Page 9 of Every Broken Piece
The two have moved on from Pax’s new girlfriend to computer hacking. They know I hate this topic so they’re both shooting me covert glances, like four-year-olds who think they’re getting away with something even though their body language screams that they’re being naughty.
Jack, to my great regret, is a computer hacker in his life outside Strong Sterling, and he’s taught my boy some of his skills. Of course, Pax took to it like a duck to water and he’s majoring in computer engineering. He says he wants to run the cyber security side of Strong Sterling. I’m not opposed to it because I built this company for the children I thought Cara and I would have together. I just wish Jack had eased off the hacking lessons.
“Did you schedule your video call with Ms. James?” Jack asks.
I scowl, refusing to answer.
“Who’s Ms. James?” Pax asks.
My scowl deepens, followed by a warning look at my brother that he ignores.
“Your dad’s new virtual assistant.”
Pax’s eyes widen. “You have a virtual assistant? Cool. What happened to Amy?’
Amy? Who the hell is Amy?
“She was like three assistants ago,” Jack says.
Ah. Yes. Amy. Short, mousy girl who jumped every time I approached her. She lasted two weeks.
“Three?” Pax’s eyes bug out. “Damn, Dad. What do you do to them to make them leave so fast?”
“Nothing.” I reach for my wallet to pay the bill because these two idiots are settling in to roast me about my assistants.
“He’s too demanding,” Jack says, stretching his long legs out and stepping on my shoes. I jerk my feet back and glower at him. “I’ve decided he needs two assistants. One on the east coast, hence Ms. James. We’re still trying to hire an in-person assistant for the west coast, but I fear your dad’s reputation precedes him and no one wants it.”
“Shut it,” I say, handing the server my card.
“A virtual assistant. Is that like AI?” Pax asks, causing me to smirk. See? I’m not the only one who thinks that.
“She’s very much real and she works virtually. I think she’s in Ohio,” Jack says. “Anyway, she wants to schedule a video call, but your dad won’t do it.”
“Why?” Pax looks to me like he’s honestly curious why I don’t want to video chat my AI VA.
“Because I’m busy and there’s no need.”
“Seems to me if you want her to help you, you’d make the time to train her. Maybe this is why you can’t get anyone to stay.”
I stand because I’ve had about enough of Ms. James and her video call and her being allup in my inbox.
“Set it up,” Jack says as we’re walking out of the restaurant.
“You set it up,” I say, knowing full well I’m acting like a twelve-year-old.
Chapter six
Tess
I’m deep into creating a Facebook ad for my author client when out of the corner of my eye I catch an email notification in the bottom corner of my monitor from Gabriel Strong. While I typically don’t jump from project to project or else I’d get nothing done, I stop what I’m doing and click on the notification. My heart jumps when I see it’s a video meeting request.
Immediately I accept the request for later this afternoon because it’s taken me weeks to pin Strong down on this meeting. I don’t know why he's so opposed to it, but I’m relieved he finally agreed. It’s much easier to help my clients when we can talk to each other occasionally. Emails are great and fine most of the time, but it’s important to keep in touch other ways too.
I work from home one hundred percent of the time, but I’m not the type of person who works in her pajamas with bedhead. I treat my job as if I’m in an office environment five days a week, because Iamin an office environment. My office just happens to be the second bedroom of my apartment, and I have no in-person coworkers.
Me: I finally nailed my client down for a video conference!
The VAs of my company, Task Genius, use a messaging app to communicate because it’s nice to talk to others in the same field. I just messaged my friend, Amelia. While she doesn’t know Mr. Strong’s name because that would go against client confidentiality, she does know I have an important client who’s been slippery to pin down for a video conference. It’s been frustrating and she commiserates with my frustration. A long time ago we moved our conversations from the company messaging app to texting on our personal phones and we discovered that we live in the same area, so we meet up after hours sometimes too.
