“Exactly. He’s the judge and jury, and look at him. He’s happy and healthy and he knows his mama loves him.”
I hoped she was right. It never really bothered me before. It was just the last couple of years I began to second-guess my decision to do this all on my own.
Chapter 8
Nash
I stepped off the elevator and heard the hum of conversation. I was immediately irritated. I stepped in front of the reception desk. The young woman had her eyes glued to her screen. I couldn’t see the full screen, but I recognized the coloring of the webpage.
I cleared my throat. Her eyes popped up. “Oh, Mr. Aarons.”
I looked at the computer. “When a customer comes in, you need to greet them immediately. Make eye contact at the very least.”
“Yes, sir.”
“And if I see you on social media while you’re on my time again, you won’t have to worry about work getting in the way of your browsing.”
She nodded. “Yes, sir.”
I walked into the office, and once again, I noticed all of the conversations happening around the area. I wondered how they could possibly get any work done when they talked that much. I had never met so many chatty people in my life. Clearly, this was what they were used to. No one told them they should be working and not gossiping about what they did on the weekend.
I walked down the row separating the desks. The room fell quiet, and soon enough, I could only hear the sound of tapping on computer keys. That was the way it should sound. Saige’s office door was open. I knocked on the trim and walked in. She was on the phone. She looked up when she saw me, and I was certain I saw a flash of anger.
“Thank you, I appreciate the information, I’ll talk to you later,” she said and hung up. She looked at me with a hint of disgust. “Can I help you?”
I smirked and moved to sit down. I was sure she wasn’t going to invite me to sit. “We need to talk.”
“Why?”
I raised an eyebrow. She was cocky. “Because I have some concerns.”
“About?”
“The business.”
She folded her hands and put them on the desk in front of her. “This should be good.”
“Why do you say that?” I questioned.
“You’ve spent what, two hours in the office? What kind of concerns could you possibly have? I’ve seen our books. We’re in great shape. You bought the business because you knew it was making money.”
“It’s making money, and it’s doing okay, but it can be better,” I said. “It will be better.”
“We’re always looking to improve,” she said.
“Great! Effective immediately, cubicles will be installed.”
She blinked. “Cubicles? Like walls?”
“Temporary partitions. Don’t worry. They won’t be those tacky beige walls. I’ve got a company I work with that does excellent work.”
“What are you talking about?” she asked.
“I’m talking about the chatty Cathy’s out there,” I said and gestured toward the office. “They are out there talking while they should be working. I’m having cubicles installed to cut down on the unproductiveness. If they can’t see each other, I’m going to assume they won’t talk to each other.”
“Should I rap their fingers with a ruler if they dare speak? Should I have a stick with a key for the bathroom? Oh wait! I know what we could do. We’ll chain them to their desks.”
“Are you finished?”
“I haven’t even gotten started,” she said in a voice that was actually very threatening.
“I’ll remind you about our positions here,” I said without letting her attitude bother me. “I own this company. I run this place. I call the shots. Your job is to enforce the rules I decide.”
Her lips pinched together as she leaned back in her seat. “I see. I was remiss. I should have known my place. I’m so glad I have you here to keep me in line.”
“The cubicles will be installed tomorrow,” I said. I wasn’t going to let her snark derail my plans.
“You move fast.”
I offered a small smile. “Every minute they are talking about who fucked who over the weekend, I’m losing money. I don’t buy companies to lose money.”
She flinched at the F-bomb. “Do you really think their good moods are a problem? Do you think it’s slowing down their work?”
“Yes.”
“You obviously have no experience working with or managing a team.”
“I own numerous companies and manage them just fine,” I said. “After all, I bought this company. Do you think an unsuccessful man could buy a company as valuable as this?”
It was cocky, but it was true. She clearly didn’t think it was important. I was kind of enjoying sparring with her. She was sexy in general, but piss her off and it was fucking hot. I could just imagine the wild sex that anger would lead to.
“And did you turn all those successful businesses into prisons?” she asked.
“Yes.”
Her mouth dropped open. She really didn’t like my smartass answer. “Well then, I guess I can’t argue with science. Prisons it is.”
“There’s more,” I said.
Her eyes flashed and I watched her physically struggle not to tell me to get bent. She was now gripping the armrests on her chair like she was afraid she was going to be pulled out of the thing. “Oh good,” she said with a tight smile. “I can’t wait to hear this.”
“The breakroom is going to be updated,” I said.
“Oh. That will go a long way to giving the employees a break from their cells. Should we limit them to fifteen minutes a day? What’s the standard yard time for prisoners?”
“Are you asking me?”
She made a show of looking around the office. “You’re the only one in here.”
“I’ve never been in prison, so I wouldn’t know.”
“Huh, interesting,” she said with a smirk on her face. “I guess we’ll just have to set our own rules.” She slapped a hand over her heart. “My bad, I forgot you were the warden. You get to make the rules.”
“Do you talk to all of your bosses like this?” I snapped.
“Nope. Do you treat all of your employees like they are your servants?”
I ignored the comment. I wasn’t here to make friends or find a girlfriend. “The breakroom is a distraction. It’s more like a hotel lounge than an employee breakroom.”
She slapped a hand on the desk. “You’re right! We’ll remove the tables and chairs. There is no reason they should be comfortable.”
“That’s harsh,” I said with a smile. “I have no plans to take the tables and chairs. I will be cutting the expense for the food and beverage bar in there. I’ll have a coffee machine supplied along with filters and ground coffee.”
“Why would you do that? We have a perfectly good machine in there.”
“Fine, keep the machine but people will need to bring their own K-cups as well as their own fancy creams. I will agree to provide the basic cream and sugar packs that my company buys in bulk. I’m not here to run a breakfast bar.”