Page 60 of Office Intrigue (Office Intrigue Duet 1)
They all four glanced between each other for a moment, then back at me.
“What?” They were looking at me as though I had two heads.
“So, I think I speak on behalf of everyone in this room,” Justin said with a grin. “Our quarterly meetings haven’t been nearly this engaging. In fact, we’ve often wondered why we bother because it isn’t long before boredom sets in and everyone’s ready to head back home. We’ve had full days when our managers have sat in the conference room, spending the entire day on their laptops.”
That didn’t sound like fun at all.
I looked at each man in turn. “Am I doing it wrong? I mean, I’m thinking that this is a huge opportunity to have all of the managers together in one place. They can take the information back to their own teams and share the wealth of knowledge that we supply them with. Aside from renting the convention center rooms and catering in food, we have a lot of the presenters volunteering their time because they want to get in front of you and your teams.”
Justin waved his hand. “Oh, no, you’re not doing anything wrong. This is just so far off the map of what we’re used to…I think it’s going to set a precedent.”
I smiled. “I’ve tried to put myself in their shoes. If I had to travel for business for a four-day conference, I wouldn’t look forward to spending time in my hotel room or having dinner alone or not having the opportunity to get in front of my boss.”
“You’re going about this the right way,” Landon assured me. “The simple fact that you’re engaging the managers ahead of time adds a sense of responsibility on their part. They get to contribute.” He grinned. “I’m looking forward to it.”
“Thank you.” I was looking forward to it, too. “And I’m going to nix the few ideas you didn’t like,” I told the four of them. “I’ll come up with a few additional options and get your input. I won’t be able to wait until next Monday since that’ll only give me a week. But I will present them as soon as I have a solid plan. Does that work?”
“It does,” Justin replied. “Now moving on to this week’s travel.”
While the four of them discussed the trips they had planned for the week, I couldn’t help smiling to myself. It felt good that they liked what I was doing and that they weren’t afraid to tell me as much. After our extracurricular activities had begun, I had briefly wondered if they wouldn’t see me for the potential that I had, but merely for the fun I could offer.
It wasn’t like that and I was especially grateful. While I wanted to enjoy my bosses, I also wanted to prove my worth in a business sense. The fact that they could keep the two separate, allowing both sides to coexist in the same work environment, helped to ease some of my worry.
“Is there anything else you’d like to go over?” Justin asked, his question directed at no one in particular.
“I’d like to know how Luci feels about how things are going so far,” Ben said.
My attention jerked to him as he put me on the spot.
“In what regard?” I asked, wanting to ensure we were talking about the same thing.
His smile brightened up his entire face. “Your interactions with the four of us. Do you feel you’re getting enough of our time? Is there something you’d like to do differently?”
I instantly shook my head.
“What is it, little one?” Langston questioned.
It figured he would be the one to pick up on the fact that I wasn’t telling the truth.
“Is something bothering you? Something we’re doing wrong?” Justin asked as all four men turned their full attention on me.
“No,” I blurted. They weren’t doing anything wrong. They were just… I sighed. “I just want to ensure that you know that I’m here if you need anything at all.”
Landon smirked. “Are you saying you want more of our attention?”
My cheeks heated, but I managed to nod. “I guess, yeah. That’s what I’m saying.”
“We don’t want to wear you out,” Justin said, his eyes scanning my face.
“You won’t.” I grinned, my insides trembling. “I’m young. I think I can handle it.”
That caused Landon and Langston to chuckle.
“What’s so funny?” I asked them directly.
“Be careful what you wish for, pet,” Langston said, his tone deep and grumbly.
I didn’t respond, but I didn’t look away from him either.
“If no one has anything else, then I say we adjourn,” Justin stated, moving to the edge of his seat. “And Luci?”
“Hmm?” I looked over at him.
“Do you remember the rules for tomorrow?”
I frowned, trying to think of what he might be referring to.
My eyes widened as I remembered his request from last week.
