A couple of days later, the Voight Detective Services office was a hive of activity. The computers and telephone equipment had arrived, and the I.T. company were on site working on installing it all. Erin was there to supervise, while Hank busied himself with putting together the office chairs and the desk for the reception area. Building flat pack furniture wasn't something he enjoyed at all, but he did happen to be good at it.
After finishing the desk, Hank went through to the canteen to grab a bottle of water from the refrigerator. Walking in there reminded him of Kalinda spending over half an hour cleaning the place for him – something that he had greatly appreciated, as had Erin when she had learned about it, although she had told him off for letting Kalinda do it.
That night had left Hank with some good memories, specifically Kalinda riding him while clad in a incredibly sexy leather attire. It had also left him with thoughts about their future. Kalinda's description of living somewhere warm and beautiful overseas, making money by owning a boat and running scuba charters from it appealed to him a lot. He pictured himself as the captain of the boat, while she handled the diving side of things. He pictured them owning a beachfront house with a stunning view to wake up to every morning. What better way could there be to enjoy semi-retirement?
The only problem was that it would mean moving away from Erin. Now that they were rebuilding their relationship, he felt like he didn't want to do that. It was something to think about over time, given that it would be at least a couple of years before he was ready to leave Voight Detective Services to Erin.
He looked at his watch. More immediately, any time now, he had Alexa Bliss showing up to see her new workplace. He hoped it would give him something akin to a second chance to make a first impression, since he had made himself look an asshole in the diner that day. Erin had made that perfectly clear, so his first act was going to be apologising to the feisty blonde who had impressed him enough by putting him in his place that he had decided to hire her on the spot.
As he left the canteen, Erin came over to him.
"How's it all going?" he asked her.
"Pretty well. As you can see, they're working on the cabling, and on setting up the server. That'll all going to take them the rest of today and into tomorrow, when they'll also get onto our desktop machines."
"Good," Hank said. "I've just finished putting the reception desk together. Hey, I want to talk to you about something Kalinda said to me."
She looked at him carefully. "Nothing bad I hope?"
"Oh, no. Not at all. We were talking and she asked me if this, Voight Detective Services, was my dream. I explained that I'm not much of a dreamer, then I asked what her dream is. She talked about living somewhere hot and beautiful, somewhere like Antigua maybe, where she would own a boat and run scuba charters from it. She used to be an instructor."
"Yeah, she talked about that the other night at dinner. So, are you telling me you're going to move away?" There was some defensiveness in her voice, which showed that she didn't want him to go. She wanted him around, to stay in her life. That meant a lot.
"No. I'm telling you it's something I've been giving some thought to. I don't want to move away from you, Erin. We've started over, and it's going very well. What I was going to ask you was how practical you'd think it would be for Kalinda and I to have a place overseas and live there for a couple of months a year, let's say during Chicago's winter. Not being around for that does sound good."
"Wouldn't work with Intelligence," was Erin's first comment. That was definitely true. Kalinda would have to quit policing to make that kind of schedule work. For that reason, and the fact that through the open door to the reception area he saw Alexa Bliss enter the building, Hank decided to park the subject.
"You're right, that wouldn't work. Don't worry, I'm not going to move away, that's a promise. Alexa's here. Want to come meet her with me?"
Erin's eyes twinkled with humour. "I think you should go by yourself, don't you? You've got some apologising to do. Come find me when you're ready."
"Right," he said, acknowledging that as the best approach. With that, he went through to the reception area. Alexa had shown up dressed smartly in black pants and boots, with a thick dark red coat on.
"Alexa, welcome," he said politely, wanting to get off to a positive start.
"Good morning. Thank you," she said uncertainly.
"First things first, I owe you an apology. I was an asshole that day at the diner. Don't know what I was thinking to be honest, and you were right to put me in my place. So, I'm sorry. What I'd like is to start over. Does that work for you?" He assumed it would, since she had taken the job. Still, it was the right thing to say.
She nodded her acceptance of the apology. "That works for me. Do I call you Mr Voight or Hank?"
