Coming Home Read Free Page B

the desk and set them down. She entered
into some sort of stare down with the receptionist. The contrast between the
two women gave me a good indication as to why there was hostility in the air.
    The receptionist had a small frame, but held herself solidly as
if she played some sort of contact sport. Her appearance reminded me of my high
school librarian with every button properly in place. I couldn’t see under the
desk, but I’m sure the rest of her was just as prim. I couldn’t tell if the
lines on her face were from age or if it had to do with the scowl she was
giving the younger woman. It was her short black hair sprinkled with gray that
hinted she was several years older than the woman in front of her.
    That woman was fit and trim; the outfit she wore showed it off.
Her legs were bare in her short skirt, and her chest was almost as bare, the
cleavage pushing out of her top. Everything about her screamed sex appeal from
the perfect beach wave curls to the shoes that announced her arrival. They were
the kind of high heels that told a man exactly what she wanted him to do to
her. I wasn’t sure if that was the reason she wore the shoes or if it was to
make up for what she lacked in height. Either way, the point was made.
    The young woman finally stopped the staring match and nodded her
head. “Gladys. I’ve got this.” She turned to me. “Hi. You must be Rebecca.”
    “Yes, I’m Rebecca.”
    “I heard you like to be early. I was just taking these things to
your office.” She held her hand out to me. “My name is Stacy Albright. I’m part
of the idea team you’ll be on, and we’ll be working on layouts together. For
now though, I’ll be helping you get settled.”
    I shook her hand. “Thank you. It’s nice to meet you.” Even though
she was still on the phone, I turned to Gladys and whispered. “It’s nice to
meet you, too, Gladys.” She stopped scowling at Stacy and actually smiled at
me.
    Stacy took me to my office, and I couldn’t believe I actually had
an office. I’d only ever had a cubicle before, and I kind of expected just a
desk out in the open with everyone else the way Matt talked about how cramped
the space was. This was huge to me. There was a full desk, two filing cabinets,
a small round table, and two chairs in front of the desk.
    Once we got all the supplies put away and she helped me to log on
the system for the first time, I was taken around for the tour of the facilities.
I was pleased the entire space seemed to be quite clean—including the
restrooms—and the lunch area actually had a full-service kitchen. I’d never worked
at a place with a cafeteria before. I usually brought cold lunches since the
line for the microwave took my entire lunch break to get through.
    “Just how big is this place? Matt said it was just a small family
company.” I couldn’t keep the awe out of my voice.
    “Yeah, he likes to think of us as one big happy family. It’s not
that we aren’t like family around here. We’re just one big dysfunctional family,
but it’s a little too big for all of us to be close. There are over 250
employees in this building.”
    “This building? There’s more than one?”
    “There aren’t any other buildings, but there are other people
that don’t work out of an office—sales people and recruiters to name a couple.
Matt knows each and every employee here. I’m not sure how he does it, but he
does. He and his wife have built quite a little empire. The advertising
department we work for is just a fraction of it.”
    “Is his wife as nice as Matt is?”
    Stacy stopped and looked at me. “You haven’t met his wife yet?”
    “No. Is that a problem?”
    “He usually doesn’t hire anyone in an office position without his
wife’s approval. You must have really made an impression on him.” Stacy led me
through the gym in the lower level. “Matt was allowed to put the cafeteria in
if he put the gym in first. I think most people like the cafeteria better,