Strictly Professional

68: Horan & Co.

ELLE
Still Into You-Paramore

Starting a company, especially one in the financial field, was not an easy task. I never expected it to be breezy and effortless, but I definitely didn't expect it to turn out as challenging and frustrating as it ended up being. From legal matters, to taxing issues and the struggle of finding a suitable office space accessible to customers but still within budget were just some of the problems I was faced with when I embarked on this challenge. But after so much work, countless sleepless nights and mountains of emails and paperwork, I made it. I was finally standing in my office. Even if it took me almost a year to take care of everything, which was longer than what I expected.

Niall was there through it all, offering me as much moral support as he could and taking up the task of caring for our daughter mostly on his shoulders. I'd spend hours in our home office daily while he'd be downstairs with the baby. And when I'd finally emerge, I'd get to see both of them to gain back my courage and motivation. I'd help with her here and there, but in reality Niall was the one doing most of the work even when I was around.

When it came to naming the company, I thought hard about it. I was originally planning to use my maiden name, seeing as I was listed the sole owner. But it didn't feel right. My father's name was part of my identity that I decided to keep, but it wasn't one I wanted to carry into my career as well. So I didn't use it to name my company. Instead, I used my second name. My husband's name. My daughter's name. I had made up my mind.

I launched Horan & Co.

Niall hasn't stopped boasting about it since the day I told him.

"Morning boss." Madeline popped her head through the tall room divider after she had knocked on it, grabbing my attention. The office was too small for me to have a private office. I was hoping we'd be able to move to a nicer place within the year, so I didn't mind that much.

"Can you stop calling me that? It's weird." I scoffed at her, taking my blazer off and hanging it at my chair seeing as I only just got here a few minutes ago. Having Madeline work for me was definitely something we were both still getting used to, but were ecstatic about. When it was time to hire someone, I couldn't think of anyone better to have as a secretary and assistant. She knew how I operated, we had a system together. And it worked great. When I met up with her one day to catch up and offer her the position, she practically accepted on the spot. And she thanked me once I officially hired her, saying she'd much rather work for me than Jackson. He wasn't the easiest person to get along, and we both knew that. The only good thing was that he at least didn't try coming onto her like he had done with me.

"But you're my boss, how am I supposed to address you?" She chuckled, stepping through the divider into my office corner, her purse still flung onto her shoulder as she had only gotten here.

"With my name, maybe? We've been over this already." I deeply sighed, sitting down to turn my monitor on. She rolled her eyes, pushing her luscious red curls behind her shoulder.

"Ugh, fine. You're boring." She groaned.. I stifled a laugh at her reaction, happy that I got to work with her and see her face every day for the past two weeks we've actually been in the office.

"Coffee?" She offered, giving me a brilliant smile.

"Please and thank you." She playfully winked before turning on her heels. I heard the distant sound of her humming as she left her things to her desk right at the front before going into the small kitchen. Sighing deeply, I looked around. I was still in disbelief that I was here.

The building was old, and the walls were just exposed brick all around. But there was a wide industrial window that reached from one end of the wall to the other, making the place feel open and bright. The corner I had taken up as my office was nothing special, just a desk with one leather arm chair opposite me. The space to my right was occupied with two tall bookcases where I stored all of the necessary binders for filing. They also acted as room separators for the space the divider wasn't covering. Under the window, I had a small velvet bench that the sunlight always covered. The rest of the office was one open space, Madeline's desk to the left of the entrance with another bookcase filled with binders behind her, a large grey couch and a coffee table right across from her on the other side of the room. The kitchen was a small separate room, just large enough to fit a small table with two chairs. It also led to a bathroom which weirdly had a shower, but this space was supposed to be a studio apartment, not an office.