A Heart to Trust, A.L. Brooks [speed reading book TXT] 📗

and took the seat at the head of the table. “So, it’s good to all be together.” Once again, he wore a shirt size too small.

Doesn’t his wife see him before he leaves for work each day and tell him?

“Jenny, Maxwell, welcome.” He nodded in their direction. “And thank you all for being on board with what we need to achieve in the next few months.”

As if we had any choice. Olivia startled as she caught Jenny’s small eye roll. Perhaps the vacant-headed one wasn’t quite so unaware. Don’t be judgmental. She could almost hear Broderick saying it. What was it he’d said? Oh yes, she needed to find that version of her that used to like people. Well, thanks to Sally and the stunt she’d pulled back in Bristol, that seemed a hard task. Trusting work colleagues was something Olivia would need a lot of time to work on.

“So the first thing I want to do is apologize for the less-than-ideal working area you two were given.” Derek smiled ruefully.

Jenny straightened in her chair and fixed her gaze on Derek.

Olivia had to admit the steel in her expression was impressive.

“My bad,” Derek continued. “I assumed office services could come up with something better, even at this short notice. But trust me, they will before the end of the week.”

“Thanks.” Jenny flicked a glance at Olivia. “I’ve a couple more things I’d like to have on hand, so it would be good to have a desk a little bigger.”

Oh God, what else has she got to add to her already overly tacky and nerdy collection of ridiculous knickknacks? Still, the more she added, the more unprofessional she’d probably appear and the more professional Olivia would look in comparison. So, let her have her fun. All Olivia had to do was concentrate on her own work and make sure she left no doors open for anyone to sneak in and steal her thunder. There would be no repeat of Sally and Bristol.

“Sure, sure.” Derek clapped his hands together. “Okay, onwards. It’s time to talk about the project and what I expect from all of you over the coming weeks.”

Olivia sat forward, picked up her pen and notebook, and gave Derek her full attention.

Oh God, I bet she sat at the front of the class throughout school, didn’t she? Ugh. Jenny mentally shook her head and tore her gaze away from Miss Uptight across the table. What is it about her that keeps making me want to be so snarky? Is it the stick up her ass or the holier-than-thou look she wears all the time?

Jenny forced herself to concentrate on Derek and what he’d said. Wasting her energy on trying to figure out Olivia’s problem wouldn’t get her anywhere in the fight for her job.

“So, the project we’ve lined up is something we’ve been working on for some time. But now it’s at a point where you can jump on board and help push things along.” Derek leaned forward. “Its in-house name is Project Catwalk. It’s part of a televised charity gala that will be broadcast live on Saturday, December 23. C&V has overall production responsibility, but we’ve subcontracted some segments. You don’t need to worry about those. What I want you to focus on is our main contribution to the event.”

Across the table Olivia had written “Project Catwalk” in large letters across the top of a fresh page in her notebook and underlined it. Twice.

Jenny wanted to laugh.

“We’re running a fashion show but with a difference,” Derek continued. “Instead of a single presenter introducing the models and what they’re wearing, we’ve lined up twelve top sportsmen, each of whom will present one model. The TV audience will phone in and vote on their favorite duo, pledging a minimum of five dollars to our charity pot. The audience who are in the room will also be able to pledge and vote, but their minimum will be one hundred dollars.” He smiled. “Of course, we expect them to pledge a hell of a lot more than that, given they’re all going to be very rich and famous.”

“I love this!” Chrissy gushed.

Derek grinned. “Yeah, we’re pretty proud of it.”

“Which charities will benefit?” Olivia’s expression was completely neutral.

“We have a variety. Some for the homeless, some for veterans, some for animals. All the things that pull at the heartstrings around Christmas time.” Derek smirked.

Jenny couldn’t help the grimace that twisted her mouth; his cynicism turned her stomach.

“Jenny?” Derek narrowed his gaze as he looked directly at her.

Jenny plastered a fake smile on her face. “Yes?”

“Problem?”

Feigning confusion, she said, “No?”

He stared at her for a moment. “Okay. Any more questions?” When no one said anything, he gathered his papers. “Great. You’ll receive the production packs later today outlining all the details of location, people, timings. Your tasks will focus on location services, planning transport for both people and equipment, and generally doing anything I tell you to. Understood?”

All four heads nodded, but no one said a word.

Derek stood. “We’ll meet twice a week, but I expect you to keep me updated with progress. And as soon as you hit an issue, I want to hear about it.” He looked around at them all. “We’re on a tight timeframe, so don’t try to fix something that isn’t yours to fix. Got it?” His tone brooked no arguments.

Jenny’s heart sank—Derek’s working style certainly didn’t compare to Adrienne’s. She rubbed at her chin and watched as he strode out of the room. He’d been nice as pie about the desk situation, then treated them all as glorified office juniors. Which side of him was real?

Adrienne had always pushed Jenny to learn new things, improve the skills she had, and contribute much more than just photocopying and coffee making. If Derek was one of those production managers who wanted her to do nothing more than be a taxi for overpaid stars and pick up his dry cleaning, then maybe she didn’t want this job after all.

“Ready to