Page 18 of The Vegas Rerun
“No need,” Frieda says, shaking her head. “Honestly Molly, I bet you don’t even get told off. Mr Redfern doesn’t hate his father or anything, but his father is often resistant of the changes he wants to make and what not. He will absolutely love the fact that he has been brought down a peg or two in front of the rest of the board.”
“Yeah. You’re more likely to get employee of the month than be fired,” Patty adds. “Not that we have employee of the month, but you get my drift.”
I nod my head. I do. And I finally allow myself to relax a little bit. These women have worked here a lot longer than I have, and they know the dynamics between everyone well. If they say this won’t be a big deal, then I’m going to choose to believe them. For the first time since I dropped that milk jug, I feel like everything might be ok after all.
CHAPTER 14
MOLLY
A few weeks pass,and I settle into my role, keeping my head down and avoiding situations where I might find myself having to have unnecessary interactions with Joshua. Every day, I dread running into him, yet at the same time, I yearn for him. When I do see him, he barely acknowledges me, just gives me a nod, the same as he does with all the other secretaries, and then I’m left with such mixed emotions. Maybe he truly doesn’t remember me, or maybe he does, and he just doesn’t care enough to talk to me about it. Either way, this leaves me partly relieved because there is much less chance of me slipping up and mentioning Autumn if we don’t talk and it leaves me partly gutted because no matter what I tell myself, I still want him.
I know I can’t have him though, and so I make it my mission to remain invisible, because it’s easier to not be seen than to be seen and not be acknowledged. I plan to coast along, head down, doing my job and having the tiniest contact possible with Joshua. It’s working well for me until it isn’t.
The plan shatters one afternoon when I least expect it and in a way that I never would have predicted in a million years.
The phone on my desk rings and I pick it up.
“Redfern Consultancy, Molly speaking,” I say as I bring the receiver up to my ear.
“Hi Molly, it’s Linda from HR. Can you pop down and see me when you have a minute, please?” she says.
“Yes, no problem,” I reply.
We say our goodbyes and I replace the receiver and think for a moment. I can’t imagine what she might want. Did I need to fill out more paperwork? I don’t think it’s that. My stomach knots instantly. Did I do something wrong? Is she about to fire me? God, I hope not, but why else would she want me?
When she first asked to see me when I had a minute, I planned on waiting at least an hour or two so that it looked like I was swamped with work and couldn’t just drop everything and go to see her. I felt like that gave a better impression of me, but now I feel like I’m going to be fired, I’m too paranoid to wait, and if I am going to be fired anyway, I guess it doesn’t matter if Linda doesn’t approve of me being able to put my work on hold like this.
“I have to go down to HR,” I say, mostly to Frieda.
“Is everything ok?” she asks me.
“I have no idea,” I say. “That was Linda. She asked to see me.”
“Ok,” Frieda says.
I get up and leave the work area and head down to the HR department. I go inside and spot Linda at her desk. She stands up when she sees me and beckons me to follow her to the side of the area. I do as she gestures, and she takes me into a small room with only a table and a chair either side of it. She’s carrying a brown paper file and a pen. This definitely feels official and that has to be bad.
"Molly, have a seat," she says, offering me a warm smile.
I lower myself into the chair across from her, my hands clasped tightly in my lap. Here it comes. Goodbye Molly.
"I’ll get right to it," Linda continues. I brace myself. I won’t show her how upset I am about this. I won’t let her see me crying over it. "We’d like to offer you the position of the CEO’s executive secretary."
I blink. Hard. Did I hear that correctly? She’s not firing me; she’s offering me a promotion? No, I must have it wrong. It must be like a defense mechanism, like my mind can’t cope with the idea of me being told I’m fired so it changed the words to something else.
"I … What?" I managed to splutter out after a moment of silence.
Linda smiles at my confusion.
"The CEO’s secretary just put in her resignation, and we need to fill the role quickly. Your name came up immediately. You’ve impressed everyone in your short time here, Molly. You’re efficient, professional, and highly capable," Linda says.
“But what about Frieda?” I ask. “Wouldn’t she be next in line for this?”
“In theory yes, but Frieda has made it clear on many occasions over the years that she is happy with her current role and doesn’t want to change it. And the other two ladies, while great at what they do, aren’t contenders for a faster paced position.”
My mouth opens, then closes. I don’t know what to say. Me? The CEO’s secretary? Working directly with Joshua every single day? Would that be heaven or would it be hell? I think it would be some sort of purgatory, like a middle ground between the two.
"I know this might seem sudden," Linda adds, misinterpreting my hesitation. "But we really do believe you’re the best person for the role. We really don’t want to go with an outside hire for this. And for you, it’s a significant promotion. Your salary would nearly double, and the benefits package isexcellent. I really think you’d come to regret it if you didn’t take the job."
