Cocky S.O.B. Read online

  Dad shuffles with his papers. He’s the president of the board and the majority shareholder in the company, so he runs the meetings with an iron fist.

  “First thing on the agenda,” he begins. The board members lean forward, drinking in his words. You don’t become a billionaire running the biggest snack company in the United States without demanding respect no matter where you are. “We have our annual team building day out. This year, we’ve decided to give paint balling a go. Nothing builds a team better than shooting each other with colorful balls.”

  Dad chuckles at his own joke. The rest of the room joins in a beat too late, but he doesn’t seem to notice.

  “We need to determine when, though. As you all know, the fall is a busy time of year for us. We’re unveiling a new fall product and a new winter product this year, so we need all hands-on deck. Today’s vote is to decide if we should hold the day out this year but, on a Saturday, so we don’t lose production day, or wait until January.”

  I think about the proposition. This season is busier than we expected because we usually only release one new product per half of the year. We decided to try two out this time, and we’re feeling the strain. The marketing department is struggling to finish with the fall branding so they can get a head start on winter. It’s already the end of September, so we need to get a move on.

  “I would like to open the room for discussion.”

  No one speaks. This is how it always goes with minor decisions. No one wants to make an argument either way. I sigh quietly. It always comes down to me.

  “I think we should go with a Saturday this year,” I say. “Because we’re so busy, it’ll be nice to break up the craziness with a day out. What if we planned it for the first weekend of November? That marks the end of our fall campaign and the start of our winter campaign. It’s a natural break point.”

  My father nods. “That’s a logical argument, son.”

  The rest of the board seems to agree. No one counters me, so my father puts it to a vote.

  “All those in favor of having our day out the first weekend of November, say aye.”

  The entire twelve-person board says “aye” and the motion passes. If my dad had a gavel, he’d slam it against the table. I’m honestly surprised he doesn’t.

  Dad moves on to a few other things we need to discuss, but my mind wanders. Outside the glass wall of the conference room, I have a perfect view of Jack’s new assistant. The curvy young woman is organizing her desk. Every time she leans forward to pick something up, her curly brown hair falls into her eyes and she has to push it back. It’s adorable.

  No, I tell myself. She’s not adorable.

  Except she is. I thought it the second she knocked on my door. If I hadn’t been so pissed about an email Jack sent me, I would’ve been nicer to her. I should probably apologize. I’ll have to find her later.

  She fiddles with another stack of papers. Jack should’ve cleaned up the mess Savannah left. It wasn’t even that Savannah left on bad terms, she was just kind of a slob. Organized chaos, she liked to call it. She could’ve put some effort in after Jack’s recommendation got her a programming position at his buddy’s tech company, but Melody is forced to clean up the mess.

  In front of my office, Emma keeps taking cautious glances towards Melody. Emma is always hesitant to accept newcomers to the executive floor. She has been my assistant for almost two years now, and she has seen Jack blow through at least five people in that time. Some left for new jobs, but a couple couldn’t take the workload. I don’t blame them. Making new spreadsheets out of a bunch of old spreadsheets is the most boring job I can think of.

  “The last thing on our schedule today is a proposal from Cameron,” Dad says, pulling me from my daydream. “Please share your proposal with the board.”

  I nod and stand. Walking around the table, I hand out copies of my ten-page proposal. “This is just a preliminary report,” I explain as I give each person their bound copy. “I have a longer version to go over should we decide to move forward.”

  Once everyone has the proposal, I stand in front of the projector screen. My presentation is already queued up thanks to Emma.

  “As you all know, Snax has prided itself on being a sustainable company. We do our part to encourage recycling and use as many renewable energy sources as we can. Our offices already run on seventy percent solar power.”

  My dad beams with pride. The green company is his child as much as Jack and I are.

  “However, our factories have not had the same success. We produce our snacks here in the United States, which is more than most companies can say, but we can do more than that. I am proposing that we install solar panels to power eighty percent of each factory before the end of next year.”

  The board looks stunned. Sheila nods encouragingly and Dad looks rapt, but everyone else is glancing between Jack and me. I know exactly why. Jack has a habit of blocking every proposal I bring to the board. Which is why I’ve spent months ensuring this time, nothing he can say will stop my idea from going forward.

  “If you turn to page three,” I say, changing my slide. “You’ll see the value of solar energy. It’s completely renewable, unlike the current fuel-powered electricity we’re using at all but one of our factories. All the locations are far enough away from trees that we won’t need to cut anything down to make it work. The tops of the buildings are strong enough to hold the solar panels.”

  I switch to the next slide and have the board turn to page four. “Now, of course we need to talk about financials. It’ll be an investment at first. Installing the solar panels is on the expensive side. However, if you look on the next page, you’ll see that it’s worth the investment. We will make up for the cost in less than five years just on the money we save on energy. After that, we’ll be saving more than sixty percent on energy costs, which means our profits will go up.”

  I continue to go over the money, which Ali helped me with. We covered all of our bases, showing how the company value will increase after five years, and the tax breaks we’ll get for being even more environmentally conscious. When I’m done, the entire board looks stunned.

