Chapter 11

CHAPTER 11

Merrick

“She’s smoking hot,” Will said, though I hadn’t really heard him. My mind was somewhere else, as it often had been the last couple of weeks.

“What?”

He lifted his chin toward the hallway where Evie stood a few feet from my door, talking to Joan from HR. “The doc. She’s hot. I usually go for the ones who have it all on display. You know my type—dyed blondes, a mountain of cleavage, lots of makeup, the ones who know they have it and aren’t afraid to flaunt it. But the doc? She’s got that sexy-librarian thing going. I’d make her leave those thick glasses and pumps on when I ripped her clothes off.”

“Don’t be a dick. She works here, for Christ’s sake.”

“Seriously? You were just staring at her. I lose you mid-conversation every time she walks by. You know what it reminds me of? When my little brother was two or three, we got a dog—a husky with two different-color eyes. Thing was beautiful. But anyway, Jared was potty training at the time, and he was obsessed with the dog. Whenever he’d stand at the toilet, I’d hear tinkle tinkle tinkle. Then the dog would pass by, and the sound of the urine hitting the water would stop until the dog cleared the doorway. Then it would start up again—tinkle tinkle tinkle. Every damn time. He’d piss all over the floor because he was so distracted.”

Will picked up one of his French fries and waved it at the hall. “She’s your husky. Guess I should be glad we can’t see her from the men’s room, or I’d have piss on my shoes from standing next to you at the urinal.”

My face wrinkled. “What the fuck is wrong with you?”

“All I did was say what you were thinking.”

“You don’t know what you’re talking about.”

“Oh yeah? So you wouldn’t mind if I asked Evie out?”

The muscle in my jaw spasmed. “I wouldn’t mind. But we do have a corporate policy against it.”

Will grinned. “Oh yeah? Hang on a second.” Joan and Evie had finished their conversation and started to walk away. Will cupped both sides of his mouth and yelled. “Hey, Joan!”

The head of HR looked into my office, and Will waved her inside.

She cracked the door open. “Do you need something?”

Will nodded. “Can you refresh my memory, please? What’s our policy on interoffice dating?”

“It’s against the rules to date a subordinate.”

“And why do we have that rule again?”

“To avoid putting an employee in an uncomfortable place. Someone might feel obligated to say yes for fear of consequences if they don’t. And on the flip side, when an employee dates their boss, how does it look when that employee is promoted?”

“So it’s not a companywide rule then, right? If someone works in a different department, two employees can get together?”

Joan shrugged. “I don’t see why not. John Upton’s wife, Allison, used to work in accounting. He’s a trader, and she did accounts payable, so there wasn’t any conflict of interest. A lot of couples meet at work, actually.”

Will leaned back in his chair, locking his hands together behind his head in a smug posture. “Thank you, Joan.”

“Sure. Anything else?”

He shook his head. “Nope. You’ve been very helpful.”

Will’s gloating smile widened as she closed the door. “So, as I was saying… You don’t mind if I ask her out? We have that charity fundraiser this Friday night, and I haven’t asked anyone yet.”

“Whatever,” I grumbled. “Just stop talking and finish eating. I have shit to do.”

• • •

The following Friday afternoon, I’d forgotten all about Will trying to rattle me. I’d convinced myself he was screwing around about asking Evie out—that is, until she knocked on my office door.

“Hey. Do you have a minute?” she asked.

“Sure. Market just closed.”

She smiled. “I know. I was waiting.”

“What’s up?”

“So I met with a bunch more employees this week. And two things that seem to be a common theme are a lack of trust and inaccessibility to senior management.”

“What do you mean?”

“Some of the employees don’t feel like their supervisor trusts them. For example, they’ll make a trade, and then a few minutes later their manager will walk over and question their decision. It leaves them feeling like their judgment isn’t respected.”

“It’s the manager’s job to watch transactions and raise potential issues.”

“But when you question someone about something they’ve already done, it automatically begins the conversation with a negative tone.”

“So what do you propose? There’s no point in managers if they aren’t watching over things.”

