Page 12 of Faking It With My New Boss

His face darkened. “I came here today to have a civil conversation with you. But I see that you are going to resist my every word. Just as I expected you to. You are just as you always have been. A spoiled child who feels entitled to a world that will hand him everything even if he has no responsibility and no need to live up to his position.

So let me make myself very clear. You need to straighten up and prove yourself if you want to continue with this company. And if you want to continue to benefit from the family bankroll. You have very high expectations to live up to, and if you don't, there will be no other recourse for me than to simply sell off my stock. You will then be ousted and the board will replace you with someone they see as fit.”

“My entire career and the legacy my father left for me is contingent on a life choice other people believe I should have made by now?” I asked. “So, I could be in a miserable marriage and be cheating on my wife continuously while she bangs the gardener every time I leave the house, but as long as we are discreet about it and wear our wedding rings, I look like a standup guy and things are just fine? It's all about the theater?”

“Appearances are valuable, Bryan. It's only the naive who think anything other than that.”

“And what if I didn't buy into the theater? What if I didn't want to show off? Or the woman in my life wanted a more private existence and didn't want our relationship on display for everyone in the world to see and scrutinize?” I asked.

His eyebrow lifted at me. “Are you saying that you are seeing someone?”

“I could be,” I said.

My grandfather scoffed and pushed himself up from out of the chair.

“Keep in mind what I said.”

With that, he walked out of the office and shut the door behind him. It was obvious he didn't believe the suggestion that I was in a relationship. Of course, it wasn't true, but that didn't matter. He pissed me off and left me in a terrible mood.

Chapter Nine

Courtney

The encounter with Bryan in the lobby wasn't exactly the way I would have liked my day to start, but I wasn't going to let it stop me from doing the work that needed to get done. If anything, the awkward interaction just made me want to prove myself even more. The last thing I needed that day was for him to realize he made a mistake and go hunt down the actual person who was hired for the position.

I really hated anybody looking at me like I was stupid. I got enough of that in my life already, and I was ready to be taken seriously. Even if it was for doing something not at all in my job description or on the career path I intended.

But first I wanted to get my office together. I brought a few things from home so I could try to make this place look a little bit more like me. I didn't know exactly how long I would be working there, but I figured I might as well be comfortable for however long it ended up being. Besides, transforming the generic office into something that was personalized to me was a way of exerting my presence and cementing myself within the awareness of all those in the company. It stopped me from looking temporary and created a sense that I was fully integrated into the corporate tapestry.

That was a bit of throwback knowledge to my interior design days.

I finished putting up my plants and pictures, then the tiny crystal elephant Vanessa gave me for luck years ago. When everything was in place, I gathered up the work I did the night before. I thought I would just see if I can come up with a couple of ideas but ended up getting wrapped up in the whole process and now I had several ideas for the fundraiser. And now I wanted to go over them with Bryan.

His door was closed, but he answered as soon as I knocked. When I went inside, I found him bent over his desk, looking at papers lined up in front of him. I hesitated at the door, not knowing if he actually intended on me coming in or not. After a few seconds, he looked up.

“Courtney,” he said. “Come on in.”

He gestured like he was beckoning me to the desk and I went up to it. Looking down, I saw he was going over plans for the new boutique and retail space in the hotel. The original project I was supposed to be working on for the company but had abandoned in favor of the massive paycheck and bonus attached to this fundraiser position.

“Those look interesting,” I said, and he looked up at me sharply almost like he had forgotten I was standing there.

“Oh,” he said. “Not really. This is just another project that's going on right now.”

“What is it?” I asked, feigning interest and hoping I didn't come across as already knowing what he was looking at.

Even if I did sound suspicious, he didn't let on. Instead, he looked at the papers and shook his head slightly.

“There's a space in one of my new hotels that's supposed to be developed into a boutique. I wanted it to be something different, but I didn't exactly have anyone hiring a professional to handle it for me,” he said.

“What do you mean?” I asked.

“There were interviews for a new designer, but they were all terrible. Nobody seems to have any type of vision whatsoever and everything was coming across as completely generic. One person didn't even bother to show up.”

A blush crossed my cheeks and I was glad he was looking at the desk rather than at me.

“Well,” I said, “I'm sure you'll figure out exactly what to do with it.”

He looked up at me again. “What are you doing here?”

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