He looked baffled, as though that wasn’t even possible. “Seriously?”
“Seriously.”
“Wow.” He stopped, pointed. “Jordan and Jane occupy this area.”
Three offices ran along the left side of the hall. I gave a quick nod to Jordan when the man looked up from his computer. He offered a smile but kept talking into his headset.
Dale started walking; I kept pace. We stopped again when he pointed toward a semicircle of offices surrounding an open seating area. “Landon, Langston, and Luci are here.”
I noticed one of the three doors was closed. The two that were open were empty.
“I think they’re in a meeting,” he said with a chuckle. “The rule around here is to knock.”
“Yeah?”
“Oh, yeah. Otherwise … well, let’s just say, you have to have an open mind to work here.”
A soft cry from the office with the closed door had me understanding exactly what Dale was referring to.
“Good to know.”
We made our way down the stairs. “Mr. Parker, Mr. Snowden, and Addison are on this floor. Zeke recently took over that office.” He nodded toward an open door. “Edge’s office is there.” He pointed toward an office with the lights off. “He’s rarely here, but he has one.”
“Yours will be down this way.” He led the way past Edge’s door, stopped at the office next to it. “As you can tell, it’s a blank slate. Once you’re on board, Addison can help you get set up.”
Assuming I was going to be hired, of course.
“The private conference room is also on this floor,” he explained, motioning back toward the staircase. “They have their Monday meetings in there.”
“And Zeke’s team?” I inquired. “Where are they located?”
“Due to the need for … um … privacy,” he began, looking over at me, “they’ve decided to put most of the employees on a separate floor. Keep this more for executives, partners, and their secretaries.”
I’d been involved in the lifestyle long enough to know what he meant by needing privacy. Based on the noises coming from upstairs, it appeared these people didn’t have an issue mixing business with pleasure.
“I manage the outer office,” Dale explained as we made our way back toward the stairs. “The big bosses mentioned hiring a few secretaries slash assistants to help out, but they haven’t moved on that yet. I think they’re waiting to fill the spots.”
He went on to explain Trent Ramsey’s role, heading up their new talent division. I also learned that Case Rhinehart had recently been hired to manage the gym expansion on the second floor, as well as that Braxton McBride would be the head chef at the restaurant they were adding on the main floor.
“Do they own the entire building?” I asked.
“They do.” We continued up the stairs, down the narrow hall. “The upper floors are residential, and they lease the space on several of the lower floors to other companies. But with the expansion, they’ve been reacquiring space as leases expire.”
Edge had mentioned how Chatter was expanding in many directions. He’d actually used the word exploding to describe the events currently taking place. Apparently, Justin Parker was looking to take the company to another level. Why he’d waited so long, no one seemed to know. While Chatter PR had global offices, they’d managed to remain relatively small in structure. When Edge had mentioned the position, he’d told me how they were focused entirely on filling positions at this point, growing in an effort to ease the strain on the top level.
We made it back to the reception area and Dale continued to ramble, as though he was scared to stop talking. “There’s a valet out front, plus a sandwich shop on the main floor. I’m usually in the office at seven thirty, everyone else coming in around nine.”
The door to the conference room opened and Ben stepped out. He walked right up to me, held out his hand. “Zeke would like to see you.”
“Thank you for your time,” I told him, shaking his hand.
Ben grinned, gripping my hand firmly. “In case he has a difficult time relaying the information, we’d be honored for you to come on board. He’s got the details for you.”
I smiled. “Thank you again.”
Ben turned toward Dale, giving him a rundown of clients he was expecting later that afternoon, while I stepped back toward the conference room.
Ready and willing to hop on board this train and see where it took me.
FIVE
EDGE
Tuesday, October 23, 2018
I WAS STALKING MY OWN DAMN PHONE, which was possibly a first for me.
Unlike a lot of people, the phone wasn’t my chosen form of communication. I tended to interact face-to-face with most people. Today it seemed as though I was connected to this damn thing with my fucking eyeballs.
It was completely out of character for me. Not only the technology-based focus, but also my preoccupation in general. I was the type who had a plan, mapped it out, followed through. Day in, day out, I held to a rigorous routine that kept me on pace. That was the way I handled my personal and my professional life. Always had.
