The Billionaire Wins the Game (7 page)

Amy was surprised to find she was
enjoying the evening, even with the earlier drama still in the back
of her mind. No one in the home made her feel inadequate that she
was wearing far less than dress clothes. Everyone there was
friendly and inviting. She was shocked by how many employees and
former employees of the company were at the party.

Amy observed how everyone was treated
like a part of the family. The things she’d read about the Anderson
family in the papers were all make believe, it appeared. They’d
been portrayed in every sort of scandal you could imagine but the
papers didn’t do justice to any of them. They were truly amazing
people.

Amy let go of her problems and even
forgot she was technically homeless at the moment. She was simply
having too much of a pleasant time. She ate great food and visited
with so many interesting people. She had no idea how late it was
getting until she was sitting comfortably in the swinging chair on
the back deck and noticed the party was starting to thin
out.

Her problems came crashing back to the
forefront of her mind. She didn’t have much money saved up so far.
She had her first few paychecks, which were impressive but that
money was supposed to be for the down payment on her new apartment.
If she dipped into those funds to stay at a motel it would take
longer to get into her place.

Oh well, she thought; she had no choice
but to do that. It just delayed her plans by a month or two. It was
no problem. She was so close to her goals that nothing was going to
stop her. In the large scheme of things it was a minor
setback.

“There you are Amy. I sit in this swing
quite a bit myself,” Joseph stated, startling her out of her
reverie. “The party has finally wound down so let’s step into my
office and take care of some business,” he continued on.

“Yes sir,” she replied. Her
first instinct was to panic. Was she going to get fired now that
Lucas had seen how she was living?
Please,
please don’t get fired
she repeated in her
head over and over again. Then she let logic step back in. He
wouldn’t invite her to the party only to fire her, would
he?

She would just remain calm, no matter
what happened and remember that she’d been through far worse things
than losing a job. No matter what happened she was going to hold
her head up high.

Amy followed Joseph through a maze of
hallways wondering how he didn’t get lost in the huge palace of a
home. There was so much artwork along the walls. She stopped in her
tracks when she came across one painting. It was a piece by her
favorite artist, Thomas Kinkaid. It looked like an
original.

It was one of her favorites, with a
beautiful cottage sitting right next to a stream. The painting was
so stunning. It looked as if the water was actually moving and the
lights in the cottage were on and beckoning you to come inside.
Whenever she saw that particular painting she would close her eyes
and imagine she was sitting on the front porch and watching her
worries drift away down the stream. She smiled at the appealing
thought, glad for seeing the beautiful painting at a moment in her
life when it was needed.

She missed Joseph’s smile at her look
of rapture from seeing at the painting. The more he was around Amy,
the more he knew he’d made the right decision. She wasn’t awed by
the million dollar statues, or fancy cars, she was impressed with
the real works of beauty. She really would make a great addition to
his family.

Amy snapped out of her reverie, mumbled
sorry and continued to follow Joseph into his home office. She’d
been in there once for her interview but had been far too nervous
to really look around.

It was actually very inviting. There
was a huge fireplace that was crackling at the moment and a country
theme to it. There were several comfortable chairs near the fire
and a floor to ceiling bookcase lining one huge wall. She wandered
over to the bookcase and found some of her favorite titles on
it.

She caught herself just in time, before
grabbing one of the copies off the shelf. She could imagine herself
curled up on the sofa, by the fire, reading until she fell asleep.
That sounded just about perfect right then.

Joseph sat down in one of the chairs
near the fireplace and waited for her to look around. She finally
remembered where she was and came to sit by him. The door opened
again and Lucas walked in. Her eyes drank him up before she could
stop herself.

She wouldn’t fall for her boss. She
repeated that to herself that about ten times. She finally gained
the willpower to look away and focused on Joseph. She was very
unnerved by the power Lucas had over her. She would certainly not
let him know he could bring her to her knees easily with one more
touch.

“Amy, we like to take care of our
employees. Our philosophy is that if you treat your employees well
then they will remain happy in their job and therefore be happier
in their lives. It all comes around full circle. A happy employee
equals happy clients,” Joseph began.

“I’m very happy in my job sir. I know
that I’m struggling a bit with the computer system but if you just
give me a little bit more time I’ll have it down. I’m more than
willing to work weekends and stay late so I’m not using your time
while learning the system,” Amy started defending her job skills
immediately.

“You’re doing an amazing job dear. I
have no complaints with how your work performance is going. Esther
and Lucas have both said you are a real asset to the team. This
conversation is not about any work problems,” he comforted
her.

Amy took a deep breath of
relief.

“I brought you in here to let you know
about your benefits while working for the company. You have been
with us three months already and you’re a valued employee,” he
said

Amy had been worried that she may be
losing her job but he only wanted to talk about her benefits. She
was so excited she almost jumped up and hugged him. The relief
coursing through her at not only not having her job in jeopardy but
getting her benefits was making it hard for her to stand
still.

“Mr. Anderson, thank you so much for
your confidence in me. It truly means a lot. I promise to not let
you down and I’ll still be spending all of my extra time to make
sure I’m giving you a hundred percent. This is the best job I
could’ve ever hoped to get, especially right out of college,” she
said with real gratitude.

Joseph chuckled at the gratitude in her
voice. “Amy, you’re a breath of fresh air, but wouldn’t you like to
hear about your benefits before thanking me so much?” he
asked.

“Yes, of course sir,” she
said.

