Love me, please
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Romance › General
Rating:
Adult +
Chapters:
6
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2,496
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Currently Reading:
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Category:
Romance › General
Rating:
Adult +
Chapters:
6
Views:
2,496
Reviews:
14
Recommended:
0
Currently Reading:
0
Disclaimer:
This is a work of fiction, any resemblance to real persons and situations is purely coincidental.
Second Meeting
******* Chapter 2 : Second Meeting ******* The following day, when I got to the office I found an email from Walter telling me that I was in charge of showing the Employees of Casey Electronics our process and how to contact PVCS when needed. I was also given the task of spending a week at the newly acquired client company in order to get familiar with their tools, their process as well as the staff considering that we will be working directly with them. I was quite flattered with the fact that I was entrusted with this task. It proved that Walter trusted in my skills and that was no small feat for someone who had been in the company for just a few months. As I was saving the documents I would probably need on the network drive, Ivy walked into the office. When she saw me, she gave me a big smile and said "Walter told me that you would be the person in charge of introducing Casey Electronics to our ways", "Yeah", I said, still unsure if I was able to handle this task on my own "Congrats, it's your totally your thing", she said with a wink "You will do great, but I will miss you" "You can send me an email anytime", I said with a smile "I arranged for you to take a company laptop with you and Sarah has already called a cab to drive you to the company, it should be here by now" She then hugged me fondly all the while telling me not to work too hard and that she would call me by the end of the day for a feedback. I grabbed the laptop, and confirmed with Sarah, Walter's assistant, that the cab was indeed downstairs before leaving the office. During the ride, my mind was filled with strategies, on how to proceed with the training, who would be there, were the employees comfortable with this change. Communication was a very important part of the job. Not everyone we assisted was knowledgeable about computers, if we asked them technical questions, they would feel intimidated and they would most likely hesitate before asking us for assistance again. I was pulled out of my thoughts by the cab stopping in front of a huge building, with the sign " Casey Electronics " at the entrance. Two men in uniform were standing guard at the entrance's glass doors. One of them accompanied me to the reception where I was met with a friendly looking young woman who, upon enquiring about the purpose of my visit, immediately lifted the phone and dialed a number. She then said on the phone "Mr Brown, Ms Carsten is here on behalf of PVCS". She listened for a while before putting the receiver back down and she told me " Someone will come down shortly Ms Carsten to escort you to the conference room, if you don't mind, you can sit in the waiting area. This won't take long" She ushered me to a space close to the reception where there were two comfortable looking sofas in red leather. In the middle there was a small glass table upon which were scattered several magazines. At the corner was a coffee machine and a small refrigerator. Glass separated the waiting area from the outside, so I stood next to the glass watching the busy street. People were rushing by, barely glancing at the surrounding buildings, each in a hurry to reach their destination. I noticed there was a coffee shop right across the street, the interior looked like it was mostly made from wood and it seemed to me to have quite a homey feeling. I decided that I was going to visit the shop as soon as I was finished for the day. I heard footsteps behind me, so I turned around to face a man who must have been in his early thirties, he was peering at me behind black rimmed glasses "Ms Carsten?", he asked and when I nodded he extended his hand saying "I am Craig Brown, Mr Casey's assistant. I'm sorry I wasn't here earlier, I got held up in the elevator" I shook his hand smiling "It's quite alright, I was here for just a few moments" "Shall we?" he asked while tilting his head in the direction of the elevators "Sure" While we were waiting for the elevator, he said "Regarding the meeting, I thought that it would be best if the first encounter was made with the team leaders, who then will pass on the information to their teams, I hope that's okay with you" "Actually, that was what I was hoping for", I said as we entered the elevator and he pushed the button for the top floor. "Great", he smiled looking relieved," They are waiting for you in the Conference room." "Will you be attending the meeting as well?", I asked "Yes, I am attending on behalf of Mr Casey as today's meeting is very important." "Yes, indeed. After that,Mr Brown, will you be as kind as to show me around so that I can get a sense of each departments' tools and process?" "Certainly, the company is quite big though, so it will take some time. And please call me Craig, we will be seeing each other quite often from now on" "Alright, Craig it is then, but only if you call me Jen", I answered him and he smiled in return before saying "Here we are", the elevator's doors opened into a large corridor. the floor was covered with a light brown smooth carpet and the walls had paintings all