I sailed out, stubbornly leaving the door open so he’d have to unwedge those long legs of his from under his desk to close it.
Outside our office, our admin, Finley, stood. “Bridget, do you have a minute?”
“Walk with me to Gina’s office.” My heels made a satisfying clicking sound as I marched down the hall to my former office. “Everything okay? Supporting both of us isn’t too much, is it?”
John’s old assistant retired when he did, and Cole insisted on promoting Finley to the most senior administrative assistant role. I hadn’t argued. My former assistant supported Gina in operations, and she needed experienced help. So far, Finley seemed capable and congenial, which was more than I could say for Cole.
“I had an idea I wanted to run by you,” they said. “The employees are a little confused about how you and Cole are going to share the CEO position…”
“We’ll explain more at the town hall next week.” I smiled at the associates we passed in the hall. All of them reported to me now, and the sense of power was intoxicating. As long as I could forget that they also reported to Cole.
“I think it would be good for them to learn about you two on a personal level. Say, with an interview series in the employee newsletter?”
“Oh.” I stopped walking, and so did they. “Tell me more.”
Their eyes widened with excitement. “I’ll ask you both questions about, like, life stuff so everyone can get to know you as people.”
“Life stuff?” Outside work, I didn’t have much of a life.
“Like, your first job and hobbies and stuff. What you’re grateful for. Stuff like that.”
“That doesn’t sound too bad,” I said, “as long as we can approve it before it goes in the newsletter.”
“Of course. And I know you’re busy, so I’ll only ask a few at a time. It’ll be a series. And people will see that you’re humans, and they’ll see how compatible you are.”
“Compatible?” I scoffed. We’d made it to my former office. “Hardly.”
They flashed me a knowing smile. “It’s going to be great. Thanks for agreeing to do it.”
As they turned, I said, “Wait. Did Cole agree to do it?”
Without turning back, they fluttered their fingers. “I’ll put it on your calendars.”
My stomach sank. This sounded like something Cole would fight me on. But that was a problem for tomorrow. I knocked on the doorframe. Gina looked up from her screen and grinned. “Hey there.”
I stepped into the office. “Is this still a good time?” Sun streamed through the window. It would be shady and cool this afternoon, but I’d always basked in the morning sunlight in here. The corner office had sun all day, and I had to pull the shades in the afternoon or risk sweating through my blouse.
“Of course. I’ve always got time for you.” She pushed her monitor to the side, giving me an unobstructed view of her smiling face and halo of twisted curls.
I shut the door and sat in the guest chair. It was strange to sit on this side of my old desk. “Settling in okay?” I nodded at a crate on the floor.
“I’ll unpack eventually. Right now, I’m trying to get my head around everything. I’ve got to admit, it’s a little overwhelming. I don’t know how you kept it all straight.”
“You’ll get it in time. For now, take it slow. Remember, I’m still around to help. What questions do you have for me?”
We talked through her most pressing concerns, and I reminded her of a few items she should treat with urgency. As she scribbled notes in her planner, she said, “Seriously, how did you do it all?”
“Seriously? I’m not sure you’re going to like the answer.” I snorted. “I have no life outside work. I make plans and cancel them. I only have friends because they’re the most stubborn women in the world, and my family hates my job with a passion.”
Gina’s smile faltered.
“But it’s worth it, you know?” I rushed to say. “The executive suite.” I waved my hand toward the sunny window. “The money. The prestige. Everyone knows you’ve made it. Doesn’t it feel great?”
“Sure,” she said. “But…your family and friends hated the job?”
I wrinkled my nose. “Yes, but you don’t have to do it the way I did. I was always aiming for CEO. If you’re satisfied here, you don’t have to do all the extra stuff I did to impress the board. And”—I chuckled—“I hope you’ll be satisfied in the COO job because I plan on being CEO for a long time.”
“Yeah? It’s probably easier with a co-CEO. That way, you can divide the work.”
