compliment about her. He had always been very nice to her, and very polite – a real gentleman; but his high rolling and demanding lifestyle represented an incredible amount of work for Jennifer, who often had to be available late at night and during weekends. A little gratitude from her employer meant a lot to her.
Jennifer had no life outside of her job, and at twenty-eight, she was still single, living in a small apartment. At $50K a year, she couldn't complain and was able to save, but most of the money was spent taking care of her grandmother. Plus, money wasn't everything and all she wanted now was less stress and more time to take care of herself.
She was very independent, had a strong personality and had never been afraid of challenging work. However, the line between work and her private life had been crossed many times over the years, and she was now desperate to take a break from her employer's professional and personal demands.
Ironically, her lifestyle was like a perfect shadow of Bruce’s. Whenever he needed something, Jennifer was never too far, acting like a silent facilitator. She’d always thought that her salary had to be justified, so she was willing to accept a lot of unusual demands and requests. As a consequence, her personal life had suffered many times in the past.
She had been single for eighteen months, and had seen her last boyfriend less than ten times in six months. She knew because she had to make appointments with him. And, each time they’d met, she had been interrupted by Bruce calling her, making it almost impossible to enjoy her dates. Needless to say, her sexual life was extremely limited but she was too busy to even think about it.
“I have to meet Mr. Sakamura next week to negotiate the terms of our joint venture,” he said. “He's ready to open the Japanese market for me. You know they’re huge in terms of technology. We're talking about half a billion dollars in gross revenue per year. He's a big guy and must be received accordingly...”
Jennifer knew about this deal and how important it was. “Don't worry, Mr. Wilson, I have arranged everything. I gave my personal number and email to Benny in case of an emergency. And I made sure I can receive international calls when I'm over there.”
“Who?”
“Benjamin Travis, or Benny. He's the new trainee. He's been here for four months only, but he's very sharp and I trust him.”
“You trust him?” Bruce asked with a hint of skepticism in his voice. “Is it the guy who's always shaking when he comes to my office and spilled some coffee on me the other day?”
Jennifer wanted to laugh but just smiled. Benny was a twenty-four-year-old young man with excellent grades at school, who used to live in the countryside. Landing an internship with international company Wilson Corp. and working directly with its founder and CEO, self-made billionaire Bruce Wilson was the opportunity of a lifetime; one many people would definitely die for.
“It's him,” she said. “But I think you exaggerate a little. He’s far from being dumb, and the coffee that day was my fault. