Page 31 of Executives' Omega
Zane laughed. “No. You obviously know the position better than we do. We’re going to sit down with you in the coming weeks to decide the split of job duties. We want a good division of work, with the receptionist taking on some more general tasks to ease the burden on the assistant position.”
“We also…” Linden started. He took a deep breath. “We also need you to consider what you want to do.”
“What do you mean?” I asked softly, not liking the question.
He stood and paced behind the line of their chairs for a moment before turning his hazel eyes to me. “Can I be brutally honest?”
I swallowed, then nodded.
He stood behind his chair, fingers digging into the backrest. “Despite having the best resume and interview, we struggled with the decision to hire you. Do you know why?”
“I…” I paused. It was the elephant that hadn’t been addressed before. “My work history?”
He nodded. “Exactly. Why would such a qualified candidate switch jobs so often? So we called your previous employers.”
A squeak slipped from my throat. They’d talked to my former bosses, and still hired me?
“Do you know what they said?” he asked, eyes locked with mine.
“No,” I whispered.
“Model employee, does good work, team player. Everybody I talked to said the same things, but they also said the same thing when I asked why you were no longer working at any of those places. Do you know what it was?”
I broke eye contact to look down and shake my head.
“Look at me,” he commanded.
I lifted my head again, my eyes locking with his as if there was a taut string between them.
“Every one of them said that you lacked self-confidence, and as soon as you seemed to be hitting your stride, suddenly your demeanor changed. You were nervous—overly cautious. Your work was still impeccable, but you always seemed on edge that it wasn’t good enough. Any minor mistake caused you to spiral for days.” He paused and let out a long breath. “Every single one of them said that they’d hoped you’d soon get over whatever was bothering you, then you would quit. No conflicts, no warnings, no pips… a good employee just left for one reason…”
His fingernails scratched along the fabric of his chair. “You don’t believe in yourself.”
Time stopped as he stared at me, all the air in the room gone as the declaration lingered.
My breathing hitched and my hands started shaking.
Linden rounded the conference table, then turned my chair so that I was staring up at him.
Zane sighed, but I couldn’t tear my eyes from Linden’s.
“We need to know what you want to do,” Zane started, “because these are long-term plans for us. Do you want to keep the executive assistant role, or would you rather switch to receptionist?” A pause. “Are you planning to stay with us at all, at least for a while longer?”
“We’ve all seen it since Chicago,” Alonzo said. “There’s a tension that wasn’t there before. We’re concerned it’s the same fears that caused you to quit previous jobs.”
“There won’t be a pay decrease if you take the receptionist role,” Zane said. “But…”
“Keep the assistant position,” Linden commanded.
“I…” I started.
He reached out and cupped my jaw in one hand. “We believe in you.”
The touch… the words… I shuddered as a whimper escaped me.
His thumb brushed my cheek. “Let us believe in you, even when you don’t believe in yourself.”
“I’ll screw up,” I whispered.
