by Nella Tyler
I was given a room number, and as though I was expected with great anticipation, the secretary met me eagerly.
“Mr. Myer? Is that you?” the comely woman, who looked damn good in a pencil skirt, asked.
“Yes, ma’am, that’s me, but please,” I paused to grin broadly, “call me Dexter.”
She giggled as though my charm had shot right through any professional defenses she was attempting to provide.
“I’m Maria,” she offered, “Mr. Wilson and the rest of the executives have already met in the conference room. Right this way! I was told to bring you right in as soon as I saw you.”
“Thank you, Maria,” I insisted, practicing my charm on the young secretary, warming up before I met my judge, jury, and possibly executioner.
Don’t think about that, Dex, I thought to myself, wiping the thought from my mind as I tried to focus on the task at hand.
After all, I was here to succeed and come Hell or high water, that was what I was going to do. I certainly wasn’t going to give my jackass father the satisfaction of caning my ass for insubordination.
Like the old man could do better. I grinned.
When Maria opened the door to the conference room, I knew that playtime was over.
This was the do or die moment I had prepared for more than anything I had ever done in my entire life.
Therefore, if I failed at this presentation, I probably deserved to be fired, simply because retirement wouldn’t be long and I wanted to go out swinging.
“Dexter Myers!” an older gentleman spoke up before the rest, while all the important suits stood at the announcement of our arrival.
The man that spoke and proceeded to approach me with his hand held out was elderly but seemed sharp. I recognized his voice immediately.
“Mr. Wilson!” I exclaimed, hoping that portraying the idea that we were old friends was the right move.
“Please, call me Bob,” he insisted as I grabbed the elder gentleman’s hand.
I wasn’t quite sure why he was being so friendly, but I told myself that was a good thing, that Mr. Wilson was, in fact, rooting for me to succeed and if nothing else, I was pleased to have his support.
After sharing a firm and earnest handshake with Mr. Wilson, I was introduced to the four other men at the table.
Coincidently, if my father had put more stock into my talents, this board might resemble the one that my father was a part of. There was the CEO, Mr. Wilson, the CFO, his son, also named Bob, and Mr. Wilson’s business partner. Taking one look at the weary old man, I had a feeling he was responsible for the lack of technological advancement throughout the office. He seemed to be a man who liked his money, and that was about all he enjoyed.
However, I wasn’t dealing with him.
Mr. Wilson and his son seemed equally optimistic about my presentation, and thus, I drew confidence from the odds.
When I was invited to sit down, I continued to casually engage in small, yet important, talk, casually mentioning what I had taken great care to learn about the business. I worked off a list of topics that I assumed would be good to talk about to make myself seem especially comfortable with the interworking of the company.
From what I could tell, my plan seemed to work like a charm, and even the older man that reminded me of my father started to relax slightly.
However, eventually, exactly as I assumed he would, it was the old man that cut the friendly conversation in favor of starting the presentation.
“Alright. Well, we know you can research and talk intelligently about our company, but that doesn’t help us in the least. Why don’t you show us your plan?” the elder man interjected, almost randomly, which garnished a strange look from Mr. Wilson.
“Yes, of course, Sir,” I replied, not missing a beat. While I was enjoying trying to bond with the men, I too wanted to get this presentation behind me.
For, as confident as I was in my abilities and in the ideas we hoped to bring to this company, confidence only went so far.
Therefore, I knew I needed to stay in the right headspace to be able to complete the task ahead of me, or I was bound to make a stupid mistake.
However, thanks to all my preparation, I could switch gears quickly and slide right into the mindset of the presentation. To my utter surprise, the presentation went flawlessly.
In addition to my own thoughts, I was also encouraged by the response I received from all three of the company’s suits.
Mr. Wilson, in a way, was a given. He was the one who wanted me there, and thus, he was the one who was rooting for me to succeed. I presumed that Mr. Wilson’s son was the mediator of the group and, like myself, was partial to following his father’s advice, even it lead me down a rabbit hole. Although, it seemed that they had a little bit better relationship than me and my old man, simply because he was an important part of the company.
To my father, most of the time, I felt like he thought he was doing me a favor.
With all of that taken into consideration, I was pleased when the son started to respond positively to my presentation, but it wasn’t until I saw the oldest man grin, that knew I had nailed it.
About halfway through, I saw a glimmer in the man’s eyes that was indicative of someone who genuinely understood what I was trying to accomplish and I knew I had a good shot of closing the deal.
However, when I was finished and asked if there were any questions, no one moved. None of the men asked a question or even made a noise. At that moment, I felt the first bout of panic I had experienced all day. Instantly, my stomach dropped, and my mouth ran dry. I tried to focus on something positive, but no such emotion came.
Maybe they’re still taking it all in, I thought with a desperation that I was not accustomed to.
I knew that the silence hadn’t stretched on all that long, but the silence was deafening, disheartening, and above all, deliberate.
I wanted them to talk to me so badly, but due to their silence, I was terrified of what they were going to say. I expected the old man to be a dick, but for the first time, I started to doubt the rapport I had built up with Mr. Wilson.
