by Rhea Wilde
“What part of him are you looking at right now?”
“Well, I sit in the boardroom and watch as he conducts his meetings. He deals with the board members and talks nothing but business, business, business. He clearly has a grasp on the company he’s in control of. Now to see him mingling with all of the shareholders and all of the people that work with him… It’s impressive, to say the least.”
“Yes, indeed it is.”
There was no question about his charisma. Even when I didn’t know who he was, he managed to get my attention. The more I learned about him, the more intrigued I became. He was nothing short of remarkable.
“He wasn’t always like this,” William said suddenly.
“What? What do you mean? Like what?”
“So focused. So determined. He’s really driven to make this company succeed more than anything. Everything changed ever since his parents…”
“His parents? What happened?”
I turned and looked at William. He stared back at me incredulously.
“You mean you don’t know?” he asked. “It was in all the papers. They covered the story for weeks.”
“No,” I said, half-embarrassed that I didn’t know what he was talking about. “I suppose I didn’t do my research.”
“Rafael’s parents… They died in a car accident. It sent the entire company into chaos. Look at all of the people in this room. Every single one of them didn’t know what to do. Everybody was talking about splintering the company into pieces. There was no way that a young man like Rafael could take over a company so quickly, let alone do it with the specter of his parents still looming over him.
“Something happened to him though. I can only assume he took his time to mourn, obviously. But then he took the reins of the company and was more determined than I’d ever seen him before. I don’t know what it was exactly. When his parents passed, he definitely changed. Sometimes I wonder whether that smile he’s wearing is genuine or not.”
I turned and looked at Rafael. My mysterious boss was still an enigma but learning about what happened to him certainly explained some things. I was always curious to know more about him. Part of me wondered why I didn’t bother learning more about him on my own time in the first place. But now that William had given me a lead and some insight into his personality, there wasn’t a single part of me that loathed trying to figure him out. For now, I was more than willing to put whatever it was between us off to the side. More than anything, I had the motivation to work even harder for my boss.
As the night progressed, William continued to tell me more about his experience with the company. He talked about all of the business deals he made and all of the people he encountered. I reveled in all of the newfound information he was throwing at me. I took the time to soak all of it in. Even though he wasn’t as old as a lot of the other men in the room, it was a good experience to learn and hear from one of the shareholders personally. Even Wesley and Travis took the time to listen in on some of the stories he told.
After dinner, everybody sat at their tables while Rafael took his place in the front of the room. It was no different from our board meetings except the dozen board members were replaced by hundreds of employees and shareholders. He still looked enthusiastic, his perfect smile complementing his ravishing good-looks like always. I had seen him in a t-shirt and jeans and in a suit but never a tuxedo. It was a welcome change of pace.
“Thank you all for coming out tonight,” he announced. “None of this would be possible without you. We’ve had a lot of success. Some of you have been with us for years. Some of you are new. But it doesn’t matter. You’re a part of the Barnett family. And I’m grateful for every single one of you.”
When he paused, the crowd began to applaud for one another. A few men cheered. The loud sound coming from some of the men was an obvious indication that they had taken advantage of all of the free alcohol. Rafael raised his arm and laughed to quiet the crowd down.
“But you’re all gathered here today not only to indulge in our success. I’d like to personally thank all of the shareholders for your continued support. I want to let you know that you are the reason we work so hard. And we’re also here to let you know that we’re not finished. We’re going to keep working hard so that we can continue to enjoy good times like these. Thank you again for coming out. Let’s celebrate! There’s a band here for a reason, everybody!”
Rafael pointed at the nearby band and they began to play some music. As the melody wafted through the air, more and more people began to take their place on the dance floor.
I sat there anxiously. Travis and Wesley made their way out onto the floor with the women that were accompanying them. I was alone at the table with William, unsure of what I was supposed to do next, even though it seemed obvious.
“So, Alice… Would you like to dance?”
“I… I don’t know.”
“You don’t know?”
“I’m not really much of a dancer. At least, not like this. I don’t want to embarrass myself.”
“What’s wrong?” he laughed. “Are you afraid you might get fired after Rafael sees what you look like on a dance floor?”
“There’s a good possibility that might happen.”
“Oh, come on,” he continued laughing. “Just a single dance. I am a shareholder. I’m sure Rafael said that your job, more than anything, is to please us.”
“Yeah, he did say that,” I sighed.
I pondered William’s offer to dance. While I did, I looked across the room and saw Rafael making his way off of the dance floor. He then approached a young woman and held his hand out to her. She was a short woman with blonde, curly hair. She was decked-out in a dress that was just as fancy as the other ladies at the dinner. I watched the two of them make their way out onto the dance floor.
There was something about the way it looked. She wrapped her arms around his neck and pushed her head against his chest. I felt something inside of my stomach and when I noticed it, I felt ashamed. I was jealous.
No, you’re not. You barely know the guy. He was just a fling. And he’s just your boss. There’s nothing between the two of you.
