Stepping out of the heat felt great. It was so bad out there I swore I could hear the concrete sizzling.

  I pushed open the office door and immediately knew something was wrong.

  “You’re late,” Ashley said, stepping into view.

  “How long have you been standing there waiting for me?” I asked, even though I knew damn well I was half an hour late.

  “How late are you?” she said, not even bothering to pretend she didn’t hear the question. The stare she gave me was basically a “shut up.”

  “Point taken,” I said, raising my hands. No point arguing with Ashley — it’s like talking to my mom.

  I let her lead me to where my desk used to be.

  Walking through the office, I could tell something was wrong immediately. The desks used to be in rows. Now they looked like someone tried to summon a demon using corporate furniture.

  “So… what’s going on?” I said, speed-walking to keep up with Ashley.

  She shot me a smug little smirk over her shoulder.

  “You’ll see.”

  Her long amber hair cut through the air like a warning sign.

  Great. I hate when she gets cryptic. There’s no reading her. She smiles like she knows my credit score.

  “Ashley, why are there three people crowded around my desk?” I said as we rounded the corner.

  Only one of them was familiar.

  Danny.

  He’s been on this floor long enough to qualify as a permanent fixture.

  The other two?

  No idea who they were, but they already looked disappointed in me.

  Or, well — where my desk used to be.

  I dropped into my sad little purple chair. Why is everything in this office purple? Who decided that was our brand? Sadness?

  Before Ashley even opened her mouth, the only girl in the group spoke up.

  “So this is him, huh?”

  She looked me up and down like a frat dude calculating cup size.

  “Don’t mind her,” Ashley said, hand landing on my shoulder. “She’s just a little competitive.”

  “I don’t know what we’re competing in,” I said, “but if it’s size, I’m tapping out early.”

  Ashley froze.

  The girl blinked.

  Danny tried not to choke on his coffee.

  The silence felt like it went on for an eternity.

  “…Soooooo why are you guys huddled around my desk like frat boys around a bed on Halloween?”

  This time I heard Danny actually choke on his coffee.

  This content has been unlawfully taken from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere.

  Ashley grabbed the bridge of her nose.

  “What is wrong with you?”

  The girl was still staring at me blankly, like she was waiting for me to explode.

  “What? What’d I do? You know what, Ash — I think you need to lighten up,” I said, making a desperate attempt to salvage this sinking ship.

  Her eyes snapped to mine.

  “Never call me that again.”

  Point taken.

  Danny snorted again.

  I shot him a glare like, really? Whose side are you on?

  I sank deeper into my chair.

  “Well, anyway,” Ashley said with a long sigh, “with that god-awful first impression out of the way… let’s introduce ourselves.”

  Danny took a large step forward.

  “Hey, guys. I’m Danny. I’ve been on this floor for about three years, so if you need help, just ask.”

  Then he took a large step back to where he’d been standing, like he was afraid he’d said too much.

  “Sheesh. Is it my turn yet?”

  The loud girl started before Danny could even finish stepping back.

  “Yeah, yeah. Fine. Go,” Ashley said, waving her off.

  The girl planted her feet and struck a power stance, hands firmly on her hips.

  “I’m Sara.”

  She somehow managed to get loud just saying that.

  Ashley sighed. “Anything else before we continue?”

  Sara shot her a glare — which probably wasn’t the best move on her first day — then stepped back into place without another word.

  Ashley glanced at me.

  “Take those off.”

  “Take what off?”

  “Don’t play dumb. The sunglasses.”

  I reached up toward my face.

  Oh.

  I’d been wearing sunglasses. No wonder everything looked sadder than usual.

  I grabbed the glasses off my face and tossed them onto my desk, taking the opportunity to sneak a lollipop.

  Ew. Grape. There’s no winning.

  Last was the quiet guy in the back.

  He took Danny’s lead — thank the Lord — and stepped forward, farther than Danny had, actually.

  “My name’s David,” he said. “One day, I’m going to own this company.”

  And just like that, he retreated back to where he started.

  You know what I say — shoot for the stars and sleep on the road.

  Ashley looked at me.

  Then she kept looking at me.

  Okay. This was getting weird.

  She slammed the outside of her foot into my chair.

  “Go,” she grunted.

  “Okay, fine,” I said, getting to my feet and flattening out my pants. Can’t look too bad, you know. Not that it matters much now.

  “My name’s Josh. I started working here last month. I don’t know where I’m going to go from here, but I can tell you I won’t be here long.”

  “Well, Josh, take good care of the team for me,” Ashley said, giving me a slap on the back.

  “What?” I said in disbelief.

  “Yeah. You’re the team lead, after all,” she said, flashing a corporate smile.

  “Me?” I asked, pointing my index finger toward my chest.

  “Yes, Josh. This is your team of four,” she said, clearly getting impatient.

  “Four? But there are only three of them,” I said.

  “Yeah, we’re working on filling your open spot. You should be getting the last person by the end of the week,” she said, already turning away.

  Out of the corner of my eye, I could see Sara fuming. Guess she doesn’t want the fourth guy either.

  “Yeah? And why does he get to be team lead?” she shouted.

  Yeah. You tell her, Sara.

  …Wait. This isn’t about the other person.

  Either way — yeah. You tell her.

  “Well, he’s the most qualified,” Ashley said, like it was the most obvious thing in the world.

  “I’m what now?” I said, trying to squeeze literally any more information out of that sentence.

  She glanced at her watch. “You know what? I don’t have time for this. Josh is your team lead now. Do your fucking jobs.”

  David stiffened.

  Sara sank back in her chair.

  Danny just smiled.

  “Well, if you heard mo — Ashley, get to work,” I said, dropping back into my chair and spinning to face my desk.