“You’re not going to scare them into respecting me,” she said, partially as a warning.
“It isn’t my fault most people listen to me when I tell them to do something.” His hand smoothed down her back, which would have been sweet, until he squeezed her ass. “You happen to be the lone exception to that rule,little bird.”
She pushed his hand away from her butt. “I listen to you when you’re being reasonable. I just also call you out on your toxic bullshit.”
“It’s a simple,reasonableequation, Jay. If they’re afraid of me, and you’re not afraid of me, why are you afraid ofthem?”
It was a good point and she was mildly annoyed that he had made it. “Just don’t meddle.”
“Trust me. I told you I’d take care of everything. All you have to do is pass the probationary period.” He scrolled through his phone. “I’ll send you a picture of the necklace I’m having made for you later. I think you’ll like it.”
“You found onealready?”
“You shouldn’t leave me alone in bed in the mornings. I get very distracted when I’m horny.” He gave her ass another grope. “Come on.”
She tried not to fret over what he might do on the car ride over, while she kept absently nudging his wandering hand offher thigh. Nicholas’s method of taking care of things tended to be oppositional to hers and sometimes it got people hurt.
But when Annica gave her the cold shoulder, refusing to even look at her, it was clear that she had not only read the article but believed every word. She was still stinging from the looks she had gotten from some of the other female employees in the bathroom that morning, and the mocking laughter that had followed in the wake of her departure.
Maybe Nicholas is right, and there is something to being feared.
“Jay,” Arthur said, “does that clarify what the transition plan should look like?”
“Yes,” she lied, too cowed to admit that she hadn’t been paying attention.
“Good. I’ll forward you the 30-60-90 plan Nicholas had drafted up for our last executive hire. But as a very quick debrief, the plan is to have you in your new office within the week.”
“So quickly?”
He nodded. “Annica can take over your duties while we interview candidates to fill your role. By the two-month mark, you should be making most of your decisions independently, and in about three months, the training wheels will be off, and you’ll be a full-fledged executive with all of the responsibilities that entails. Which reminds me, did you sign your new NDA?”
Jay nodded, thinking,Provided that I pass the probationary period.
Nicholas had explained in the car that this was the only way the board would go for it, given her lack of experience. No matter how prettily they spun the narrative, she was a risk. If she failed, they would replace her with someone more capable and Nicholas would lose his job, or so she assumed. He hadn’tactually saidthat, but the fortunes of many powerful men were riding on his shoulders.
She swallowed hard and forced her smile around her unease.
“On the third Wednesday of every month, we circle up and discuss various pain points within the company. Sometimes people will share team updates or brainstorm ideas. The meetings are always very loose and fluid, following a freeform structure. I thought it would benefit you to attend the one that we’re having today.”
“Yeah, sure. That makes sense.”
“Do you have any questions about what we expect for you?”
“No, um, you’ve been very clear.”
“Then I think we had better head over now.”
They walked side by side to the massive conference room that Nicholas had used to take her into whenever they went through prospective clients together. A little shiver passed through her when she saw that he was already there, his head bowed as he talked to the head of security.
“Odd,” Arthur murmured. “I wonder what James is doing here. He never attends these meetings.”
Nicholas caught her staring while he was nodding along to whatever the other man was saying, but his mouth crooked up at one corner. Then James took his leave and Nicholas took his seat, causing the chatter to drop by several decibels. A couple of people looked at her curiously.
Arthur put his hand on her shoulder gently propelling her forward. “Everyone, this is Jay, our new VP of Operations. Some of you may have met her before,” he added, acknowledging herchange in status. “Jay, perhaps you’d like to say a few words before we kick off this meeting?”
Fuck, they hadn’t prepared her forthis. She glanced around the table in alarm, her eyes bouncing over everyone except Nicholas, who gave her another one of those subtle not-quite-a-smiles. Nobody was being outwardly hostile—especially not withhimin the room—but some of the executives stared a beat too long and she knew from the way their eyes narrowed what they were thinking and why.
“H-hi,” she said. “I’m Justine Va—ah, Beaucroft,” she corrected herself. “I’m a Cal alum and I’ve been with BA for the better part of a year now.” She fought the urge to duck her shoulders and make herself small, the way she always had whenever people looked at her too long. “Before I came to this company, I worked at a small luxury home goods manufacturer in the Financial District of San Francisco. My role there was largely administrative, too—at least in the beginning. But I worked my way up, and that was where I got my experience managing to the operations and financial health of a business.”