along. It was very quiet, the doors to the offices were closed. There was just a receptionist who nodded at us when we got out of the elevator before Craig led me to the Conference room. I was met there with about twenty people who were chatting quietly. Upon seeing the two of us, the chatter stopped and all eyes focused on me. If it was any other circumstance, i would have been so embarrassed for being the subject of such focus.Outside of work, I would become extremely clumsy and quite at a loss of what to do if I was in a large group of people. But I found out that my job gave me such confidence that this attention wouldn't make me uncomfortable in the least while I was working. So I stood my ground, looking them in the eyes while showing a small smile and shaking everyone's hand while Craig finished introducing us. I didn't bother with names as I was terrible at remembering names and faces. I would have to meet a person at least twice and interact with them before remembering who they were. Once the introduction finished, I walked to the presenter's desk, set up the laptop, hooked it to the network and toggled the display to the huge projector occupying the wall behind me. I then faced the group who was looking at me in interest and said "I would like to start by thanking you all for attending this meeting. we, at PVCS are quite excited to start working with Casey Electronics. Our mission is to support the company employees whenever they have a computer related issue. We provide support 24/7, so even someone working from home can contact us for assistance. I will begin by explaining our process, in order to contact us you can ........... ............... ......................... ................................... " The presentation lasted for two hours during which I explained in length everything the team leaders might need to know about PVCS. When it was over, I thanked them all again for coming and expressed my availability for any question, then Craig led me back to the elevator "That was a nice presentation",he said,"You predicted all the questions we could ask of you" "Only the obvious one,",I answered smiling,"this being a new experience, the information needed to sink in before the employees could think of any question or express concerns" "I agree", he said "I will be having quite a few questions myself once I get to know the range of software being used here, so I will be troubling you" "No trouble at all",he said,"actually I set you up with a desk next to mine so you can reach out to me anytime" His friendly attitude put me at ease right away. I followed him to the 10th floor and sat at the desk that was set up for me. I was starting the workstation I was to work on,so I didn't raise my head when I felt someone enter the office . Then I heard Craig say "Good morning Matt, is everything alright? I was expecting you to come later in the afternoon" I looked up as Matthew Casey answered his assistant "My meeting with the chairman of C&D was finished earlier than expected and I canceled my lunch meeting with Georges Meyer as I have a conference call with Japan Tech in an hour."
I waited for him to finish before getting up from my desk and nodding at him politely "Good morning Mr Casey, it is nice to meet you again"
He seemed only then to notice my presence and for a second I saw that he was struggling with remembering my name before Craig came to his rescue "Ms Carsten is here to train our employees and learn about our process and programs"
"Is that so?", he said while looking at me as though he was judging whether I could handle this task on my own,"Well then, welcome aboard, Ms Carsten. Feel free to ask Craig if you need anything"
"Thank you sir", I answered and smiled politely at him, waiting for the first opportunity to get back to work.
I was used to people forgetting my name. I was a rather forgettable person. I didn't seek people's company and when I was in a group I tend to stay in the shadows watching people talk to each other, listening rather than participating. I wasn't the kind of person to drop a joke to make people laugh, or start a party, or call everyone out for a drink. Eventually, when people see how little effort I put into blending in, they tend to ignore you and move on without you.
So, outside my work, I had a few friends who knew who I really was. I was quite content with that.
So I wasn't saddened by the fact that this CEO who I met the day before couldn't remember my name. I was used to it.
I got my phone out of my bag, plugged my earphones and got back to work humming without a care in the world.
***********************************************************
*******Matt's POV******Boring, that was the only way to describe my meeting with Stephen Black, chairman of C&D. The old man kept insisting that we should merge our companies conveniently
forgetting to mention the financial trouble hois company was in. He was a few weeks away from declaring bankruptcy as shown by the latest economic articles and he was
grasping at straws.
Of course, I wouldn't tell him that I knew of his predicament. I've been playing this game too long to do that.
"Stephen, unfortunately, I have no interest in this line of business now", I said firmly,"Casey Electronics is not expanding right now, we are studying new projects"
"Matt, my dear boy, I am an old man, and I would like to ascertain that my life's work doesn't collapse after I am gone"
So now the old man is tempting me with the perspective of marrying his daughter. And he wasn't subtle about it either. He must really be desperate.
