by R. R. Banks
“Why the hell did you let me cast my lot with these bastards!?” he screamed, though restraining from what he said before. Alexis shook her head as he walked past the corridor where she was leaning to see another man emerge from the room, though in near tears as he slowly dredged down the small walkway in between the cubicles. His eyes were already starting to look swollen as his jaw quivered with his body slouching. He looked defeated as he slowly walked by with his hands in pocket and his head tilted towards the ground, almost as if someone had passed away. Every man or woman who walked out of the room either carried a frown, a scowl, or looked emotionally depressed and seriously contemplating the rest of their lives.
Nathanial walked out of the room with a scowl across his face as Alexis started casually walking down the pathway between the cubicles. His tan jacket looked a bit wrinkled as it covered his powder blue, button up shirt, though matched his pants and shoes. His feet pounded against the ground as he looked forward, walking with a complete determination as if he had somewhere to be. His facial expressions were similar to the others: a wide-eyed gaze, blinded to anything that wasn’t right in front of him. Anger filled his eyes with every step he took with his well chiseled jaw quivering in a state of disbelief. He stood tall as he walked, not slouching, though considerably rigid in his posture, as if he was trying to make a point in an argument. He continued to walk forward, not noticing Alexis moving up beside him as they walked side by side without him paying her a bit of attention.
“Fancy running into you here,” she said, drawing his attention as she tried to keep up with his frantic pace, walking quickly through the corridor of cubicles without any knowledge of where they were headed. “How have your meetings been?” she asked, only then noticing him turn his head to acknowledge her.
He blinked slowly and exhaled, shaking his head while turning back to see where he was walking. “Terrible, if you must ask,” he said with a harsh tone, seeming a bit dejected after the meeting.
Alexis kept up with him step for step, walking through the hallways and past the location of their first encounter. “Oh, well I’m sorry it was so bad,” she continued as they walked hastily through the building. Her calves were starting to burn as she kept up with his incredible pace, looking down to see him walk quickly through the various corridors and cubicle farms, finally reaching the door to the parking garage.
Nathanial didn’t speak much as he continued to walk toward his pearl white Lamborghini Aventador, walking to the door with Alexis following him. She stopped behind his car, looking around to see that she followed him all the way to his car without realizing she made it there. She started thinking about what Hannah told her about it may not be meant to be. Alexis’s jaw started to quiver a bit as her lips started to quake as she thought about her failure, doing her best to cope with the loss she was about to be dealt. Alexis was not good with failure, having not dealt with it very often.
“Umm, so I guess I’ll see you around,” she continued, trying to engage in a conversation with the man who refused to pay her any attention. He placed his hand on the lever and pulled it back, opening the door as he pulled off his tan blazer, tossing it into the passenger seat before placing his foot on the side of the car. He looked forward, focusing his gaze on the wall of the parking garage without focusing on anything in particular, just staring into the blank emptiness.
Alexis nodded as she bit her lip, turning her body slowly before walking away without any discussion from Nathanial. “Alexis,” he stated, still holding his gaze into the vast emptiness of the garage wall. She turned to look at him as he didn’t change his stance, holding his leg on the frame of the car with the door open, resting his arms on the top of the car. “The work you and your friend Hannah did might potentially save three companies that are near the point of bankruptcy,” he continued, still focusing his gaze away from her. “Perhaps I underestimated the two of you, though your reputations for excellence were grossly off.”
“Oh, thank you,” meekly stated Alexis as she looked on as Nathanial appeared distant and uninterested. “We’re here for another nine days, so hopefully the two of us will be able to do a few more great things,” she stated humbly, realizing that her professional career meant more to her now than any loss she could possibly take in her personal life. With her mind starting to think more about how she could move on, she tried to seem a bit distant with her responses.
He looked down at the top of his car, breaking his gaze with the wall. “You are one of the most dedicated women I have ever met,” he stated plainly, turning his head and looking at Alexis standing at the edge of the garage. “You are an incredibly determined woman, and it serves you well.”
Alexis was confused as he complimented her, not knowing if he was trying to boost her ego or let her down gently. She thought about the entire encounter in her head, wondering if Hannah gave her awkward advice. With her best friend always around when she was trying to seduce men, she was always able to find her courage from her best friend. Alexis was never suave or debonair with the opposite sex, always treating it like a business relationship instead of allowing herself to personally be let down. “Thank you, Mr. Jenkins,” she said professionally, giving off a very serious tone, changing her position and stance, even though she was standing in a parking garage, following Nathanial in the manner of a stalker.
“Nathanial,” he said, pulling his foot of the frame of his car and turning his body to face Alexis. “What are you doing tonight?”
Alexis paused, stammering a bit while in a state of shock. “Um, nothing,” she answered softly. “I don’t have any plans yet.”
He chuckled while shaking his head. “Alexis, I’ve had an awful day, and I would love nothing more than to go home, decompress, refocus my mind, and then go and spend a wonderful Friday night getting to know a woman from back home.” He paused, looking at Alexis as she looked on with wide eyes. “And to see that you followed me to the parking garage, I’m sure you’d oblige my request.”
