“Have a seat, Val.”
“Should I shut the door?”
“No, leave it open for now. This won’t take long.”
Val stumbled into the chair across from Cam’s desk and clasped her fingers, settling her hands in her skirted lap. Even so, Cam saw how they trembled.
“First,” Cam said, “I want to apologize for barging in on you on Friday night.”
Val’s head shot up, and her eyes went wide. “You didn’t. Honest. When you called, I thought it would be fun, you know? I mean, when we’re on these trips like Atlanta, we spend so much time working, we both usually just order room service alone in the hotel at night and crash ‘til the next day when we do it all again. Then on the plane home, you always wind up working on... whatever you need to work on, and this time around, I was putting together the prizes for the next fundraiser, so we didn’t talk at all. Friday night, when I said let’s have a pajama party, I was kidding at first. I mean, I thought you were kidding about coming over. Then, when I realized you were serious and why, I thought, ‘Why not?’ It could be a blast. I really wanted us to have a chance to let our guards down and just be friends. I’m sorry I fell asleep, but it wasn’t because I didn’t want you there.”
She’d forgotten how Val could ramble. “Let me finish, please.”
Val ducked her head again. “Sorry.”
“There’s no reason to apologize. I’m the one who’s sorry. I intruded on your plans for a quiet evening. But that’s not why you’re here.”
“It’s not?”
“No, it’s not. Val, you’ve been doing great work here, and I’ve come to rely on you more than you probably realize—more than I sometimes realize. The acquisition of the Loughlin building is primarily due to your dedication to that project. You’re a valuable asset to the foundation and to me. Therefore, I’m prepared to promote you. You’ll no longer be my executive assistant. As of this morning, you are the assistant director. You’ll be getting an increase in your salary commensurate with your new title.” She scribbled the number on a yellow sticky note and slid it forward.
Val’s eyes went wide as she looked at the salary written on the paper and then up at Cam. “Is this for real?”
Cam nodded. “I’ll be passing more of the day to day work to you from now on, so I hope you’re ready to take on more responsibility. Casey will take your place as my executive assistant, and you and I will be hiring you an assistant, also. I’ll need you to spend a week or two training Casey to get him up and running, but we’ll use that time to familiarize you with some of what you’ll be taking on, as well as getting your office set up.”
Now, her head came up level and stayed there. Pride and excitement gave her the confidence to sit up straight and look Cam in the eye. “I’m getting an office?”
“Yes. Right next to this one. Does that mean you’d like to accept the offer?”
“Are you kidding? Yes! I mean, this is amazing. Thank you! I can’t—” She giggled. “I thought for sure I was getting fired today. I even brought in a box to take my stuff home in.”
“Well, now you can use that box to move your stuff into your new office. But before you do that...” She sobered and handed Val the typed-up offer she’d printed earlier this morning. “I’m going to be relying on you for a lot. You’ll be well compensated, but there’ll be nights you won’t get out of here until eight or nine o’clock. Or you’ll have to make last minute changes to a print order or the website over the weekend. Be sure to read this over carefully. Take it to an attorney. Don’t use the foundation’s legal reps. Get an outside opinion from someone with your best interests in mind. We’ll make it all official once you’ve had some time to have this reviewed and bring it back to me signed. Until then, we’ll continue on as we have for a while. Okay? Sound good?”
“Are you kidding? It sounds great! Ohmigod, I’m stunned. I really don’t know what to say except thank you.”
Cam smiled. “Thank you is enough. Now, tuck that agreement into your purse for later, and let’s get back to work. I want you to check in on Atlanta, see how the school supply event went. From eleven to about two, I’ll be out of the box. You can use those few hours to grab lunch for yourself and start shopping for a lawyer to review that paperwork. Have the fee billed here. This afternoon, we’ll go over the details for the Loughlin acquisition. I want you in on all the meetings and conference calls from now on.”
Val’s jaw dropped. “You sure?”
“I’m sure. This is your baby. You should be there for delivery. Besides, I can’t think of anything better than working side by side with a good friend.”
A beaming grin lit up Val’s face. “Wow. Ditto. Thanks, Cam. This means a lot to me.”
“Me, too.”
ONCE BACK IN THE OFFICE, Jordan wasted no time in asking Susan to make time for him on her calendar. He then waited until Thursday to actually meet with her. While he would’ve preferred to get it over with faster, like ripping off a Band-Aid, he used the days in between to argue with himself over what he’d say that wouldn’t result in her ousting him from her office and the company.
When he finally entered her inner sanctum that afternoon, she got right to the point.
“What can I do for you, Jordan? Not a problem with the Delgado deal, I hope.” She stood, leaning