“Could they flip the table and do that while setting a positive tone? Perhaps managers and employees could meet at the start of the day to talk about things they’re considering. Then when the manager sees a questionable transaction come through, they’ll already understand why it’s happening, and they won’t have to second-guess the employee’s decision. The end result is the same, but instead of feeling monitored in the background, the employee might feel heard in the forefront.”

“Let me guess. The complaints all happen to surround one manager: Lark Renquist? I told you the old timers don’t like reporting to a guy young enough to be their son. They wouldn’t have a problem being second-guessed by one of the managers who’s been around longer.”

“I’m not here to point fingers, nor would I want to reveal specifics that violate people’s trust. But I’ve heard it enough times to think it’s something that might be causing unnecessary stress.”

“Fine. I’ll talk to the managers. Is that it?”

“I also get the sense that people don’t feel senior management is accessible.”

“Are you talking about me?”

“You and your senior team.”

“I’m here every day, and so is my team. My door is glass, for shit’s sake. People can see if I’m busy and stop in if I’m not.”

“Maybe accessible isn’t the right word.”

“What is?”

“Approachable?” She nodded. “I think that’s a better way to put it. You might be here in your office, but I don’t get the sense that people feel comfortable approaching you and others.”

“And that’s my fault? I’m not a mind reader to know when someone would like to talk to me so I go over and start a conversation.”

“I actually don’t think it’s your fault. I think you’re just naturally intimidating.”

I shook my head. “That sounds like a them problem, not a me one.”

She chuckled. “Would you consider doing monthly town-hall-type meetings? Maybe go out to the bullpen area where most of the staff sits and hold a team discussion? Perhaps give them some updates and take questions? A team-building workshop of some sort held offsite might be a good idea, too.”

“You mean where one person falls back, and the other person is supposed to catch them?”

“Something like that.”

“You think that’s going to stop people from suing me after they can’t hack it here and brawling because the tension runs high?”

Evie shrugged. “Humor me. I can work with Joan to set it all up.”

I sighed. “Anything else? Should I go find some babies to kiss or save some kittens stuck up a tree?”

Evie stood. “Thanks, boss.”

“Yeah, yeah, yeah.”

She walked to my door. “I’ll see you later?”

I’d been planning on leaving when she walked in, so I stood. “Actually, I’m getting out of here on time tonight. I need to get ready for a charity event.”

“Oh, that’s what I meant. I’m leaving to get ready now, too. If I don’t hurry, Will will be at my house before I am.”

I froze. That motherfucker. He’d asked her out after all.

• • •

I was in the middle of a conversation with Erin Foster, the woman who ran the Home Start program we were raising money for tonight, when Evie and Will walked in. The event had started more than an hour ago, with no sign of either one of them, so I’d started to think Will had put her up to saying she was coming to screw with me—not that it made any sense, but neither did the way I felt whenever I thought of the two of them together.

Evie and Will stood together at the bar, waiting for a drink. I watched from a distance as Will scanned the room. When he found me, a diabolical smirk raised the corners of his lips, and his hand moved to Evie’s back. She had on a red dress with a low-cut back, so his fingers touched bare skin. I stared with so much intensity, anyone watching might think I was trying to do some sort of Jedi mind trick on him.

“Merrick?” Erin said. She turned to look over her shoulder, in the direction I was staring. “Is everything okay?”

I blinked a few times and shook my head. “Yeah, sorry. I was just… I apologize. What were you saying?”

“I was telling you about our new initiative. We’ve been having a lot of success asking our corporate sponsors and partners to add a giving page to their website. We provide all the copy, graphics, and HTML, so it’s a pretty simple add for your webmaster. It shows your clients that your company is socially conscious, and it gives us a chance to tell potential donors who we are and what we do. We’ve had one financial management partner add a giving page, and also put a little button on the home page where their clients signed in. It made for one of our highest capital-contribution months, even though we never reached out directly to anyone. Do you think that’s something Crawford Investments might be able to do for us?”