"Hank is fine. How about I show you around. Obviously this is the reception area, where you'll be working. I've just finished putting the desk together."
"Want a hand to flip it over?"
The desk was sitting on its side, which Hank had found to be the easiest way of assembling it. He thought about saying he could ask one of the I.T. guys to help him, but thought better of it. Alexa came across as a no nonsense person, who clearly didn't have a problem with this kind of thing.
"Sure," he said, heading to one end of the desk. Alexa got the other end, and between them they easily lifted the desk and turned it the right way up. She might have been only five feet tall but she was stronger than she looked.
The tour of the building began. Hank showed Alexa around, including stopping for a proper introduction with Erin. Once Alexa had seen everywhere, she and Hank ended up back in his office. So far there was only chair in there, the one behind his desk, so they remained standing.
"Looks like the place is coming together fast," Alexa said with some admiration. The conversation that had accompanied the tour had thawed the ice between them. "When are you looking to have me start?"
"Monday, if possible?"
"I can do that," she said without needing to think about it.
"Good. Myself and Erin will be working then. Our other detective, Kim Burgess, will be starting the following week."
Alexa nodded. "I don't know anything about detective work, so you're going to have to train me if there's anything specific I need to be doing or asking clients. We didn't really have an interview, so you don't know much about me and I don't know much about you or the business. The way I figure it, you gave me the job because I stood up to you, and that makes me 'your kind of person'. And I took the job because although you seemed like an ass, I desperately needed full time work. Now you don't seem like such an ass after all at least, so I'm less apprehensive about working for you."
Hank nodded, signalling that he couldn't fault her assessment. He also liked the cards being on the table. "You're right, we didn't do a proper interview, so I didn't get to know you. It's a bit noisy in here today, so why don't we go grab a coffee and we can work on that? Erin will need to stay here. She's supervising."
"And doing a good job of it, it seems. Sure, we can go get coffee. I'd like to know more about the two of you and the company I've agreed to work for."
"After you," Hank said, motioning towards the door.
That night, with Erin out somewhere with Jay, Hank had invited Kalinda over to his place. He had sweetened the deal by cooking dinner – a lasagne that they were now eating at the dining table.
"Our new receptionist came by to check out the office today," he said.
"The one you offended?" Kalinda asked with a hint of amusement.
Hank went along with it. "That's the one. I gave her an apology, which I definitely owed her. Showed her around the place, then we went for coffee so that we could get to know each other a bit. After all, I didn't really interview her."
Kalinda finished her mouthful of food before speaking, well mannered as ever. "So what did you make of her?"
"She's a strong person who won't take any crap – exactly what I wanted in my receptionist. Comes with good admin experience. Aside from that, she seems like a good person who's going through a tough time in life. She was on maternity leave after having a son when the company she was working for went under, meaning her money stopped. Her husband works full time, but doesn't make enough to support them, so Alexa has been working two jobs only six months after giving birth. I think six months was what she said."
"Bloody hell," Kalinda said quietly. "And they're having to balance child care for a baby among all of that. I feel bad for them."
"Yes, me too. As she put, they're doing what they have to do to survive. Alexa having a stable, full time job with us, for more money than she currently makes, will help them. I'm pleased about that. Plus, as I said, she seems like she'll be good at the job I need to do, so I think I made the right hire."
Hank resumed eating, while Kalinda nodded her agreement. "I think you did too. You're a good man, Hank. A properly good man, and I'm proud of that."
He looked at her and acknowledged the compliment with a smile that felt a bit awkward. He wasn't especially good at receiving compliments.
"What's next then? For the company, I mean," she said, moving on.
"Setup work continues tomorrow, and Kim's going to come by to take a look around since it's her day off. But to answer your question the way you meant it, opening day is next. Monday is going to be the first business day for Voight Detective Services."
After drinking some of her wine, Kalinda gave him a smile that he found gorgeous. Her whole face lit up. "Terrific news. We'll have to do something in the evening to celebrate. I'll make plans."
"Not going to argue with that," Hank said happily.
A/N: Next time, Voight Detective Services opens for business. Will it be the final step on Hank's journey to healing?
