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“Not a problem. Mmm, something smells good.”
“I have some salmon broiling.” She paused. “You’re welcome to join me if you want. There’s plenty.”
“Thank you but I’d probably fall asleep. Jet lag is beginning to catch up with me.”
She wanted to run her fingers across the expanse of his chest...just to see if it was as hard as she imagined. She smiled instead. “I totally understand. Get some rest.” She took the bag. “Thanks.”
“Enjoy the rest of your weekend.”
“You, too.”
Alexis slowly closed her apartment door then rested her head against it and shut her eyes. They were going to wind up in bed together, and there was nothing that either of them could do about it. That she knew for sure. What she didn’t know was if she’d be able to keep her job the morning after.
Chapter 4
“Finer than Ian?” Naomi squeaked in disbelief.
“Yes. They haven’t invented the word to describe the man.” Alexis put her feet up on the couch and snuggled into girl-talk mode. She reached for her glass of wine and took a sip.
“Details, details. Let me live vicariously.”
Alexis giggled and then began to fill Naomi in from the moment they met in the car to his dropping off her misplaced groceries.
“Sounds yummy, and a Brit accent, too. Got a little Idris Elba thing going on. Is he single? No, forget that question. You know that mixing business with pleasure is always a disaster.”
Alexis sighed. “I know. Bad business for all concerned. Great if it works, a nightmare when it doesn’t.” She finished off her wine. “But a girl can dream.”
“Make sure it’s only a dream, Lexi,” Naomi warned. “This is a phenomenal career move for you, don’t sabotage it. Besides, if he is as fine as you say he is, then he probably has a string of women nipping at his heels anyway.”
“You’re probably right. But I still have my dreams,” she said on a playful note. Naomi had always been the more provincial, live by the rules, don’t rock the boat kind of girl. She was her conscience, and Alexis knew in the months to come that she was going to need Naomi’s good sense to whisper in her ear when it came to Graham Stone.
* * *
At eight forty-five on Monday morning, Alexis walked through the doors of R.E.A.L. The offices were located on the fifteenth and sixteenth floors of what was once part of the ABC Television offices on Avenue of the Americas and Fifty-Third Street in Manhattan. Everything looked pretty much the way she remembered from her last visit.
The receptionist looked up from her computer screen and smiled. “Good morning, how can I help you?”
“Good morning. I’m Alexis Montgomery. I start work today.”
The young woman’s eyes widened. “Oh, Ms. Montgomery.” She hopped up from her seat. She extended her hand across the horseshoe shaped desk, which Alexis shook. “Mr. Stone told me to send you straight to his office when you arrived.”
Alexis’s pulse quickened at the mention of his name. “Certainly.”
“Let me advise him that you’re here.” She quickly pressed a button on the multiline phone and spoke into her headset. “Yes. Of course.” She looked across the desk at Alexis. “Straight down the hall, make the first right and his office is on the left.”
“Thank you.”
Alexis followed the directions and passed several employees in the hallway and others who were getting settled into their offices. She made the turn and slowed her step. The door was partially open. She could hear his distinctive voice but couldn’t make out the words. Alexis approached the door and knocked.
“Yes. Come in.”
Alexis pushed the door open and stepped inside. Graham stood up from behind his desk. A stunning woman with large, luminous dark eyes and a short pixie haircut turned from her seat to look at Alexis from over her shoulder. She had on a soft pink skirt suit. Everyone couldn’t get away with wearing pink without looking like Barbie. But this woman could.
Graham came from around the rather large desk. “Alexis. Good morning.” He turned to the seated woman. “Tracy Carter, this is Alexis Montgomery.”
Tracy extended her hand but didn’t get up. “I’ve heard a great deal about you.”
Alexis shook her proffered hand and was drawn to Tracy’s green eyes that reflected like hidden jewels against her sandy-brown complexion. “Nice to meet you.”
Tracy’s softly tinted lips barely lifted into a smile. “Welcome aboard.”
The two women held each other’s gaze. Tracy was the first to turn away.
“Tracy is my executive director and probably knows more about how this business runs than I do. She’ll bring you up to speed and get you set up in your office.” His phone rang. He reached for the phone and gave them a brief look that the meeting was over.
Tracy retrieved her iPad from the desk and stood. “I’ll direct you to your office,” she said, swinging past Alexis. Alexis offered Graham a tight smile that he completely missed before leaving with Tracy.
