by Rhea Wilde
What was that?
I did my best to shake all of the thoughts out of my head and focus on trying to learn more from all of the information and notes that had been sent to me. All of the work did a good job of keeping my focus. I sat at my desk for the rest of the night, trying to prepare for the meeting tomorrow morning. I took a moment to rest my head upon my desk and before I knew it, I drifted off to sleep.
Chapter 12
Despite Rafael’s odd behavior, I was still excited about showing up to work tomorrow morning. I showed-up to the boardroom bright and early. One of the benefits of working on the second-highest floor of the building was that I didn’t have to make my own breakfast. There was always catering there to make sure that I never had to sit in the meetings with an empty stomach.
There was a small dining room just outside of the boardroom. The board members were always there early in the morning, enjoying their breakfast and reading their papers and journals. Their demeanor was a lot more relaxed than one might expect. I suppose that this was the one time during the day when they didn’t have to focus on making important decisions.
“Hey, Alice. Over here!”
I made my way over to one of the tables where Travis and Wesley were waiting for me. It was clear that there was a division between the interns and the real board members but nobody seemed to care. As I started to eat my breakfast, Wesley started talking about everything that happened yesterday.
“I still can’t believe he actually listened to you,” Wesley said with some enthusiasm in his voice. “He took your advice over the other board members.”
“It was obvious why he did it,” Travis said.
When he said that, I began to wonder if he suspected that there was something happening between Rafael and me. I nonchalantly ate my food while Travis and Wesley continued to have their discussion.
“Is it?” Wesley asked. “Please, explain to me why that is.”
“What’s to explain?” Travis said. “It’s a billion dollars. Mr. Barnett said that he didn’t want to offer more than three. Two was better than he could have imagined. If there were any chance of him saving money, he would take it.”
“…I don’t think it’s that simple,” Wesley said skeptically. “It was obvious that Mr. Barnett was willing to spend more than three. Why would he try to be so cheap?”
“Cheap? I think this atmosphere is starting to get to your head. We’re talking about a billion dollars. A billion. That’s a lot of money, even for someone like Mr. Barnett.”
“Nah, I don’t buy it,” Wesley shook his head. “I think he took Alice’s advice for a different reason. Sometimes you just have a feeling about these things and go with your gut. In this case, he thought that maybe Alice had a point. What do you think, Alice?”
I wasn’t sure what to say. It was partly because I knew that there was possibly another reason as to why Rafael decided to take my advice. But I knew that it was nothing I could admit.
“I don’t know,” I shrugged. “You both have a point. All that really matters is that he made the right decision. It wouldn’t be the first time, would it?”
“…Yeah,” Wesley sighed. “I suppose you’re right.”
“In any case, you should probably stop thinking too much about it,” Travis suggested. “We’re going to be witnessing a lot more negotiations. We’re going to be dealing with a lot of different people and none of them are going to be like Jason David. They’ll probably be older and a lot more difficult to influence.”
“Well, I’m glad I’m not making any of these big decisions.”
“With that attitude, you never will be.”
“Oh, shut up, Travis.”
I laughed at Travis’s joke. Wesley smiled then rolled his eyes. I didn’t say much while I ate my breakfast with the two of them. Instead, I spent most of my time thinking about everything that happened after our meeting. I thought it was strange that Rafael wasn’t here to eat breakfast with the rest of us but figured that he was probably in his office enjoying a meal that was much more luxurious.
Full and content, all of us made our way into the boardroom where Rafael was waiting. The meeting wasn’t anything out of the ordinary. There was no specific task we had to discuss or a special company we had to focus on. I spent most of the time just trying to take in all of the information and numbers that the board was throwing around. The finances of Barnett Industries were stable and there was steady growth. At the end of the meeting, which only lasted for a couple of hours, I came to realize that the company I was working for would be around for a long time.
* * *
After the meeting, I sat in my office that morning going over all of the information that was sent to me. In addition to learning more about the company. I had to learn more about how everything worked. There was an entire system dedicated to communication between everybody. It wasn’t just the other board members. I had access to a library of information and when I couldn’t find it, there were assistants like Estelle who were more than willing to point me in the right direction so I could find what I was looking for.
I would never get to the point when I would know everything about the company. But as a financial analyst, it was my responsibility to keep the company going in the direction it was already going. I had an obligation to Rafael and the other board members to do everything in my power to make an accurate financial forecast. It was a lot of pressure but as I became more absorbed in my work, I found myself growing more comfortable in my position. Intern or not, it felt like I was back at school.
While I examined some of the numbers from the latest quarterly report, a message popped-up on my screen. I clicked it open and read it immediately.
Alice,
I need to speak to you in my office at your earliest convenience.
-Rafael
I wasn’t sure what to think. There was a lot of things we needed to discuss but I never imagined it would be so quickly. I didn’t have much work to do, so I figured now was as good a time as any. As I stood in the elevator and made the trip up to Rafael’s office, my mind was racing.
