An hour later Chance was seated at a desk in an office that was three or four times bigger than his last one. It was fully and tastefully furnished with a mix of contemporary and classic pieces. The office was also fully equipped with a private resting area and bathroom.
In order to get to his office, visitors had to first make it past the receptionists on the first floor. If they made it to his floor, they still had to make it past another gatekeeper outside his office door. That gatekeeper was of course his assistant, Fait.
His own path to the office was made simpler by the private elevator that took him straight from the parking garage to the thirty-second floor where his office was.
At the moment he was reviewing the company's short and long range plans while waiting for Fait to take care of some insignificant employee matters. At least that is what she had called it. What exactly she meant by 'employee matters', he had no idea. She had set him up here with some paperwork and then he watched her petite frame disappear in a hurry.
For a so-called small publishing firm, nothing really seemed all that small. Mack definitely had downplayed just how well the company was doing. As Chance thumbed through the growth projections, every possible variable had been carefully taken into account.
Though ultimately Chance had lost Addison Enterprises, it wasn't because he was incompetent. He had managed to build his finance company from the ground up. It was only after his most recent expansion that everything fell to pieces. In hindsight he should have double and triple checked everything that he had been told.
And if he had been a little more focused on the social aspects of business, he may have learned the truth sooner. As soon as he had a proxy to send to parties and events, he withdrew almost entirely from the spotlight. He instead focused on finding ways to make the company grow stronger, faster. If his presence wasn't mandatory, he would send someone else. This gave his enemies and the traitors in his company countless opportunities to spread rumors and slander him mercilessly.
Even now he worried that his tattered reputation would have a negative impact on anything he touched. He didn't want to drag down any of the Lovewell companies with his name.
"Addison..." Fait's clear voice came through the intercom.
"Yes?"
"I've settled the matter I mentioned earlier. I wanted to know if you are finished going over the planning documents I gave you."
"I am. I've made a few notes of things that will need to be discussed with the board at the meeting next Tuesday and then with the investors on Thursday." He waited a moment but she didn't respond. "Fait, are you still there?"
Her mouth was hanging open in shock. She couldn't believe she just heard. There's no way he could understand the company so well so quickly. His notes wouldn't be significant enough to bring up to the board, right? And he actually checked his calendar?
Fait quickly recovered, "Hold on one moment please. I'll be in to collect them shortly so I can review your notes and adjust the agendas for the meetings if necessary."
Those last few words betrayed her. Chance already knew that she didn't quite believe in his abilities but it still hurt to hear her say it.
She stepped into his office with her usual cold unbothered expression.
"Here they are. The notes for the board are highlighted in yellow, the ones for the investors are blue, and if it concerns both then it should be green." He handed her a folder from the top of the stack she'd given him.
She picked up one of the documents and looked through it. Her eyes widened in shock as she read. Sure enough each note was clear, concise, considerable, and color coded.
"Also, can I see the arrangements being made for the anniversary celebration coming up in a couple of months? The firm should be celebrating fifteen years soon if I'm not mistaken."
She almost dropped the folder.
Chance watched her reactions and tried to suppress his smile. But when she looked up at him with a dazed expression, he couldn't stop a full grin from taking over his handsome face.
Now that he'd had a chance to clean up and rest, he was a decent looking man, not like a model or star athlete though. Just an average but pleasant looking sort of guy that you could find almost anywhere. His hazel eyes shined when he smiled and he had a small dimple on his left cheek.
Fait hadn't really paid any attention to him earlier because the situation she needed to handle was rather urgent. She had basically thrown some busy work his way and ran off. Now she was staring and her ears were turning red.
A flicker of light on his shirt caught her eye when he reached for another folder. Her eyebrows rose in amusement when she recognized what it was.
"Is that a unicorn?"