“So how long have you been with the organization?” Alexis asked while they walked down the hall and back to the elevators.
Tracy tucked her iPad under her left arm and pressed the up button on the panel. “Since we opened,” she said without any further elaboration.
Alexis’s right brow flickered upward. She slid a look at Tracy from the corner of her eye. This was going to be interesting.
They got off on the sixteenth floor and Tracy silently led the way to the corner office at the end of the wide hallway. She took out a key card from the pocket of her jacket and slid it through the slot like a hotel room. The lock clicked open. Tracy opened the door and stood aside to let Alexis go in. Her first gracious overture since they met.
Alexis looked around. A genuine corner office. Wow. She turned to Tracy. “Thank you.”
“IT will be up in about—” she checked her watch “—twenty minutes to get your computer set up, and give you a company cell and iPad. I’ll send in Claire. She’ll be your assistant. Graham... Mr. Stone has you on his schedule for eleven-thirty in his office.”
“Thank you, Tracy.”
“I’ll send Claire right in.” She handed Alexis the key card, walked out and closed the door behind her.
Alexis stared at the door for a moment. Tracy Carter clearly had a bug up her behind. Alexis wasn’t quite sure how she fit into the equation but she wasn’t going to let Tracy’s cold shoulder rub off on her. She walked to the window that overlooked the city. In the distance she could see the treetops of Central Park, and felt the buzz and electricity of the city speeding by below. It was like looking at a magnificent movie with the sound muted.
Her heartbeat escalated. She was here—New York City, with a six-figure job and an apartment on Sutton Place. She had the opportunity to make major changes in education on a global scale. It was everything she could possibly hope for. And then, of course, there was the Graham Stone factor that made the package perfect.
She turned away from the window at the sound of a knock on the door.
“Yes, come in.”
The door eased open and a young woman peeked her head in.
“Claire?”
“Yes.”
Alexis crossed the room as she spoke. “Please come in.”
Claire stepped fully inside. “Good morning, Ms. Montgomery. Claire Davis.”
Alexis extended her hand. “My pleasure. I understand we’ll be working together.”
“Yes, ma’am. Whatever you need.”
“How long have you been working here, Claire?”
“Two years.”
Alexis bobbed her head. “Good.” She blew out a breath. “IT will be up shortly. But until they get here why don’t you give me your perspective of R.E.A.L., the who’s who and where you see yourself in five years.”
Claire blinked back her surprise. “Well...”
Alexis sat down on one of the club chairs and indicated that Claire should sit, as well.
“Before you say anything, I want you to understand that as my assistant I will be entrusting you with keeping me on task, from something as simple as taking a phone message to scheduling appointments, maintaining my calendar, navigating me through the minefield of R.E.A.L. We are a team. That means we work together as a unit. I depend on you and you depend on me to help you do your job. When I’m lagging, I want you to let me know. I can be demanding and get an awful case of tunnel vision when I’m immersed in a project. I give one hundred fifty percent, and I expect no less from anyone that I work with. I make sure that hard work is rewarded.”
Claire sat up straighter in her seat. “As I said, I’ve been here for two years. I worked for Mr. Martin. He had the position before you arrived.” She paused a moment. “Actually, we all thought that this position would go to Tracy.”
That explained the attitude. Alexis nodded and let Claire continue.
“I have a master’s degree in educational leadership. I spent four years with Teach America, teaching fifth grade in Bedford-Stuyvesant in Brooklyn. I’m good at what I do. I’m married and have a two-year-old son. I’m dedicated to my job but I will be honest, my family comes first.”
Alexis smiled. “That was the most impressive thing you said...about your family.” That little ache that echoed in her belly was still there, not as powerful or as painful as when her mom first passed away, but there nonetheless. She knew the importance of family. She was sure that if her mom would have still been here she would have never left Atlanta, no matter how good this deal was. She cleared her throat. “I think we’re going to make a formidable pair.”
Claire smiled and appeared to physically relax.
The knock diverted their attention.
“IT,” a voice announced.
“Come in,” Alexis said, standing. Claire followed suit.
“Morning, I’m Jason. I’m gonna connect all of your equipment and set up your accounts.”
“I’ll get out of your way.”
“It should only take about fifteen minutes.” He sat down at the desk, booted up his laptop and turned on her computer. He got set up and went to work.
“Where can I get a cup of coffee?” Alexis asked.
“Come on, I’ll show you the employee lounge and my office...and,” she added with a grin, “the ladies room.”