What is he going to say to me?
I made my way toward his office. My heels were loud as they clicked against the marble floor. When I got up to his secretary Tina, the blonde woman barely noticed I was standing there. Eventually, she turned her head up after looking away from one of her monitors.
“Yes, can I help you?”
“I’m Alice. Alice Pratt. I’m here to see Mr. Barnett.”
“One moment, please,” she clicked on her headset. “Mr. Barnett, there’s a Ms. Pratt here to see you… Right away, sir. Just see yourself in, Ms. Pratt.”
She smiled and nodded at me then returned to multitasking. I exhaled a deep breath then stepped inside of Rafael’s office. It was just as spacious and empty as I remembered it. The view just before noon was spectacular. Rafael sat by his lonesome at his desk, going over some papers in front of him. When I got up to his desk, he held his hand out to me.
“Please, Alice. Have a seat.”
I sat there in front of him and Rafael immediately began to stare at me. I didn’t look back at him, instead taking the time to scan his desk. There were papers scattered everywhere. It looked almost comical from how many things there were for him to go over. And that didn’t count the various monitors that were off to the side that displayed the stock market and the constantly fluctuating numbers.
“Do you know why I asked to speak to you?” he said.
“No,” I shook my head.
“But if you had to guess, what would you think this is about?”
I looked up at him then swallowed. It felt like I was being tested. There was a right answer to it and as I struggled to find it, I found myself growing more and more anxious.
“Alice?”
“…Last night,” I said as I gulped again. “In the limo…”
Rafael closed his eyes then nodded as he let out a sigh. Instead of being upset, I was perplexed to see t
he look of disappointment on his face. He pushed himself away from his desk then stood up. I watched him take a few steps from around his desk then turn and look out toward one of the large window walls of his office.
“That was wrong,” he sighed again.
I looked at him confused. He turned to me then started to smile.
“That’s not what I meant,” he said as he shook his head. “I enjoyed it. You… do something to me, Alice. Something I can’t explain. But it’s not right.”
“Rafael—”
“Wait. Let me finish. Alice…”
He took a step forward and sat on the edge of his desk. He looked deep into my eyes and a smile came across his face. But even though he was smiling, I could see the disappointment on his face.
“When I read what you said to Estelle, I didn’t know who you were. They were just words on a screen. Maybe she put it more eloquently than you actually said it but I knew right then and there that I had to hire you. And then I invited you up to my office for the first time and I realized you were a woman… The same woman I’d spent one of my late nights with. You don’t know how torn I was.
“You deserve this job, Alice. I said that to you before and I’m saying it to you again. I didn’t hire you because you’re attractive or because I expect you to do everything I tell you to. I hired you because you’re talented, you’re driven and you have what it takes to succeed. What happened in that limo was a mistake. I had no right to use you for my own personal gratification.”
“Rafael, you didn’t use me. I enjoyed it, too. I like—”
“Alice, stop. I know what you’re thinking. And I know what you’re going to say. But we can’t let this, whatever it is, distract us from our work. We have to remain focused. It’s not just the board. Every company has our eye on us. Why should they give you any respect and treat you as someone as capable of handling themselves in business if I can’t give you that same respect?”
“How does something between the two of us change things?”
“Maybe it doesn’t. But people will talk. They’ll assume. Tell me this, Alice. Would you rather be known as a woman who became the first female board member of Barnett Industries? Or would you rather be perceived as a woman who sucked her boss’s cock to get to the top?”
“But that’s not true. I didn’t… Did I?”
Despite everything he had said to me, Rafael still hesitated to respond. I wanted to believe that I was given the job based on merit alone. And now he found himself struggling to give me an honest answer.
“Do you want to keep this job?” he asked me.
“Yes. Of course.”
“Then I expect you to perform to the best of your abilities. Nothing else will happen between us. Nothing else. Don’t… Please don’t make me regret this decision. Do you understand?”
“…Yes.”
“Good. You can leave now.”
The disappointment had not left his face. I didn’t know why I was so attracted to him. I barely knew him. But as I turned around to leave his office, I began to feel the same disappointment that he was feeling.
I made my way back to my office and did my best to absorb myself back in my work. Thankfully, there were several reports that needed filing and I could be more active rather than just scanning over information and numbers concerning the company.
Still, in the back of my mind everything Rafael just said to me was lingering. I worked so hard to get to this point. I had to remind myself that I couldn’t throw it all away. If Rafael didn’t want me then I had to respect his wishes. Thinking more about it, I was grateful for the respect he was showing me. I was conflicted. Deep down inside, I knew that I had some feelings for him, regardless of what was causing them. I couldn’t let them get in the way of getting the job done.
And so I sat at my computer and focused on my work. Before I knew it, the day had ended. So much happened in these past three days. It was nothing like what I expected. But all I could do was ignore all the distractions and continue to do the job that I knew I could do.
Chapter 13
There was something between us. That much was obvious. But Rafael was making every attempt not to acknowledge it.