I swallowed then turned my attention to William. Anything to stop my mind from thinking about thoughts I was ashamed to admit.
“All right,” I said to him. “I suppose a dance can’t hurt.”
“Don’t worry. If anybody thinks you look bad, you can just blame it on me.”
I laughed along with him then took his hand as he led me out to the dance floor. The upbeat tempo of the song got everybody moving. Even though the average age of everybody on the floor was significantly older than the places I was used to dancing in, that didn’t stop them from enjoying themselves. Before I knew it, I was no longer thinking about anything except having fun dancing with the shareholder I was supposed to entertain. The night was better than I could have expected it.
* * *
I wasn’t sure how long I was supposed to stay at the dinner party. But nobody seemed to be wearing out their welcome. The alcohol continued to flow and the music continued to play. I had forgotten that I was here for business and this was a work assignment. I danced with William and a few other shareholders. I even spent some time with Travis and Wesley, the latter clearly being affected by all of the alcohol.
I was sweating but not really exhausted. The dining hall continued to be catered to. It was like a nightclub for older people where everything was free. It was the kind of life that I could get used to. Of course, I knew these types of events didn’t happen too often, so I didn’t let it get to my head.
I didn’t drink too much, out of fear of making a fool of myself. I did, however, drink enough to loosen up and not feel like I was out of place. The night wore on and I didn’t think about the repercussions of potentially embarrassing myself.
Every now and then, I would glance over at Rafael. He was always on the other side of the large dance floor. When it wasn’t the petite blonde woma
n with the curly hair, it was another young woman who was just as beautiful. He managed to split his time between the two and keep them both happy.
Eventually, the crowd started to dissipate. The night had grown so old and more and more people were refusing to keep up with it. I took a seat at a table with Travis doing his best to take care of a drunk Wesley.
“A fine example of the people he’s hiring,” Travis lamented as he made sure Wesley didn’t lose his dinner all over the table. “Come on. I think you’ve worked hard enough for tonight.”
I giggled at how red Wesley’s face was. Travis picked Wesley up from his seat then dragged him out of the dining hall. I watched the two of them stumble out along with the crowd of people then sighed. It had been a long night but one that I enjoyed more thoroughly than I was expecting to.
The band played a slow song as the night seemed to be winding down. I watched the sparse number of couples moving around on the floor while I leaned back in my chair to take a moment to myself.
“Are you all right?”
I slowly turned my head toward the voice next to me and saw the man standing there.
“I’m fine,” I smiled at my boss.
“You look exhausted,” Rafael chuckled.
“I might be. I wasn’t expecting so much. I thought I was just going to stand around and listen to a bunch of different people talking at me.”
“Isn’t that what you did?” Rafael said as he took a seat next to me.
“I suppose I did. I just wasn’t expecting it to be quite this… laborious.”
Rafael started to laugh. He turned and watched the dance floor along with me. Neither of us said a word. We only watched everything that was happening before us in silence. The feeling felt so familiar. It was like I had done this with him before. When I finally placed the last moment we had like this, I began to laugh. He turned and looked at me, waiting for me to say something.
“It’s not quite the same,” I said. “The people out there. They’re having fun. Sure, there’s a little alcohol. But this was a business meeting.”
I turned and looked into his eyes.
“We’ve done this before,” I said to him. “But the last time we did it, we had a lot more fun.”
I remembered what it was like with him at the club. It was just like this. I leaned up against the bar while we enjoyed the surrounding of the people dancing all around us. I didn’t know who he was. I didn’t even care.
Now I couldn’t look at him the same way. We were sharing a similar moment now. When I stared into his eyes, I saw so many different people. And I found myself wanting to please each and every single one of them.
“Your dress looks amazing on you,” he said.
“Thank you,” I began to blush. “Actually, I was in such a hurry that I left the credit card at Elizabeth’s. I hope that’s not a problem.”
“It shouldn’t be. I trust Elizabeth’s judgment to always make the good decisions.”
The sound of the music began to grow louder in my ears. As Rafael stared at me, the feelings inside of me were conflicted. He was my boss. But I still wanted nothing more than for him to be that man I didn’t know and had a fling with.
I swallowed, our eyes unmoving from one another.
“That tuxedo looks good on you,” I said in an attempt to break the awkward silence.
“Flattery won’t get you a promotion, Alice.”
“Maybe… I want something else.”
He stared hard at me. I immediately felt embarrassed after realizing what I said. I didn’t know why I said it. The combination of the moment and the alcohol running through my blood suddenly gave me the nerve to tell him what I was feeling.
“I hope I’m not interrupting.”
Our moment was broken by another voice. I turned and looked at William standing next to me.
“Rafael, you don’t mind if I borrow her for a moment, do you?” William said to him.
“Not at all, friend,” Rafael replied. “I’m sure Alice would be happy to dance with you.”
“Alice?”
