Page 19 of Think Outside the Boss

Then I hit send and lean back in my chair, imagining the terror that just crept up my newest employee’s spine as he saw my name in his inbox, realizing his mistake. He hadn’t sent the commentary to a friend in the company.

I doubt I’ll get a response. No, somewhere further down in the building, a brain is firing on all cylinders. Will I be fired? Will I be reprimanded?

And he’ll never make the same mistake again. Shaking my head, I dive back into the pile of emails. They need to be finished before my daily meetings start.

But he responds—an hour later, the email is there, winking at me from the top of my email inbox.

RE: A Thank You to the Troops

Mr. Conway,

Thank you for your quick reply. While I may be a person of spirited opinions, I recognize that I don’t have the experience you do, just as you pointed out. As such, I think I’ve given all the unsolicited advice I should, at least for the time being.

Sincerely,

Freddie Bilson,

Junior Professionals Trainee,

Strategy Department

I stare at the email for a few seconds. He actually replied, and it wasn’t in apology or abject fear. Despite myself, I have a begrudging respect for the arrogant trainee. I’d expected him to go silent and not toe-to-toe with me like this. Very few at this company consider telling me what they genuinely think, at least not to my face.

I don’t have time to indulge in this, and Freddie is probably like all the other young guys Exciteur hires. They’re a dime a dozen, the newly minted MBAs who think they’ve made it big for scoring a trainee position here, when in reality they know absolutely nothing and are on the bottom rung of the ladder.

My instinct is to dig down deeper into this one, though. Much as it pains me to admit, perhaps he’d been on to something with his first email.

RE: A Thank You to the Troops

Freddie,

A wise course of action, if I wasn’t specifically asking you for your advice now. You seem to be under the impression that my employees are anything but excited about the Thanksgiving lunch. Tell me why you believe that’s the case.

Tristan Conway

CEO of Exciteur Global

I hit send and wonder if I’m being a heartless bastard, forcing it out of him. A nicer person would make it clear that he won’t face any repercussions for speaking his mind. But I don’t have the time to coddle employees, and he’s the one who emailed me, mistake or not.

I forget all about Freddie Bilson for the coming hours. There are too many fires to put out and not enough time.

Never enough time.

My mind drifts back to the past weekend, finding the contours of that Saturday night effortlessly. A Gilded Room party had never been this difficult to move on from before. The image of her dark hair unbound around narrow shoulders, the tight black dress and beckoning curves beneath, feels seared into my brain.

I close my eyes and see her naked in front of me, stretched out on the hotel bed. All the curves I’d touched, the crook of her neck, the ample breasts. The way she’d moaned without artifice or pretense.

Not to mention the way she’d looked while we’d talked. The confidence in her eyes, so at odds with the sudden bursts of nerves or shyness. Guests to the Gilded Room change often, and rare are the times I’ve slept with the same guest twice. But she better be at the next party.

And she better be looking for me, too.

Leaving her after only a few hours together had been a hard call. But I never stayed long at those parties, not when Joshua was at home with the sitter. I know he adores her and doesn’t miss me at all… but I can’t justify being away from home longer than necessary.

But it had been a close call with her.

Running a hand over my face in frustration, I re-open my email server. In the hours since I’ve last dealt with it, don’t you know, it’s grown again?

I swear, they breed in my inbox.

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