Total pages in book: 29
Estimated words: 26971 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 135(@200wpm)___ 108(@250wpm)___ 90(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 26971 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 135(@200wpm)___ 108(@250wpm)___ 90(@300wpm)
Mary lets out a small chuckle. “No, I actually thought it was a brilliant idea with how much we’ve grown. There are still a few people I haven't met in person. It’s good to bring all the heads of the departments and different labs together from time to time. I think it should be an annual event.”
I nod and wonder if that was part of my anxiety and something Mary knew about me. I need to see these people and not through an email or on a piece of paper. I tend to be good at reading people and getting a feel for them. I’ve never in my life met a person who somehow surprised me. I can size someone up quickly based on the bad things in them, or the good. Growing up the way we did, I learned from a young age that reading people was about survival.
I eat my breakfast before heading into my room to find an outfit. I go through everything I packed but still somehow feel unsure. Darian’s wife Rosy helped me put together some things so I wouldn’t have to worry so much. I might have grown up poor and worked in a diner my whole life, but I’d also been thrust into the world of rich people alongside my brother, who took us all with him. This team is the best of the best, and it’s why my brother hired them to begin with.
“Wear whatever you want,” Mary says, watching me go through the clothes again. She’s in a custom suit as always and looking perfectly polished.
“Anything?” I snort a laugh. If only it was that easy.
“Lindsey, you’re in charge. I think you forget you’re their boss,” she points out.
I know I’m their boss, but I want them to respect me. When I ran the diner, it wasn't with that kind of fear. I would never ask anyone to do anything I wouldn't or couldn’t do myself.
This situation is different because I can’t do what some of these people are capable of. They’re geniuses, and I still don’t understand most of the technology my brother created. But what I do understand is people and how they work together.
“Lindsey.” Mary snaps my name. “Wear what makes you confident. That’s what they’ll feel and remember about you.” She pauses and nods to me once more. “There’s a reason Darian knows you can do this.”
She leaves the closet, and I realize she’s right. I grab my jeans and Chucks and get dressed. I’ve never run from anything in my life, and I’m not starting now.
Chapter 2
Gibson
“You doing okay back there?” the pilot calls out, and I look up from my barf bag.
Thankfully nothing came up, but that flight might have been the roughest of my life. “All good,” I manage to say as I tuck the paper bag back into the emergency pocket.
“We must have been the last flight before they grounded all the other ones,” he laughs as he brings the plane down.
“Lucky us,” I mumble to myself. I would have preferred to skip this retreat altogether.
The wheels touch the tarmac, and I close my eyes, thankful to be firmly back on earth. I normally don’t have a problem on planes, but a tiny one like this flying around the edges of a hurricane isn’t my first choice for travel.
I’m late, and there’s nothing I hate more than not being on time. My company was bought out by Darian Wilson, and I’ve spent the last week on planes, trains, and automobiles around the globe transitioning it for him. I don’t know why I agreed to it, but when I got the call that he wanted to take over, there was something about him I trusted.
My company helped develop his biometric products, but he was right when he said our merger would be mutually beneficial. I get to stop traveling so damn much and bring our company to Boston, where his labs are located.
It will be the first time in a long time that I’ll be making roots, that is, once I’m done with this stupid department head vacation. I was told we’d hit the ground running, but the memo I got from the new CEO directed me to a beach getaway. Maybe I wouldn’t mind so much if the hurricane riding my ass on the way here wasn’t so dark and gloomy.
There’s not a time I can recall where I wasn’t changing cities each week in different parts of the world. I’m looking forward to taking a breath while reaping the benefits of this new partnership.
My phone chimes as soon as the plane pulls into the hangar, and I see a few missed texts. Once I’ve read the messages, I delete them quickly and tuck my phone away.
“How far are we from the hotel?” I grab my bag as the pilot opens the door for me. I’ve never been happier to get out of such a confined space.