“You know that officially I’m retired
now and my son runs the company. He’s doing a damn fine job of it
but he asked me from the beginning if I would still handle all the
personnel type issues. He has a lot on his plate already and this
is something I truly enjoy, as he knows well.”

“Our company takes great pride in
offering more benefits than your average corporation. I don’t
disclose this to new hires because, first of all I want them to
take the position because they want to work here and second of all,
if that employee doesn’t work out then no harm caused,” he
continued on.

“We take care of all employees, from
the top of the chain of command all the way to the bottom. Our
executive positions get a few added bonuses though, which is what
you are Amy. You work for the president of the company and
therefore we want to make sure you’re extra taken care of.” Amy was
a little bit confused as he continued talking. What could they
possibly give her that was better than medical benefits? She had no
idea.

“First of all you’ll receive a company
car. Lucas will take you down to the dealership to pick it out
tomorrow. Esther’s favorite was always the Mercedes LX but you can
choose what fits you best. You’ll be doing a lot of driving for us
and we want you to enjoy the ride,” he smiled.

She got a car! She was so excited. She
couldn’t believe she got a company car. Did she get to take it home
with her? She wanted to ask but was afraid that it would sound bad.
Her forehead wrinkled a little bit as she was warring with herself
on whether she should ask that or not.

“This will be your vehicle for personal
use as well,” he said as if reading her mind. “Unless there are
performance issues with the vehicle, we trade them in every two
years. Safety’s a huge concern of ours and we don’t want you
breaking down on the side of the road somewhere,” he
added.

Was this company for real? She’d never
heard of a business being so good to its employees. She would treat
the vehicle like it was a newborn baby. She knew from her interview
she was expected to do a lot of errands but hadn’t really thought
about how she was supposed to get from point a to point b. She was
glad they were providing the transportation because some of the
things she was transporting were too risky to take a chance on the
subway with.

“Here’s your new telephone,” he said
handing it over to her with a piece of paper. “Your number’s on it.
You have unlimited minutes so you may also use this as your
personal cell and can turn off your other one. Communication’s key
to a good business and we need to be able to reach each other at
all times, well that’s except nighttime when work should be the
last thing on anybody’s mind,” he added with a laugh. “However,
unfortunately in the corporate world, time is forgotten and there
will be some very late nights and long weekends,” he added
sympathetically.

She already knew that as he’d told her
all about what was going to be expected of her in the job
interview. She had no issues with working hard. She would’ve been
willing to do it without all the added benefits but with them there
was nothing she wouldn’t do for the company.

“My dearest wife threw a couple of my
company phones out into the lake when we were on vacation. She
always told me that there was a time for work and then a time to
relax.” He added. Amy already thought the world of his wife. That
statement made her like the woman even more.

“Of course you’ll have the finest
medical insurance, which starts on Monday and all the other
policies, which I’ve listed here. You can read through them later.
They will help you to fall asleep,” he again chuckled.

“Now for the biggest benefit, which I
think is fitting considering your current situation, which Lucas
has filled me in on.” He added without any condemnation in his
voice. “All of our executive officers are offered housing. We have
a terrific apartment building that’s reserved for our company
personnel and visiting businessmen and woman. We do a lot of work
with people overseas and have found that they far prefer these
apartments to a hotel.”

“There’s low rent and all utilities are
included with that. Several of our board members stay in the
complex for years while saving up and then buying homes. There’s no
time limit on how long you stay. It’s yours for the duration of the
job. If you’re out on sick leave the apartment’s still yours. I
want you to feel completely at home and safe in your new
place.”

She had a feeling he knew a little bit
about her past. Of course he would know about her past. She figured
he did extensive background checks on people he had working for his
company, especially at such a high level.

“Your new apartment will be ready to
move into by Monday. We had to do some painting and cleanup as
that’s where Esther was living for quite some time,” he added. “I
think you’ll find it very comfortable. It’s already furnished but
Lucas will take you out tomorrow and you can pick your own
decorations. Your things have already been moved in, except for a
few clothes, which are sitting over by the door for you to use
tomorrow.”

“Well, that takes care of the business.
Do you have any questions for me?” he finished.

Amy was stunned. She didn’t know what
to say. She had her own apartment. Her own apartment! It was even
furnished. She would have few bills. Could this really be happening
to her? She was so excited she forgot who she was for a moment and
jumped up, throwing her arms around Joseph. “Thank you so much,”
she cried with enthusiasm.

Amy suddenly realized what she’d done
and how unprofessional it was of her and leapt back. “I’m sorry
about that Mr. Anderson. That was completely unprofessional. It’s
just that I never imagined any of those things could be a part of a
job and…” suddenly she choked up and couldn’t speak.

Joseph rose from the couch and pulled
her into a hug. “It’s alright dear. I never turn down a hug. You’re
a good person and highly intelligent. You earned all that you’re
receiving. Don’t forget that young lady.” He patted her back and
then pulled away.

“As for this weekend, I understand that
you don’t have a place to stay so I would like to offer you the
guest house here on the property. Now don’t shake your head at me.
We enjoy having people stay there. That’s why it’s called a guest
house. There’s no need for you to go stay in some hotel,” he said,
sounding like his son, leaving no room for argument.

“You look as if you’re about to fall
over so I’ll have Lucas walk you out there. I noticed that you were
eyeing the books. Would you like to take one with you to read this
evening?” he offered. Amy knew that there was no point in arguing
with the man, she would lose anyway.