Nathanial smirked as Alexis nodded. “Yes, I’d love that,” she said. “Here, let me give you my number so you can text me where to go.”
“I already have it,” he informed her. “I took it from the employee database this morning hoping I’d find you again. I’ll make us a reservation somewhere and send you a text with the address.”
Completely surprised, Alexis shook her head while watching Nathanial step into his Lamborghini, start the ignition and pull away from the parking garage. Acting on Hannah’s advice and being impulsive paid off, though she was completely confused as to what had happened. “Was he planning on asking me out anyway?” she thought to herself, thinking back about the comments he made regarding already having her phone number. Though slightly bothered, she shook it off and walked back into the building, finding Hannah waiting for her just inside the door.
“When I told you to go get what you wanted, I didn’t mean chase him to his car,” she quipped sarcastically with a disappointed look on her face. “I meant follow him through the cubicles to the break room again, or maybe walk him down a hallway and pause, hoping he stops with you, not follow him to see what his license plate number is.” Hannah sighed as she placed her arm around Alexis’s shoulders, comforting her while she looked dumfounded. “Come on, we can try to find some pizza and ice cream to drown out your sorrows tonight.”
“He asked me out,” replied Alexis, causing Hannah to remove her arm and turn to face Alexis. “While we were out there, he asked if I wanted to have dinner with him tonight.”
Hannah nodded in approval. “Great, and you said?”
“He didn’t let me answer, saying that by me following him to the parking garage, he already knew my intentions.”
Hannah nodded again, this time agreeing with what she said originally. “Yeah, a little bit too over the top there, Lexi,” she said with an assured tone, placing her arm back around her best friend’s shoulders. “And people say I’m as subtle as a jack hammer; clearly
they haven’t met my best friend.”
Chapter 7
Hannah and Alexis lounged in their apartment, taking off work two hours early so that they could start their weekend earlier. After the very long day, arriving at work early to have a meeting with one of the board members in New York, followed by Alexis’s stalking her prospective beau, Nathanial Jenkins, the girls decided they had earned an early day and went home for the afternoon, stopping for a brief lunch before arriving at their apartment. Immediately removing their clothes and getting comfortable, the two opted to spend their afternoon lounging around, taking a nap, and waiting to find out when and where Alexis would be meeting Nathanial later that evening.
She ran her hair through her fingers and shook it about, shaking her hair and turning it into a mess while she looked at herself in the bathroom mirror. With her hair now frizzy, she pulled it back into a ponytail and emerged from the bathroom wearing a tank top and shorts, opting for comfort in her own apartment. Their kitchen was small, yet functional, consisting of a large refrigerator, range, and microwave. She walked over and opened the fridge door, grabbing a bottle of water and a small pack of fruit before reaching into the pocket of her shorts to feel her phone vibrating.
Hey, meet me at nine tonight at Amal. I hope you like Italian.
~Nathanial
“Hmm,” she thought to herself as she read her phone, thinking about the prospect of meeting Nathanial at one of the most luxurious restaurants in all of Dubai. She shrugged her shoulders, knowing now that she would have to look better than she did the previous night, even though she was not much of a fan of Italian cuisine. She placed her phone back in her pocket and carried her water bottle and fruit cup with her out of the kitchen and into the common room.
“Looks like I’m meeting Nathanial at nine,” announced Alexis as she walked toward the couch to find Hannah sitting with her laptop out. With a smile on her face, Alexis walked around the edge of the couch and sat down beside her best friend, looking over as she searched the internet for various clues on who she was going on a date with.
Wearing only her panties and a t-shirt, Hannah leaned forward on the couch with her laptop sitting on the coffee table. Enthralled with morbid curiosity, Hannah surfed through various websites and financial blogs to try and discover who Nathanial Jenkins actually was. “It says here that most of his money is tied up in oil, investing heavily in the smaller countries operating within the consortium,” stated Hannah, analyzing the facts she read off of her laptop screen and recited them for Alexis. “I don’t understand how that can be viewed as a lucrative strategy.”
“That’s not a terrible financial strategy,” defended Alexis. “Because of the security of the consortium, most of Nathanial’s investments are protected. The opportunity for massive growth is substantial, though somewhat unlikely.”
Hannah smirked. “Already defending him and you’ve yet to go out on a date?” she joked. “I understand the low risk, high reward strategy that is involved with this method of investing, and it’s clearly worked for him in the past, however, he would be better off investing the sure things and pouring all of his money into them. He would honestly be better off investing the bulk of his funds in our company if he wanted a safer and possibly just as steady rate of return.”
“But what’s the fun in that?” asked Alexis rhetorically. “In all seriousness, some people do not like to invest safely. They’d rather take a chance and get the thrill of victory.”
Hannah scoffed as she turned and looked back at her computer. “I can’t see doing that with my money.”
“Neither one of us has as much as he does,” countered Alexis as Hannah started typing on her computer keypad again, searching for more results on Nathanial Jenkins and his history.
