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Kendall
If HR had a punch card, I would be one mistake away from a free coffee.
For the record, I never meant to set the breakroom on fire.
Now, I’m standing outside on Tryon Street with a hundred or so of my coworkers. Most are complaining about how their day was interrupted by a smoke alarm instead of enjoying the crisp January breeze.
“I didn’t see any smoke, so this is a really stupid time for a drill,” my coworker Annette says as we huddle together, arms wrapped around ourselves to keep warm since most of us hurried out without coats when the alarm went off.
“Yep, just a drill,” I lie as I bite into the pink cupcake I refused to leave behind. Hearing the screech of sirens in the distance, I quickly shove the rest of the dessert into my mouth guiltily, like I’m hiding contraband during a traffic stop.
“Oh, no. It’s not a drill,” Wanda, one of the older ladies says with a shake of her white bob. After everyone turns toward her, and she knows she has their full attention, she finally says, “I saw smoke coming from the breakroom on the tenth floor.”
“Seriously?” Megan asks, and Wanda nods solemnly.
Well, crap.
Everyone goes silent when the sirens get louder. Then, we all stare at the approaching fire truck, soon followed by an ambulance. The emergency responders jump out of their vehicles and hurry inside without hesitation.
Oh, I am definitely getting fired today.
A few moments later, Megan gasps sharply, then points her finger toward the front of the building. “There he is! That’s Montgomery Crawford.”
Everyone’s head turns in that direction, seeking out the tall, intimidating, and too-gorgeous-to-be-real man speaking to one of the firefighters.
AKA the big boss.
The new CEO of Crawford Holdings.
Son of Davis Crawford. Montgomery stepped up to run things when his father was ousted by the board six months ago.
The whole building has been gossiping about the man ever since. Rumor has it that he arrives to work at sunrise, rarely leaves his office on the elegant administrative floor, never speaks to anyone but his assistant Lily when absolutely required, and is so unbelievably hot he could probably make a killing by just glaring into a camera.
I don’t know about the other rumors, but that last one is certainly true.
Not a single perfectly styled brown hair moves on his head despite the gusts of wind swirling between the skyscrapers. It’s as if the rules of nature don’t apply to him.
Me, on the other hand? My blonde, shoulder-length curls are dancing around, creating the kind of complicated knot that’ll take an entire bottle of detangler to undo later.
“I heard Mr. Crawford’s about to lay off two dozen people, if not more,” Annette remarks with a sigh.
The floater position I’ve held for nearly a year was only supposed to be temporary. I made a point of learning every position, so now I’m part-time as needed, which somehow still means forty hours a week without benefits, filling in for people who are sick or on vacation.
If there’s a list of people who have to be let go, I have no doubt that unfortunately, my name is at the very top.
For the next ten or fifteen minutes, the ladies voice their concerns about their futures with the company, how long they’ve been here, how much it’ll hurt their families if they get laid off.
“I don’t care. Mr. Crawford can lay me up, down, off, or on,” Megan says as she continues to stare at our boss.
Our boss, who is suddenly headed in our direction.
Someone gasps at his approach. Probably Megan, but I’m unable to look away from him.
With each step that brings him closer, his handsome face seems to get a touch angrier, if that’s possible.
He stares right at me while putting his fingers in his mouth…whistling so loud my ears ring. As if he needed to do anything to get everyone’s attention when all eyes are already on him.
