“Looks like we’re moving to the beautiful North West, then,” Max said. He was angry, but not nearly as much as his brother. He traveled so much for work that he wasn’t home enough to be very upset. Besides, he hadn’t spent time with his cousins in years and he missed them.
He’d never admit it to his father, though. The old man was getting his way, and he didn’t need to know Max wasn’t upset about it.
“Yeah, I can hardly wait,” Trenton said sarcastically.
“Have you called Bree and Austin yet?” Max asked.
“No, I called you first and figured we could each take one of the others,” he answered.
“Sounds like a plan - I’ll call Austin,” Max quickly said with laughter in his voice.
“Gee, thanks,” Trenton replied. He knew the call to his sister, Brianna, was going to be long-winded. His sister was stubborn and independent and didn’t like to be told what to do. He smiled, though, when he thought about what she was going to say to their father. George was in for an earful as soon as Bree got off the phone with Trenton.
Trenton sat back, feeling better after talking to his brother. He and Max had been close in the past and he missed speaking with him. Trenton may not have realized it but his father’s plan was already working. It had brought the siblings closer, even if it was in uniting them against him.
*****
Jennifer yelled at her computer screen and then looked around with guilt. She hated computers and wished they’d never been invented. They were the worst possible creation and she was ready to chuck hers out the window. She’d taken classes and spent hours on end to learn basic computer skills because it was impossible to have any kind of decent job without knowing how to run one of the blasted machines.
The temp company she worked for had given her the position at the Anderson Corporate Offices and she’d been there for two months. It was a dream-come-true job and she hoped it would turn into a permanent position, because everyone knew employees of the Anderson’s were loyal through and through. The Anderson’s were great to their employee’s, paid better wages than other corporations, offered great benefits, and were exceptionally family friendly.
She remained seated, arguing with her computer, grateful no one came by and heard her because she was sure she sounded like an insane woman. By the time her lunch break came around she was about ready to cry. Her boss had slowly been adding more work, and she was sure it was a test, and if it was - she was failing miserably.
“Ms. Stellar, can you please go up to the top floor. The boss wants to talk to you,” a voice asked over her intercom.
“Yes, I was getting ready for lunch break so I can head right up,” she answered. Jennifer broke out in a cold sweat. She was going to lose her job, there was no other reason for her to be called up to the main offices. She’d never heard of anyone getting called up to Lucas Anderson’s office. He was the President of the company and though she saw him regularly, walking around the floors, he never called someone in her type of position to the corporate offices.
She didn’t understand why he’d fire her personally, though. Normally, the guy in charge of her division would do that. She pushed the elevator button and waited nervously. She knew the computer projects had been a test, and her failure was unacceptable. She wasn’t too proud to beg. She’d study day and night if that’s what it took, because it wasn’t only herself she had to think about.
***
“Are you sure she’s the one?” George asked Joseph.
“Oh yes, I’m one hundred percent sure. I always take time to know who’s working here. Lucas took over as President years ago but I still like to handle personnel packages. I take a lot of pride knowing we offer more than other corporations. I especially check into temp employee’s to deem whether or not they’ll make a good fit for a permanent position. Jennifer is absolutely terrible when it comes to computers, but she’s incredibly bright, eager, and willing to work hard,” Joseph answered.
“How does that make her wife material, though?” George asked.
“Ah, you must let me finish,” Joseph said. “She came to us through my favorite temp agency, and I did some research on her. She lost her sister six months ago to a drunk driver, which is especially tragic because her sister and brother-in-law had a child, who is four years old. It looks as if Jennifer has no other family, as her grandparents and parents have passed away.”
“Where is the kid?”
“Jennifer has been raising her since the accident, and I’m sure it’s not easy for her. The little girl attends the on-site child care center, here,” Joseph answered.
“Oh, this could mean an instant grandchild,” George said in delight.
“I knew you’d be happy about that. She’s a spit-fire and too adorable for words. I’ve grown quite attached, since I spend a lot of time down there with her. My grandkids come in sometimes so they can play,” Joseph told him.
“Ms. Stellar is here,” the secretary told them over the intercom.
“Send her straight in,” Joseph replied. Both men sat back and waited for Jennifer. When she opened the door they could see the fear in her face, though she was doing a great job of trying to hide it. She looked surprised to see Joseph and George there, instead of Lucas.
“Hello Mr. Anderson, they said you needed to see me.”
“Yes, thank you for coming, Ms. Stellar. Go ahead and have a seat,” Joseph told her. “This is my brother, George Anderson. He’s moving his corporate offices to Seattle and in need of a variety of new staff. One of those positions is for executive administrator to the President and we would like to know if you might be interested. There would be a significant pay raise and added benefits.”
