Page 66 of Joy to Noel
“I don’t know what to say, Mr. Park,” Beau says. I give him a pointed look. “Liam,” he amends with a laugh. “I can’t tell you how honored I am. I would love to take on that responsibility.”
Standing up, I reach across the desk to shake Beau’s hand. “You deserve it,” I say. “Now, your first order of business is to choose your replacement. Which of the engineers do you think has what it takes to fill the head of machinery role?”
Beau and I spend the next hour discussing who to shift into which roles and crafting a job listing for an open engineering position. I askhim to weigh in on other personnel that might need to be moved around, noting his thoughts on my tablet.
We call in the woman he recommended as his replacement to offer her the position, and I craft an email to the company alerting everyone to the changes. After sending it, I begin filling out the paperwork for the position changes to have ready for signatures by the end of the day.Sheesh, I can’t wait until we can actually fill these HR and finance roles so I’m not the one doing this stuff.
As I’m printing off the official package offers for Beau and the new head engineer, Amanda steps into the office.
“Mr. Park? Could I ask you about something?” she questions.
“Sure, have a seat,” I say, motioning to the open chair across from me.
Amanda’s hands are fidgety as she begins. “I was reading the email about some of the role changes, and it got me thinking . . . well, I guess I was just wondering if there might be any possibility of me stepping into a different role,” she says. She rushes to add, “Not that I don’t enjoy being the receptionist, because I do. But I was just thinking that if there are opportunities to advance into different positions, that I’d like to explore that.”
She looks up at me when she finishes speaking, and I ask, “Do you have any training for roles outside of the receptionist position?”
Her cheeks color. “Well, no, not really.”
“Have you taken any steps to further your education or experience that would qualify you for a position with more responsibility?” I press.
Amanda’s eyes drop to her hands in her lap. “No, I haven’t. I guess I didn’t really think through this. I’m sorry for wasting your time.” She quickly stands and rushes out of the room.
Out of habit, I pick up the tennis ball from my desk and start bouncing it off the wall.
Why would she think she should just magically get a different position if she hasn’t done anything to earn it? I’m not a promotion fairy.
Leaning back in my chair, I can picture Madison’s face. Ihearher voice accusing me of crossing over into jerk territory. And I know that phantom voice is right.
Rising from my desk, I walk out to the reception area. Amanda’s eyes are puffy, a sure sign of recent tears, but she tries to hide it as I approach.
“Listen, Amanda, I’m sorry I was too short and direct with you in there,” I say. She sniffs and darts a glance up at me. “Look, I can’t make any promises about open positions. I had to beg to get today’s changes approved. But you could be proactive in seeking out training and building up your résumé. There are all sorts of low-cost courses that you can take online that will train you in administrative tasks that could give you an edge to stand out for a different role. Eventually, we’re going to need to hire some HR and finance roles, so if you have any interest in those fields, you could start working through some training courses.”
Amanda’s eyes are hopeful, and she nods. “I do think that human resources could be really interesting. I’d really like to do something like that.”
Holding up a hand to slow her enthusiasm, I emphasize, “Like I said, no promises. But being proactive to further your education and experience is never a bad idea if you want to climb the ladder.”
“I understand,” she says, nodding with even more fervor. “I’m going to go home tonight and look for some courses. Thanks for the advice, Mr. Park.”
“Any time,” I say, tapping my knuckles on her desk. “Thanks for all your hard work, Amanda. You’ve made my job here easier.”
She beams at the praise, and I mentally note that I should make more of an effort to dole out deserved recognition.
Chapter twenty-eight
Madison
My heart races when I see an email from Elizabeth in my inbox. I sent the marked-up manuscript back to her a few days ago, and I’ve been holding my breath waiting for a response. I hope she thinks I did a great job, and I hope she’ll be willing to write a positive testimonial for my website.
My inner voice of doubt grew each day that passed with no response.
You aren’t anything special, Madison. She probably thinks she overpaid you. She’s probably had better experiences with other editors. You never should have tried this editing venture in the first place.
I blow out a long breath as I hover the mouse over the unread email.I wish Liam was here for moral support. To celebrate with me if it’s a positive response or rage rant with me if it’s negative.
Over the past three weeks, Liam has slowly become as close of a friend as Clara in a lot of ways. I mean, there are some very key differences—the making out being a major one. Liam also stokes my energy in reverse proportion to Clara’s calming effect. So it’s probably a good thing I havebothof them in my life, evening me out.
But his intensity somehow soothes me just like Clara’s gentleness does. He’s cheered me on every time I land a new client, and he’s talked me out of lowering my prices or giving up altogether when the clients haven’t come in as frequently as I’d like. When I told him about a rude comment I received on social media, he was saddled up andready to ride at dawn in vengeance. Who knows what he’d be ready to do if Elizabeth’s response is negative?
