24 Board Meeting
I was back in the office by two and I knew no one would know what I had been doing at lunch. Holding the signed contract in my hands, I made my way to my office and waltz on by my team with a scrutinizing stare at the ones who seemed to be slacking off. I nodded to Anna when I met her eyes and motioned for her to join me. I shut the door behind her and motioned for her to sit.
"Thank you for lunch, Ms. Xenos. Here is your change." Anna offers me the change from the money I gave her earlier.
I wave it off, "Don't worry about it Anna. Please, call me Melita when it is just the two of us. Now, I'm going to need you to fill out some paperwork." I inform her, opening up my email and print out the papers that Jackson needed.
"What are these for?" She inquires before her she starts looking at them.
"That is for a one bedroom apartment that the deposit and the six month lease is paid for. It's also partially furnished for you so you don't have to worry too much about needing anything. You'll be responsible for the utilities and after the six months, you'll be responsible for the rent if you decide to renew the lease. The rent is only a thousand a month and is just about a mile from here so you do not have to worry about being too far from the office. Do you think you might be able to manage this?"
Anna was hunched over the papers, her shoulders shaking.
"Anna?" I ask her again for her to look up at me with tear filled eyes.
"I.." Her soft voice breaks as she tries to speak, "I don't know what to say. How can I ever repay you Ms. Xen.. Melita?" Streams run down her cheeks as she clutches the papers to her.
"Just continue exceling at your job is all I ask of you and come the day you're able to help someone else in need, repay the kindness by paying it forward." I inform her. I was becoming uncomfortable with the amount of adoration in Anna's eyes for me at the moment. She was staring at me like I was a saint or miracle.
I clear my throat and motion to the papers. "Please fill those out as soon as possible. I've arranged a motel room for you to stay in until I receive the keys to the apartment for you. So the sooner those are filled out, the sooner you're in a place of your own."
I look at the time and stand up, "I'm sorry Anna. I have to go to a meeting with the board." I pick up the contract and usher her out of my office. "Make sure those are filled out and handed back to me as soon as possible." I remind her before I hurry to the elevator and press the button to go up. I enter the elevator as soon as it opens and press the button for the floor I need. I pull out my phone and put it on sound record and slip it back into my pocket.
As soon as the doors open, I'm practically jogging to make it by two forty-five, so I have some time to gather myself before presenting the signed contract to the board. I slow down and take a few calming breaths, gathering myself before opening up the door to step inside where Eric was with a few other members of the board but not the entire board.
"Ah! Ms. Xenos! There you are. I hope you enjoyed your lunch with Mr. Morgan?" Eric beams at me.
I make my way to the seat next to Eric as I inform him, "Yes, Yakato's is always enjoyable. Mr. Morgan enjoyed it as well." I state rather simply not trying to elaborate on my time at lunch.
"Oh yes, I enjoy eating there as well. Did you have the albacore? That's my favorite." One of the board members joins in.
"No, I didn't have the albacore, I had the halibut, blue fin tuna and red snapper . I will have to try the albacore next time." I say politely to which they nod to as several more of the board members arrive all at once with two members of my team. The members of my team Alice and Scott come to me and hand over a short stack of folders and take their places at the smaller table where they can make notes for me.
I scold myself mentally for not bringing them with me in the first place. I'll have to thank them for making sure I had everything I needed for this.
The meeting is called to order and each department head present speaks about the progress on each of the projects under way and their progress on them or if some situations have evolved hindering them.
"Okay, well you already have started the process on getting updated permits with the city, so just keep us up to date on the project. Now, moving on to our contract department. Ms. Xenos, if you would please?" George Dornell, Eric's cousin and second largest shareholder of DD Corporation motions towards me.
"We have finished up the contracts for .." I start informing them of the contracts for our smaller negotiations first. The ones that were merely renewals and with smaller companies that we would work with before I moved onto the Morgan Corp. contract.
"Today, Mr. Morgan signed the contract, accepting our offer for the demolition and construction of the new high rise, green space and parking center. I have the contract here." I pull out the contract and smile, "As I just got back from lunch not long ago, I have only the one copy, but I will ensure that plenty of copies are made for each department involved and also send it to every one via email." I hand it over to Eric who checks the signature page and nods to George.
"That's our girl, Ms. Xenos!" George and the rest of the board clap and congratulate me on getting the contract signed.
"Maybe we should move you into the operations department?" Sybil Gray pipes up with a raised eyebrow.
My eyes widen at the question. First of all, I'd rather spend the rest of my life in padded room than work under her. She's gorgeous visually speaking, but a two faced, backstabber is the last person I want as my boss.
I clear my throat and reply, "While I am thankful at you mentioning the thought, Ms. Gray, I am quite happy working in the Legal department under Mr. Dornell as the Head of the Contract Department. It is what the company sent me to school for after all."
"Well think about it. You were able to convince Mr. Morgan after he said he was going to speak to other companies. You could be useful with charms that could sway some one like Mr. Morgan." The way she spoke just now, implied a deeper meaning on how I was able to convince Jackson.
I smile at her, "Actually, Jackson and I, I'm sorry, Mr. Morgan and I.." I give her a dramatic roll of the eyes, "knew each other growing up. I was able to convince him as an old trusted friend. I did not charm him into choosing us." I try to sound as cordial as possible about it but I didn't care for her implication.
Her blue gray eyes flashed at me in annoyance, but I did not give a shit. She wasn't going to think I would actually work for her ever.
"Let's focus on the fact that she acquired the contract and she's happy where she is." George was quick to get back onto the meeting. "Thank you, Ms. Xenos. Is there anything else from the legal department that we should be discussing?"
Eric shook his head and smiled, "There's nothing more. Everything has been moving quite efficiently with Ms. Xenos in charge. I'm quite proud of her."
I do my best to give him a light smile and nod of thanks, knowing he's just buttering me up because he fucked up.
The rest of the meeting went fast as we concluded everything, but I could feel the scrutinizing stare of Sybil Gray the rest of the meeting. I refused to even look her way even as me and my team prepared to leave and exited the board room. I immediately started talking to Alice and Scott, thanking them for ensuring I had the other contracts for the meeting as I handed the Morgan corporation contract to Alice and told her to get it uploaded into the system and copies made for each department.
"Ms. Xenos?" I internally groan hearing Sybil calling out to me right as we were about to get into the elevator.
"Yes, Ms. Gray?" I turn in question to her.
"I wanted to tell you personally, congratulations on acquiring the Morgan contract. We should get together sometime and just talk about things other than business." I can see the cogs working in her mind.
"I appreciate the offer, but I am focusing on other things in my free time and am dedicated to that. Maybe if things change, I'll let you know. Thank you again, Ms. Gray, I need to get back to work. Enjoy the rest of your day." I nod to her and enter the elevator with my team members and immediately start informing Alice how many copies I would need of the contract.
The second the doors closed Scott whistled and shook his head, "She looked heated just now. I would be careful Ms. Xenos. That woman likes to eat people and spit out your bones back in your face."