I looked up at William as he offered his hand to me.
“Y-yes, of course,” I stuttered.
I took his hand and he slowly led me out onto the dance floor. I began to dance with William. His arms were wrapped around me and I had a loose grip on his neck. William didn’t say much. I could only assume that he was just enjoying the moment. Either way, I wasn’t paying much attention. I looked over to the side and saw Rafael sitting there by his lonesome, watching everybody dance. His eyes were still on me. I didn’t know what he was thinking. Deep down inside, I could only hope that he felt the same way.
Before I could gaze at him any longer, a familiar-looking blonde woman walked up to him and began chatting with him. I turned my attention back to William and enjoyed the last dance of the night.
Chapter 16
I sat in the boardroom the following Monday morning still recovering from the weekend. Apparently, it only took a couple of weeks for my alcohol tolerance levels to lower. I managed to clean myself up enough to look presentable and not look like anything from the dinner party was still bothering me. Not anything I drank, in any case. I thought about Rafael the entire weekend. It was no use. I knew that I had some feelings for him even though there was no point.
Ever since we had our moment in the back of his limo, Rafael gave no indication that anything else was going to happen. It bothered me more than it should have. I was in no place to act upon my feelings.
I sighed as I took a seat at my usual place. Wesley seemed to have recovered well from his night out and when Rafael stepped into the boardroom, it once again felt like business as usual.
“All right, everybody,” he said to get everybody’s attention. “The dinner was a success. The shareholders seemed to be pleased with our progress and they’ve given us our full support. Everything is going well. But that doesn’t mean we can rest easy. We still need to do everything we can to push ourselves.
“It’s the start of our fiscal year. We’ve improved every year for the past seven years. Let’s get off to a good start and make it eight. The first thing we need to do is figure out how we’re going to budget everything. There are a lot of numbers to go over, so you’re all going to be working hard on this.”
Rafael began to walk around the room. He started listing areas each of the board members needed to focus on. It wasn’t a big deal to most of them, since they all had an area of expertise. This was a new experience for me and my fellow interns. Rafael made his way toward us.
“Travis, you have oil and gas,” he said as he plopped down a large folder in front of him. “Wesley, you’ll be handling commercial and industrial machinery. And for you, Alice… You’ll be looking at emerging technologies.”
I looked at Rafael for a moment but he quickly turned away. He made his way back toward the front of the room while I look at the menacing folder in front of me.
“Don’t be limited by the information in these folders,” he said. “This is only a portion of the available data we have. I expect all of you to have something for me over the next few days. Look at areas to focus upon. Emerging businesses. Financial trends. Do your job and everything else you were paid to do. Let’s figure out where the money is going and how we can make sure it’s being spent well. That will be all for today.”
Rafael ended the meeting early but that didn’t mean my workday was over. Wesley sighed as he looked at the folder in front of him.
“Can you believe this?” he said. “One minute, the guy is telling us to get drunk. The next he’s making me sort through piles of information just to see if any of it is important.”
“I do believe that’s your job as a financial analyst,” Travis pointed out to him.
“I know that. He didn’t have to tease us with a fancy dinner party though.”
I had grown to enjoy the constant bickering between the two of them. The board members were all professional, almost solemn. After a couple
of weeks here, I could barely tell any of them apart. I wondered what it was like before the three of us arrived here and how Rafael dealt with men twice his age that were devoid of any personality. While Wesley tried to convince Travis to switch assignments with him, I packed my things so that I could do all of my work in my office. I glanced over at Rafael and saw that he was already at a computer in a corner of the boardroom. Whatever he was working on had his complete attention. I made my way down to my office and prepared to work through what he assigned me.
* * *
I was so deep into my work that I lost track of time. The sun outside began to fall and in its place were the lights from the buildings surrounding me. The windows of each building lit-up into uniform little rectangles. I barely noticed it though. I took a few breaks to catch my breath but the pile of papers I had to sort through was endless. I took Rafael’s advice and found as much information as I could inside of the company’s database. He wanted me to look for something new. If I could manage to find some company like Corve Tech before it took off, I would have done my job and then some.
I leaned back in my chair and yawned. I stretched my arms and looked out of my office. I noticed that the lights were dim. Suddenly, there was a knock at my door. I nearly fell out of my seat.
“Y-yes? Come in.”
The door slowly opened and a security guard stepped inside.
“Is everything all right?” he asked me.
“Yes, everything is fine. Did somebody report a problem?”
“No. I just saw your light on. Everybody usually heads home for the day. Especially on a Monday. Just wanted to make sure that you’re where you’re supposed to be.”
“Oh. I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to alarm you. I can leave now if you need me to.”
“It’s not a problem. I’m just doing my job. If this is your office, you can stay as long as you like. I’m just not used to seeing the lights on in an office besides the boss’s.”
“The boss’s?”
“Mr. Barnett. He’s usually the only one working late. It’s not really a big surprise when I see his light on.”
