They looked at Gloria for confirmation, but she was still collecting the papers she’d dropped, scatterbrained and out of it, as always. Some of her hair had come loose from her bun, and her clothes were wrinkled and sweaty. Ryann frowned slightly, but Ted caught her attention again.

“You reamed them, Ryann.”

He was the only employee allowed to call her by her first name. They were relatively friendly, or at least he was—she didn’t like talking about herself at work or with colleagues, but she liked hearing about his life, which was far more colorful than her own. She opened her arms, surprising him, and after hesitating, he launched himself into the hug. They jumped up and down a few times, giggling and clutching each other before she remembered where and who she was and stopped.

Gloria had finally finished gathering what she’d dropped and deposited the messy, uneven pile on Ryann’s desk. Her annoyance at the unseemly sight must have shown, as Gloria paled again.

“You can leave now,” Ryann said, only just managing not to snap at her. “Please check with the girl in reception…” She didn’t remember her name. “Anyway, see if she has any messages for me.”

“Jessica,” Ted offered.

“Yes. Check with Jessica.”

Gloria dropped briefly into what seemed remarkably like a curtsey, before leaving them alone, closing the door much too loudly in her wake.

Ryann rolled her eyes. “I don’t know about her, Ted. She’s really not fitting in here.”

“Who, Gloria? She’s great! And I don’t just say that because I hired her. She’s efficient, a hard worker, and smart. You just don’t see her at her best.”

“Hmm.” Ryann walked over to her coffee and took a careful sip. “And why is that?”

Ted laughed. “You scare her.”

Ryann laughed. “I scare her? So I should want to keep her on?”

Ted shrugged. “Everyone here is scared of you, Ryann, even me, sometimes. Don’t pretend you don’t love it.”

Ryann lifted a shoulder, turning back to her desk. Behind it, the city shone in the morning light, surprisingly bright despite the thick cloud cover. She’d chosen this office suite entirely because of the view from this room. Ten years ago, she’d used her start-up money to rent this office and part of what was now the bullpen. As her business grew, it had taken up first this entire floor, then the next, then most of the next three floors. Over the years, various business partners and her board had suggested that she move her office to a bigger, more impressive room upstairs. She’d declined, happy to see this sight out her floor-to-ceiling windows for the rest of her career, however much she’d outgrown this space.