“He doesn’t date much,” announced Hannah as she read off an article from a gossip column. “It says that Nathanial Jenkins is rarely seen in public with women. When he’s out, he is usually wining and dining some of the world’s most famous and wealthiest women. No matter from what city, country, or continent, Nathanial Jenkins does not discriminate. These women that he is seen with, while incredibly wealthy, are also stunningly beautiful, though have been known to have boring, drab personalities. He was last seen out two months ago while dating a supermodel from Switzerland who, and this report came from the waiter at the restaurant, swore at the waiter, for the restaurant not offering cheese from special dairy cows from Spain. It says that they left shortly after this incident and he has yet to be seen again at this restaurant. The restaurant in question is Amal, one of the finest Italian restaurants in the entire world.”
Alexis choked on her water a bit as she listened to Hannah read off the last sentence. “Amal?” she asked after clearing her throat. “This incident happened at Amal?”
Hannah turned her head and looked at Alexis with a perplexed glare. “Yeah, why?”
“That’s where I’m meeting him at nine,” she answered. “He’s taking me to Amal.”
“But you hate Italian,” stated Hannah plainly.
“I know, but I didn’t want to be rude,” continued Alexis. “I’m sure there will be something there that I can muscle down. I’m sure they’ll at least have wine.”
Hannah shrugged her shoulders before turning back to read more on the screen. “Oh, this is interesting. It turns out that the Australian Oil Trade and Refiners, one of our sister companies, has lost over three hundred percent of their revenue over the past year.” She paused a bit, scrolling down on her monitor while Alexis leaned forward. “Nathanial Jenkins has personally lost two hundred million dollars from this company’s mismanagement and misallocation of investment funds. Their chairman has been forced to resign and the company is in the process of preparing to file for bankruptcy, losing their position in the Consortium of Oil Traders, and potentially being sold to other companies in Australia.”
“The largest problem that the Australian Oil Trade and Refiners is facing is the ability to gather new sources of crude, stating that their insufficient resources, combined with their poor credit and financial history, is making it nearly impossible for them to keep themselves afloat in the crude oil business,” continued Hannah.
Alexis’s eyes grew wide. “Without product, they’re practically dead already,” she stated plainly. “He’s going to lose a lot more money before the time this is all done.”
“And we’re going to get a new member in the consortium,” said Hannah. “Honestly, I don’t have to deal with the other companies very often, but I’ve heard how much you and the rest of the logistic administrators complain about the others, so I can’t imagine bringing in a new company from Australia is what anyone wants.”
“Not even a little,” answered Alexis. “Continuity is what we all crave when it comes to dealing with one another because at least then, we have a report. Over the past year, whenever a new company comes in, they always try and throw their weight around and do things their way, before eventually standardizing themselves with the rest of us because that’s how we all like to do business.”
Hannah looked at her screen some more, analyzing the potential losses for all of the investors. “In the end, Nathanial Jenkins may lose four hundred million dollars from this company sinking.”
“When were the Australians meant to meet with the officials in COT?” asked Alexis as Hannah continued to read the news article. “They desperately need the help of any other group in the consortium.”
“Today,” she answered solemnly. “They had their meeting about their reformation and salvaging their company today in Dubai.”
Alexis leaned back on the couch and sipped on her water. “I would be incredibly cranky after that meeting,”
“I’d head straight to a bar,” quipped Hannah. “Honestly, I don’t know if I could drink through this though. I may have to start doing meth.”
The two girls chuckled as Hannah closed the lid of her laptop, turning her body to face Alexis as she sipped on a gl
ass of wine that was hidden behind the lid of her laptop. “Seems to me like you’re starting a bit early today.”
“Seems to me like you’re starting a bit late,” replied Hannah as she sipped on her wine with a smug look on her face.
Alexis chuckled as she stood up, watching Hannah sip on her glass of chardonnay while she thought about what she was going to talk about that night. Her mind continued to dwell on how Nathanial reacted after he left the meeting, but she kept revisiting the fact that he willingly sought her out before he received the terrible news. “Would you consider it a good thing that he found my phone number in the employee database?” asked Alexis.
“It makes him look just as creepily awkward as you are,” answered Hannah sarcastically, still holding onto her glass of wine by the stem. “You two are possibly made for each other.”
“Ha ha,” replied Alexis, knowing that Hannah was going to respond with sarcasm but letting herself become impervious to it. “I guess what I meant to ask is, would you consider it to be something that shows him to be legitimately interested?”
Hannah set her wine glass down and leaned forward on the couch, gazing at Alexis as she shook her head in disbelief. “I swear you act more and more like a teenage girl every time you finally decide to go out with a boy,” she stated rudely. “Alexis, I love you. You’re my favorite person in this entire world. I would do anything to make you happy and keep you as my best friend, but please, for my sake, and for the sake of everyone you ever come into contact with, please, don’t over think this.” Hannah stood up and walked over to Alexis, placing both of her hands on the sides of her arms and facing her. “Please, don’t treat this like you’re at work. You’re not being paid to overanalyze every finite detail in this encounter. You’re not being paid to learn how to finesse your way into the conversation. Hell, Alexis, you’re not being paid at all,” she quipped, prompting Alexis to giggle as Hannah continued to lecture her. “Alexis, please, just go have fun.”
