“Me too. Work has been so busy.”
“That’s a good thing, right?”
“It’s great,” I say, feeling excited. “Digita is loving how the campaign is going so far. There is a lot of interest leading up to the rollout. I’m nervous as hell about it but looking forward to doing my first major campaign.”
“I bet. I can’t wait to get promoted to associate.”
I raise my eyebrows but pause as our waitress delivers my salmon Greek salad and Shelah’s gyro salad.
“Promoted?” I question once the waitress leaves.
Shelah nods as she uses her knife and fork to cut her food. “Yes. I’ve been at Lux for over eighteen months now. I started as a temp but was quickly promoted to full-time receptionist when Danny said he appreciated my work ethic.Iloved that his offer came with full benefits because most receptionist positions were just the straight hourly rate. He also doesn’t mind that I study or do schoolwork in the office, as long as my work in the office is done, of course.”
“That’s nice of him.”
“Absolutely. I only have another two courses to take after this semester to complete my degree, and Danny has already talked about my moving into the main office to become his newest associate.”
I grin, feeling excited for her. “That sounds wonderful. Maybe what Zeke said isn’t true.”
Her perfectly arched eyebrows narrow inward. “What did that fool say?”
I giggle before covering my mouth to wipe it with the cloth napkin while swallowing the forkful of salmon I’d just eaten. “Something about my getting the job only because Danny wanted more diversity for appearances’ sake.”
Shelah’s brown eyes double in size as she pushes back from the table. “Please tell me you didn’t believe that load of b—” Catching herself, she glances around the room. “Garbage.”
I give a one shoulder shrug. “For a little bit.”
She shakes her head. “I knew putting him with you was going to be trouble. Zeke is one of the best associates on the team. When he’s on, he’son.But … he’s a jerk.”
Shelah and I both laugh.
“No, but seriously, he is. Danny’s had a hard time pairing him withanyone. Which is how you ended up stuck with him. But also …” She stops talking briefly as her gaze shifts around the dining space of the restaurant. She leans in. “Zeke was eyeing your position for someone else. He approached Danny about hiring his girlfriend’s younger sister. Gave him the resume and everything. Danny even gave him the courtesy of interviewing the girl. But she came into the office with the nastiest attitude. She was extremely rude to me.”
Her eyes shift around some more before landing on me.
“Don’t tell anyone I told you this but Danny always calls me after a candidate’s interview to ask how they were when they first entered. If someone is rude or nasty to me, no matter how well the interview went, he disqualifies them. Says he doesn’t trust employees who are rude to administrative staff but suck up to him.”
“So what happened with Zeke?” I wonder out loud.
“Pretty sure he learned that lessonafterhe hired Zeke.”
We giggle together on that.
My conversation with Shelah has me feeling a little better. I realize over the last few weeks how little Zeke’s words meant, but hearing that Danny truly didn’t hire me just because of whatever bullshit reason Zeke suggested, solidified it for me. Plus, Shelah is a new work ally that I am enjoying getting to know. I look forward to the time when she is promoted and we might get to work more closely together.
After lunch and for the rest of the day, I feel like I’m on cloud nine. So when I get a call from Angela as I’m leaving work, I assume it’s because she’s telling me she wants to meet at her bar for drinks. I still need to apologize to her face for what happened a few days ago with Matthew and Emanuel. Thankfully, I haven’t heard from Matthew since that night.
“Hey, Angela, I’m just leaving—”
“Emanuel was arrested!” she blurts out.
I freeze in place just outside of my office building’s doors. “What do you mean he was arrested?”
“I mean police officers went to Rescue Four and put handcuffs on his wrists for—”
“Matthew.”
“Yes. He was arrested for assault and battery.”
