Chapter 13

Jay

“Well, that’s pretty much it, sir.” Jake said. He’d been timid and outwardly anxious since Jay kicked Kasey out of their meeting, but he didn’t care. In his eyes, she deserved to be talked to the way she was for barging into his meeting.

He asked himself, who did she think she was to barge in a meeting unannounced? The silly smile on her face only infuriated him further, as if his work was a joke that could easily be put on hold. With his ego brewing, he agreed to end the meeting with Jake and Todd before preparing himself to go home for the evening.

Just as he passed his office, seeing Mitchell already sitting in his normal chair for their end of the day recap, he noticed Kasey walking towards the elevator, her hair bouncing with each intentional step. Walking with purpose, he stopped her just as the elevator doors open.

“I need to talk to you,” he said, and from the rise and fall of her shoulders, he knew she wasn’t interested in hearing another word from him.

“Yes?” she said, turning to face him.

God, she was pretty, even when she was mad. But that would never be enough for Jay to allow her to overstep boundaries, which was something he was very serious about.

“You can’t just burst into a meeting unannounced, Kasey. I know this is your first day, but you need to understand that I’m the boss, and you work for me. We’re not equals, and I won’t stand for you embarrassing me in front of my employees, as if we’re friends or something. We’re not.” He was clear and concise, sure to annunciate every syllable perfectly.

“Mr. Canton, I’m exhausted, and ready to leave for the day. While you may have thought my interrupting a meeting you were having with the door open was my attempt to embarrass you, I guarantee it was not. Pardon my excitement, but I got a verbal commitment from Trisha Walters today, and she’s going to make far more than all the wanna-be writers you want me to consider.”

“Trisha Walters is coming to Passions?” Jay tried to push the excitement in his voice down, but if there was a reason he offered Kasey a position, Trisha was it. For her to sign the budding writer on her first day exceeded his expectations.

“That’s the plan,” she beamed as she leaned forward, calling the elevator once more. The doors opened immediately, and she stepped inside before turning to face Jay.

“Bring her in tomorrow so we can make it official,” Jay said, holding the elevator doors to prevent their closure.

“Will do,” was all Kasey said before raising her eyebrows in a silent request for him to leave.

Jay was fuming by the time he walked into his office, disturbing Mitchell who sat on the leather loveseat reading emails from his smartphone.

“She thinks she’s the boss, and she’s not, Mitch. This might never work,” Jay vented after closing the door to his office.

“What’s going on?” his friend asked, turning in his seat to see the frustration written all over Jay’s face.

“After the meeting this morning, I told her about an author I wanted her to review, and she all but blew me off to take a meeting with Trisha Walters. Then, she comes barging into a meeting afterwards, like she’s won the super bowl,” Jay shook his head, walking over to the corner bar in his office.

“She signed Trisha Walters?” Mitchell could barely contain himself, rising from his comfortable seat to join his friend at the bar.

“She thinks she did,” Jay said, refusing to acknowledge her victory until he saw the signatures.

“That’s amazing! You’ve read her work, and know how much our romance division needs a boost. That’s worth celebrating!” Mitchell exclaimed as he took the glass tumbler with whiskey from Jay’s extended hand.

“That doesn’t mean she can run around here like she built the company we’ve worked so hard for. She isn’t a superstar for bringing in one client. We pay her very well to do that,” Jay insisted.

“She’s obviously a hard worker, Jay. And we can both admit she’s good at what she does. We need her to take a few of our divisions to new heights, so don’t worry about giving her a little praise. It can’t hurt,” Mitchell shrugged.

Jay couldn’t stop wondering how much the part of the story that he’d not shared with his friend changed his perspective. Would Mitchell still feel the same if he knew everything that went down between the two at their company party?

“Come on, Jay, bumping heads with her sometimes is to be expected. You’re both creative with strong personalities, so it’s probably inevitable. Don’t beat yourself up about it, but try to give her a break on her first week,” Mitchell added when Jay didn’t respond. “Moving to a larger corporate environment is a pretty big change for her.”

Jay wondered if his friend was right, but didn’t want to think reasonably, so instead he remained silent as the two sipped their whiskey, recounting the day’s events as was their custom.

As usual, Mitchell was right. Passions Publishing did need Kasey to advance in some key areas, but Jay wasn’t willing to yield his power for the greater good of the business. While he hoped it never came to that, Jay knew in his heart, there was no way he would bend over backwards to make Kasey feel comfortable. He was the boss, and she needed to respect that.

“Come on, let’s call it a night,” Mitchell said, disrupting Jay’s thoughts.

“Is it the weekend yet?” Jay joked, as the two left his office, ending what felt like the longest start to a week.

Walking through the offices, they both made a mental note of the employees working later than others, knowing they were the most dedicated. After a few short conversations, they made their way to the elevator with Jay’s thoughts on Kasey, wondering just how much trouble she was going to be.