Page 41 of Fool Me Twice

Don raised his hands, doing what he could to quell the nervousness. “I understand the concerns that this brings up. I want to assure you, though, that the new owner is very impressed with our numbers and how we do things in general here. He’s not interested in tearing apart our framework.”

“I’ve heard that before,” someone behind me muttered.

I tried to smile, but it felt strained. My years at this job had been really good. It was a stable position, with a good proximity to my apartment and the best parts of Baltimore.

Yes, life wasn’t perfect. I often felt something was missing. Sometimes I attributed the empty hole to the lack of a family, but I also wondered if it was something else. Perhaps the excitement I was always chasing by traveling whenever I could.

My job gave me at least one thing to hold on to. If I didn’t have it, then who was I?

“In fact,” Don said. “The CEO of Alarçón Media International is here to meet everyone.”

I blinked. Wait a second. No way had he just said what I thought he had.

“Alarçón Media?” I asked out loud before I knew what I was doing.

“That’s right,” Don confirmed with a smile.

With my jaw hanging open, my boss crossed the room and opened the door that led to a side office. A tall, broad-shouldered hunk of a man walked into the boardroom, dimples flashing and his gaze coming to land right on me.

“Oh my God,” the lead makeup artist, Tina, breathed in appreciation.

Maddie clutched my arm. “Georgia. Isn’t that…”

“Yeah,” I whispered, unable to take my eyes off him. “Rodrigo.”

CHAPTER12

RODRIGO

Georgia stared back at me, her eyes wide and her mouth slightly ajar. For the first time since I’d taken it upon myself to research the station she worked at, doubt flickered through me.

Was she angry?

I stuffed down the doubt. If she was, she would soon be in a better mood once she learned how auspicious this move would be for her.

“Everyone,” Don said, “please welcome Rodrigo Alarçón.”

“Thank you, Don.” I shook his hand. “It’s a great pleasure to be here.”

The expressions in the room ranged from pleasant to apprehensive to downright aggressive. No matter. I would have everyone won over in no time.

Absorbing smaller companies was a part of what I did. I also prided myself on the empathy with which I approached the act. I had no intention of obliterating the smaller stations’ individual spirits. Instead, I sought to bolster and improve those unique characteristics.

The approach worked for everyone. In the end, we all made more money.

Smiling wide, I gave my fine-tuned speech on that exact approach. As I talked, the mood in the room shifted and became more welcoming. Everyone looked at me with excitement and openness.

Everyone except for Georgia.

She still stared at me as if she’d seen a ghost—a ghost who had stolen her sandwich.

The speech finished, I shook hands and met as many of the staff as I could. There wouldn’t be enough time to get to know everyone personally, but the assistant I’d brought would conduct interviews and compile portfolios on everyone. From there, we would decide how best to move forward.

Unlike with some mergers, I didn’t jump to firing staff. More often than not, I hired a business psychologist to help ensure everyone was getting what they needed and that we were all working toward the same goals.

“What are you doing here?” a familiar voice asked.

I’d gotten the first break in the last thirty minutes, and I turned on my heel to see exactly what I was expecting.