Page 28 of The Vegas Rerun
“Where are we with those reports?” Joshua asks.
“I’ll get them right in,” I say.
I don’t know if that’s true or not. The IT guy could turn up hours later, but I don’t know what else to say. Joshua is glaring at me, and I have to say something. I feel like he is still glaring atme as I walk back to the door even though he is now talking to the client.
I leave the office and gently close the door, and when I spot someone else coming along the hallway, I cross my fingers that this is my guy. He doesn’t look like an IT guy. He’s dressed in a sharp looking black suit with a silk tie that looks damned expensive.
“Molly?” he says with a smile, and I nod my head. “James from IT.”
“Oh, thank God,” I say. I point at my computer. “It’s that one there.”
“Have you been waiting long?” he asks as we walk over to my desk. I guess he’s asking because of the way I sounded so pleased he is here.
“No, but Mr Redfern needs some reports for a client meeting and the client is already here and the reports are on that computer,” I say.
“Ouch,” James says with a wince.
“Exactly,” I say.
“Well, you’re back in. The temporary password is password one, all lower case and the number is the actual number not the letters to spell it out. The first time you log on, it will prompt you to change it. Follow the prompts and maybe pick something you can remember this time,” he says. His eyes glint and he grins at me and I can tell he’s joking rather than having a go at me so I smile back at him.
“I’ll try,” I say.
He leaves me to it, and I soon have the new password set up – no longer my name – and the reports printed and taken into the meeting. I get back on with my work. The meeting goes on for a couple of hours and I manage to forget the fact I’m likely to be in trouble when Joshua comes back out of there.
When the door opens finally, it’s Mr Miles. He’s calling goodbye to Joshua over his shoulder and then the office door closes, and he smiles at me.
“Bye,” he says.
“Goodbye Mr Miles. Enjoy the rest of your day,” I say.
It feels as though Joshua has counted Mr Miles’ steps. The moment he’s out of sight, Joshua’s office door opens, and he appears beside my desk.
"Look, I know things happen,” he says. “But I need these reports before the meeting, not while the client is already in the room. Do you realize how unprofessional that makes us look?"
"I do," I whisper, feeling heat rise to my cheeks.
"Then be better prepared next time. Triple check any passwords you use. And if I tell you I need a report for a two o’clock meeting, don’t wait until five to two to decide to get them sorted. Do it earlier then if anything does go wrong, you have some extra time to fix things. This is basic stuff. Something I don’t feel like I should have to be telling you. I need someone I can count on, Molly."
The weight of his words presses down on me. I force myself to look him in the eye as I reply to him.
"It won’t happen again," I promise him. “You can count on me.”
His gaze lingers on me for a moment before he nods seemingly satisfied. As I watch him walk back to his office, I swear to myself that this is the last time I let something like this happen. The password thing was an unexpected mistake, but Joshua was right. I should have had those reports ready hours ago.
I won’t make the same mistake twice. In fact, I won’t make any more mistakes. I refuse to fail again.
CHAPTER 20
MOLLY
The clockon the office wall ticks loudly, the rhythmic sound gnawing at my nerves. I glance at the time. It’s already six forty-five and I should be long home by now, tucking Autumn into bed, listening to her ramble about whatever cartoon she’s obsessed with this week and all the fun she’s had at daycare and then with her nana. Instead, I’m sitting at my desk, waiting for Joshua to call me into his office.
He hasn’t even given me a reason to stay late. It was just a clipped, "Molly, I need you to stay late tonight. We have some work to go over." It wasn’t a request either, it was an order, but I knew when I took on this job that there would be times I’m expected to work late, and I had cleared that with my mom in advance. And to be fair to Joshua, it’s not like he knows I have a toddler to get home to.
Even though Joshua didn’t give me a reason for us working late, I’m pretty sure I know exactly why he wants to talk to me, and I suppose I should be grateful that he’s waited until we are the only people left in the building.
My stomach twists as I run through every little mistake I’ve made in the last few weeks. The double fuck ups with the drinks for the board members. The missed memo about the rescheduled meeting. And the worst—accidentally locking myself out of my computer and not being able to deliver a report that was needed for a client meeting before that client arrived here. It was an honest mistake, but still, it was one that had earned me a look - the kind of look that made my blood turn cold.
