by Sonja Gunter
“It seems Mr. Christmenn has decided to stay. I don’t want anyone to become nervous. You see, this is a learning meeting. Apparently, Mr. Christmenn needs to learn something today and that is why he has chosen to stay.” She had to stop as laughter broke out but quickly stopped. “As my first instruction I want you to treat him as any other fellow employee this morning. I have seen a lot of you around the office in the last couple of weeks. I have also met with some of you about your positions.”
The facial expressions she met were those of caution. This was the normal type of reaction she received, as she knew some thought they might lose their jobs. She proceeded with care, picked up the files, and moseyed around the tables as she continued to talk.
“I’m handing out an outline of some of the items I found in your departments. Let us look at the second packet. It is a Get to Know Someone in Your Department test. The paper has a list of seven food items on it. What I need for each of you to do is to find two or more fellow employees, from this room only, that One, like each of the foods listed.”
Pausing for a moment, she noted most everyone was reading the handout. She raised her voice a tone louder to gain back their attention.
“Second, find two or more fellow employees, again from this room only, that dislike the same foods listed. Now I can see from your faces that I might be going too fast. Therefore, I am going to call for a break. The break will last for twenty-five minutes.”
She caught Mark’s surprised look from the corner of her eye. He seemed to want to interrupt.
“In this time, you can choose to leave the room, go to the breakroom for snacks, or use the restrooms. However, if the list isn’t completed by the time you return, you will be asked to leave the room.”
Moans and groans erupted, and for a third time she had to talk louder.
“Ladies and gentlemen,” she said firmly.
The room quieted down.
“Let me repeat, if the test isn’t completed, you will be asked to leave this room. Are there any questions?” Hearing and seeing none, she continued. “One last thing, after the twenty-five minute break is over, the door will be locked. What does this mean? You need to return on time. My watch says nine fifty-nine. I will start the break at ten o’clock.”
Rane halted for a second before she excused the group. Then she sat down and watched the reactions of the employees trying to handle this set of problems. It was her ‘never fail’ test. She observed everyone and took notes as most of the employees left the room, including Mark.
Chapter 24
Mark stood and promptly left the boardroom with all the other employees. He almost ran to his office, not sure he’d be able to make the deadline.
“Mrs. Weber, cancel all my appointments for the day.”
“Is there another problem?”
“No,” Mark said.
He went to his desk, considered the mess of papers, frowned, and picked up his pen.
“When should I reschedule them, Mr. Christmenn?” Mrs. Weber asked from the doorway.
“Tomorrow or Monday,” Mark said and eyed his watch.
Ten minutes. He couldn’t be late or the doors would be locked.
“I’ll check your calendar. But, Mr. Christmenn, you have Mr.—”
“It doesn’t matter. I’m in a hurry. If you need me, I’ll be in Boardroom C,” Mark said.
“Boardroom C,” Mrs. Weber repeated then smiled.
“I’m unavailable for the rest of the day. Only, and I mean only if a real emergency arises, should I be interrupted.”
“Yes, Sir.”
He practically ran down the hall and only slowed because other employees were rushing too. Once inside, Mark saw most everyone had made it back in time.
The room was a buzz of activity with only minutes left. The excitement was contagious. He felt pride in the fact Rane had been able to do this to the employees.
So what did she have planned next?
He saw her at the podium. She glanced at her timepiece and scanned the room. Their eyes meet. Rane approached him with her eyebrows lifted and wearing a tight smile.
“Mr. Christmenn, is there a problem? Can I help you?” Rane asked.
“No. No, problem. I’d like to attend the rest of your meeting today. Of course, that is, if it’s all right with you?”
He knew she wouldn’t, and couldn’t, say no. Her look of surprise made him smile.
“Yes, of course, Mr. Christmenn. Take a seat wherever you like.”
Mark did, and Richard joined him. For the fifth time, he checked his watch. Three minutes.
Rane moved away from Mark. She doubted he’d been able to finish the assignment. Should she prove a point by calling the president out? No, but she’d have to change the program.
Crap. She couldn’t believe her stroke of bad luck today. A stained blouse. Late to her first official meeting. Now he, Mark, wanted to stay for her presentation.
Why? She’d given him the opportunity to exit with grace and he’d taken it. What were his intentions, to observe her as an employee or a woman? She hoped it was the latter.
She couldn’t let his presence unsettle her. Then it hit her. She’d use him so the employees could get to know him better. They’d hesitate at first but that would be great.
She ignored him and glanced at her watch. It was almost time with two minutes to go, and only five employees were missing. The ratio was better than she’d expected. She advanced slowly toward the door and the room quieted. It was what always happened at this point. Stunned silence. With her hand on door handle, she started her final countdown. The only sounds she heard were people moving nervously.
Five. Four. Three. Two. One. Zero. Only one of the missing five employees made it inside in time. The sound of the clicking of the lock echoed throughout the room.