Well, Alicia Black was an attractive young woman. She studied business in Italy before coming back to the US to work for her father. We met at a charity fund raiser
and she called me the following day inviting me to a party she was hosting. We went out for a few months before she started getting increasingly jealous of my other
female acquaintances. I made clear to her from the start that she couldn't expect anything from me, that there was no love in our relationship. She was a lovely woman
whose company I enjoyed and she was a passionate bed partner.
She seemed fine with that for some time before starting to make scenes whenever I couldn't find the time to take her out or have dinner with her. It soon got tiring.
One day, while I was getting dressed and ready to leave the hotel room, she grabbed my hand to stop me from leaving
"Matt, marry me", I looked at her, lying there naked on the white bed sheets, looking at me from under her eyelashes while rubbing circles into my palm.
"I thought we had an agreement", I said coldly freeing my hand
"But, I love you", she whined getting on her knees and reaching for me," and I am sure you love me too, we've been dating for sometime now"
I grabbed my jacket from the Sofa and repeated "I told you from the start that there would be no silly attachments, and that the moment you make a fuss, it would be over"
She cried out"No, Matt, you can't leave me, you can't"
"Good Bye Alicia,"I said coldly before leaving her sobbing in the suite. As I reached the elevator she came running to me still naked, and yelling out my name. I didn't turn around, just pressed the parking lot button and the doors closed before she could reach them.
That was the last I saw of Alicia, and now her father was saying
"You have known each other for a while, and there is no one better to take over my company and take care of my daughter"
Having had enough of this conversation, I stood up saying "I have no intention of marrying Alicia, Stephen. And, now if you'll excuse me I have another meeting that I cannot delay any further" I gave him a short nod and left him unable to utter a word.
It was my motto to cut ties swiftly and efficiently with people and business partners if you have no more need for them. Emotions are burdensome in such situations. They have no room in my life.
I drove my car back to the company and before going to my office, I went to Craig's to tell him to check with the legal team the terms of a new contract we were working on.
As I came into his office, he looked up at me from his computer and said ""Good morning Matt, is everything alright? I was expecting you to come later in the afternoon"
"My meeting with the chairman of C&D was finished earlier than expected and I canceled my lunch meeting with Georges Meyer as I have a conference call with Japan Tech
in an hour.", I answered
That's when I heard a soft voice saying : "Good morning Mr Casey, it is nice to meet you again"
I turned around to find the girl from yesterday looking up at me. I remembered Walter saying that she was the youngest member of his team. Now that she wasn't sitting
on her desk and I could see her fully, I found out she was really short. She couldn't even reach my shoulder and had to tilt her head a bit backward to look at me.
For the life of me, I couldn't remember her name. Usually I was good with names, but I curiously I couldn't remember hers.
Certainly fearing an awkward scene, my faithful Craig came to the rescue :
"Ms Carsten is here to train our employees and learn about our process and programs"
Ah, Jennifer Carsten, I remembered now. Walter must hold her in high esteem if he trusted her with such an important work all alone.
It was difficult to believe though that this small girl with the quiet aura was able to handle everything on her own. Well, I learned long ago not to judge a book by
its cover. I intended though to ask Craig in details about the meeting they had earlier in the day.
"Is that so?", I said, knowing from experience that none of my thoughts would show in my face,"Well then, welcome aboard, Ms Carsten. Feel free to ask Craig if you
need anything"
"Thank you sir", she said quietly and she gave me a small smile as though asking if there is anything else needed to be added as small talk or if she could get back to
her work.
So I nodded my head back and turned slightly to Craig to discuss with him the contract.
I noticed at the corner of my eye that the young Ms Carsten was now wearing her earphones and looking intently into the screen seeming to forget about our presence.
I believe she didn't even notice when Craig and I left the office heading into mine to finish our conversation.
"So, how was the meeting with the team leaders today? ", I asked as soon as I got behind my desk
"Actually, it was better than expected, excellent even", he said enthusiastically I raised my eyebrows in surprise. Craig wasn't one to give compliments easily. "Ms Carsten must have made quite a presentation", I said "Absolutely", he said proceeding to tell me all about the meeting, about the way the young woman handled the different topics, explaining the process clearly and simply to the attendees who were all impressed with the confidence and the ease with which she was leading the meeting
"She really masters all her job's aspects, and the two hours passed in a flash", Craig ended
I laid my head back on the chair digesting this information. That was interesting. My doubts seemed unfounded as this uoung girl seemed to have impressed not only my reliable assistant but the elite of my company. The integration of PVCS services to the rest of the employees promised to be even smoother than I expected.