Alexa scoffed. “An insider exposé? You mean that stuff that’s splashed all over Twitter and Instagram literally every single day?”
I smirked. “You think that’s inside stuff? Believe me, you have no idea what goes on in our lives. Possible change in C.E.O.s, an arranged marriage, secret underground dealings; there’s a lot to pick from.” I saw Alexa’s gears start to turn and I could damn near see dollar signs in her eyes. “Does that look of hunger mean you’re in?”
Behind Alexa, the office door opened and Harley walked in. His eyes landed on Alexa and he smiled broadly. “Well look who decided to pay us a visit. To what do we owe the honor?”
I closed in on her a little more with Harley behind her and nowhere for her to go. “Alexa was just telling me she was going to accept the position, isn’t that right?”
Alexa took one look at me and then turned on her heel, peeled around Harley and walked out of the office. I let out a torrid laugh. “She’ll be back for sure. I made her an offer she can’t refuse”
“Good,” Harley responded. “Then let the games begin.”
4
Alexa
I couldn’t keep myself from wondering what it would be like to be the woman responsible for exposing the Foxxes to the world. An insider exposé? I could sell it as a documentary, or a six part series on a streaming service; royalties for life. I would never have to worry about not making money a day in my life.
Still, working for Foxx Media is something I have specifically avoided. My relationship with Harley and Huxley was not good, and it seemed that all of the time since college had only made them super villain versions of themselves. They were still as arrogant and immature as I remembered, but now it was worse because they had some power to throw around.
“Take care.”
I looked over my shoulder as I passed by the black-haired assistant I’d stormed around to get into Huxley’s office to begin with. I felt bad now that I’d calmed down some. He was just doing his job, and I had to imagine working for Huxley was pretty terrible; he certainly didn’t need me barging in here making his day worse.
I walked over to his desk. “Hey, um, sorry about earlier. I know Huxley from college and he’s been bugging me nonstop so… Anyway, I guess you didn’t deserve for me to make your day worse.”
The assistant, who Huxley had called ‘Garrett’ gave me a small smile. “Thanks. Trust me, you’re not the first person who has stormed into his office. You are the first to apologize to me though.”
I nodded. “I imagine working for him is pretty hard, so I really am sorry.”
“Well, I accept your apology, but working for Huxley isn’t so bad. In fact, I really like it.” Garrett was multitasking as he spoke, filing some papers into a box on his desk. “Are you joining the team?”
“Wait. You like working for him?”
Garrett looked shocked. “Yeah. Everyone here loves their job. Working for the Foxxes is awesome.”
I leaned in a little closer to Garrett. “Are you being paid extra to lie?”
Garrett laughed. “No! Though I am paid pretty well. Huxley is a great boss, all of the Foxxes are. I mean sure, they push, but it’s only because they hire the best of the best and expect them to perform well. We typically do though because the perks to working here are next to none. Child care for working mothers, one at home work day a week, one free day off a month. Provided lunch and breakfast. Fully stocked break room, and not with cheap, bulk office stuff, but high end stuff. Last year, my mom fell and broke her hip and couldn’t take care of herself for close to a month. The Foxxes let me work from home the entire time she was out of commission and Huxley paid out of pocket for her surgery--said that the woman responsible for me deserved to be well taken care of.” Garrett’s cheeks turned a light shade of pink. “I mean, can you imagine? I’ve nearly married women who haven’t treated me that well. They’ve increased my standards. Really. I know they have kind of a crappy reputation, but ask anyone here and they’ll tell you the same thing. The Foxxes are good men.”
I didn’t know what to think. What Garrett was saying was in stark contrast to what I had experienced for myself. It wasn’t like I was basing my reputation off of just what I’d heard or seen, I knew Harley and Huxley. I’d experienced them for four years in school, and even the interaction I’d just had with them was consistent with what I knew to be true, not the men Garrett had just described. Was I missing something?