Johan's Joy (Heroes for Hire #22) - Dale Mayer Page 0,25
of different people were starting to give bits of insight into how things were managed and how the company worked. She’d enjoyed lunch with the guys and wished she had the ability to talk openly with the men. It would make being here a lot easier.
When more footsteps headed down the hallway, she looked up, catching sight of somebody she didn’t expect to see. Edward. But he walked past her office to visit with the two men next door. When she heard raised voices, she frowned, wondering if she should join them.
When Phyllis came racing back in, her expression was a picture of delight. She said, “Oh, my God, they’re all fighting!”
“Who?” Joy asked.
“The investigators and Edward.”
“That’s bizarre,” Joy said. “Why Edward?”
“I don’t know. I don’t know,” Phyllis said, dancing with joy. “I need another excuse to go out.”
“Fine. Go get me coffee,” Joy said.
Phyllis nodded, grabbed her cup, and left. The second she was gone, Joy got up and walked over to the wall that separated them from the office next door and tried to listen.
“You shouldn’t have gone in there,” Edward raged.
“And why is that?” Johan asked.
“The foreman came to me to find out what the hell was going on.”
“And do you know what’s going on?” he asked.
“Yes, Ice told me, but we have to be discreet. You told them you were investigating theft and smuggling. That’s hardly being discreet.”
“They’re honest workers who would appreciate an honest answer,” he said. “Obviously everybody’ll be wondering what we’re doing down here in the dungeon.”
“Let them wonder,” Edward said. “I don’t want any more leaks getting out.”
“It got out the minute you brought us in,” Johan said. “I’ve had stares from everyone.”
Then an odd silence prevailed, as if both men had reduced the volume of their voices.
Frowning and disappointed, Joy quickly slipped back to her desk to resume her work. She shoved a piece of paper under her laptop that she had prepared, showing the processes as she collected information. Just then, Phyllis came back in with her coffee. “Looks like they’ve stopped fighting,” she said with disappointment. “And they’ve also shut the door.”
“I imagine somebody in the company is not too happy about the investigators being here,” Joy said.
“Hell, who would be?” Phyllis said. “Think about it. Everybody becomes a suspect.” She looked at Joy. “Even you.”
“I haven’t been here long enough to get into trouble,” she said, knowing that was a lie. Because that’s exactly what she’d done. She’d gotten into trouble immediately. Dangerously so, apparently. It was frustrating as heck too.
“Oh, I don’t know about that,” Phyllis said. “Chelsea wasn’t here very long, and she was the one before you.”
That was the first Joy had ever heard mention of anybody before her. “So somebody was in this job before me?” she asked curiously. “I wondered because there doesn’t seem to be anything really in place.”
“Chelsea was at that desk, but she didn’t last longer than three months.”
“Oh, so that’s a warning for me then,” Joy said with an eye roll.
“Yeah. I think two people before her, the higher-ups combined the position and changed job duties or something,” Phyllis said with a wave of her hand. “Useless management stuff that they keep pulling on us.”
“Isn’t that the truth?” Joy said. “I hope Chelsea found a better job.”
“I presume so. She was here and then gone,” Phyllis said. “I never did hear what happened to her.”
At that, Joy froze and turned to look at her. “Didn’t you even ask?”
“Nope. She knew her three-month probationary period was up on that Friday, and she herself was wondering if she wanted to stay or not,” she said. “I just figured she didn’t. I mean, you’ve seen this place. Can you blame her?”
“Don’t you have to give notice?”
“We’re supposed to,” Phyllis said, “but who knows. Maybe it was worth it to them to let her quit and just leave. That way they didn’t have to let her go.”
“Why would they let her go? That’s a little depressing,” she said.
“It is what it is. You can’t count on it one day to the next. Deal with it and do the best you can for yourself,” Phyllis said. “All places are shit to work for.”
“Now that’s depressing too,” she said, with a laughing smile.
“But it’s the truth, unless you’re working for yourself and are making money at it. We’re all just selling our time to somebody, and it doesn’t matter who anymore. So pick somebody you can live with and go from there,” she said.