I wasn’t sure if this was a good idea or not because I had seen many people freeze the moment they stood up in front of a group of people. And poor Jane had so far come across as someone that was very uncomfortable in herself and very shy in front of strangers. I was grateful that she hadn’t stood up with her cup of coffee because I’m not sure if she’d be able to hold the cup steady. I watched as she nodded and then stood up. Instead of staying where she was she got up to the front of the table so that everyone could see her as she talked. That surprised me. When she started speaking her voice was clear and controlled.
“Hi everyone, well as you know my name is Jane. I haven’t had a chance to get to know everyone just yet – especially David.” She turned and looked straight at David, “So it’s great to finally meet you all. Abbie has been wonderful today – showing me the ropes and helping me to get comfortable. Thank you so much Abbie, you made the whole day a lot easier. I’m very happy to be here and grateful to have been chosen for the position. I have always been fascinated by the power of marketing, especially social media, and I believe that it is imperative that all companies do not ignore this wonderful tool that they have to share with the world around them. As an example I had a friend who wanted to choose between two restaurants. She figured she’d look through their Twitter feed to see what others have been saying about them. The one company had a great deal of interaction with the public while the other hadn’t been on Twitter for three months. Just like that she made her decision and went for the one that was active on social media – without truly knowing which restaurant was better. My friend is just one of many who think this way. I have worked for a few companies over the years and I’ve taken their social media from zero to one of the most talked about companies at the moment. It’s very exciting and I look forward to doing it for the casino – especially because it’s already so well established. It’s going to be easy to market this place.” She started walking back to her seat but I stopped her.
“Great, and tell us a little bit about you.” This was unusual protocol for me and I hoped nobody in the office would wonder why I had asked it. The truth was that even I didn’t know why I had asked it. I just had a strange and sudden desire to figure out what this girl was all about.
“Me? Well, I’m 26 years old and I have recently moved to Henderson, NV where I’m staying with my best friend. That is just temporary as I find my own place to live. I’m excited about starting a life here – it seems like a pretty cool area. I’m easy going and like to live a more simple life. I always have my nose in a book and I don’t at all care about how that makes me look, I love animals and plan on getting one as soon as I have my own place, and I enjoy food and wine perhaps a little more than the average person. It’s hard for me to stand up here and put together exactly what makes me who I am but I have no doubt that given enough time you’ll figure that out – because I am generally quite an open book. And just the same, I look forward to getting to know each of you. That’s it really!”
She started walking back towards her seat again and once again I signalled for her to stop. “Thanks Jane. Sorry for putting you on the spot like this but you’re doing a great job and I’d like to hear a bit more. Before we carry on with the meeting I’d like you to take us through your marketing ideas now and how you can best use social media to draw the customers in. Once we have established that we can put together a more detailed plan for both you and the team to work on. You’ll mostly be working by yourself on this, as the team still has other jobs to do, but we can find ways for everyone to work together. Right, could you please tell us more.”
“Absolutely. I’d love to run through it with you.” She smiled and moved back to where she was standing before. She then launched comfortably and confidently into her ideas and I noticed the rest of the team were perched high on their seats and listening closely to her. She had a very clear voice and her ideas came across easily. I sat back while she talked and watched her. It was interesting to see her interacting so easily with people that she didn’t know and I couldn’t quite believe that this was the same shy and giggly girl that had spilled coffee on me earlier. I almost couldn’t put the two people together – that is how different they seemed to me. What was before me was a confident and well put together girl with solid ideas and a great vision for the company. If I had only met the Jane from coffee that morning I would never have hired her. But this Jane was different. I quite liked this Jane. Her confidence oozed through her and as she stood before the group she even seemed a bit prettier than before. Her back was straight, her curly light brown hair bounced as she talked – almost as if she were auditioning for a shampoo commercial, and her brown eyes were unwavering. I still couldn’t decide whether or not she was attractive. She was certainly quite pretty, but in a more unusual way. You almost had to look for it – but once you caught sight of some of her better features it was hard to not see them again. I tried desperately not to look down at her breasts, which squeezed against her sheer green shirt and I marvelled at how such a small girl could have such big breasts. She wore them well. Too well. I quickly looked back up to her face, watching as her small pouting mouth moved as she spoke. I tried to compare her to Susie and almost laughed at the difference. Susie had been outright beautiful and incredibly cute – someone that you’d spot immediately in a crowd. I couldn’t imagine ever picking Jane out of a crowd of women. And yet…
“And so,” Jane was saying, “that’s my vision for the company. I’m sure it will change somewhat as time goes by, as it always does, but that is the general idea for now.”
She smiled at everyone, although I noticed that she barely looked my way, and the whole office burst into applause. That was a surprise. I don’t think I’d ever seen the team clap for anyone before. I think it had something to do with Jane’s confidence up there but also her ability to come across as someone that they could all relate to. Someone genuine. It was clear that she had great ideas but that she wasn’t going to come in and try to change anything. She seemed almost respectful of everyone.