His son, meanwhile, seemed to be waiting for either of the other gentleman to speak before giving his own opinion. He seemed to be nearly as on-edge as I was.
Finally, I heard the old man clear his throat and everyone in the room automatically directed their attention in his direction.
“That was an incredible presentation,” he answered simply. His tone certainly didn’t match his words, but thankfully, I didn’t need him to. It was his words that propelled the conversation forward.
“I couldn’t agree more!” Mr. Wilson exclaimed, standing up to shake my hand. “I think I speak for everyone when I tell you that I would be more than happy to close this deal with you and proceed with the company you are representing.” His grin was broad and looked completely sincere, which finally allowed me to relax.
I grinned, relieved. I was still in shock and recovering from the intense fear that was propelled onto me by their silence to feel anything other than relief presently, but I knew that excitement would come.
“Thank you so much, Sir. I speak for the whole of my father’s company when I tell you how excited we are to be working with you,” I responded as my mind wandered to exactly what my father would think about me closing the deal. After all, he was thinking of firing me, and I had little doubt that he would make good on that threat, had I messed up this endeavor. Fortunately, I was able to be productive enough for them to notice my talents.
“You know,” the older man insisted as I turned to face him to shake his hand as well, “I know your father owns the company you work for but if you are ever looking for a job, we would be happy to not only take on a talented young man like you, but I would be willing to double your salary as incentive. Bob was right about you. You’ve certainly got something special…rare, especially for your generation.”
I couldn’t be sure, but I had a feeling that he was taking a low-blow at his
partner’s son.
Maybe this company isn’t all that different than my father’s, I thought but decided it wasn’t worth contemplating. After all, in this situation, I was on the positive end of the underhanded insult, if in fact that was even what it was and regardless of its implication, it felt good to be praised.
I knew that made me sound like Brock and thus, if I was right, the son would automatically resent me for it, but I wasn’t a weasel-faced little bastard, and I had no intention of screwing him. Therefore, the correlation between the two of us stopped abruptly.
“Thank you, Sir. I will keep that in mind. In the meantime, I will have our lawyers draw up the paperwork and have them send it over to you this afternoon.” I gave him a broad grin and maintained eye contact with the older man until he released my hand. Once he did, I looked to the three of them and expressed my gratitude. “Thank you, again, for taking the time out to speak with me, and I am looking forward to working closely with you in the near future.”
After that, we officially concluded the meeting, and after a few more moments, I was walking outside, feeling amazing.
Finally, the gravity of what I had accomplished started to sink in, and I couldn’t have been happier. Everything was going to work out as I had expected it to. I couldn’t believe it.
By the time I had made it outside, I was ecstatic, and the only person I could think of that would undoubtedly share my enthusiasm was Mazie. I knew that she would be happy for me and I was sure that her excitement would only enhance my own enthusiasm.
As I searched for her name in my phone to call her, I briefly thought that my father should be the first call I made, but I hastily rejected that portion of my thought process.
My father can wait to hear the news. I’ll let him sweat it out for a little longer.
Chapter 18
Mazie
The following day, I awoke energized and excited.
I had already made plans with Laura to go to yoga together, but after getting started for the day, I couldn’t believe how excited I was to get going.
While I maintained the same reasoning for exercising—because I had to—today, I already felt centered and only wanted to boost that positivity.
“Well, someone’s chipper this morning,” Laura beamed as she spied me walking inside.
“Yes, I am!” I exclaimed, hardly able to contain a giggle.
“Oh?” her eyes grew wide as she threw open her mat and placed it on the ground.
It was already hot in the yoga room, which was the point, but the expression I sensed on Laura made me blush.
I could hardly wait to tell her about my amazing night, but the way she looked at me made me feel like she could read my mind.
“Oh, yeah,” I answered easily, raising my eyebrows to match her expression.
“So, what happened? Does your good mood start with a D, by chance?”
“Yes, it does,” I replied before moving closer to her and lowering my voice, “I slept with Dexter last night.”
Laura, in shock, let out a squeal that caused our fellow yoga-goers to look up from their mats and scoff in our direction.
Unconcerned by their sense of disapproval, Laura shook her head, waved them off nonchalantly, grabbed my hand and hurried me out of the class.
I went along, more because I didn’t want to cause a scene than because I wanted to discuss it at any length.
After all, it was my business.
“Oh my God!” Laura exclaimed before the door even had a chance to shut behind her completely, “You have to tell me everything!”
I narrowed my eyes. Even though the thought of the night before caused the blood to into my cheeks, I couldn’t help but be overwhelmed by the thought of recanting my salacious evening.
“It was…amazing,” I replied honestly, moving back toward the door with the intention of going back inside.
“No! You’re staying right here!” Laura exclaimed, pulling me back around to face her. “I have waited years, no, decades, for this explanation. You have pined over Dexter for what seems like forever. You owe me this!”
While I was never the girl to kiss and tell, I did see her point.
