Page 17 of Faking It With My New Boss

The dog and pony show aspect of it all pissed me off. I hated that my position in this company was the only legacy my father left for me, the only thing he ever did that could really be considered caring or loving in any definition of the term, and it all rode on what a bunch of elitist people thought of a damn party.

There was something particularly infuriating about the idea of having to jump through hoops and perform tricks to avoid losing something I didn't want in the first place but also didn't want to lose.

But that meant if I was going to do this, I was going to be all-in on it. Doing something different for the party was certainly going to stand out. Whether it was in a good way or not was the issue and that was to be decided based on the theme I chose and the way the details fell into place. Both of which were decisions I wasn't just going to leave to Courtney.

She had her fun. She had her moment of glory and defiance and threw her weight around a bit. It got her what she wanted, but that was the extent of it. I wasn't going to just roll over and let her walk on me because she had managed to get my attention. I wanted to make sure every element of this gala was to my exacting specifications, and that meant changes needed to be made.

I threw a lot at her when we were going over everything the day before, so it wasn't that much of a surprise to find her still in her office after everything closed down and it was time to go home. She didn't seem bothered in the least to be staying after hours and I wasn't going to discourage her. I figured she would finish up what she was doing at that moment and leave pretty quickly once she realized how empty and quiet the huge building could get after everyone but security and the cleaning crew went home for the night.

Not that I was terribly familiar with that. I didn't make it a habit of working late. The way I saw it, sticking with the company and taking on this position rather than just going off on my own and finding a different way was fulfilling my duty in and of itself. There was no real need to go out of my way to overachieve in my performance. Especially in a company I had very little attachment to. This wasn't my dream. It never had been. But my dreams didn't matter. Loyalty to the family and keeping up appearances did. Which was why I needed to step into the role of who Grandfather and the Board wanted me to be so I could keep my bank account happy.

Despite my own perceptions of work, I knew there were some people who were far more dedicated and driven than me. That didn't stop me from being surprised at the files waiting for me on my desk when I got into the office that morning.

Courtney and I walked through the lobby at the same time that morning just as we had the two mornings before. It seemed that was going to be our routine now. This time, she got to the elevator first and waited while I stepped in. There was no effort to keep the door open, but she also didn't try to crush me in them, so I felt that was progress. We didn't talk on the way up and went our separate ways as soon as we arrived on the floor.

Which meant this was all work she had done while staying late and had turned in before going home. I was actually impressed. She'd taken all the modifications I'd made along with my guidelines and ideas, and transformed them into solid concepts I could see developing into successful events each in its own right.

I was still going over the details of one of them and taking a few notes about it when a rap on my door stopped me. I thought it might be Courtney, so I called out for her to come in. When the door opened, it was actually Rainey, one of the Board members who was silently scrutinizing me from afar. There was no way in hell he was going to say anything critical to my face, but after my conversation with Grandfather the day before, I knew exactly what he was thinking.

“Good morning, Bryan,” he said as he came toward the desk.

“Morning, Rainey,” I said. “What brings you by?”

“I heard you might be having some trouble piecing together the gala. I don't think I need to impress upon you the importance of this event from a professional and social networking position. It is a critical moment in the year for the company and therefore its success is crucial. Because of that, I wanted to come and offer my help. I can give you recommendations, go over vendors with you, and help you to put this event together in a way that would be satisfactory,” he said.

My skin started to crawl, but I didn't let my expression show it. He would have loved to be the one to say he had helped me throw the party. There was no way I was going to give him the satisfaction of being able to go back to the Board and say they were absolutely right and I was so incompetent he had to rescue me.

“That's kind of you, Rainey, but I won't be needing your services,” I said.

His face fell slightly and he looked confused. “You won't?”

“No. I'm not sure who has been talking about me behind my back in such an inappropriate way, but I appreciate the insight into that. I won't ask you to divulge names because I'm sure you don't want to get involved, but I can assure you I'll be making reminders about respect and the company culture. As for the gala event, I am well on my way in the planning process,” I said.

“You are?”

“Yes. I've decided to take a different approach to it this year. Something fresh and different to usher in the new chapter of the company and celebrate advancements we've only just achieved and that are still ahead.”

That was lifted right off of one of Courtney's plans. I wasn't sure which one, but it tumbled right out when I started saying it, so it must have been effective.

“I'd be interested in seeing some of these plans,” Rainey said. “Unless you are trying to keep them a surprise.”

Some of the sneer was back, like he thought he'd painted me into a corner. I smiled at him.

“Absolutely. I was actually just going over some of them, if you'd like to take a look.”

I gestured to the papers on the desk and he stepped up to see them more clearly. We were going over them when I heard someone clear their throat in front of me. I looked up and saw Courtney standing on the other side of the desk. She had fire in her eyes and her jaw was set so hard it looked like her teeth were going to break.

“I have some paperwork for you to fill out, Mr. Callahan,” she said, tossing a stack of papers down on the edge of the desk.

“Thank you, Courtney. This is Rainey McAllister,” I said, gesturing toward the Board member. “I was just showing him the plans for the gala.”

“I'll leave you to it,” she said and quickly left the office.

Scooping up the papers, I looked at Rainey. “I'm actually going to have to see to these things. But thank you, again, for stopping by.”

He nodded. “Of course. And good work. I'm impressed.”

I returned his nod and walked him to the door. As soon as he turned to the elevator, I made my way to Courtney's office. I half expected to find her packing up her office again. That seemed like it would be a fitting mid-point to our daily interactions with each other. We'd start each day with our dance at the elevator, then round about lunchtime she would pack up her office and walk out. I would just have to decide how often I was going to try to stop her.

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