  My dad is smiling widely. “That was a great presentation, son. You really did your research on this. Why don’t we put it to a vote?”

  Jack smirks. “I have something to say first,” he says. I knew this was coming, but I’m not worried. My proposal was solid. “All of this looks great on paper, but it isn’t practical. We’re increasing our product output next year with a new snack each quarter, something we have never done. We can’t possibly have the solar panels done by the end of the year on top of the heavier production schedule.”

  “Then we get it done by the end of the following year, when things have leveled out. The deadline is flexible, but I want it done as soon as possible.”

  “The following year won’t work, either. There would be too much disruption in production to keep up with demand.”

  “Disruption would be minimal,” I counter.

  Jack sighs. “Minimal disruption is still too much. We can’t possibly justify this cost right now. Maybe in five years we can revisit the possibility, but I don’t think it would work right now. The cost of putting in the solar panels is too great when we’re trying to expand production.”

  Shit. Jack is sincere, and I can tell the board is buying it. He doesn’t need any data to back up his point. He just needs to say words and they’ll agree with him. Jack inherited our father’s charisma while I got our mother’s creativity.

  “Let us vote, then,” Dad says, sounding less confident. He gives me a sympathetic look. I often wonder if Dad wishes he only had one kid. Someone with Jack’s ability to woo a crowd and my ability to come up with good plans.

  “All those in favor of solar panels, say aye,” Dad says. The response is half-hearted. Only four people, including Sheila and Ali, say aye. The rest vote nay, and the motion fails.

  After the meeting is concluded, Dad pulls me aside. “I�
�m sorry, son. It was a good plan. Bring it back in a couple years and I think it’ll pass.”

  I nod and head back to my office. Emma smiles brightly.

  “Hey, boss, how’d it go?”

  I shake my head and her face falls.

  “No. That’s not possible. How?”

  I glance towards Jack’s office. He’s flirting with his beautiful new assistant. Not only did he win in the meeting, but he’s going to win over Melody, too. There’s no point in apologizing to her. She’ll forget about me before the day is over.

  “We’re going to get him,” Emma says, her voice bitter. “I’m determined.”

  I can’t help but chuckle. “I hope so, Emma. In the meantime, let’s go over these new ad campaigns. We finally got proofs for the new fall flavor, and I need a second opinion.”

  We disappear into my office, leaving my asshole brother and his gorgeous new assistant behind. I don’t need them. I can make changes to the company on my own, one ad at a time.

  3

  Melody

  I throw my purse on the couch and collapse into my well-worn chair. My brain is fried, but today was a good day.

  After the board meeting, Jack was in an even better mood. He took me out to lunch and went over the reports I’d need to compile for him. He also told me about the company and how it started. I remembered to take a notebook along, so I have three pages filled with information on Snax. This is why I took the job. I want to learn.

  Cameron, on the other hand, was even more of an asshole after the board meeting. He came over to my desk after lunch and at first, I thought he was going to apologize for being a jerk. Instead, he asked me for the most recent accounting report that Savannah had compiled. I emailed it to him, and he left without so much as a thank you.

  Jerk, I mutter under my breath. I am so glad I’m Jack’s assistant and not Cameron’s. I have no idea how Emma survives. The petite red head seems sweet. Way too sweet to be working for an ass like Cameron.

  My phone buzzes in my purse. It’s only five-thirty, but I’m tempted to ignore the call in favor of a glass of wine and some TV. I know exactly who it is and what it means.

  Because I know the buzzing won’t stop unless I answer, I dig my phone out. “Hey, Daniela.”

  “Were you not even going to call your best friend to go over your first day at work?”

  I laugh. “I’m so tired, D.”

  “How tired can you be? All you do is sit at a desk all day.”

  “Squinting at a computer screen,” I point out. “It can be exhausting.”

  I can practically hear Daniela rolling her eyes. “Some of us are on our feet for fourteen-hour shifts and we never complain.”

  Daniela is a doctor and she constantly complains about how much her feet hurt, but I don’t point this out. “Let’s grab a drink and I’ll tell you all about my day.”

  “That’s more like it. Meet you at the Pub?”

  I agree, and we hang up to get ready. The Pub is a seedy dive bar down the street from my house-turned-apartment-complex, where I’ve lived since I turned eighteen and started college. My parents live less than ten miles away, but moving into this house with Daniela and a few of our other friends felt like freedom. I try to forget the fact that my parents technically own the house and are my landlords. It makes me feel less independent.

  Daniela and I have been going to the Pub since we turned twenty-one. They have karaoke on Friday and Saturday, cheap drinks, and a DJ who plays any song we request.

  Daniela and I grew up in this suburb of Boston and we stuck around for college. She used to live in the apartment above mine, but she moved in with her boyfriend last year. Luckily, my upstairs neighbors are relatively quiet, so it hasn’t been too bad. It does suck that my best friend lives ten minutes away now. It makes it hard to have two am vent sessions like we used to. We’ve made it work, though.