I still didn’t understand why he was making it so apparent to me that what happened was forbidden. He was in charge of the entire company. If he wanted to sleep with one of his employees, nobody could hold it against him.
But he was still my boss. That was more important than anything. He reiterated that just from the way he looked at me when I was in his office. What made the entire situation more frustrating was that there was no way to avoid him.
I quickly developed a routine. Over the next few days, I found myself growing more and more comfortable in my position. I would sit in on the board meetings and learn more about how business was conducted. Then I would spend the rest of the day in my office filing away paperwork and preparing for future meetings with the board of directors.
While I sat in the meetings, every now and then I would catch Rafael’s eye. He looked at everybody to reiterate whatever point he was trying to make. But when he looked at me, I knew that there was something else on his mind besides business. I didn’t know what it was exactly. I could feel it though. There were times when I wished that I could work up the nerve to walk back into his office and tell him exactly how I felt. The problem was that I didn’t know how to think about him. He wasn’t just some fling like so many other men. He was different. I began to wonder why I was working so hard in. Was it because I was trying to impress him? Or was it because I just wanted to do the best job I could do? In any case, I no longer felt intimidated sitting in the boardroom on the 89th floor.
Early one morning, I sat in the boardroom and waited for the meeting to begin. Wesley took a seat next to me.
“Is that a new outfit?” he asked.
“What? Oh… Yeah, it is.”
“Yeah, it looks really nice on you.”
“Thanks.”
“Spending that first paycheck, huh?” he laughed.
“Yeah, something like that…”
Elizabeth had prepared more outfits than I was expecting. I now had something for every workday of the month. And the cost of all of it was put on the company tab. I looked around the room and saw that Wesley wasn’t the only one who noticed I was wearing something different.
The outfit wasn’t anything spectacular but definitely a change from what I usually wore. The business suit was much more stylish than the blouse and ordinary pair of pants I usually wore. More importantly to me, it was comfortable.
As everybody sorted through the papers in front of them before the start of the meeting, Rafael made his way into the boardroom. The black pin-striped suit was just as refined as everything else he wore. He made his way to the front of room and got everybody’s attention.
“Good morning, everybody,” he announced. “It’s going to be a long meeting. We have a lot to go over. Let’s get started…”
He turned to look at the monitor on the side of the wall where some graphics and numbers were being displayed. As he turned his head, he paused for just a moment to glance at me. He stared at me, presumably to examine the outfit I was wearing. He had that look in his eyes. The same look he always had when I caught his eye during a meeting. But as usual, he quickly regained his focus and proceeded to go over the numbers projected on the wall for all of us to read.
The meeting wasn’t anything out of the ordinary. It was more analysis and financial forecasts for every department that Barnett Industries was working in. The board discussed recent gains and losses. For the most part, it was business as usual. It was nice to know that if I could keep this job, this company would be around for a long time.
Hours passed and the end of the meeting approached. Rafael held his arms up in the air to gather everybody’s attention once again.
“This weekend, we will be hosting the annual Spring Barnett dinner,” he announced. “It’s an opportunity for everybody to get a c
hance to meet the shareholders and let them know that the company is in good hands. As CEO of this company, I take personal responsibility in telling them that their support is appreciated. I also use it as an opportunity to give them the peace of mind they’re looking for. But that’s not all.
“We work hard in this office. And that’s not just me or the people in this boardroom. Every person who works in this building is a representative of Barnett Industries and its subsidiaries. This is an opportunity to indulge in the success that we’ve worked so hard for. I expect each and every single one of you in this room to be there. This is an opportunity to meet the people whose expectations we are constantly trying to meet. Don’t miss it.
“That will be all, ladies and gentlemen.”
Everybody began to file their things away.
“Did you hear that?” Wesley said to me. “A fancy dinner with all of the shareholders. I don’t think I’m ready for this.”
“It doesn’t matter,” Travis said to him. “You know you can’t excuse yourself from this.”
“I understand that. I just… I was expecting to work in an office and crunch numbers the entire time. What the hell am I going to do when some shareholder starts talking to me and I have to tell him I’m one of the bastards sitting in the boardroom who can potentially throw away his money?”
“How about you don’t say that and just tell them that you’re still an intern and learning on the job?”
“Well, I can’t impress anybody if I’m just an intern. Do you think there are going to be any women there? Who knows? Maybe I can sink my claws into some older woman. She can be my sugar momma and—”
“Okay,” I interrupted him. “I think I’ve heard enough for today.”
I started to laugh at my fellow interns’ conversation. I never considered what it would be like mingling with some of the shareholders. I had been so used to sitting in an office and working for the past week that I almost forgot what it was like to do something besides work.
As I packed my things, Travis and Wesley continued to bicker about their expectations for the dinner this weekend. They talked about it the entire time, even as they left the boardroom and headed toward the elevator. I began to head for the exit myself, the boardroom almost completely empty, when Rafael stopped me.
