A Heart to Trust by A.L. Brooks (romantic books to read txt) 📗

Liv?” Jenny attempted a friendly smile. No point antagonizing the rivals on day one.

“Certainly not.” Olivia gave Jenny a withering look, then turned her attention to Derek.

Oh, good. Great start. Jenny slid an inch or so down in her seat.

“So.” Derek leaned forward and clasped his hands together. “I know you’ve all been briefed by HR, but I wanted to give you some more detail and clarity on how this whole thing’s going to go.”

Jenny schooled her features and focused on his face. Harper had told her not to panic, and to hear him out, and she knew that was all she could do, though her nerves were taut as bow strings.

“As you know, we’re looking to have three production assistants in place under the new structure. Some managers might take a look at this situation and take one of the easy options.” He faced Jenny and Maxwell. “Option one is to keep our own C&V staff and let go one of you based on seniority. Or performance.”

Jenny shifted in her chair and risked a quick glance at Maxwell; his mouth hung open.

Derek turned to Chrissy and Olivia. “Option two is to immediately let one of you go, because you’re on short-term contracts.”

Jenny blinked. Interesting.

“But I don’t work that way.” Derek held up his hands. “I firmly believe in people being given a job because they’re the best one for it. Contract status, age, and length of service are all irrelevant.” His weak smile offered Jenny little comfort. “So here’s what we’re gonna do. You’ll all continue working on your current projects. But I’ve also got a great new project lined up, and I want all four of you working on it together. I’ll assess how you work both individually and as a team, and at the end of this project I’ll make my decision on which one of you has to, unfortunately, leave us. The remaining three will then be given full time, permanent roles with C&V Inc.”

Silence met his announcement.

Jenny swallowed a couple of times as her tired brain worked to keep up. Four of them being assessed for three jobs. Three permanent jobs, which was something. But how the hell would this assessment process work? And what was this new project they had to work on together?

Maxwell looked equally confused, which helped.

“Any questions?” Derek asked.

“When can we start on this new project?” Chrissy’s voice was full of excitement. “I’m so looking forward to this challenge!”

Jenny avoided rolling her eyes, but only just. To her surprise, a brief scowl crossed Olivia’s face before she shut it down and returned to her impassive mask.

“I’ll send you all a meeting request for a project kick-off session and you’ll hear all about it then.” Derek turned to Jenny and Maxwell. “I think it would be best if you two moved over to our offices on Monday. I’ll get two workspaces freed up for you this afternoon. Please clear out your desks and get your stuff transferred over, okay?”

Jenny’s stomach rolled. More change. More upheaval. She wanted nothing more than for some genie to appear, snap their fingers, and roll back time to a point where C&V did not want to buy TC Productions. Why couldn’t things stay as they were? After the changes enforced on her by her parents ten years ago, she’d built herself a new life, a calm and predictable one. She liked it that way; the emotional turmoil of anything else wasn’t something she wanted to repeat.

And yet, here she was again, having big change imposed on her. She didn’t know if she wanted to cry or scream.

“Do you think you could handle some food now?” Adrienne said the minute Jenny walked back into her office. She leaned back in her chair and gazed at Jenny, her expression warm and understanding.

Jenny had expected to sit right down and talk everything through with Adrienne, so the question about food threw her a little. She was still numb from what Derek had said. She was also still trying to process both his words and her impression of him.

He’d come across as sincere, but she’d misread people before with her trusting nature, and maybe this was another one of those occasions.

She’d tried to talk to Maxwell after they’d left the meeting, but he’d muttered something about needing time to think and promptly left the office. I need to find him later, make sure he’s okay. Focusing back on Adrienne’s question, Jenny checked in with her body. Okay, head not beating like a drum anymore, stomach giving a hint of hunger. “Yeah, sure. Tell me what you’d like and I’ll go get it and—”

“How about you let me take you out? The day’s normal work has gone out the window, wouldn’t you say? And I think it would be good to talk about everything you’ve learned today. So I think we deserve a slightly longer break. Therefore, pizza from Gino’s might be in order.”

Jenny’s mood lifted considerably. “Seriously?”

“Absolutely. Come on. Get your purse and let’s get out of here.”

After the waiter showed them to their small table halfway down the diner, he passed them menus, took their drink orders, and left. Service at Gino’s was always performed with speed; their sodas were in front of them a minute later.

“So, what’s the deal?” Adrienne’s voice was quiet.

Jenny sighed, then sat forward in her seat and related to Adrienne all that had transpired in the meeting.

“Hm,” was all Adrienne said when she’d finished.

“Yeah.” Jenny fiddled with her soda glass. “You know what’s weird? The only thing I can focus on is that part about moving offices. More than anything, it brings home that today is the last day I work for you.” She looked at Adrienne, her mentor and friend, and swallowed the lump in her throat. “I mean, I’ve only ever worked for you. You’ve been incredibly supportive to me, and pushed me to learn and better myself. And literally in a couple hours that’ll all be gone and I’ll work