Page 85 of Power
As Axel dealt another hand, a plan began forming. Scarlett deserved something big, something that would show her I understood what mattered to her.
“All right,” Axel conceded, pouring me another drink. “If you’re going to be disgustingly romantic, at least do it with style.Make it big enough that when she inevitably breaks your heart, we can mock you for years.”
“Your support is touching,” I said dryly.
“That’s what brothers are for,” he replied with a grin. “Now, are we playing poker or planning your emotional demise?”
“Both,” Ryker said, raising the bet. “We’re excellent multitaskers.”
As chips clacked and cards flew, I couldn’t focus. My mind was filled with Scarlett. Her fierce intelligence, her guarded heart, and what it might take to finally break through.
For the first time in my life, I was all in on something that had nothing to do with business. And for the first time, I had absolutely no idea if I was going to win or lose everything.
42
SCARLETT
“I didn’t expect to hear from you so soon,” I said, unable to keep the surprise from my voice as I paced the small confines of my office, phone pressed to my ear.
“Are you kidding me?” Mary replied with a laugh. “We would be lucky to have you.”
Mary was a coworker from two years ago. We had gotten along really well and worked on several projects together. When she was offered a position outside our company, she took it for better work-life balance. Something that existed in fairy tales and HR pamphlets, as far as I knew.
“Between you and me,” she continued, her voice dropping to a conspiratorial whisper, “there are a lot of other applicants, but?—”
“Define a lot?”
“Um … I think, like, thirty-two?”
“Seriously?” Thirty-two applicants?
“But,” she continued, “I have a good feeling thatyou’llget an offer.”
I stopped pacing. “Because you’re vouching for me?”
“Because you’re amazing. And, of course, I’ll put in a good word for you!”
Wow. My muscles immediately softened, tension melting away. Anxiety that had evidently been knotted into steel cables began to loosen. This whole time, I had been terrified of losing my job, of derailing my career, and after just two applications, would it be this easy to find something else? Thirty-two applicants warned me not to get my hopes up, but Mary sounded so confident.
Maybe the universe had thrown me a lifeline. Maybe I could escape Marcus’s threatsandstill have a career.
“Now, I thought I’d give you the lay of the land before your interview,” Mary said, her voice shifting into professional mode.
“I would love that.” I sank into my chair and swiveled to face the wall so no one walking by could see my absolute glee.
I smiled, twirling a pen between my fingers as I listened to Mary’s tips and tricks. As it turned out, Mary was quite happy in her current position and loved the company she worked for. She had branched into HR and also knew about other companies in the area, which explained why this particular company was such a great one to work for. When she was done summarizing the role, the people I would be working for, the culture, and everything else, she cleared her throat.
“Now, I should warn you,” she said, her tone shifting slightly, “there are a couple things about this organization that aren’t perfect.”
I leaned back in my chair, confidence surging through me. “Of course. No company is.”
Famous. Last. Words.
“Well, at this company, people tend to stay in their roles for five or more years. There’s not as much upward mobility.” She paused, letting that sink in. “This company values people who learn from the ground up slowly.”
“So, it would be a long time before I would ever see a promotion,” I clarified, my chest tightening.
Okay. Not the best news. I really did want to move up in a company, but at least this one seemed like a great place to work. Icould handle that. Career advancement wasn’t everything, right? Sometimes, stability was worth more.
