tried to relax when I got back to my apartment but I couldn’t. It felt like I was floating on air. I was too excited. My family was almost as excited as I was when I told them what happened. They had no clue what Barnett Industries was, so I didn’t bother explaining how big of a company it was. I told Danica that I got the job and she insisted on celebrating. I might have been tempted to take her up on the offer but I already had a meeting scheduled for tomorrow morning. As hard as I worked in college, I knew that this was only the beginning.
If that weren’t enough, I had several files sent to me just like Rafael promised me. I sorted through everything and wondered if he actually expected me to get through all of it before the meeting tomorrow morning. There were profiles on so many different business. There were varying financial forecasts for every different way we could go. Despite the amount of money the company was worth, they couldn’t just invest this money in anything. There wasn’t enough to go around. This is why there was a board. This is why Rafael couldn’t make these decisions unilaterally. There was too much money at stake. There were too many lives that could be changed with a simple yes or no. And besides all of the businesses, there were people behind them. I learned about all of the men running the other companies. Rafael had several files sent to me that dealt with all of their personalities and tendencies. It was too much for me to absorb. For a split-second, I wondered if I was in over my head.
I spent the rest of the night in front of my computer, studying everything he had sent to me. I couldn’t stay up forever though. I needed a good night’s sleep as much as I needed to soak up all of this information.
I had trouble sleeping that night. I still had no idea what to expect. As I laid there in bed, my anxiety got the best of me. But it wasn’t just the work. I started thinking about Rafael himself. I had no clue that he was a man worth billions when I first met him. I almost felt embarrassed that he’d picked me out of all of the candidates he could have. I had just as many questions about him as I did about my new job.
He said he picked me because of my qualifications. But was that really the case? Was he really telling me the truth? The questions danced around inside of my head and I eventually drifted off to sleep.
* * *
I woke-up bright and early the next morning. I did my hair and put on my makeup. I didn’t have much to wear. I contemplated wearing the exact same outfit I wore twice already to the building but decided on something even more plain.
The building was crowded with so many different people. It all felt surreal. To think that I was fresh out of college and now among so many people responsible for so much money was unbelievable. And I was working with the man who was right at the top.
I went to Estelle’s office on the 88th floor. When I expressed my confusion to her, she chuckled at me then congratulated me. I felt embarrassed because of how lost I was but she explained that I wasn’t the only one. I headed one floor up toward the boardroom. There wasn’t much room for confusion. There were several smaller offices to the side but a set of double doors right at the center of the floor was my obvious destination.
There were two men standing next to the entrance. They looked young and nothing like the board members I was told about. They seemed similar. Everything from their height to the way they styled their hair to their suit was the same. One of them had hair that was darker than the other and the only other way I could tell them apart initially was their suits.
I walked up to one of them. His hair was jet black and his suit was a dark navy blue. He turned and looked at me with a smile.
“Hi,” he said. “You’re not a member of the board of directors, are you?”
“No,” I laughed. “I… I was about to ask you the same thing.”
“Oh. I
If that weren’t enough, I had several files sent to me just like Rafael promised me. I sorted through everything and wondered if he actually expected me to get through all of it before the meeting tomorrow morning. There were profiles on so many different business. There were varying financial forecasts for every different way we could go. Despite the amount of money the company was worth, they couldn’t just invest this money in anything. There wasn’t enough to go around. This is why there was a board. This is why Rafael couldn’t make these decisions unilaterally. There was too much money at stake. There were too many lives that could be changed with a simple yes or no. And besides all of the businesses, there were people behind them. I learned about all of the men running the other companies. Rafael had several files sent to me that dealt with all of their personalities and tendencies. It was too much for me to absorb. For a split-second, I wondered if I was in over my head.
I spent the rest of the night in front of my computer, studying everything he had sent to me. I couldn’t stay up forever though. I needed a good night’s sleep as much as I needed to soak up all of this information.
I had trouble sleeping that night. I still had no idea what to expect. As I laid there in bed, my anxiety got the best of me. But it wasn’t just the work. I started thinking about Rafael himself. I had no clue that he was a man worth billions when I first met him. I almost felt embarrassed that he’d picked me out of all of the candidates he could have. I had just as many questions about him as I did about my new job.
He said he picked me because of my qualifications. But was that really the case? Was he really telling me the truth? The questions danced around inside of my head and I eventually drifted off to sleep.
* * *
I woke-up bright and early the next morning. I did my hair and put on my makeup. I didn’t have much to wear. I contemplated wearing the exact same outfit I wore twice already to the building but decided on something even more plain.
The building was crowded with so many different people. It all felt surreal. To think that I was fresh out of college and now among so many people responsible for so much money was unbelievable. And I was working with the man who was right at the top.
I went to Estelle’s office on the 88th floor. When I expressed my confusion to her, she chuckled at me then congratulated me. I felt embarrassed because of how lost I was but she explained that I wasn’t the only one. I headed one floor up toward the boardroom. There wasn’t much room for confusion. There were several smaller offices to the side but a set of double doors right at the center of the floor was my obvious destination.
There were two men standing next to the entrance. They looked young and nothing like the board members I was told about. They seemed similar. Everything from their height to the way they styled their hair to their suit was the same. One of them had hair that was darker than the other and the only other way I could tell them apart initially was their suits.
I walked up to one of them. His hair was jet black and his suit was a dark navy blue. He turned and looked at me with a smile.
“Hi,” he said. “You’re not a member of the board of directors, are you?”
“No,” I laughed. “I… I was about to ask you the same thing.”
“Oh. I
Similar Books
