“Max’s office,” I said to them and made my way there myself.
This was going to be a shit show, especially after Greg had told Max he didn’t need any help. Truth was, he probably didn’t, but neither Jack nor Greg knew I had just taken on three new clients and the amount of shit that was about to come our way.
I entered and propped myself against the window at the edge of Max’s office. Greg and Jack both took the seats in front of Max’s desk. I felt the tension rise in the office as Greg stared down Max.
“You hired her for me, didn’t you.” He said it like a statement.
“I did.”
“I told you I didn’t need help.”
“Well, we do.” Max pointed toward the door and I closed it, then stood behind the twins. “We just took on three new clients.”
“Three?” Jack all but shouted into the room. “I already have five covers and graphics I am working on. Do you plan on hiring someone for me too?”
“I do, actually. We need at least one more graphic designer, and two more editors. I feel confident in Erica, the girl I just hired, that she can help you with all the financing. I would love to get one more person in there to help you, but she seems like someone who is willing to take on anything we throw at her.”
Greg crossed his arms over his chest and just stewed in his chair, then huffed out a sigh.
“Just hire one more person, and then we should be good. She can help with the clients I already have and get royalties abdicated to each client.”
“I don’t want to overwork her.”
“Neither do I. If you think she’s this good, then we need her to stay. Especially with three more clients.” Greg uncrossed his arms and then leaned forward. It was becoming a conversation between just them now. Jack and I knew where we stood. We could do a lot on our own, but we knew we needed help. Greg, on the other hand, was never one to ask for it. He had to be forced into it. “I’ll start her with one client and then we can work from there. I’ll wait a bit before I throw her into anything that involves the company directly, so she can learn our business.”
I chuckled to myself, because Greg was in over his head with Erica. I couldn’t wait for her to come in to start so she could prove him wrong with everything I knew was going through his mind. He probably didn’t think she was good enough, but I knew her. And she was the best we would ever have come through here.
“I’m having her start tomorrow,” Max explained.
My head shot up to look at him.
“So soon?” I asked, curiosity getting the better of me.
“If we are setting up meetings with these authors soon, like in the next week, I need her to be ready. I’m sure Greg can teach her all she needs to know in that time.” Max nudged his head toward Greg.
“One week should be enough.”
“Try one day,” I mumbled under my breath. No one could really hear it, but Max caught the whisper of it.
“Got something to add, Chase?” He leaned back in his chair with his arms crossed over his chest. His nostrils flared. He hated being undermined, but that wasn’t what this was.
“Sorry. I’m just curious to see how well she does. Maybe it won’t take her a week. She literally walked in here, was in your office for about fifteen minutes, you hired her, and she starts tomorrow. You clearly saw something in her that makes you think she’ll be the best asset for our team.”
“What’s her experience?” Greg looked between the two of us to get his answer. Now his curiosity was piqued and that’s exactly what I wanted.
“Bachelor’s in mathematics, took some accounting and finance classes. Has gone to state three time for mathematics in Georgia, and graduated as valedictorian from her high school and from Duke.”
“Duke University?” Greg looked shocked. “What the hell does she want to work here for then?”
I smiled to myself, remembering seeing the photo of her being valedictorian and even hearing the remnants of her graduation speech from Duke. She was way more than these men were going to be able to handle and I couldn’t wait for them to find out.
“I didn’t ask, but she accepted and that’s what I’ll take.” Max raised his hands in defense and I wouldn’t blame him. Erica walking into our building, Duke Alumna or not, andwantingto work here had me all tangled up. Hell, I would have hired her that quickly too even if I didn’t already know her.
“I’ll start her off easy tomorrow, but if she can take it, I’ll give her more. Maybe we can bring on the new clients earlier.”
Max laughed. “Don’t get us into too much trouble, Greg. Let’s just take it slow and see what we can do.”
“Now I’m all excited about having help.” He pushed out of his seat. “I need to go set up a to-do list for her tomorrow and what I need to get her trained on.” He continued talking to himself as he left the room and Jack followed behind him wordlessly.
