are you on?” Trent’s hand hovers over the buttons.
“Same as you, I suppose. Are you one of the new guys from Lauren’s team?” Elaine surveys Trent and then me.
I interrupt. “Yes, Elaine Stevenson, this is Trent Riznor. He’s been at the company since May.”
“Interesting, I don’t recall seeing you around.” Elaine taps her lip.
“Probably because he is always at his desk.” I force the sides of my mouth up.
“Is this the one we disagreed about?” Elaine squints her eyes as if she is trying to remember.
I use every inch of my self-control to act unfazed. “Not sure what you mean, Elaine, but he was one of my top picks.” The elevator opens and I do not hesitate to exit.
“I bet he is.” Elaine cackles and follows behind me.
I’m glad my office is not far from the elevator and the opposite direction to Elaine’s.
I unlock the door and shut out any possible further interactions with Elaine.
At my desk I boot up my laptop and see a ton of emails. Everything from status reports I requested to several from my mom. She called one too many times over the weekend asking if we could video chat with Jack and go over wedding themes. Each time I gave a random reason as to why it wouldn’t work out. Mostly I wasn’t interested in planning the wedding. I wanted to focus all of my energy on enjoying every moment of Jack, not thinking about rustic weddings or sparkles and confetti.
I scan the bolded emails and begin printing out the ones including stats for everyone on my team. I’ve got about twenty minutes to prepare for the meeting. I’m wearing my crimson blazer, white blouse, and grey pencil skirt with matching grey pumps. I’ve read about red being a power color. Obviously, this is the perfect color choice for my first meeting.
The stack of papers behind me are ready for me to review. I select a few highlighters from my pen cup. It’s another present from my mom. A silly penholder that reads: “You’re on Point” and has a winking ballpoint pen. I shake my head. My mom finds the most outlandish gifts.
Knock. Knock. I eye the door. I’m assuming it’s Javier. And I’m hopeful it’s not Elaine or, even worse, Leena.
I stand up and make my way to the door. I turn the handle and it’s Trent.
“Hey.” I raise an eyebrow at him.
“Hey Lauren, I wanted to go over a few things with you before the meeting if that’s all right?” He taps on a stack of papers in his hand.
“Uh, okay.” I close the door behind him. I’m not sure if I should tell him I don’t have time to chat. I’m also a bit concerned about his forwardness in wanting to meet with me prior to our team meeting.
“I don’t mean to impose, but I went over everyone’s numbers this weekend to see the weaknesses and strengths and I was thinking maybe we could have a workshop of some sort for each person to offer up guidance about their strengths. That way we can grow as a team together, working together.” He sits down and slides the stack of papers to me.
I nod. “Okay, that sounds good. What did you find in your…research?” I eye the stack of papers. It’s similar to the ones I printed out but with not as much information. He doesn’t have the same access that I do. I swallow. Should I even be having this conversation?
“I made a positive and negative traits list on the second page.” He leans over my desk and points as he lifts the top paper. His cologne wafts over my nose. It’s like tobacco and hints of lavender. Very different from Jack’s.
Jack.
Who, if I had to guess, would not appreciate my nose so close to Trent’s cologne.
I lean back and pick up the second sheet of paper and read over the stats Trent has prepared. It’s a great breakdown of each of our team member’s positive and negative traits. I nod.
“This is really great. Thanks for preparing this for me.” The sides of my mouth pull up naturally. I’m almost wanting to push them into a straight line. Does he really want to better
“Same as you, I suppose. Are you one of the new guys from Lauren’s team?” Elaine surveys Trent and then me.
I interrupt. “Yes, Elaine Stevenson, this is Trent Riznor. He’s been at the company since May.”
“Interesting, I don’t recall seeing you around.” Elaine taps her lip.
“Probably because he is always at his desk.” I force the sides of my mouth up.
“Is this the one we disagreed about?” Elaine squints her eyes as if she is trying to remember.
I use every inch of my self-control to act unfazed. “Not sure what you mean, Elaine, but he was one of my top picks.” The elevator opens and I do not hesitate to exit.
“I bet he is.” Elaine cackles and follows behind me.
I’m glad my office is not far from the elevator and the opposite direction to Elaine’s.
I unlock the door and shut out any possible further interactions with Elaine.
At my desk I boot up my laptop and see a ton of emails. Everything from status reports I requested to several from my mom. She called one too many times over the weekend asking if we could video chat with Jack and go over wedding themes. Each time I gave a random reason as to why it wouldn’t work out. Mostly I wasn’t interested in planning the wedding. I wanted to focus all of my energy on enjoying every moment of Jack, not thinking about rustic weddings or sparkles and confetti.
I scan the bolded emails and begin printing out the ones including stats for everyone on my team. I’ve got about twenty minutes to prepare for the meeting. I’m wearing my crimson blazer, white blouse, and grey pencil skirt with matching grey pumps. I’ve read about red being a power color. Obviously, this is the perfect color choice for my first meeting.
The stack of papers behind me are ready for me to review. I select a few highlighters from my pen cup. It’s another present from my mom. A silly penholder that reads: “You’re on Point” and has a winking ballpoint pen. I shake my head. My mom finds the most outlandish gifts.
Knock. Knock. I eye the door. I’m assuming it’s Javier. And I’m hopeful it’s not Elaine or, even worse, Leena.
I stand up and make my way to the door. I turn the handle and it’s Trent.
“Hey.” I raise an eyebrow at him.
“Hey Lauren, I wanted to go over a few things with you before the meeting if that’s all right?” He taps on a stack of papers in his hand.
“Uh, okay.” I close the door behind him. I’m not sure if I should tell him I don’t have time to chat. I’m also a bit concerned about his forwardness in wanting to meet with me prior to our team meeting.
“I don’t mean to impose, but I went over everyone’s numbers this weekend to see the weaknesses and strengths and I was thinking maybe we could have a workshop of some sort for each person to offer up guidance about their strengths. That way we can grow as a team together, working together.” He sits down and slides the stack of papers to me.
I nod. “Okay, that sounds good. What did you find in your…research?” I eye the stack of papers. It’s similar to the ones I printed out but with not as much information. He doesn’t have the same access that I do. I swallow. Should I even be having this conversation?
“I made a positive and negative traits list on the second page.” He leans over my desk and points as he lifts the top paper. His cologne wafts over my nose. It’s like tobacco and hints of lavender. Very different from Jack’s.
Jack.
Who, if I had to guess, would not appreciate my nose so close to Trent’s cologne.
I lean back and pick up the second sheet of paper and read over the stats Trent has prepared. It’s a great breakdown of each of our team member’s positive and negative traits. I nod.
“This is really great. Thanks for preparing this for me.” The sides of my mouth pull up naturally. I’m almost wanting to push them into a straight line. Does he really want to better
Similar Books