“Ah, you’re a keeper.” Abbie said and patted her on the back. It was easy to see that the two of them were going to be friends. Abbie looked so grateful to have a girl working in the team with her that I thought she was going to burst with happiness. I looked over at David and tilted my head as if to say, “And you? Are you happy?”
David smiled. “Great work. I’m sure you’ll do just fine Jane.” It wasn’t like David to be so nice, so that was unusual. I noticed Jane beaming at him.
“Okay, thank you Jane. That was great. We are all very excited to have you here. Now, let’s brainstorm some ideas. Kevin, Michael, do you guys want to start? Let’s go through the ideas first and then work on a plan. Then Jane, from tomorrow, you’ll be able to get started on your ideas.” I looked over to Jane but she wasn’t looking at me. She was just nodding and writing some notes down.
Kevin and Michael launched into a big discussion about what they wanted to happen, throwing ideas around left right and centre. This started a huge debate because David’s ideas were different to theirs – which was not at all unusual. This always happened in meetings. And, as usual too, it was Abbie who managed to put their ideas together and make them work. I kept trying to catch Jane’s eye throughout the conversation but she didn’t once look at me. Instead, she furiously wrote down ideas and had her say whenever it was necessary. She already looked as if she fit into the team and I was fascinated when I saw her and David get into a big discussion about one of her ideas. She had no problem with airing her views. But when I signalled the end of the meeting and we all walked out I quickly walked up to her and told that she had done a great job. She looked at me briefly and then looked down again, mumbling a thank you. And just like that the old coffee-spilling Jane was back.
Chapter 14 - Jane
And just like that, my first day at my new job was finished. It felt more like I had been there for a full week considering everything that had happened and
the amount of varying emotions that I had experienced. Rather strange that one of those emotions had been lust at one stage – followed immediately by embarrassment. I wasn’t quite sure when I’d be able to leave and despite the ticking clock I still stayed at my desk and waited until someone told me otherwise. It was Abbie who noticed that I was still there and she rushed over to speak to me.
“Oh Jane, you’re still here! I’m so sorry, I didn’t notice the time. There is no reason for you to stay late. The only reason I’m still here is because I have a quick meeting with David before I go. But your day is done and you’re welcome to go home. Don’t get into the habit of staying late because then they’ll expect that of you. Trust me, I made that mistake when I first started. So… how was day one? You rocked it in that meeting this afternoon. I wish I had half your confidence. I was so impressed by you, as was everyone it seemed.”
“Seriously? You thought I looked confident? I was actually so nervous. I could literally feel my hands shaking. Thankfully I’m quite confident when it comes to social media so hopefully that came across more. But I wanted more than anything to sit back down and not have all these new faces staring at me.”
“Well you hid it very well. Honestly I didn’t think you were nervous at all. And I think everyone was impressed by you. Even David, and it’s very hard to impress him.”
That made me smile. She had been right about David, his presence was quite daunting. He never once asked me how my day was or asked any personal questions about myself. But when it came to the actual work, he was easy to talk to. “That’s a huge relief. My morning started off quite shaky so I’m glad I was able to redeem myself. Listen, thanks for lunch and for everything today. You made the whole day a lot easier for me. First days can be quite tough.”
Abbie smiled easily at me. “No problem at all. Like I said, I like you and I’m glad you’re here. You’ll see… the next few days will get easier and easier. Go home, and a big glass of wine and put your feet up. I’ll see you in the morning!”
“Thanks Abbie. And good luck with your meeting. I hope you don’t stay too late.”
I walked out and breathed in the fresh air. I hadn’t had a job in a few months and I wasn’t used to a full day without sunlight. It felt strange being outside, as if I had almost forgotten that an outside world even existed – I had been so wrapped up in casino life. I got into my car and drove back to Danielle’s place, making sure to dump out my old sandwich as I did so. It was going to be hard not to go to that restaurant every day for dinner. Abbie had been right about the pasta – it was incredible.
When I got back I noticed that Danielle wasn’t home yet so I quickly sent her a message.
I’m home. Will you back in time for dinner?
She replied immediately, Yes, I’ll be home in about half an hour hopefully. Should I pick up some pizza? I’m starving.
No, I responded, I’ll make us something.
I knew she’d be surprised at that. I wasn’t the best in the kitchen. But I felt desperate to keep busy. I peered into the fridge to see what I could make but only found mostly disjointed items that didn’t seem to make a full meal. I took a few things out and stared at them, wondering how I could make then into a somewhat decent meal. I couldn’t think of a single meal but I started frying the bacon, figuring that was a good place to start and then spent some time grating cheese. Within ten minutes I had a pile of bacon stacked and another big stack of grated cheese. Then, I cut up some tomato and placed those on another place. I stood back and stared at what I had done – what was I doing?
“What you making? Smells good in here.” I hadn’t even heard the door open and I jumped up in surprise to see Danielle standing in the kitchen.
“You almost gave me a heart attack,” I told her, clutching my chest, “Has it been half an hour already?” I looked up at the big clock.
