Cupid is an author

Chapter 4

The group had been working together for three months now. Fitz realizes Olivia is as good as Cyrus said she was. The new framework for the divisions has been written and he was sure it would easily meld together.

The others had called it a day about 9pm but he wanted to work on refining some of the stickier points that he knew could cause problems he asked Olivia to stick around so they could brainstorm some ideas.

The two seemed to be able to end the other's sentences and anticipate the ideas the other one was thinking. Neither one realized it was after midnight until Olivia's alarm sounded and Fitz looked at the clock.

"an alarm at 1am Ms. Pope?"

"yes, I usually take a nap after work, so I set the alarm."

"for 1am, I hope you are not jogging in the middle of the night."

"nope"

"so why the alarm?'

Olivia could not tell him it's usually the time she writes. The house is quiet, her head is clear, so she usually writes until about 3am, take a 3-hour nap and she is good for the day. With the new job her writing schedule was off, long gone was her amount of down time. Now her day began at 7am and usually did not end until 7pm, sometimes later. The one saving grace the new innovations being put in place provided her with time to write on planes and in hotel rooms. She seemed to be writing this book faster than the others. Maybe because of her heroine in this story. She based her on Abby, red hair and all. This heroine was in love with her boss and her infatuation with Fitz gave her plenty of material so the book seemed to write itself. She had to be careful and watch how much real information she included. No one must suspect she is C B. Strong.

"It's late, I'll drop you off."

"no need, Huck is waiting."

"Huck is still here?"

"Yes, he always makes sure Abby and I get home. "

"that's great…...how long have you know him?"

"since middle school, he lived across the street from my aunt. One day his dog tore up my aunts prized flower bed …... his job was to put it back as good as new. While he was in the garage he saw some of the old electronic equipment. My uncle him saw fiddling with some of the knobs of a radio that had not worked in years when he came home a few days later that broken radio was blasting in the garage. My uncle gave Huck everything electronic in the garage, broken and working. Next time I saw him he was writing computer codes… He just has a knack or ones and zeros. He was going to enlist but my aunt, a high school teacher, convinced him to go college. When I came back from Yale I got him an interview with Verna and the rest is history. We finally managed to be assigned to the same department when I started working for Cyrus."

"and Abby and Harrison?"

"Met both at Yale, Harrison was a TA in one of our classes. One day Abby brought some cookies to class and shared them … that starter our friendship. Harrison had his own apartment …Abby could cook … I took good notes …. we all became friends."

"We kept Harrison fed… he helped with our classes, told us what professors we should take and kept the losers away from us. I told them about Grant Enterprise, they interviewed and got the job."

"you are a one woman hiring crew Ms. Pope."

"maybe so, but I consider myself a great one woman hiring crew."

"'You guys work so well together."

"We are friends…...…we like each other…...…we all have great work ethics and we all add something to the group. I am sure others would fit in but not as well. It's easy to get a job done when there isn't a need to repeat every instruction and recheck all the work. We all work well together because we expect the job to be done right. Quinn also works well with us. In a few years you will not be able to tell she was not with our group from the start."

"Your group makes my job easier. I don't recall one time when I needed information in a meeting and it was not part of the report."

"Harrison is a great fit for us. When we need a man for a presentation where some believe a woman's place is in the kitchen he fills in perfectly. Often he knows what questions to ask so we can streamline our reports and get more done in less time."

"Yes, I heard about Harrison …. he took on one of the senior executives who thought you were too young and inexperienced for the job. I heard he straightened that executive out and there haven't been any other such comments. I must say as CEO I don't gossip so anything I pass on is a fact."

"How did your group all get assigned to work for Cyrus…did you ask for them?"

"Mr. Grant everyone, all four of us, got our jobs on merit."

"I'm sorry Ms. Pope I was just kidding…...I know Cyrus would not hire anyone to work with his group unless they earned their position."

"Verna hired Abby as a summer temporary worker upon my referral while she was at Yale …... She saw how well we worked together so when she graduated Abby was offered a job. She and I both attended Columbia as graduate students and were assigned to work on projects together both on site and at other locations. When we graduated we were both assigned to work for Cyrus on a recommendation from Verna. Cyrus jokingly asked if there were any more like us at home, so I told him about Harrison and Huck…...they joined his group. Now we work together, party together …. we watch out for each other."

"Do you guys live together?"

"Abby and I did for a while but now we have our own apartments in an old brownstone that has been converted into four apartments…. Harrison lives two houses down …..., Huck across the street. We are friends but we all need our private space. We spend a lot of time together because we like each other. We have breakfast together most Sunday mornings because Abby is an awesome cook. It's so easy to lose touch even working together. Harrison is like a big brother he has first say on all our male friends. Huck makes sure we are safe and that we get home ok when we work late. Harrison went with Abby earlier…. Huck waited for me."

Fitz was shocked at the ease they talked about her life and her friends. They were sitting and talking as though they had been friends forever and not short-term employer and employee.

"sleep in late tomorrow, we have completed as much as we can until we visit the divisions."

"if I were a man would you think the same way?", Mr. Grant

"if you were a two-headed ant and had accomplished as much as we have the last three months I would say the same thing."

"I'm sorrow, I guess I carry that female chip on my shoulder, it won't happen again."

"I understand, it's not easy being as young as you are and being as good as you are. Sometimes I forget you are so young and a woman."

Olivia looked over at him and smiled her brown eyes sparkling, "funny."

"then I get a whiff of your perfume."

"that's why it will remain Mr. Grant and Ms. Pope, too easy to forget "there is a big desk and a little desk and a door in between."

"are you quoting from Sabrina."

"no, I'm quoting from my grandmother."

'That's it, time to go, I've got a couple of chapters until I finish the middle book in the last trilogy by C.B. Strong. We've had a long night it will help me get to sleep. Have you read any of her work?"

"as you said, long night."

"you did not answer Ms. Pope."

Olivia never answered, she buzzed for Huck and turned and walked out the door.