Page 4 of Rich and Bossy

“Okay, lady, my turn. Two things.” My voice morphs to serious. I hold up one finger. “One, this is not the appropriate way to handle this. You don’t come at the CEO in an elevator.”

She starts to speak, but I cut her off.

“Two.” I hold up a second finger. “Yes, I’m sure we have some demands of employees. That’s how business works. We pay money for people to perform functions. That’s the trade off between employee and employer. And while I’m not involved in the decisions at any single warehouse, I can assure you we pay above market wages, we offer above market average benefitspackages, and we go above and beyond all safety requirements regulated by the government.”

She folds her arms. “Did you come up with that on the fly? Or did you hire a PR firm then memorize it? You’re the CEO, and you don’t know how your warehouses are run?”

“Look, I don’t get it. If you’re unhappy, why do you work here?” I glance down at her petite frame. “It’s probably just not a good fit for you. Have you applied for some corporate office jobs? We promote from within. You’d get priority.”

God, I’d love to see her in the halls of corporate every day. I’m not saying I’d move her resume up the list, but I might not be able to help myself to see those eyes every morning.

“So you want to track us, time us, surveil us, and now you need to know why I work here too? You guys just can’t collect enough data, can you?”

“It’s called a conversation. Which you instigated.”

“I work here, because I have friends here. People who I care about.” She points at the door, like she’s pointing back down to the floor. “There’s a woman down there who just came back from her ever-so-generous, above market rates,four weeksof maternity leave. Her baby was born premature and is still in the NICU. She has to pump every few hours, and she was warned she’d be written up if she keeps doing it. It’s bad enough she can’t be with her baby, but now she can’t even pump breastmilk without risking being fired.”

Jesus Christ.

“I’m sorry to hear that.” Okay, I’m sold. Need to speed up the elevator. Why is this elevator so fucking slow? I’m actually tired of hearing about piss buckets and breast pumps now.

“Well?” Her arms are still folded.

“Well?” I stare blankly at her, returning the question.

She just stares back likewhat the fuck?

“What did HR say when you brought this to them? That’s kind of what they do.”

“Told us they’d take our concerns under advisement.”

“Well, there ya go. I’m sure they’re taking them under advisement.”

“It’s been months.”

I sigh, thankful the elevator is almost there. I keep looking up at it.

“Your mind somewhere else now?” She glares right at me.

“Yeah, I think I’m going to go talk to maintenance about these elevators. Have them sped up.” I glance down at her and grin. “Today.”

Now, she looks like she might explode. “Oh, I’m sure it’ll happen then.”

I need to deescalate this. Fun is fun, but I have a job to do. “I will make some inquiries. Okay? But these things take time, and I’m sure HR really is working on it. I don’t know if you’re aware, but the Minnie warehouse doesn’t exist in a vacuum. We have over three hundred now. When we change policies, it affects everyone, not just you and your personal needs.”

She shrugs. “Guess nobody can fix this then, if you can’t.”

“I’m not Santa Claus. I said I’d look into it. You’re going to have to learn patience.” I harden my stare at her a little. “If things are as bad as you say they are…”

She cuts me off. “Yeah, I made all that up. Maybe I should write dystopian fiction in my spare time.”

I sigh, ignore her little jab, and continue. “—I will advocate for the changes to be made. But the world doesn’t stop running because a child cornered me in an elevator.” I only call her achildto really set her off. And oh, does it.

Whether or not she realizes she’s doing it, she stands up a little straighter. She can’t be more than a few inches over fivefeet tall, and she’s straining for every one of them. “Do I look like achildto you?”

I smirk right at her. “Emotionally?” I shrug my shoulders like I’m hemming and hawing. I can’t hide the grin on my face. I probably shouldn’t have said it, but there’s a lot of shit she shouldn’t have said too. So I think we’re even.

I think the best part is how smart she is. Fuck, she’s beautiful and intelligent. She’s definitely not a goddamn child. If anything, she’s wise beyond her years.

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