“No, there was very little traffic so it didn’t take me as long as it normally did. What are you making? I didn’t know you could cook.” She reached forward and sampled a piece of bacon.
I examined the food in front of me and looked sheepishly looked up at her, “Uh… I can’t cook really. So far I have bacon, cheese and tomato. But that’s as far as it’s gone.”
“So, let me get this straight. You decided that you were going to cook us a meal without knowing what we even had in the fridge. Then you just decided to randomly fry some bacon, grate some cheese and slice some tomatoes in the hope that inspiration would hit you?”
“Uh… yeah, that’s pretty much what happened. I figured it didn’t really matter what I made as long as there was cheese and bacon involved. I’m not sure where I was going with the tomatoes. Before you got here I was standing here trying to figure out where to go next with this. I was hoping to have it a bit more figured out before you got home.”
She started laughing, then tried to speak and then laughed even harder – doubling over herself. “Jane, I love you. You know that? You’re so completely bonkers all time. But I’ll give it to you – you can’t go wrong with bacon and cheese. Well, why don’t we just make toasted sandwiches? I was going to get pizza remember so I’m not looking for anything fancy.”
I chuckled, “Toasted Sandwiches a la Greiner, coming right up.”
“Okay, I’m running upstairs for a quick shower. When I come back we can eat and you can tell me ALL about your first day at work. I’m dying to hear how it went.”
I finished up the food and placed everything on the table. The end result was hilarious – a very smart looking table, with candles and glasses of wine. Then, on each of our plates – toasted sandwiches. When Danielle came down she giggled, “Oh we are just so fancy,” then she picked up her glass of wine and we clinked in cheers. “Now,” she said after a big gulp, “tell me everything.”
“Danielle, you’ll be happy to know that I have plenty of stories to tell you. Let’s just say that some are good and some are mortifying.” I said with an air of mystery.
“Oh no! Did you do something to embarrass yourself?” She asked, clearly aware that this was not an uncommon thing for me to do.
“I did indeed.”
“Okay, tell me everything! Oh, this sandwich is great by the way.”
“Yeah, I’m not so shabby in the kitchen after all. So anyway, as you know I went to the casino early to scope out the place. You were right; it’s massive and absolutely beautiful. The amount of detail they’ve put into the place is unlike anything I’ve ever seen. They obviously had a lot of money to throw around. They don’t really need my help to be honest; they seem to be doing just fine without social media. Not that I told them that, of course. I’ll let them rather think that having me there is imperative. Anyway, I still had a bit of time to kill before I started and I noticed a big cappuccino machine behind the bar. So I decided to get a cup and wait it out. The place was already filled with people and you know how much I enjoy people watching. I ordered a coffee and then swivelled round to watch the world go by, but the moment I did this cute guy had come to the bar too and I spilled my entire cup of coffee down his shirt.”
She laughed at that, “I’m laughing because it’s a funny image to have in my head, but I know it must’ve been embarrassing. So, how cute are we talking?”
“Like off the scales cute. Like model or movie star good looking. The smouldering type. But don’t worry… the story gets worse.”
“It does?” She leaned in closer, her eyes gleaming with the gossip.
“Yes, unfortunately it does. So I apologised profusely and watched as he walked off. But then he came back, in a new shirt, and said that he was not upset at me. So I offered to buy him a drink and he agreed. We sat drinking our coffee and flirting a bit – don’t give me that look, I do know how to flirt – anyway, and after a little while I started to relax in front of him. Then the barmen said he was going off his shift and asked me to pay – and that’s when my card decided it would be the perfect time to get declined. I tried again – but still, it didn’t w
ork. So not only had I spilled coffee all over this cute guy but I practically told him that I didn’t have any money.”
“Oh no! Did he have to pay for you?”
“Yeah. Well, kind of.”
“Jane, that’s awful.”
“Oh don’t worry – that’s not the half of it.”
“What? There’s more?”
“Oh yes, there’s more. We parted ways and I eventually made my way to the boss’ office. I tried to shake off what had just happened and concentrate on the day ahead. But when the secretary let me into his office I almost died with shock. As it turns out the cute man is not just any man – he’s my boss.”
“What? Oh Jane! This sounds like a movie! Oh no, you must have been horrified!”
“It was like a nightmare coming true. I wanted the whole earth to swallow me whole. We acknowledged what had happened and quickly moved onto work matters and I spent the whole day pretending it hadn’t happened. Thankfully I only saw him again later that day in a meeting with the whole team. I swear he kept looking at me and I kept looking away. I don’t know if he found the whole thing funny or if he just felt bad for me but I just couldn’t meet his eye.
“What’s he like?” She asked.
“Other than exceptionally cute? Well, he seems like a good boss. Very cocky and probably thinks that every female likes him – but other than that he’s nice.”
“Ah, listen, don’t worry. One day you guys will be able to laugh at the whole thing. Sounds like you might not even have to deal with him that often. I know that where I work hardly anyone deals with the actual big guy. I’m sure he found the whole thing funny too. Just do your job and try to look him in the eye next time. But… you definitely gave me a good laugh. So thank you.”
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