see you were selected to be an intern to. My name’s Wesley.”
“Alice.”
“Nice to meet you, Alice. This here is Travis. He was hired yesterday.”
The brown-haired man nodded to me with a smile. Travis had these deep green eyes that made his face look even younger. I wondered if he even needed to shave this morning. His skin was smooth like a child’s without a single blemish on it.
“So, what’s going on?” I asked Wesley.
“I don’t know,” he shrugged. “I think they’re just going over some preliminary reports. We were told to wait outside. We’re all early for the scheduled appointment anyway, so they can’t yell at us about that.”
“Yeah…”
I exhaled a sigh of relief. Knowing that I wasn’t alone eased some of the tension that I was feeling. There was something waiting for us behind those closed doors. Now it was just a matter of figuring it out.
As I stood there and waited for the time to pass, I looked at Wesley. While Travis was calm, his arms crossed behind his back and holding his briefcase, Wesley seemed to be pacing back and forth in place. I could see the stress rushing through his body. He reached his thumb up to his mouth and started biting his nails.
“Are you all right?” I asked him.
“What?” he said, looking up. “Y-yeah, I’m fine.”
“It’s just the first day,” I told him. “They picked you for a reason. There’s no need to get stressed out over it.”
“Y-yeah, I know. I’m just… I just really want to get started. I’ve worked really hard to get here and I don’t want to screw up.”
“You won’t. If anybody does, it’ll probably be me.”
“I don’t know about that.”
“Well, we’re going to find out pretty soon, aren’t we?”
The three of us began to chuckle, Wesley more nervous than Travis and me. Before our nerves could get the best of us, the doors opened. It was Rafael himself who opened the doors. He looked magnanimous as he stood there in his suit. It was especially noticeable standing next to two newcomers like Travis and Wesley.
Rafael looked at all of us. His stared lingered on me for just a moment before he smiled and held his arms out.
“Ah, the new hires,” he said with some excitement in his voice. “The people that are going to change the face of this company for the better. It’s a new day, everybody! Don’t be shy. Come in and make yourself comfortable. The board won’t bite.”
Rafael held his arms out and graciously welcomed us into the boardroom. When I stepped inside, I finally saw what the others were talking about. The large table was surrounded by a dozen men. They were all old men, the wrinkles on their faces from a combination of stress, hard work and all of the years that passed by. They all seemed to be frowning as they looked at us. Despite Rafael’s positive demeanor, it didn’t seem to have rubbed off on the rest of the men we were going to work with.
“Take a seat!” Rafael said to us. “Right over here. There’s a spot over here for all of you.”
There was a small table off to the side for the three of us to sit. I could feel the eyes of every single board member upon me as I made my way to my seat.
“Why don’t we start with some introductions?” Rafael said, his enthusiasm unwavering. “Who wants to start?”
“Travis Johnson.”
“Wesley… Wesley Brooks.”
The two men waved sheepishly to the less than enthusiastic audience. Then they all turned and looked at me. Rafael stared at me and even he was no longer smiling.
“A-Alice Pratt,” I said.
I tried to ignore the fact that I was the only woman in the room but it was too glaring. Everybody was staring at me. Even Wesley and Travis were looking at me. I looked down at the table and waited for Rafael to begin my first day on the job.
“It will be light work for you all today,” he said. “While your offices are being prepared, you can observe what happens exactly in our meetings. I assure you that nothing should
“Alice.”
“Nice to meet you, Alice. This here is Travis. He was hired yesterday.”
The brown-haired man nodded to me with a smile. Travis had these deep green eyes that made his face look even younger. I wondered if he even needed to shave this morning. His skin was smooth like a child’s without a single blemish on it.
“So, what’s going on?” I asked Wesley.
“I don’t know,” he shrugged. “I think they’re just going over some preliminary reports. We were told to wait outside. We’re all early for the scheduled appointment anyway, so they can’t yell at us about that.”
“Yeah…”
I exhaled a sigh of relief. Knowing that I wasn’t alone eased some of the tension that I was feeling. There was something waiting for us behind those closed doors. Now it was just a matter of figuring it out.
As I stood there and waited for the time to pass, I looked at Wesley. While Travis was calm, his arms crossed behind his back and holding his briefcase, Wesley seemed to be pacing back and forth in place. I could see the stress rushing through his body. He reached his thumb up to his mouth and started biting his nails.
“Are you all right?” I asked him.
“What?” he said, looking up. “Y-yeah, I’m fine.”
“It’s just the first day,” I told him. “They picked you for a reason. There’s no need to get stressed out over it.”
“Y-yeah, I know. I’m just… I just really want to get started. I’ve worked really hard to get here and I don’t want to screw up.”
“You won’t. If anybody does, it’ll probably be me.”
“I don’t know about that.”
“Well, we’re going to find out pretty soon, aren’t we?”
The three of us began to chuckle, Wesley more nervous than Travis and me. Before our nerves could get the best of us, the doors opened. It was Rafael himself who opened the doors. He looked magnanimous as he stood there in his suit. It was especially noticeable standing next to two newcomers like Travis and Wesley.
Rafael looked at all of us. His stared lingered on me for just a moment before he smiled and held his arms out.
“Ah, the new hires,” he said with some excitement in his voice. “The people that are going to change the face of this company for the better. It’s a new day, everybody! Don’t be shy. Come in and make yourself comfortable. The board won’t bite.”
Rafael held his arms out and graciously welcomed us into the boardroom. When I stepped inside, I finally saw what the others were talking about. The large table was surrounded by a dozen men. They were all old men, the wrinkles on their faces from a combination of stress, hard work and all of the years that passed by. They all seemed to be frowning as they looked at us. Despite Rafael’s positive demeanor, it didn’t seem to have rubbed off on the rest of the men we were going to work with.
“Take a seat!” Rafael said to us. “Right over here. There’s a spot over here for all of you.”
There was a small table off to the side for the three of us to sit. I could feel the eyes of every single board member upon me as I made my way to my seat.
“Why don’t we start with some introductions?” Rafael said, his enthusiasm unwavering. “Who wants to start?”
“Travis Johnson.”
“Wesley… Wesley Brooks.”
The two men waved sheepishly to the less than enthusiastic audience. Then they all turned and looked at me. Rafael stared at me and even he was no longer smiling.
“A-Alice Pratt,” I said.
I tried to ignore the fact that I was the only woman in the room but it was too glaring. Everybody was staring at me. Even Wesley and Travis were looking at me. I looked down at the table and waited for Rafael to begin my first day on the job.
“It will be light work for you all today,” he said. “While your offices are being prepared, you can observe what happens exactly in our meetings. I assure you that nothing should
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