336 The new director of marketing 2

"CEO Anderson discussed his vision at the event when you were introduced as the new director of marketing and there is a video of that speech on the company's site, in the section for events. However, if you need to hear this in person…" Foxy took the phone. "CEO Anderson… I apologize for interrupting you. Director Brooks is here to see you… No, she does not have an appointment… OK. I will let her know."

Foxy's gaze returned to Irene. "CEO Anderson will see you. He wants me to give you a reminder that you have ten minutes."

Irene smiled smugly and walked into the office with "Maximilian Anderson, CEO" on the door.

She saw that a person is in the executive chair, facing away from her.

"Thank you for finding the time to see me.", Irene said with a smile.

The chair turned and her smile fell.

Nathan didn't miss the change in Irene's expression. It appears that she is disappointed that the man in the chair is not Max.

"As I said, director Brooks, I have ten minutes. What is so urgent that you need to see me without an appointment?"

Irene snapped out of her daze. "You are the CEO?"

"Did you expect someone else?"

"The door says 'Maximilian Anderson'.", Irene pointed out the fact.

"My son is not well and until he recuperates, I will be filling in his spot."

"Not well? Must be serious."

When Irene asked things about Max at the event, Nathan assumed that she is friendly and curious about her boss. Ah, if he knew then that she is Max's ex-girlfriend, he would pay more attention. Now he can't be sure if she is polite or nosy. But he needs to make his stance clear.

"Director Brooks, we don't discuss private matters at work. Can we get to the point of why you are here?"

"I understand, CEO Anderson. I was surprised to see you instead of your son, that's it. I hope that his condition is not serious."

"If it's not serious, I would not be here. But he is on his way to a full recovery. Now… what did you want to talk to me about?"

"I was hoping to touch base related to your current marketing strategy with a goal to understand the situation and find out where improvements can be made."

Irene was not sure if he is scolding her or praising her. "It makes perfect sense. I was only hoping that we can revisit what we discussed previously. To freshen up my memory."

"I see. In that case, my secretary will get our plans and printouts from previous strategy meetings and she will organize them before sending them to you. If you are forgetting what we talked about, it will be more efficient if you have your own copy which you can revisit whenever you need it. I believe that you can manage the marketing, that is why I hired you, and if I made a mistake in that aspect, please, let me know. Your position is not an entry-level, and I hope you don't expect me to hold your hand while you do your job. I guarantee that I will read your weekly reports, and I look forward to hearing your status during our meeting of directors on Wednesdays. Unless it's something urgent and you can't handle it on your own, I don't expect that you will need a separate meeting with me, and I definitely don't anticipate these unannounced visits. Now, if there is nothing else… I need to prepare for the upcoming meetings."

Irene forced a smile, apologized, and left the office. She was in a daze while processing what happened.

"How was it?" Nathan asked Foxy who entered as soon as Irene disappeared down the hallway.

"She was arrogant."

Nathan bobbed his head. "Arrogance can be expected. At her age, she has an impressive resume. For that, some arrogance is excusable. I explained that I want her to focus on her job. Let's see if she can stick to it."

"She was not happy when she left your office. So, whatever you did got her agitated, but she was able to control yourself in front of you.", Foxy shared her thoughts.

"We need to keep pushing her buttons and see what happens when she loses her composure. If she is calm, we will not get anything.", Nathan said and exhaled. "It's a pity, really. Her resume is good, and the company would benefit from having her on board."

"It would be good if we alert Mr. Tarik of Irene."

Nathan disagreed. "He is working with her closely and if we tell him that we are suspecting Irene, he might slip. But tell him that he should keep an eye on her as a new employee and that he can talk to us if anything is amiss."

Foxy agreed.

Nathan rubbed his forehead. "If I knew that we will be in this situation, I would promote Mr. Tarik to a director."

"He is a good man, but he is lacking experience. Promoting him would be a bad move for the company." Foxy comforted Nathan. "Maybe he learns a few things next to Irene, and we can consider him for a promotion later."

Nathan wanted to respond, but his meeting notification interrupted him.

"I've got a meeting."

"Don't forget these…" Foxy handed him the folder from his desk.

"Thanks, Foxy. What would I do without you?" Nathan said while taking the folder he was supposed to read, but due to him thinking about Max and Irene barging in, he didn't get a chance to do so.

Foxy stifled a laugh and shouted after Nathan: "Max asks me the same thing. Since both of you agree that I'm indispensable, maybe I should ask for a raise."

Nathan shook his head and didn't respond.

In Irene's office…

Irene plopped on her chair and pursed her lips while thinking about what happened.

She arrived to work before 8 o'clock and got her employee badge and human resources provided her with material that every employee needs to go through.

She has Mr. Tarik as her assistant, and she has a secretary. The two of them offered to give Irene a tour of the common areas of the building, but she refused because she wanted to see Max.

Irene was confident that Max was dazed when he saw her at the event, but then at the dinner, he not only ignored her, but he also arranged for her to sit at the table furthest from him. She didn't get a chance to approach him without attracting attention, so she waited for today. But nothing seems to go as she planned.

First, she expected to see Max in the CEO's office and not Nathan. Nathan said that Max is not well, but what does that mean? It must be serious if Nathan returned to work because if it's something that would last a few days, the office could do without the CEO. Or, what if it's not a disease or injury, but instead they are onto her? That brings her to her second point… Why was Nathan so hostile? He was always friendly and encouraging and this Nathan accused her of forgetting things, suspected that she can't do her job well, told her not to come and see CEO unless it's necessary, and practically chased her away. What happened to his story how in the Alpha group they are all a big happy family?

No matter how she looks at this, something seems off.

Irene decided to focus on her work. Everything could be fine or not... in any case, she is a new hire and she needs to show some results because people are looking at her and waiting to see what marketing magic she can do.

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