Page 23 of Naughty Heart

I shrugged. “I can’t say, Malcolm. I honestly don’t know.”

“But you have to have some thought about it. You worked in a factory before you came here. Would you have talked to your boss about something that was bugging you?”

It blew my mind that Malcolm even cared to hear my thoughts on it. “Truthfully, I don’t think I would. Unless there was a situation where there was a safety concern, and someone could wind up getting seriously hurt, I wouldn’t talk to my boss about any of that.”

Judging by the look on his face, Malcolm found this bit of news to be rather enlightening. “Why not?”

“Because my boss was unapproachable in a lot of ways. If there was a way to avoid ever talking to him, I would have taken advantage of it. Conversations with him were uncomfortable,” I explained.

Malcolm nodded his understanding, but he didn’t get a chance to say anything in response, because the door opened. Three people walked in, and I couldn’t miss the way their eyes landed on me. No sooner did the door close behind them, it opened again, and two more individuals stepped inside. From that point forward, it was a steady flow of individuals into the conference room until all but two seats around the table had been filled.

And as everyone stepped into the room to take a seat, there was one thing I couldn’t miss. Malcolm greeted each and every person with a smile on his face. I expected to see a bit of trepidation in their features, but there wasn’t any. It was the strangest thing I’d ever witnessed.

“Before we get our meeting started today, I want to introduce all of you to my new personal assistant, Evelyn Fisher,” Malcolm began. “She’s going to be taking over a lot of the communication for me, so if you have any specific requests, problems, or concerns, feel free to reach out to her. Evelyn, I’d like you to meet some of the staff here.”

He then went on to introduce everyone at the table to me. I received a round of welcoming smiles and nods.

Then Malcolm began the meeting, and I observed.

While there was certainly a period when I focused on the specifics of the discussion Malcolm was having with the members of his staff, the truth was that I quickly found my mind drifting.

There was something to be said about the way Malcolm interacted with his employees. I’d seen it over the last three days in the way he’d been with me, but I’d attributed it to me being new and him wanting to be understanding that I was still learning the ropes.

Perhaps that wasn’t the case.

It seemed as though Malcolm was a decent guy, a great guy.

He had so much confidence and charisma.

He clearly had an excellent rapport with his employees, and it was safe to say I was relieved and grateful to have secured a job in this company working directly with him.

Before I knew it, the meeting had ended. Malcolm and I made our way back to our offices, and on the way there, he asked, “So, what did you think?”

Without thinking, I blurted, “Your staff is incredibly lucky.”

“What?”

I let out a laugh as I shook my head. “I’m sorry. I just… well, I don’t know if it’s like this for you with everyone who works here, but based on what I saw in the conference room, I can see why you’d be confident about your department heads coming to you with any issues that arise.”

We made it to our offices, and Malcolm urged me forward into his, so we could continue our conversation. “What makes you say that now? What did you see?”

I sat down in one of the seats in front of his desk as he walked behind it to sit in his chair. Once he was there, I answered, “Well, I already told you how I viewed things at my former job. I never felt as comfortable around my boss as your employees feel around you.”

His eyes lit up as he grinned. “You’re one of my employees.”

“I am, and I feel completely different around you than I did at my former job,” I assured him. “It’s wonderful. Honestly. And I’ve got to say I think the reason I feel that way, along with the rest of the staff I observed today, is attributed not only to your demeanor but also your transparency. You’re very forthcoming, and that goes a long way.”

The light in his eyes dimmed slightly. Or, I thought it had. “Thanks, Evelyn. I really appreciate you saying all of that.”

“You’re welcome. But if you really want to make things even better foreveryone, you could,” I suggested.

Curiosity washed over him. “How so?”

I sucked in a deep breath before I shared, “First, it’s possible you already have something like this in place, so ignore me if that’s the case. Having been on the opposite end of things as you, essentially never being the person in charge, I felt as though management couldn’t ever begin to understand my position, or that of my coworkers. I was let go with all of them as quickly as I could snap my fingers. We were just discarded, and I never felt appreciated as an employee, despite how hard I worked or how efficient I was. That appreciation goes beyond a paycheck.”

Malcolm studied me for a long time. “Are you suggesting some kind of employee recognition program?”

I nodded. “Exactly. I mean, I don’t know what you want to call it, but I think it’s one thing to have a great relationship with the heads of each department and something else entirely to have the people all the way at the bottom feeling good about where they work. The slightest bit of recognition for the work they do would really go a long way.”