  I throw on a t-shirt and jeans, the standard attire of anyone who ventures into the Pub on a Monday night, and wander down the street to meet Daniela. I get inside first, so I pick us a spot near the pool table and order us each a beer. Daniela comes in just as our favorite server, Claudia, slips the beer mugs on the table.

  Daniela pulls me in for a hug. “Dearest Melody, I have missed you.”

  I laugh against her shoulder. “You saw me yesterday.”

  I forced Daniela to come over and help me pick out my first day outfit. We settled on a pencil skirt and a long-sleeved, flowy blue blouse. I was glad for the sleeves, because despite the large windows, the office was chilly.

  Daniela takes her seat and a long sip of her beer. “It’s been too long,” she finally says. “Now update me. How was your first day?”

  My face breaks out into a smile. “It was amazing, D. I got to tour the building and organize my desk.”

  Daniela scoffs. “Only a nerd like you would be excited about organizing.”

  I push her shoulder playfully. “Shut up. I also talked with Jack a lot about what I’ll be doing for him. I learned about the accounting reports he wants me to make for him. It’s a lot of work, but I enjoyed it. The company is fascinating, Daniela. I can’t believe it literally started in a basement and now look at it!”

  “Wait, you called him Jack.” She wiggles her eyebrows at me. “Is he cute?”

  I take a sip of my beer. Is Jack cute? I guess, objectively, one could say that. He has those blue eyes and that messy dirty-blonde hair going for him. Plus, he’s super tall. I like a guy who is super tall.

  I didn’t find him attractive, though. Cameron, on the other hand…

  “Snax was started by James Colter, and now Jack and Cameron Colter are the co-CEOs. It gets confusing to try and call them all Mr. Colter, so Jack and Cameron go by their first names.”

  Daniela deflates. “Oh. I guess that makes sense.”

  I decide to throw her a bone. “Jack is okay looking. His younger brother Cameron is pretty hot.”

  Daniela perks up again. “Oh? Tell me about Cameron.”

  “Ugh, he’s an asshole.”

  She grins. “My favorite kind.”

  I go into the whole story of how I first met Cameron, all the way to our last interaction when I was leaving. The executive office technically closes down at five, but like any office, there are always people working late. Jack told me I could head out, even though he was staying, so I gathered up my things. Somehow, I ended up in an elevator with just Cameron.

  “So, did Jack make you want to quit yet?” he asked me, the sneer evident in his tone.

  I’ve never been one to back down from a fight, so I scoffed, and responded, “No, but I have no idea why your assistant sticks around. You’re insufferable.”

  Cameron seemed taken aback, but it didn’t matter, because the elevator opened up to the lobby level and we both got out. Cameron went out the front while I had to go down a set of stairs to the parking garage. The office is located just outside Boston and not too far from my house, but it’s slightly too far to walk and inconvenient for every public transportation line. I hate driving almost as much as I hate Cameron, so it sucks, but it’s better than having no job at all I suppose.

  Daniela stares at me with wide eyes. “You and Cameron are in love with each other!”

  I laugh so hard I almost spill my beer. “How did you get love out of four terrible conversations?”

  “Come on, the tension is so there.”

  I shake my head. “You’re making that up in your head,” I assure her. “Cameron is the worst. Jack is way better. He’s nice and friendly to all his employees and he bought me lunch.”

  “So, you like Jack?”

  “I don’t like either of them!” I say, exasperated. “I like Jack as a boss. You know I can’t date anyone from work.”

  She rolls her eyes. “A stupid rule.”

  “A sanity-preserving rule.”

  “Whatever. You know, I’d be happy to hook you up with someone from work.”

  I slouch down in my seat. Daniela wor
ks at a children’s hospital in Boston. She’s a doctor surrounded by a ton of other doctors, many of whom are hot. I went to their Christmas party last year and was amazed by how attractive the hospital staff was. But I was in a relationship then, so it didn’t matter.

  It’s tempting to let Daniela set me up. She’s been trying since I broke up with… the last guy I dated. It’s been six months, so I should be ready, but it’s hard to put yourself back out there after a four-year relationship fails.

  “I don’t think so,” I say.

  “Come on, Melody. You need to get under someone else. Xander is awesome, and he asked me about you after the party last year. He’d be totally into it.”

  I sigh. “I don’t want you to set me up on a blind date.”

  “It’s not a blind date if you’ve met!”

  “I don’t remember a Xander.”

  “He’s the pediatric surgeon. With the slight beard that he shaves off every morning only to grow it back by the end of shift.”

  I nod, remembering him. I did think he was cute, but I still don’t think I’m ready. “I’ll pass. Maybe you should date him?”

  Daniela laughs. “George is open to a lot of things, but our relationship is very much closed to new members.”

  “How is George? I haven’t seen him in forever.”

  “Still dissecting brains,” she says. Daniela met her boyfriend, George, in medical school. He is studying to be a brain surgeon while she opted to stick with just regular old doctor for kids. “He’s a constant ball of stress, but I love him.”

  “Explains why it’s been a while,” I say. “Can we all get together soon?”

  “I’ll see if he can steal away this weekend,” Daniela promised. “But you know he’ll be at the Halloween party.”