Page 1 of Big Built Boss

Chapter One

Alex

“Alex, you have a minute?” I turn around knowing exactly who I’ll see—Josh, the man who acts as manager when I’m not around. For all intents and purposes, Josh is my right hand man.

“Yeah, what’s up?” I ask, looking away from the group of teenagers practicing on our sandbag. One of my favorite parts about owning a boxing gym, and the only one for miles around, is how much raw potential I see pass through these doors.

“Have you seen our numbers for this quarter?” Josh says with his arms crossed.

“I have,” I admit, not sure where this conversation is going.

“There’s more than enough room in the budget for us to hire another person,” he continues, running a hand through his hair.

I can tell he’s nervous. I’ve been hesitant about hiring someone else. The first time he suggested it, I snapped at him. It isn’t even because I thought it was a bad idea. I’m just not a fan of change, and there’s been very little since I took this place over from my dad. In fact, there’s only been one new hire since he retired, and it was because the last manager retired too.

“I’m aware.” I glance away rubbing my palm over the stubble along my chin from him to ensure the teenagers aren’t doing anything to hurt themselves. “Finding someone new takes time.”

“How upset would you be if I told you that I’ve already got that taken care of?” Josh pushes sounding even more meek and more than a little scared.

“What do you mean by that?” I snap, clenching my jaw to hide my irritation.

“I’ve been interviewing potential employees,” he admits with a shrug. “I haven’t hired anyone yet, but I have my top pick stopping by in about twenty minutes.”

“Of course you do,” I say, pinching the bridge of my nose as I center myself. I should be thankful that he’s done most of the legwork, and maybe I will be in due time. But for now, I’m frustrated that this change is happening without my permission. “Tell me about him.”

“Her, actually,” Josh corrects, clearly picking his words carefully. “Her name is Olivia, and she just moved to Cherrywood Village. She has a degree in accounting, so she’d spend most of the time in the office.”

“So she’d free up your hours to help out on the floor,” I add, finally dropping my hand. “Smart.”

“You’re not pissed?”

“No, I am,” I say before sighing and deciding that it’s not worth getting upset over. “Still, I guess I should probably thank you.”

This is a problem that I’ve been avoiding solving. If he hadn’t taken the initiative, I doubt that I would have gotten around to it anytime soon. This move, though frustrating, is going to do wonders for morale around here. I know my staff misses their days off.

“No need to do that,” he says as he claps a hand over my shoulder. “I’m just trying to keep this place running smoothly.”

“Well, it’s appreciated,” I admit, rolling my shoulders back and dislodging his hand. “Am I conducting an interview when she gets here?”

“It’s more of just a meet and greet,” Josh says, gesturing for me to follow him into the office. “If you like her, I think we should go ahead and hire her.”

“You’re moving fast,” I note as he unlocks the door and makes a beeline for the desk.

“I might be tired of taking care of the numbers now that we’re busy,” he grunts, pulling out a packet from a manila envelope. “Here’s her application and resume.”

I accept the pages from him and look them over. Everything seems to be in order, but I truthfully don’t know much about picking out someone to hire. I’ve only ever done it once, and Josh was a recommendation from his predecessor.

“I’m going to leave you with that,” he says while I’m scanning through her resume. “It’s probably not best to leave the front desk unattended.”

“Uh huh,” I murmur, wondering what would bring a girl from Los Angeles to Cherrywood Village. This place is less than a fraction of the size of LA.

“I’ll send her in when she gets here.” With that, he slips through the door.

Once he’s gone, I settle into the swivel chair in front of the computer monitor. There are notes from Josh’s interview with her scribbled on the back of her resume. It seems as though he’s covered everything that I would, and I wonder what the hell I’m supposed to ask her when she gets here.

I suppose I could ask her about the last gym she worked out at. It says here that she likes to do yoga and would start her mornings by doing an hour of cardio. I’m not sure if that’s an appropriate question, but I need something to break the ice. There’s no way I’ll be able to get a good gauge of her competence just by looking at her.

I’m reading through her resume for the second time when someone knocks on the door. Without looking up, I call for them to come in, assuming that it’s Josh with something else he wants to tell me before our potential new employee gets here. It hasn’t been more than ten minutes, so I can’t imagine it’s Olivia.

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