Daniel shook his head. “I think you’ve covered it all. I’m ready to dive in.”
“That’s what I like to hear. And remember, we take ourselves seriously, but nottooseriously. Work should be fun.”
Owen clamped a hand on his shoulder, and Daniel fought the urge to knock it off. As the head of Human Resources, Mr. Caldwell here should know better than to put his hands on an employee without their express permission.
He let the incident pass. He wasn’t here to start shit. At least not with some straight-out-of-central-casting HR director. He had a job to do, and it required him to lie low and not make waves.
Daniel rolled the ergonomic office chair back from his desk and sat, nearly groaning at the way it cradled him. Trendsetters didn’t skimp when it came to office furniture, that’s for damn sure. He could live in this chair.
He powered on the twenty-four-inch iMacs and jerked back as a barrage of welcome messages populated the screen.
Owen’s cheerfulness should have forewarned him that Trendsetters was one ofthosework environments. He’d hoped for at least a day or two before he would be expected to actually interact with people. That was always the hardest part.
He’d been stoked when his new supervisor, Justin Vail, explained that the Research and Development Department was trying to get away from emails and migrate to a messaging system. Nothing chapped his ass more than a bunch of Reply All emails. And that one guy who always replied withDittoto every email? That asshole could go jump in the river. He wouldn’t be surprised if Owen Caldwell was Trendsetters’ Ditto Guy. He fit the part.
But Daniel wasn’t sure this messaging software was any better than email. Was he expected to reply to each individual message?
Relief rushed through him when he hovered his mouse over the first one and a thought bubble filled with a half-dozen emojis popped up. He quickly clicked the thumbs-up on each message, then took a few minutes to familiarize himself with the company’s software, opening his orientation folder to the page with his login information and setting up new passwords.
Five minutes in, he got an uneasy feeling. It prickled the back of his neck. He glanced to his right and discovered the source. The pretty brunette with the Catwoman glasses was staring at him.
Morgan Broomfield. Twenty-five. Graduated top of her class at Texas State. Considered a genius for her work with data structures and algorithms. Was arrested for staging a Black Lives Matter march on campus her senior year.
No one he had to worry about.
She smiled. He smiled back.
Daniel returned his attention to his computer. He counted to four before looking up to find her standing at his desk.
“Hi. I’m Morgan,” she said, sticking her hand out. “Welcome to Trendsetters.”
“Nice to meet you, Morgan.” He shook her hand, his eyes following her movements as she settled a hip against his desk.
“You’ll be introduced to the entire team at the Morning Crush—that’s what they call the daily department meeting where everyone gives a brief update about what they’re working on for the day—but I wanted to introduce myself ahead of time.”
She had a pretty smile. And those light gray eyes were stunning. Daniel knew exactly what she was saying with those eyes, which is why he kept his expression intentionally neutral.
It happened every time he started a new job, usually within a matter of hours. He could count on at least one or two new coworkers—male or female—to engage in some kind of behavior that broadcasted their interest. A flirtatious smile. Overly aggressive eye contact. Some were brazen as hell, but others, like Morgan here, were refreshingly subtle.
Planting her backside and thigh on his desk was a bold move, but it could also be seen as just an open, friendly gesture from a coworker who wanted him to feel welcome. It was the eyes that gave her away. They were assessing, with just a hint of eagerness. Daniel could sense her trying to gauge his reaction, wondering if he would reciprocate.
He would not.
A workplace romance wasn’t on his agenda. That didn’t mean he would immediately rebuff her advances if any were forthcoming. He needed to discern whether his extremely friendly new coworker could be a possible asset before he threw anyI don’t do office hookupsvibes her way.
He would have to revisit his notes before he decided what to do about Morgan. Just because she didn’t automatically stand out to him didn’t mean she wasn’t useful. Maybe he’d missed something.
“Thanks for the warm welcome,” Daniel told her. “It’s been a while since I went through this whole first-day-on-the-job thing,” he lied. “It means a lot.”
“It wasn’t that long ago since I was the new kid on the block,” she said.
She’d been here a year already.
“You’d think I’d be used to it,” he said. “Military kid.”
He knew Morgan would jump on that. He remembered from her dossier that she’d spent much of her formative years traveling from one Army base to another.
“Same here.” Her teeth sparkled like freshly polished pearls, and that flirtatious glint in her eyes moved her closer to the aggressive category.
