above ours. You putting together the thefts with the changes in this employee's behavior is a leap that some might call intuition. I think it's more likely that you process information differently, allowing your unconscious mind to make connections your conscious one might not recognize."