I nodded. “Sure. I’ll talk to my IT person and let you know how we can set it up.”

Erin silently clapped her hands. “Thank you!”

My eyes wandered back to the bar. Will and Evie were now talking to a banker I’d met a few times. She was facing me, though looking at Tom or Tim or Tucker—whatever the hell his name was. I couldn’t tear my eyes away long enough to figure it out. The front of her dress had a V neck that hugged her curves. She was definitely showing more skin than she did around the office, yet she still looked classy and elegant. When she leaned forward to shake the hand of someone who walked over, a hint of her thigh popped out of the high slit in her dress. Fuck. She had great legs.

I thought I’d been discreet, but when I peeled my eyes away from Evie and returned my attention to Erin, she was grinning. “She’s beautiful. What’s her name?”

I attempted to play dumb, raising my drink to my lips. “Who?”

“The woman in the red dress you haven’t been able to take your eyes off.”

I looked around as if I had to figure out who she was referring to. I may have oversold it. “I’m not sure what you’re talking about.”

She smiled. “Mmm-hmm.” She pointed to Will and Evie. “Well, I guess you’re about to figure it out, seeing as she’s heading this way.”

Sure enough, Will and Evie were halfway across the room, walking straight toward us. Will still had that shit-eating grin stuck on his face.

“What’s up, boss?” He bounced heel to toe.

I offered a curt nod to each of them. “Will. Evie.”

“I don’t think we’ve met.” Erin extended a hand to Evie. “I’m Erin Foster. I run Home Start.”

Evie shook her hand. “It’s very nice to meet you. Will was just telling me all about your program on the way here. My mom was a victim of DV, and we relied on a lot of temporary housing over the years. Helping survivors find something permanent like you do, where they can plant roots, is so important.”

“Absolutely. Making people safe for the short term is understandably the priority of most DV nonprofits. But we focus on what comes after that. Abuse survivors who own their own homes are ninety-three percent more likely not to go back. So, our goal is to make it easier for women to buy homes by providing down-payment assistance and low-interest loans from partner banks.”

“That’s amazing. I’m not sure what I could do to help, but I’m available.”

“Are you a broker?”

Evie shook her head. “No, actually. I’m a therapist.”

“Oh my gosh. I need to introduce you to Genie. She runs a group that helps people make the transition to living alone in their new homes. I’m absolutely positive she needs you.”

Evie smiled. “Okay.”

Erin glanced at Will then me. “I hope you don’t mind if I steal her for a few minutes.”

We both shrugged, but it was Will who spoke. “Steal away.”

Erin looped her arm with Evie’s, and the two of them continued chatting as she guided her away. Will and I watched as they walked over to a group of women sitting at a table.

Will leaned toward me. “Tinkle tinkle tinkle.”

I looked at him like he had two heads. “What the fuck?”

“Just like my brother and his piss with the dog.” Will sipped his drink with a gloating smile.

I rolled my eyes.

“Not that I can blame you,” he said. “My date looks insanely hot tonight, doesn’t she?”

“Don’t be a dick.”

“Why am I a dick?”

I ignored him. “Why are you so late?”

His shit-eating grin spread so wide, it looked like his annoying face might crack. “Evie needed a little help getting into her dress.”

I scowled at him. Luckily, the emcee came over the speakers and asked everyone to please find their seat. We’d bought a twelve-seat table at the event, so I had no choice but to sit with Will. Four other people from Crawford Investments and their dates or spouses were already seated, so I made the rounds and said hello to everyone before sitting down. The spot between Will and me was empty when Evie walked over a few minutes later. I stood and pulled out her chair since her date was too busy flirting with a woman at the next table to even notice she’d returned.

“Thank you,” Evie said as I tucked her in.

The emcee took the stage, and for the next half hour, we listened to speeches about all of the things Home Start had been able to accomplish over the last year. Well, most of us listened. Will was too busy typing into his phone. I was reasonably certain, based on the glances being exchanged, that he was texting with the woman at the table next to us. Luckily, his date didn’t seem to notice. When the speeches finally concluded, they opened up the dance floor and said dinner would be served shortly.

