Page 27 of Collin: Episodes 4-6
Mr. Reevesworth pushed the button for the seventh floor. “We have offices on three floors here, the seventh, eighth and tenth. When we expanded, the ninth floor wasn’t available.”
“Does Damian work here?”
“Sometimes. He mainly works out of a subsidiary company’s office, a law firm under a different name. But pretty much all their business is from one part or another of Reevesworth Industries.”
“I’ve never gotten my head around what you actually do.”
“That’s intentional. When my sister and I took over the inheritance, including the company, it already had a lot of branches. We kept most of them though we don’t directly oversee all of them. Shipping is one of the largest branches, and there are multiple factories in various countries. A couple of the subsidiary businesses are in the real estate market, including rentals.”
“So, you’re one of those landlords?”
Mr. Reevesworth smiled ruefully. “Unfortunately, yes. We inherited several hundred thousand units, globally. It’s a bigger issue than one might think. Just selling wasn’t a solution. Linda took point on that. About one building a year gets incorporated and returned to local housing markets for single family buyers, but that’s not always feasible. I’d rather be invested in railroads right now, but that’s been complicated.”
“Why railroads?”
“Because nothing innovative has been done with that sector in over fifty years. It’s ripe for a change, and both labor and consumers are clamoring for it. Profit and benefit could be excellent in the right hands.”
They left the elevator and entered the offices. The architecture and the size of the spaces were all dated and understated, but the furnishings and organization spoke to care and taste. The glass panes and hypermodernity of Linda’s offices were missing. Instead, there were heavy wooden desks from the last century and oil paintings on wallpapered walls.
Mr. Reevesworth nodded to the receptionist and led Collin into the first set of offices. It was a large open room with low ceilings and three people inside. They all looked up as Mr. Reevesworth entered.
“Collin, this is Hartwick, Bruiski, and Janice. Hartwick, Bruiski, Janice, this is Collin. He’s in training to be my personal assistant. Hopefully he’ll put you all out of a job, so make sure he learns his stuff.”
Collin spun toward Mr. Reevesworth. “Sir! Now they’re going to hate me.”
Hartwick, a dark woman with a full afro and purple lipstick, looked Collin up and down and smirked, “I don’t know, he looks a little green. How’s your Excel skills?”
“Um…” Collin blushed. “I needed to learn to mine my own data, so not bad. SQL took a little longer.”
Hartwick raised both eyebrows. “Cool. How many languages do you speak?”
Collin grimaced. “One.”
She laughed, clapping her hands, and looked over at Janice. “Welp,” she said, adding a hard “p” to the end of the word, “I’m not worried.”
“How many languages do you speak?”
Hartwick chuckled. “Seven. But Janice speaks nine.”
Collin turned wide eyes on Mr. Reevesworth. “Sir, there is no way I’m learning nine languages and finishing my degree.”
Mr. Reevesworth chuckled. “I said you could put them out of a job. I didn’t say they wouldn’t still be working for me. Somebody has to keep my life straight, but these three have a lot more they could be doing.”
Bruiski, who looked like an Asian Viking, stood up and approached Collin with a pile of folders. “We sorted a desk for you out here with us, and you have a table in his office for when he needs you in there. Our IT guy set you up with email and a phone, and he’ll go over security protocol with you at ten thirty.”
“Um…what’s his name? Is he coming here or do I go to him?”
“His name is Ash and he’s a pain in the ass.” Mr. Reevesworth walked toward his office.
Collin frowned and looked towards Bruiski for an explanation.
Bruiski leaned in and whispered, “Ash is like seventeen. Mr. Reevesworth pays him enough money to work for him and not against him.”
“What?”
Janice sidled over, adjusting the edge of her hijab. “Ash hacked into Reevesworth Industries about a year ago. We spent over a million dollars and hired two private firms to catch him. Now he’s emancipated and works here. If he fucks up, he goes to real prison.”
“But he’s a kid?”
