MAX
Seeing Iris’s name on my calendar brightens my day. I like that she scheduled a meeting with me. Today has been back-to-back meetings with the next level of employees, laying out what they do and what they could do from home or not.
They don’t know what the questionnaire is for. There’s no way I could tell them the truth. Gossip is like wildfire. It would spread to Iris before I have the chance to tell her myself, and I don’t want to do that until it is finalized. That means after the next board meeting.
Which reminds me that I need to get her out of town for it. She can’t attend and find out my plan before I have full approval.
Escorting Laurel, the supervisor for our graphic design team, out of my office, I smile when I see Iris talking with Chad, two takeout bags on the desk in front of her.
“Thank you, Mr. Williamson,” Laurel tells me, shaking my hand.
“No, thank you, Laurel. Your input is invaluable for the company.”
She smiles before walking away. Iris waves at her before grabbing the two bags along with a notebook and heading my way. As soon as she is close, I take the bags and usher her into my office.
Once the door is closed, I move toward my desk, laying out the different food options. I smile when I see my favorite burger from the restaurant down the road.
“You didn’t have to go get us lunch,” I tell her.
“You would’ve sent Chad out. Besides, I wanted some air.”
“Well, thank you. I was surprised to see you scheduled a formal meeting with me. You usually text me and demand my time,” I tease.
She smiles. “You’ve met with the directors and now are meeting with supervisors. I figured you might want some input from your CFO.”
Guilt settles in my stomach. I’m lying to everyone right now. Chad and the guys are the only ones who know the truth. Mason even said he hadn’t told Liv so that she wouldn’t be disappointed if it didn’t work out. It’s the same reason I don’t want to tell Iris until I know it is going to happen. I don’t want her to get her hopes up and come out disappointed on the other side.
I swallow hard but force a smile. “I would love to hear your ideas.”
“Good. Make a plate and take a seat,” she tells me, gesturing to my chair.
“You don’t want to eat on the couch?” I ask.
She shakes her head. “This is a business meeting, so you eat and I’ll talk.”
“Proceed then,” I tell her, grabbing the paper plates from my desk before grabbing my burger and fries.
I settle in my chair as she makes her own plate before she takes a seat.
“So I’m not sure how you usually start these meetings, but I have a few ideas of how to improve employee morale. Starting with how we work. I have noticed that a lot of employees are willing to work from home when they are ill rather than taking the whole day off. I think that we offer sick pay with the option that if they prefer to work from home, they can do so. It will help them save their sick pay for truly important things rather than a cold. I think it would cut down on people coming to work with a cold and spreading it.” The passion shines through with her words.
I smile. “That is something I could add to the list. I have been discussing with the others how much of their job requires them to be in the office,” I tell her.
“I know I don’t like missing work for a little sniffle, and I know many others here feel the same. I think it will increase productivity.”
I nod. “I agree. What else do you have?” I ask, writing down her idea before picking my burger up.
“I know we offer competitive benefits with a 401(k), medical insurance, and such, but I think we could offer some more benefits. Such as gym passes. We could have this at our hotels. It would add a little extra work for the front desk, but it would give the employees a free place to work out and take care of their health. We even have a few rooms downstairs we could turn into an on-site gym. I know I would go use it on my lunch break if I could.”
My eyes fly to hers.
It is a good idea. One that I might be able to work into the Boston office, but it won’t be implemented here. Not if we move our home base back to Boston. I’m hoping to scale back here and rent the other floors to another company or maybe sell the building completely and buy a smaller one.
Still, the idea of having them use the hotels is genius. It wouldn’t cost us any money to give them passes that they could scan at the desk to confirm they are indeed an employee.
“We could even offer family plans. Immediate family, such as spouses or children, could also use them for free,” I muse.
“Yes. That is even better.” She pops a fry into her mouth.