“Wait. Let me in.”
The voice shattered through the quiet room. Gasps filled the room as she simply turned away from the door. Like bees buzzing, the sound grew louder as she went back to the front of the room.
“I’m going to take roll call to see which of your fellow team members are missing in action,” Rane said.
During her roll call, the repeated rattle of the door handle caused another round of whispers.
It’s begun.
“Welcome back,” she said above the shaking of the door handle. “How many of you have completed your test?”
Some hands raised quickly and others rather slowly. Rane strolled around the tables and checked each of the tests.
She found one test that wasn’t completed and asked that employee to leave the room. The employee hesitantly stood, took a momentary glance at Mr. Christmenn and Mr. Adam, and walked out. Finding ten more uncompleted tests, she also asked each of those employees to leave. Once the door closed behind the last person, Rane addressed the remaining group still in the room.
“As you can see, following through with an assignment is very important when you’re instructed to do something. How many of you could have done what I just did?” she asked.
She stared at a mixture of stunned, annoyed, and angry faces. A couple of hands rose into the air.
“Good, I’m glad to see we have some leaders in our group. If one piece of the instruction is not completed, look what has happened. We now have fifteen members of our team missing. The team members that ignored the time schedule might have had a completed test. However, they were late so their input couldn’t be used. The team members that didn’t feel it was important enough to complete the work also weren’t able to contribute to the result. Mr. Adam, will you please invite our other team members to rejoin the meeting?” Rane requested.
She waited for the group to reenter and sit down. She casually studied Mark, who’d taken a seat next to Mr. Adam, and was surprised
when Mark winked at her.
Turning away to hide her smile, she busied herself with the computer. The room buzzed once again.
“That was wrong.”
“Who does she think she is?”
“In front of him.”
None of their angry words or comments surprised her. Rane breathed deeply. Time to face the pack of wolves.
“What did we learn from our exercise this morning?” she asked, pausing to allow the question to sink in. No one spoke.
“That once a department has created a team it’s very important that all the team members work together. Let me repeat that last statement. All team members need to work together. You cannot rely on others to do your work for you.”
Rane spent the next hour going over the results and effects when things weren’t done correctly and in sequential or methodical order. It had been tough but she’d been able to have them come around and to start working together in smaller teams.
The latter part of the hour before lunch, she instructed the teams to share the information they’d discovered from their tests. The results were entertaining with rounds of laughter about Mark’s dislike for broccoli. The groups had loosened up and weren’t as intimated by him as before.
Buzz, buzz. Buzz, buzz.
She felt the vibration from her timer in her pocket, signaling it was close to lunchtime.
“I hate to interrupt all the reasons why Mr. Christmenn hates broccoli but it’s time to break for lunch. You’ll have one hour and fifteen minutes. See you at one-fifteen. You’re excused,” Rane announced to the room.
A few hands raised.
“Do you have a question?”
“Are the doors going to be locked this time?”
Laughter erupted and she saw smiles.
They were catching on.
“The doors will remain unlocked and open. But do try to be back on time. You never know what you’ll miss,” Rane answered.
More laughter came from the group, and she noticed the look of approval on Mark’s face. The room emptied quickly and she cleaned up her papers and arranged the handouts for the afternoon.
“Rane, did you want to go to lunch?” Mr. Adam asked.
“That would be—”
“Ms. Schoen and I have already planned to have lunch today,” Mark said.
“No problem, Mr. Christmenn. Will you be attending the afternoon session?” Mr. Adam asked.
“Yes, I need to see what other surprises Ms. Schoen has in store for us. She did a wonderful job this morning.”
“Yes, she did. Have a nice lunch. See you in about an hour.”
Richard excused himself, leaving Mark and Rane alone in the room. The only thing separating them was a table.
“No one cancels lunch with me,” Mark said, and gave Rane one of his best smiles.
She couldn’t help but smile back. His smile was that of someone caught with his or her hands in the cookie jar.
“If you’re ready, let’s go. We’ll have to eat in the cafeteria. I can’t be late to my own meeting a second time. You never know when the boss is going to show up,” Rane stated and headed to the door.
“I know what you mean.”
Laughing, they took the stairs instead of the elevators. Mark almost ran into her when she suddenly stopped a few steps before the landing.
“What are you staring at?” she asked, turning.
“What? Oh nothing, just the way you walk and how your skirt hugs every curve. And how shapely your legs are in high heels. Do you work out?”
“Sometimes. Is this in the employee handbook, flirting with female employees?”
“Probably not,” he stated and smoothed back strands of her hair from her face.
“Oh,” she said, glad she had one hand on the railing for support.
He stepped around her and took her hand in his.
“Come on, if we had more time I’d take you up on that offer your face is showing.”