* * *
By the time Alexis and Claire returned to her office, Jason was just finishing up. He showed Alexis how to sign into her email account, and had her sign for an iPad and a company cell phone.
“Thanks, Jason.”
“Sure thing. Any problems or questions, we’re at extension 2100.”
Alexis and Claire sat down to finish their coffee.
“While you’re at the meeting with Mr. Stone, I’ll get your files set up on your computer and check your supplies to see what you may need.”
“Perfect.”
Claire got up. “If you need anything before your meeting, I’m on speed dial.”
Alexis grinned. “That’s definitely good to know.”
“And I’ll email you my cell so that you can program it into your phone,” she added on her way out of the door.
Claire quietly shut the door and Alexis released a long breath. The combination of excitement and nerves ran rampant through her veins. She was eager to get started. She’d had the opportunity to review Graham’s plan and she had some ideas on how to make it happen, as well as a suggestion that she hoped he’d agree to. After studying the company’s objectives and their projects already in operation, she found one area that had been overlooked and if implemented could elevate R.E.A.L. on yet another level.
She turned on her computer and took her jump drive from her purse and popped it into the computer’s USB port. Once the notes that she’d made appeared on her computer screen she reviewed them, made a few corrections and additions and then sent them to a secure folder. Just to be on the safe side, she printed two copies of her report.
She jumped at the sudden ring of her desk phone. She picked it up. Claire was calling to inform her that Mr. Stone wanted to move up their meeting to “right now.” She added that it was something she would have to get used to as he often changed meeting times when he was juggling several projects.
“Thanks. I’m on my way.” She collected her notes, laptop and cell and took the elevator down. It occurred to her as she stepped off that it was odd that Graham, as the founder and CEO, should be on the lower floor. But from everything that she’d gleaned about Graham Stone he was anything but status quo.
Alexis took a moment to get her bearings. She caught a glimpse of soft pink at the end of the corridor, moments before the slender figure crossed a threshold and was out of view. She wondered if Tracy would be attending the meeting. Hopefully she would. It would give Alexis an opportunity to see up close and quickly how Tracy operated and the dynamics between Tracy and Graham.
The rhythmic click of her long-legged stride was absorbed in the dove-gray carpet. Graham’s door was open. Several people were in the office. She walked in.
* * *
Graham sensed her before he actually saw her. The short hairs on the back of his neck tingled. He turned from the conversation he was in with one of his staff members and his gaze zeroed in on Alexis. The tingling sensation spread down the center of his spine. His jaw clenched.
“Ms. Montgomery, please come in.” Graham waved her in and the other four people in the room stopped in midsentence and looked at her.
Alexis felt like she was on the runway at Fashion Week and was being appraised by potential buyers. Graham made the introductions.
“All of you are aware that R.E.A.L. has a new VP of Development. I would like to formerly introduce Alexis Montgomery.”
Alexis’s gaze swept the small assembly and graced them with a warm but professional smile. “Good morning.”
Graham continued the introductions that included Anthony Harrelson, Vivian Small, Kwame Knight and Jae Jennings. They were all the heads of each of the departments: Finance, Corporate Communications, Marketing and Social Media. They would all report to Alexis.
“It’s a pleasure to meet all of you. I’m looking forward to us working together and me getting to know you.”
“You can set up your individual meetings with the department heads and they can bring you up to speed,” Graham said with a briskness that indicated this would not be the place for chitchat and small talk. Everyone took their cue and moved to the rectangular conference table and sat down.
Graham undid the single button on his suit jacket before he took his seat at the head of the table. Alexis found herself between Jae and Vivian. Jae was head of Social Media, and Alexis was sure the evolving digital platforms kept her challenged. She reminded Alexis of a lightning bug in a bottle, buzzing and flashing pinpoints of light and biding its time until the lid was opened and it could escape. Vivian was the diametric opposite. There was a calming aura about her. The strands of silver that ran through her intricately twisted upswept locks belied the buttery smoothness of her skin. Alexis placed the head of Corporate Communications in her early to mid-forties, and noted she wore a striking wedding band encrusted with diamonds.
Anthony Harrelson and Kwame Knight, heads of Finance and Marketing respectively, sat on the opposite side of the table. They could have easily stood in for magazine cover models—gorgeous from head to toe. Alexis absently wondered if good looks was part of the hiring criteria.
Then much to Alexis’s surprise Tracy strutted in and joined them, taking the seat nearest Graham.