The hair on the back of my neck stood on end as memories of steamy, passionate intimacy flooded my mind. I couldn’t help but grin as I started to relay some of the broader strokes, painting a vague picture of what had truly happened.
However, although I did my best, as soon as I started talking, I was certain there were no words to accurately describe the intense diatribe of emotions that still lingered in my powerful recollections.
Yet, despite my linguistic inadequacy, Laura seemed to comprehend the kind of night I was trying to describe to her.
“So, it was everything you hoped it would be?” she finally chimed in after I had fallen silent for a moment.
“Oh my God…Laura, it was so much better! You don’t understand; I still can’t believe I can feel that way. It was amazing!”
“I am so happy for you!” she exclaimed, hugging me tightly for a second before breaking away with mischief in her gaze. “So, are you going to try to recreate perfection?” she insisted.
I chuckled, thinking about the opportunity to see Dexter again.
“I hope so,” I offered honestly, “He’s on a business trip right now but he swears as soon as he gets back, we will see one another again.”
“Oh yeah!” Laura’s eyes widened, “He’s got that big meeting this week,” she chuckled, “And you’re over here distracting him,” she teased.
“I like to think that I helped him,” I shot back. “If nothing else, I know I got him to relax, release, and stop thinking about work for a few minutes.”
“That’s true,” Laura offered before her expression grew serious and her tone deepened slightly. “So…speaking of work…how does your father feel about all of this?”
Killing the mood, I felt my cheeks redden for a completely different reason.
“I haven’t told him yet,” I admitted but was quick to defend my position. “The only reason I haven’t said anything is because I don’t want it to be a big deal, in case it doesn’t work out.”
“Okay, sure. I get that,” she replied in her best-friend voice that I absolutely hated. “But, how serious do you guys have to get? I mean, it will definitely be awkward to try to explain how you got engaged if your father doesn’t even know you’re dating.”
She rolled her eyes playfully and tried to seem lighthearted, but I knew that she was making a valid point. However, I still found it utterly ridiculous.
“Laura, if it gets that serious, I’m sure he’ll know!”
Laura backed up and put her hands in the air, as though in surrender, “I know. Listen, I just want to make sure you’re making the right decision. This is a big deal, and you guys have a good relationship. I would hate to see something happen to it, not because of who you’re dating but how long it took for you to tell your father.”
“And, I get that. I do. Thank you, but he may never call me again. Let me at least wait until I’ve had a few dates with him before I open up that potential nightmare.”
“Maybe it won’t be as bad as you think?” she offered, but I was still doubtful.
While I didn’t think my father was going to disown me or anything, I was certain that he wouldn’t be exactly welcoming to the idea, and as for Dexter’s father, well, that might be a whole new issue.
“Anyway, all I had to say is I think you should tell your father sooner rather than later.”
“Noted,” I replied without any inclination to say much of anything else.
Getting the hint, Laura continued on a more positive note.
“Seriously though, all best friend advice aside, I am extremely happy for you. He’s definitely a catch and…” As she paused, her eyebrows raised and a knowing smirk crossed her features, “It also doesn’t hurt that he has money.”
I shook my head and rolled my eyes. While I knew I was far better off than Laura ev
er was and even with having a wonderful job, she would go after a man with money for the sake of stability and fun, I didn’t share that ambition.
“Laura, I have money too. Our fathers own the same company.”
She thought about this for a moment, as though she wasn’t quite sure how she forgot that, before giving a small giggle and responding, “Oh yeah, that’s right. But it still doesn’t hurt to have another kickass income. There’s no such thing as too much money.”
Again, I rolled my eyes at her.
“Yes, there is. Trust me. I have grown up around people who have had too much money, and it isn’t a pretty thing.”
It was obvious from the look on her face that she wholeheartedly disagreed but nonetheless, she didn’t say anything else and thus, I dropped the subject and we returned to the yoga class.
All throughout the class, I thought of Dexter, and every time I tried to relax, I was met with a stunning shock, a memory of what we had done or how he had touched me that made me tense. It was not an unpleasant feeling, considering the memory was welcomed, but it certainly wasn’t relaxing.
Every time one of these vivid memories broke the concentration, I felt my heart race and my breath grow hasty. As a result, my cheeks flushed, and I swallowed hard. My mind raced, trying to overthrow the feelings I was having and trying to force myself to relax.
However, each and every time I tried to simmer down, focus and reconnect with my inner-self, devoid of Dexter and all the issues our relationship incited, another thought would plague me. This thought would grow until it couldn’t be ignored, thus starting the whole process all over again.
Therefore, by the end of the session, I found myself feeling more stressed than when I arrived.
Yet, all that stress and paranoia melted away when I walked out of the class and felt my phone start to buzz inside my yoga bag.
Scooting away from Laura, not wanting to have to explain the situation to her, whatever it may be, I reached inside the bag for my phone and became excited upon reading Dexter’s name on the screen.
“Hey,” I answered, trying not to sound eager, but was pretty sure that I epically failed, “How did the meeting go?”