Satisfaction blooms in my chest. I may not be Mr. Congeniality, but I’m not the heartless bastard the media portrays me to be.
“Triada offers the highest starting salaries in the city, a damn good benefits package, and plenty of opportunity for advancement. What more could a person want?”
It’s a rhetorical question. We both know I don’t actually expect an answer, but I’ll be damned if she doesn’t give me one anyway.
“You’re right,” she says quietly. “Triada offers a competitive compensation package. It’s why I took the job when Miles offered it to me. But not everyone is motivated by money. Employees want to feel good about what they do, and more importantly, they want to feel valued and appreciated.”
“I thought that’s why we gave out annual bonuses,” I deadpan, in a piss-poor attempt to lighten the mood. Scarlett doesn’t laugh, though. Hell, she doesn’t even crack a smile.So much for levity.“Do you honestly think a Valentine’s Day social will make people feel valued and appreciated?”
“It’s a start,” she says with far too much optimism.
“Are you sure about that?” I rub my temples, where a dull throb has taken up permanent residence. “Because from where I’m sitting, this social feels like a sexual harassment lawsuit just waiting to happen.” I sit up straighter and reach for my phone. “Maybe I should call HR.”
Scarlett snorts—actually snorts—and rolls her eyes. “Quit being so dramatic.”
“No one has ever called me dramatic.” I hit her with a raised eyebrow of my own. Two can play at this game. Scarlett Evans doesn’t have the market cornered on the emotive eyebrow.
Her lips quiver before breaking into a radiant smile. “Would you feel better if we called it a networking event?”
“A Valentine’s Day networking event? Even I know that doesn’t quite have the same ring to it.” I shake my head. Might as well own my confusion. “I don’t get it. What’s the point of a Valentine’s social, anyway?”
“Oh, you know, just a little thing called fun. Surely you’ve heard of it?”
She laughs, and though it’s a far cry from the husky sound she made when bantering with Miles on Friday—yes, I noticed—I’ll take it.
“The point of a Valentine’s social is to create an environment of inclusion. Do you have any idea how demoralizing it is to be the only single person in the office on Valentine’s Day?”
“We have over three thousand employees. I’m sure we have more than one lonely soul.”
“Exactly!” she says, completely missing my sarcasm. “Being single sucks when everyone around you is getting bombarded with flowers and cards and balloons all day. Why should couples get to have all the fun? We should celebrate love in all its forms.”
“If you’re about to suggest we exchange valentines like elementary school children, I’m out.”
There are some lines even I won’t cross.
“That’s not a bad idea.” She taps her chin thoughtfully, as if seriously considering it.
“And people wonder why I hate Valentine’s Day,” I grumble, fully aware I sound like a petulant child. “Why am I the only one who understands it’s a bullshit commercial holiday created by card companies and chocolate shops, and that it perpetuates heartbreak and unrealistic expectations?”
“Are you being serious right now?” she demands, a look of incredulity on her face. “Or do you just hate everything?”
I flash her a rarely used smile the tabloids have dubbedwolfish. “I don’t hate everything. Just suggestion boxes, made-up holidays, and porcelain dolls because they’re creepy as hell.”
“Porcelain dolls?”
“It’s a long story.” One I’d rather not revisit.
“You know what? It doesn’t matter. I’ll give you the creepy dolls, but Valentine’s Day isn’t about commerce. It’s about love and romance and letting the people around you know how you feel about them. Jonathan said he got five floral arrangements last year.Five!”
“No way.” I’d remember the reception area being overrun with flowers if that were a true story.
Now who’s being an optimist?
“Oh, yeah. And Phil, down in security, his wife sent him a singing telegram. It was the sweetest thing ever. I popped in from the coffee cart to watch. The performer sang the most beautiful rendition of ‘Can’t Take My Eyes Off You.’”
Christ. She looks like she’s about to swoon just talking about it.
I suppress a shudder. “That sounds…awful.”
