Chapter 8
Alex paced like a caged lion. There was no way in hell she was giving up her desk to this spoiled, fake-smiley brat. She had worked long hours to become vice president and this manipulative bitch wasn’t going to win. She patted the corner of her desk. “Just so we’re clear, Han-nah, this is my desk. You may be the boss’s daughter but you’re my new assistant. We don’t want to get off on the wrong foot, do we?”
Hannah feigned a hurt look. “Have your silly desk then.” She picked up her supplies, and with dramatic flair, flung them into the chair her father had just vacated. She sank down on the other chair and propped her feet on the corner of the desk.
Alex glared at her. “You’re not in your freaking living room. Get your feet off my desk.”
Hannah ignored Alex, crossed her ankles, and busied herself with her giant, apparently bottomless, purse.
Livid, Alex decided to ignore the posturing. She knew she’d win eventually and had to pace herself. Taking a cleansing breath, she turned her computer on. As the screen flickered to life, she turned to Hannah. “I’m not sure what you’ll work on since the ground breaking, let alone the grand opening, is months away. There are several details to work out first.”
“Why don’t you give me some of your projects? You’ll see that I’m very capable. I’m working on my master’s degree.”
“You mentioned that.”
“Do you have a master’s?” Hannah asked.
“Nope. Haven’t needed one. I’ve done pretty well without it, in fact.” Alex held her name plate in the air to demonstrate her hefty title: Alexandra Mitchell, Vice President, Marketing.
Hannah brushed imaginary lint off her blazer. “Not bad. But I’d prefer Senior Vice President, or maybe even Executive Vice President.”
Alex rubbed her tense shoulders, ignoring the dig. “I’m going upstairs for more coffee.” She decided to try the nice route. “Want any?”
“I don’t drink that stuff. It’s bad for you. Makes your heart race. Keeps you awake at night. Turns your teeth brown.” Hannah pulled a bottle of Smart water from her pricey orange Kate Spade purse.
“Well, I love coffee and drink a lot of it. And my teeth are pearly white.” She managed a half-smile, half-grimace to prove her point. “Be back soon.” Alex bounded the stairs, retreated, and grabbed her purse from underneath her desk. She didn’t trust this woman. While upstairs, she scouted for an empty office, an empty cubicle, or an empty corner. Anywhere she could put Hannah’s desk. But her shoulders fell. There wasn’t five square feet of empty space. The loan operations department had taken over most of the second floor, along with real estate and construction loan lenders, their support staff, and a massive employee lounge. Alex was defeated. For now.
After she returned to her office, Hannah still had her feet on her desk and was filing her nails. Alex fought the urge to punch her.
Hannah crossed her arms. “Did you think of anything for me to work on?”
Alex scanned her calendar and project list. “How do you feel about annual reports?”
“Do you have a sample for me to go by?” Hannah continued filing her nails. “Not to copy, naturally, but so I don’t duplicate?”
Alex rifled through her files and retrieved the past two years of annual reports she had prepared for the board. This was one of her most dreaded tasks. She decided to make the best of enduring Hannah by giving her a dull, crappy, time-consuming project.
She handed one of the large, glossy reports to Hannah. “Here. I always take pictures of customers—I get their permission first—and have them sign a waiver. Also, take pictures of employees to jazz up the document. It’s a rather dry report without graphics and photos.”
Alex thumbed through the most recent annual four-page report and pointed to the middle section. “I’ve always done a year in review and chose a word to rhyme with the current year for the heading. Do what you want, though. You’ll need to interview several officers to determine the stats for their respective departments. For instance, ask Cleo and Judy in New Accounts how many CDs they opened last year.”
“CDs?”
“Certificates of Deposit.” I guess they don’t teach that to master’s students. “Ask Kathy in real estate how many construction loans she made the past year, and likewise, ask Terry in real estate how many home loans she processed. We want to report the overall number of loans and total dollar amount—not individual information—just a collective total. Also, ask Stu about home equity loans and Dave about commercial loans.” Alex ran her finger down the page showing the breakdown and comparisons. “See what I mean? Use bullet points to break up the text. This should keep you busy for a week or two.” And out of my fucking hair.
Hannah licked her lips. “This is right up my alley. I love projects like this. It reminds me of school and some of my master’s classes.”
Alex groaned inwardly and wondered how many times Hannah had already used the word “master’s” in one day. She couldn’t wait to get the woman out of her office. “Before you start, here’s an employee list with everyone’s title. As you probably know, employee names are outside their doors or on their desks. You should introduce yourself anyway. Take your legal pad and get started. Just approach the officers who don’t have customers, obviously.”
“Obviously.”
Alex noticed Hannah rolled her eyes.
Whatever. Just go away.
Instead of using the legal pad, Hannah pulled an iPad from her massive purse. “I’ll use this. You may be old school but I prefer modern conveniences.”
Alex stuck her tongue out as Hannah bounded out of her office. I hate her already.