Run, Girl (If You Can)

Packing up his life and moving into a simple apartment in one of the sketchier neighborhoods in Manhattan with three roommates hadn't been too difficult for Jeremy. He was used to bad neighborhoods. They didn't vary much from city to city.

He would have moved to one of the cheaper of the five boroughs if not for the fact that it would make commuting to work harder. Making a good impression was vital; he could not allow himself to be late. Ever. 

On his first day of work, Jeremy made sure to wear the better of his two suits and what he considered his lucky tie. He stared up at the skyscraper before him in awe. He actually made it.

The secretary at the front desk directed him to the HR department to get his badge photo taken and fill out a bit of hiring paperwork. He was finally able to meet Emma Wilson in person by doing that. She was the one who brought him to the analyst department once the formalities were taken care of.

"Simon," she called out. "I have your new recruit."

A man in his early fifties with a receding hairline poked his head out of one of the few offices in this part of the building. Most people had individual desks out in the open.

He strode forward and offered Jeremy his hand to shake. "Nice to meet you. Jeremy Ward, right? I'm Simon Peters, the department head. I do hope you'll live up to my expectations. I've heard a lot of great things about you."

Jeremy was baffled but accepted the praise humbly. Did this man know the headhunter who recommended him? Who was it? Would Simon be able to tell him?

"Sir…do you know who recommended me?"

Simon shrugged. "No. My orders came from the top. They probably recommended you to Mr. Hale directly."

A bolt of lightning could have struck Jeremy in that moment; he was so shocked. Someone close to Aaron Hale had recommended him. Aaron Hale knew his name. This was the most unbelievable thing that had ever happened to him.

"I see," Jeremy managed to get out. "Do you see Mr. Hale often?"

"Our department does coordinate with upper management a lot but I mostly see him in meetings with all of the other department heads. I normally report to Mr. Singleton, the vice president."

This was a bit disappointing but not terribly surprising. Aaron Hale was at the very top; seeing him wouldn't be so easy. But if Jeremy managed to get noticed by the vice president that would be nearly as good, right? 

Simon ended up giving Jeremy a tour of the department, showing him his desk, and giving a basic outline of what he would be doing before calling over a man who was probably in his mid-forties.

"Kyle, I need to get back to work. I want you to train Jeremy here for me."

The man gave him a thumbs up before turning to Jeremy. "You're fresh out of college, aren't you?"

"Yes, sir."

Kyle waved it off. "No need to 'sir' me. I'm a pretty casual person. Call me Kyle. I know I'm your trainer but if you ever can't find me, feel free to go ask my friend Roger over there for help."

He pointed to a man about his age who was working diligently at his computer. Roger momentarily looked up and smiled at them. Clearly these two were quite familiar with each other.

Jeremy wondered how long the two of them had been working here together. Were all of the people here so friendly with each other or had they been friends for a long time?

"How long have you worked here?"

"Well I've only been in this department for about seven years. Before that I was a financial advisor for fifteen," Kyle said cheerfully. "I'm lucky I got to switch over at all. I suppose it helps when you're friends with the big boss."

This man was friends with Aaron Hale? How exactly had that happened if he never visited other departments?

Although…there were a lot of Ivy League graduates here. Including ones from Harvard. Maybe they went to school together; they did seem to be about the same age.

It was difficult imagining his idol once being a college student. He had probably done nothing but study, like Jeremy had. Aaron had graduated summa cum laude too according to an article he read.

"What's he like?" Jeremy couldn't help asking.

"Who, Aaron? He's a hard one to describe. I've known him for twenty-six years and I still don't really understand him." Kyle called over to his friend. "Hey, Roger! How would you describe Aaron?"

The other man shrugged. "Contradictory?"

He mulled it over. "Contradictory…that's a good one."

Jeremy was confused. What was so contradictory about the man he admired? According to everything he had read, the man was the silent but brilliant type and most people were afraid of him.

These two didn't seem terribly afraid. In fact, they were quite flippant considering they were talking about their boss. Exactly how close to Aaron were they?

Twenty-six years wasn't a short amount of time to know someone but at least twenty-two of them had been when Kyle was working at his company. Based on the camaraderie between the two analysts in front of him, Jeremy was willing to bet all three of them had known each other a long time.

He wanted to ask exactly how Aaron Hale was contradictory but Kyle had already started talking about stock market trend reports. He said that a lot of the time there was an algorithm to predict things with 87% accuracy.

Jeremy was astounded such a thing existed and his mentor noticed. He laughed. "Yeah, that was Aaron and Aiden's brainchild. Aiden Quinn is the head of the cybersecurity department but he's also basically Aaron's left hand. He does a lot around here."

He took mental notes. So Aiden Quinn was the left hand and Cameron Singleton was the right. If he ever ran into either of those two he would have to be sure to make a good impression.