The Other Side of Greed (The Seven Sins #5) - Lily Zante Page 0,24
that with?”
“Excuse me?” He looks confused.
“Which agency did you go with?”
“I didn’t use an agency. I’m not a wuss and I’m okay with traveling alone.”
I stare at him. “You said you worked for some start-ups in Silicon Valley. I’ll need a reference from a former employer.”
“Is that necessary, now that I’ve started?” He stands up. For a moment, it looked like he was about to pull at his shirt sleeves, but he’s wearing a t-shirt.
I sense resistance. “It’s necessary. I need a resumé, too.”
“Do you want to hear about what I can offer to your company?”
“Sure. Just don’t forget about the paperwork I need from you.” I remind him.
“I won’t.” He looks around. “I need a whiteboard. Do you have one?”
“Nope.”
“How do you brainstorm ideas?” He looks at the walls, dirty and peeling. I suddenly feel more self-conscious than ever.
“We talk.”
He shakes his head in disbelief. “Your setup doesn’t help.”
“With what?” I sit back and fold my arms defensively.
“I suppose you don’t even have a conference room?”
“We don’t need a conference room.”
He swipes a hand over his forehead, as if this place, this setup, me and my management team, are a farce. I don’t like his attitude one bit. I stand up slowly. “I don’t think this is going to work.”
His shoulders slump. “Because I’m telling you some hard facts?”
“Because your tone is insulting.”
“I’m making observations.”
“So far you’ve observed that we have buckets to catch the water, and that I’ve been surfing online on company time. You’re complaining about the setup, and the building, and what you perceive to be a shortage of good resources.” I cock my head. “Are you a journalist, looking for a story on me? I don’t like to do interviews, but believe me, if this is why you’re here, this isn’t going to get you anything.”
He throws his head back. “I don’t need a story. You’re the story. You’re the one everyone talks about.”
Simona walks in with her cup and saucer still in her hand. “I can’t stand up for too long. I need to sit down.”
“I never told you to leave,” I say to her. This isn’t the type of morning I had in mind. I put a hand to my back. I think I pulled something while I was lifting the boxes and shifting things the other night.
“Have you injured your back again?” chides Simona.
“I’ll be fine. It always gets worse after food night.” I decide to leave and walk around the factory floor. Or maybe I should check the storeroom. Anything to get away from here. Or maybe I can send Brad out to check for me.
“Will you run Brad through the inventory check in the storeroom when you can?” I ask Simona.
“Don’t you want to do it?” There she goes again, trying to offload him onto me.
“No. It’s fine. You go ahead. You can get started on things now.” An idea comes to me. Why not get him to do the menial tasks I usually end up doing? “Can you show Brad the inventory list and have him go through and write down how much we have of everything?” I ask her, eyeing Brad with a sense of jubilation. “You can make yourself useful from the get-go.” The corner of my lips curl up into a satisfied smile.
“Lucky me,” he mumbles, loud enough for me to hear. Instantly, my elation freezes. That hint of insubordination puts me on alert.
“You’re the one who came to me, looking for work,” I remind him. “You’re free to leave at any time.”
The plastic smile he slaps on his face makes me sit up. He can’t even be bothered to hide his displeasure with the task I’ve set him. “I’m happy to be here,” he tells me, as he saunters out after Simona.
I’m left wondering what I’ve let myself get into.
Chapter Twelve
BRANDON
I follow Simona to the storeroom, anger seeping out of my pores at the thought of the menial task before me.
“This is where we keep everything. My goodness,” Simona’s hand flies to her chest. “This is all very neat and tidy. It will make your task much easier.”
“I helped her with that,” I point out. “Last night. We were here until late.”
“That’s Kyra for you. She has no life outside of work.”
I snort. I can tell. As CEO of this business, Lewis needs to work on the business, not waste her time cleaning up storerooms and doing the inventory.
“You don’t look happy,” Simona comments.
I’m not used to doing menial tasks. I have people to do