Jennifer couldn’t believe what she was hearing. She thought she was losing her job and they weren’t only offering her a permanent position but a better one at that. She wanted to shout yes, but her conscious would never allow her to leave out her shortcomings.
“I’m honored you would think of me. Yes, I’d be more than happy to accept the position, but I have to be honest with you. I’m struggling with the computer system I’ve been using. I can type about a hundred words a minute and do all basic computer functions, but the more complicated requests are giving me trouble. Please know, I’m more than willing to spend every spare minute I have to learn, though,” she told them eagerly.
“Well, the great news is you won’t have to deal with any programs you’re currently using. You’ll be typing a lot, and attending meetings, plus there’s some travel involved,” George told her.
Jennifer got excited and then deflated, again. How could she travel? She had no one to watch Molly, and besides that, she couldn’t take off for extended periods of time and leave her behind. Molly had already lost her parents and she was only recently getting over not seeing her mom and dad.
“We know you’ve recently taken on responsibility of your niece and we’re sorry about your loss. We have excellent programs here offering child care,” Joseph said as if he could read her mind.
“How much would I have to be away?”
“On average, about three to five days a month,” George said. That wasn’t too bad, Jennifer reasoned. She’d be able to provide much better for her niece with the new position. She’d have money to buy the items she needed, as well as be able to afford to take her places, spending quality time together.
“I’ll take it,” she said with enthusiasm.
“That’s great. You’ll start next week, so for now you’ll get a little time off - paid of course,” George told her.
“Oh, I forgot to ask where the new offices are?” she questioned.
“They’re going to be here. We’ve just purchased the building next door and will connect the buildings by creating a sky-walkway. Until construction is finished, they’ll be using the twenty-second through twenty-fourth floors. You’ll be stationed on the twenty-fourth so you can still use the daycare center, here,” Joseph said.
“Oh, that’s wonderful,” Jennifer told both men and quickly made her exit.
Jennifer took the elevator down to her floor and slowly walked into her office. She looked around in wonder. She’d gone up there dreading the worst and walked away feeling better than she had in six months.
“Congratulations, Ms. Stellar. I’m happy you received a promotion,” her boss approached, sounding sincere.
“Thank you, Mr. Barry.”
“I’ve enjoyed working with you, and we will miss having you as part of our team. If you want to place your possessions in boxes and label them, I can have them delivered to your new office. You don’t have to worry about packing them home and back again,” he offered.
“That would be great, thank you.”
“No problem, when you’re finished you can take the rest of the day off. Joseph told me the position is in effect immediately and he’s already sent in for a temp,” he said before leaving.
Jennifer hadn’t brought too many personal items to work and it didn’t take long to put her belongings in boxes. She was excited to pick up her niece early. With the beautiful weather, she’d be able to surprise Molly with an afternoon at the park.
Jennifer sat on a bench, watching Molly play on the slide with a couple other kids. Molly had only just started sleeping through the night. Her poor niece had nightmares for months and Jennifer knew it was because she had abandonment issues, as any child would when their parents suddenly disappeared. Molly still had circles under her eyes, but not nearly as bad as they’d been a few months ago.
“Heads up,” someone yelled. Just as Jennifer turned in the direction of the voice, she felt a pain in her neck and looked down in amazement at the frisbee lying next to her.
She brought her hand up and was surprised to feel a bit of blood. Whoever had thrown the thing, must have really chucked it.
“I’m sorry about that. Are you okay?” a man asked. She looked up and lost her breath. Holy cow, the guy was stunning. She somehow couldn’t get any words past her closed throat. She never had trouble talking with attractive men, and she hadn’t had that gut wrenching, stop-you-in-your-tracks response to a man since she was a teenager.
His dark, short hair, was messy around his flushed cheeks. He had beads of sweat dripping off of his forehead and the most piercing blue eyes she’d ever looked into. Her gaze followed a bead of sweat to his naked chest and her heart started beating far too fast. The man had to be a model, with his defined chest, and washboard abs. His arm muscles looked as if he was flexing, though they were completely relaxed. She followed his abs to his low-riding, athletic pants before noticing her eyes had moved to an area she shouldn’t be looking at.
She jerked her head back up to look at his face again and watched as a cocky grin spread across his features in a knowing way. He stood by silently as she ogled him. She stiffened her shoulders, irritated she’d been so immediately mesmerized by him. She hated to be another typical female, who thought only looks mattered. He was most likely some really stupid jock, who thought with a different head than the one on top of his shoulders. She realized she’d never answered him.
