Help Me Heal

Chapter 43

It was another important Monday morning for Hank and for Voight Detective Services. Today was the day that Kim Burgess joined the team. On his way to the office, Hank congratulated himself once more on being able to pull that signing off. With both Kim and Erin working under him, he had two of the best detectives he had ever worked with on his books. That ought to guarantee a very high client satisfaction rate, which was crucial for a young, growing business.

When he arrived at the office and parked up out front next to Erin's car, he saw Kim's car also there, and Alexa getting out of her car. She was struggling with four cups of coffee in a disposable carry tray while her phone. The device was wedged between her shoulder and her head.

"Here, let me help you," Hank called after quickly getting out of his car.

"Thank you," she mouthed as he took the carry tray from her while she continued what was evidently a conversation with her husband about their son. "One minute," she said to Hank, meaning before she could head inside to work.

"No rush," he said. "Thanks for the coffee."

Being careful not to spill the drinks, Hank opened the door and entered the building. It was cold inside, telling him that Erin and Kim hadn't been there long because the air con hadn't had time to warm the place up yet.

Next, he opened the door to the bullpen. He found Erin and Kim in there, standing next to Kim's desk in conversation. "Kim, welcome," he said positively. "All ready to get started?"

"Morning, sarge. Uh, Hank, I mean. Sorry, that's going to be a hard habit to break," Kim said, coming over to him.

Handshakes were not their thing. Hugs certainly were not, so he simply took one of the coffees out of the carrier and gave it to her. "Feels weird not being addressed as sarge. We'll both get used to it."

"Thanks," Kim said, meaning for the coffee which she had just tried. Erin also took one.

"Don't thank me, Alexa bought them. I just carried them in for her because she's out there on the phone. Something with her son by the sound of it. You okay, Erin?"

"I'm good. You?" she replied cheerfully.

"Yeah, good. You've got reports to write and some invoices to get to Alexa, right?"

"That's right. Don't worry, I'm on top of it all."

"And what have you got for me?" Kim asked, eager for her first assignment in her new job.

Before Hank could answer, Alexa walked in. "Morning everyone. Sorry about that, Hank."

"Not a problem," he replied. "Everything okay at home?"

"Yes, thank you. Nothing out of the ordinary. I need this though," Alexa said, taking the last coffee from the carrier which Hank had put on Kim's desk.

"Thanks for this," Kim said to her before taking another sip from her cup.

Hank realised that what to some might have seemed like a simple gesture was a big one from Alexa, who he well knew didn't have much money. He decided that he would discreetly go to her at the reception desk later and offer to give her the money back. Whether she accepted or not, the offer would at least have been made.

Erin had also thanked Alexa, so Hank followed suit. With that, he returned to Kim's question. "So, you asked what I need you to work on. I've secured a good contract for data recovery work. Given your experience, I'm putting you on that. You'll take charge of it for us, doing the work and dealing with the client. Sound good to you?"

He saw her react slightly to the question. Back at Intelligence, he wouldn't have added that to the end of what he had said, he would have simply given her an order. At Voight Detective Services, he wanted to run things slightly differently. He was still the boss, but not with the same air if formality that the police force required.