The Boss Project by Vi Keeland

“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?”