Will wasted no time pulling back from the table and standing. “I’m going to dance.”

My jaw flexed, assuming he meant with the woman he’d brought tonight. But instead, he walked over to the table next to us and took the hand of the woman he’d been flirting with.

I frowned, but Evie at least pretended to be a good sport. She smiled as we watched Will make a spectacle of himself, twirling the woman around on the floor. When a second song started and Will pulled his partner close, it felt awkward, so I tried to distract Evie.

“I should have warned you about Erin. If you so much as look in her direction, the next thing you know she has you opening your wallet or working for her.”

“Oh, no. I’m happy to volunteer. Home Smart is an incredible organization. I really need something like that in my life.” Evie smiled. “Thank you for inviting me.”

I thought it was strange that she thanked me since I hadn’t been the one to invite her. But she probably assumed the company paid for all of the seats, which it had. “My grandmother is the one who told me about the program,” I said. “Some of the people she’s worked with got housing through Home Start.”

“Ah. I should’ve known Kitty was involved somehow.” She smiled. “I’m sorry I made us late. Will feels horrible about ripping my dress.”

“He…ripped your dress?”

“Oh, I thought you knew. He said he was going to text you to let you know we were going to be late. I was all dressed and ready, but I needed to use the bathroom before we left. My zipper was stuck, so I asked Will to see if he could get it. He did, but he tore the zipper right from the seam. I only had this dress with me at my sister’s, since the majority of my clothes are still in a storage unit. So I had to wait for her to come home and sew it for me. I don’t have a clue how to sew, especially not the fabric of a dress. Then when she finally got me fixed up, and we were about to leave, one of my contacts popped out.” She shook her head. “So it worked out well that you asked Will to pick me up. Otherwise, I would’ve made you late, too.”

“I asked Will to pick you up?”

Hearing the question within my question, Evie paused to study me. Her brows drew together. “He said you had to come early, so we’d meet you here.”

I was missing something. First she’d said I invited her, and now she thought I’d arranged to have Will pick her up. Something was off, but I’d been hanging out with Will for too long to not know that the best way to handle it was to go along with things.

So I nodded. “Right. Some of the sponsors come early to work the door, greeting people with the staff of Home Start.”

When the second song ended, Evie excused herself to go to the ladies’ room. Will walked back over to the table a minute later. He sat in Evie’s chair next to me, rather than his own, and leaned down to speak quietly next to my ear. “I’m going to duck out early.”

“What the hell are you talking about?”

He motioned over his shoulder to the woman he’d been dancing with. She was already standing with her purse in her hand. “Carly suggested we go in the other room, so we don’t have to talk over the music. I suggested we go to my apartment instead. She’s in, so I’m out.”

“What about your date?”

“What date?”

“You came with Evie, didn’t you?”

Will smiled. “Bros before hoes for life, man. Do you really think I would date the woman you’re hot for?”

“What the hell are you talking about? She just told me you picked her up, and I saw you walk in together.”

“I told Evie you invited her.” He shrugged. “That all the executives attended, and you asked me to share a car and introduce her around since you had to come early.”

“Why would you do that?”

“Because you’re a damn idiot and weren’t going to ask her yourself.”

“Did you ever think that’s because I didn’t want to ask her?”

“Not for a second. You like her, and we both know it. You just think it’s a bad idea because she works for your company.”

“Maybe that’s because it is a bad idea.”

“Some of the best times in life start off as bad ideas, my friend.”

Will slapped his knee before standing. “Speak of the devil.” He held out a hand to Evie, whom I hadn’t seen coming. “I’m going to ditch this place. Merrick will give you a ride home.”

“Oh, okay. Though it’s fine. I can call an Uber later.”

Will smirked in my direction. “I’m sure the boss will insist. You two have fun.”

Evie looked confused by the sudden turn of events, yet not bothered by Will’s departure in the least. She laughed. “You, too, Will. And thanks for breaking my dress.”

He winked at her before taking off. “Anytime, gorgeous.”