Rane let him lead her down the rest of the stairs. Regretfully, he released her hand to push open the door. As she passed him, he whispered, “Later I promise to kiss you till you melt in my arms.”
Oh, my God, she was wetting her pants.
All because of his whisper in her ear. She didn’t know if she’d be able to wait until tonight. At this rate, she was liable to jump him at the next opportunity and to heck with being coy. Not able to say anything she followed him, mouth closed.
A long line of people greeted them as they rounded the corner. Her mystification faded and she noticed quite a few of the employees turning and staring.
Chapter 25
“Have you ever been to the cafeteria before?” Rane asked in a whisper.
“Let’s say I’ve thought about it but I’ve never made it down here myself. Usually I have Mrs. Weber bring me something to eat,” Mark said.
Rane noticed the employees’ reactions to seeing Mark and saw he was ready to run. She touched his arm in an attempt to have him focus on her.
“I expected your answer to be something like that. Again, you are creating a scene with your presence. Good thing these are friendly faces and I don’t see any cameras.”
“That’s for sure. Friendly territory here.”
“I think you need to eat with your employees more often. It wouldn’t hurt you to be more accessible to them,” Rane said.
“I guess I could try,” Mark said, and ran his fingers through his hair.
“You guess?” She repeated and raised her eyebrows in an ‘I don’t believe you sort of way.’
“I usually don’t—”
“No, no, no, I’m going to have Mrs. Weber schedule you to dine in once a week.” Rane poked her finger into his shoulder and added, “And make you come down here yourself to get your own lunch.”
She couldn’t keep a straight face when she saw Mark’s look of absolute disbelief. She lost her battle, her composure, and laughed, which caused more employees to glance their way. The line moved forward.
“This is our in house barista, a Professional Chef of Coffee. They are trained in the craft of coffee preparation and customer service skills,” Mark explained.
“I’ve read about the baristas in my research of the company and I know that MAC has a reputation for its educational program.”
“Yes, we do.”
She watched the man with interest. He moved from machine to machine in a manner that was almost dance-like. The machines made hissing and gushing noises. The employees waiting for their orders were excited as they took away their coveted drink. The heady alluring coffee aroma almost made her want to try the day’s special.
She saw the barista wave excitedly at Mark and he in turn placed his closed fingers in front of his puckered lips and kissed them in a salute.
“That is Antonio. He’s been working for me since he was twenty-one. On a trip to Italy, my clients took me to a coffee shop. Unbeknownst to the barista, his young apprentice had prepared a special macchiato for me. The blend had a marvelous taste, one I’d never tasted before. I was so impressed with it, with him, I sponsored him to come to the United States to work for me.”
“Wasn’t he at Jake’s the other day?”
“Yes. When he’s in a creative mood, he comes here to try out new blends. Mrs. Weber raves about them. Now I know why the line was so long. Did you want to try one?”
“No, not today,” she said, shaking her head.
He smiled seeing her unsure look. “I will get you to try coffee in the near future.”
“We’ll see about that! I can be very stubborn.”
With their trays full of delicious-looking food, they headed to the cashier who dropped Mark’s change twice. Rane smiled at the lady and led Mark away.
Rane
chose not to sit inside and proceeded outside where there were plenty of vacant umbrella tables. Opting for one closest to the pond, she sat down with her back to the other employees and Mark followed suit. She hoped if the employees only saw their backs that they wouldn’t recognize Mark. From their table the view was awesome with a pond to the right, surrounded by a grassy hill that was home to a couple of white swans.
“This is rather nice. Makes you want to have a picnic,” he said. “I helped design this area. I was even here for the opening but forgot all about the pond. Now I understand why Mrs. Weber comes down here for lunch every day.”
Mark’s statements didn’t surprise her. She’d already guessed he didn’t leave his office much. He didn’t have to.
“I swear I’m going to have a chat with her. You have two legs and two arms. There is no reason you can’t come down here.”
“Okay, okay, you win. I’ll see if I can make it work.”
“I will check up on you, I promise.”
She smiled and began eating her lunch. Not sure what to talk about she decided on a safe subject, coffee.
“The entire coffee process is interesting. How do the barista—”
“Will you be giving me you answer to my proposed date? You said you’d let me know.”
“A date?” Stunned, she repeated, “A real date. Not a lunch date?”
“Yes, what about like, I don’t know, a movie?”
“Oh, right, like you go to the movies regularly. When was the last time you went to see one?” she asked.
“I went to the opening premier of Walk the Line in Los Angeles.”
“See what I mean. That’s not going to a movie. You were probably dressed in a tuxedo and sipping champagne as you watched it.”
“As a matter of fact, I was,” Mark admitted.
“You’ve got to be kidding! I was joking around. That’s not going to a movie. To me, going to a movie is paying eight bucks, ordering a butter-loaded bucket of popcorn, and sitting in a crowded theater.”