Free Off the Rails by Isabelle Drake

printouts.
    There was no fighting it. She could see where things were headed. “What exactly are forced calls?”
    Probably glad to be back in familiar territory, he brightened. “You won’t initiate the calls. Instead, I’ll program in all your numbers and provide you with a list of names that correspond with the numbers.”
    He leaned closer. “There are software programs that are designed to do that for a whole team at once, but Carly and the rest of the management team haven’t approved the budget yet.” He glanced over his shoulder, and continued softly, talking to Madison as if they were two equals discussing something they both had an interest in. “I think that’s going to change soon. I’ve got a plan to get Carly to change her mind,” he finished in a whisper, his eyes taking on a weird sheen. “She’s in for a little surprise.”
    For the first time since accepting the great opportunity of becoming a Heritage Mortgage team member, Madison felt a glimmer of interest and even a spark of curiosity.
    She followed his lead by scooting forward to whisper, “What kind of surprise?”
    “The kind she won’t be expecting.”
    “Oh. That kind.”
    “Anyway.” He leaned back, weakening their fragile, conspiratorial bond. “We’ll plan on starting the forced calls next week. That means you have three more days to get used to the current software and script.”
    Madison got herself used to the idea by forcing a smile and some false enthusiasm. “Okay.”
    Kevin got to his feet, glanced at the giant clock posted on the wall in the front of the room, and pointed at Madison’s monitor. “We were talking for about six and a half minutes. You might want to work through your break. To get your numbers up.”
    Might want to. But probably not. “Okay.” She flashed a grin bright enough to convince him she was on his side. “I’ll keep that in mind.”
    “Great. I’d say keep up the great job, like I usually do to other people, but, um…you’re not there yet. So…”
    With that half-ass statement, he strutted back to his corner cubicle. Only at Heritage Mortgage could a guy like that get away with a strut. No wonder he loved those team member printouts so much. Madison slid on her headset and turned back to her call sheet script, her fingers hovering over the keyboard.
    If she could catch young Scottie’s eye and hang on to him long enough to take him to the reunion…
    She admired the crisp collar of his shirt, those tan, pressed pants…
    Good dresser that he was, he probably wouldn’t even need any clothing management.
    “Madison?”
    Kevin.
    Again?
    Madison sat up so fast she bumped her call notebook, sending it sliding to the floor. The nicely organized pages of her bright blue Heritage Mortgage Customer Service Team Member binder slid out and, seeming to delight in their opportunity to be free, flipped around until they were completely integrated. Scrambling, she gathered them into her lap then sat, stupidly, clutching the pages and wishing she’d met Kevin somewhere, say at The Vine, where she could tell him what she really thought of him, and she and Tia could laugh about it.
    But alas, no, she could not. Instead, she had to smile and pretend to be interested in whatever he had on his mind.
    “Is there a problem? Did you not understand that your numbers aren’t very good?” Kevin waved his printouts in the air. “Do you need me to show you your call summaries?”
    “No, thank you,” she replied prettily.
    Kevin was not interested in pretty. He was interested in numbers.
     
    * * * *
     
    And so, things went on like that for the rest of the week. Each time Kevin wandered by, or sat in her guest chair, he reminded her of two things. One, her numbers were not very good at all ,and two, she’d better be ready, because starting next week she was going to have forced calls.
    Meanwhile, Madison learned an important fact. Carly was Carly Holmes, the boss of everything. And she made her mind up