Agnes pursed her lips distastefully. “Good morning, Ms. Hall.”
“Oh, sorry. Good morning, Mrs. Morton,” Heather said as she approached them. “Good morning, Simon.”
His smile reassured her. “Good morning, Heather. How are you?” He stared at her, his eyes lingering on her mouth in a way that made her blush furiously.
A girlish laugh escaped her throat, which made Agnes scowl.
Heather cringed inwardly. She really wasn’t making the best impression right now with her reaction to him, but seeing Simon this early in the morning was an unexpected but welcome surprise. Working in the media department was great, but she had to admit that she missed working with him. Moving departments had been her decision; the only chance she’d get to actually see him during the day was at lunch time, if ever.
“Please, have a seat.” Agnes gestured to the empty seat across from her.
She sank down into the plush chair and clasped her hands in apprehension.
“I’d like to thank you for coming so early and on such short notice,” Agnes said. “My assistant will be bringing some refreshments soon, so why don’t we get right to it?”
“What’s this about?” Heather asked.
“I’d like to discuss your promotion,” Agnes answered. “Now that you’ve signed your renewed contract, you’ll be working here on a more permanent basis.”
Heather gasped in delighted surprise. “Really? You mean my trial is over?”
Agnes nodded. “You’re now going to be working at Dover on a permanent basis. Congratulations.”
Relief flooded her. After all the craziness she had been through while working at Dover, she was finally getting the chance to stay on. Despite the media finding out about her relationship with Simon, and despite being accused of spying on the company, her job was finally secure. “Thank you so much.”
“Now, I’d like to discuss what your new position is going to be,” Agnes said. “You’ll still be working with media, but the board hopes you’ll take on the role of Simon’s new media relations assistant and spokeswoman.”
“What?” Simon asked in shock. “What the hell is going on here, Agnes? I thought we were here to give Heather the good news about getting a permanent position. I don’t need a media assistant.”
“Yes, you do,” Agnes insisted. “And may I remind you that you promised to be friendlier to the media?”
“I said I’d consider being friendlier to the media,” he ground out.
Agnes motioned to Heather. “This is what that consideration looks like. If you won’t play nice with the press, at least you’ll have a spokeswoman to do that for you. Besides, part of Heather’s new job is to show you the ropes with the media. By time she’s done with you, I’m sure you’ll be so well versed in media relations that you’ll full on agree to be friendlier to the press.”
“No, absolutely not—”
“I’d love to hear your ideas, Ms. Hall,” Agnes continued, totally ignoring him. “Dover has gone through a lot recently, and we need to keep press attention as positive as we can.”
“Well...” Heather paused, trying to take in the reality of her new role. When she accepted the promotion, she hadn’t anticipated that she’d end up working with Simon again. “If Simon doesn’t want this, I don’t want to do a job he isn’t comfortable with.”
“This isn’t up to Simon,” Agnes said. “It’s up to you, Ms. Hall. If you don’t want to work with Simon, we’ll absolutely grant you that wish. But the board really thinks you’ve got a unique talent for dealing with the media. We already know how much the press loves you. If it’s not you, it will be someone else.”
“Really? The board took that much notice of my work?” she asked, skeptical.
“Truth be told, it was Linda Schaffer who talked you up,” Agnes said. “But Simon did say Linda could represent him in his absence.”
Simon groaned. “I should have known the board would get its way somehow.”
“What are you complaining about?” Agnes asked. “This is good for Heather’s career, which is what you wanted.”