Page 34 of I Accidentally Hired a Shadow Walker
“How is this respecting my wishes?” I crossed my arms to keep myself from snatching the donuts from him.
“We’re partners, right? Technically, I work for you. So, I’ll show up, work, and in a few months, I’ll be out of your hair,” he explained. “I’ll also do the coffee run in the morning. The stuff you have here sucks, and this place near my house is too good to miss out on.”
“What about things at your office?” I looked around. “Don’t you have things to take care of there? You can’t be here every day.”
“I’ve already shut down operations,” he replied. “I meant to tell you that before, but it slipped my mind with everything going on. This is the only open contract I have left. Once it’s done, I’ll move on. Oh, and if you want, we’ll transfer all employee records to you. The guys have already agreed to it. Is that okay with you?”
I took the offered coffee and donuts from him. “Thank you.”
From that moment forward, Raymond was the perfect employee. He spent little time talking to me, and all his energy with Natalie and the other staff members. He filled in wherever we needed help and even beat me to the punchon a few items. At the end of each day, he had status reports filed and ready for my review. He gave me no trouble.
And it was driving me crazy.
That’s what he wants!I thought as I arrived to the office a week later. I called myself getting there early to prepare for our meeting with Von, but Raymond was already there.
He wants me to go crazy trying to figure out what the hell is up with him. I refuse to give him the energy. Let him be the perfect employee. Great. Less headache for me. In a few months, he’ll be gone, and I’ll be able to move on with my life!
“Good morning, Ms. Brown,” Raymond addressed me as I entered the office.
“Raymond.” I nodded. “Early again.”
“Yes, of course.” He nodded. “We thought we would get a head start, considering how early the meeting with Von is.”
“We?”
“Good morning.” Natalie stepped out of my office. “I just put your notes on your desk. Everything is ready to go, and the conference room is all set. Von emailed; she asked to move the meeting up by a half hour. I told her that would be fine, so you have about twenty minutes before she arrives.”
“Great.” I swallowed my comments about how annoyed I was with Raymond. “I’ll review everything. Please make sure there is fresh coffee. Von likes the dark roast.”
“Got it!” Raymond stepped forward, holding out a receipt for me. “I had to use my personal card. I’ll need you to approve this for reimbursement.”
“Thanks.” I took the receipt from him and marched into my office, closing the door behind me.
Natalie’s notes were thorough, as always, and by the time Von made it to the office, I felt confident about the meeting. Raymond joined us, and whileI expected him to speak up, he remained a silent supporter, nodding when appropriate and taking notes whenever something important was mentioned.
“You’re doing a wonderful job. Thank you so much for how thorough your report was. A lot of studios have been getting hit all over the country. I’m not surprised it's already happening here.” Von stood from the table and took a long sip of her coffee. “You mind walking out with me?” she asked me.
“Of course.” I nodded at Raymond, who opened the door for us but remained behind to clean up the room.
“Thank you for taking the time to meet with me,” Von said.
“Of course. I’m happy to,” I said honestly, because I genuinely enjoyed speaking with her. It was a refreshing break from majorly male leadership.
“I also wanted to ask you for a favor. A private contract of sorts.”
“Oh?” I asked. “What are the details?”
“We’re having a meeting with the executives. It will be downtown, at the Echo hotel,” she explained. “One of the owners is nervous about being there without security. I was hoping you could provide your services. And of course, you will be paid for it.”
“Of course. If you send the details over, Natalie will get things squared away.” I smiled. “We have plenty of available team members eager to work.”
“That’s the thing. After looking at the report you provided…” She paused. “And this is why I wanted to talk to you privately about this. I was hoping you would do the event yourself, along with Raymond.”
I glanced back at the office door and was relieved to find no one there. “You want me and Raymond to do it?”
“Is that a problem? I mean, I wanted to ask you directly because I know how uncomfortable it was before when the exec thought he was the owner and not you. I didn’t want to step on your toes or make it awkward.”
“No, it's fine. Not awkward at all.” I took a deep breath. “Shoot me the details, and I’ll confirm if it works with our schedules. I can’t promise Raymond will be there, but I’ll make sure I am.”
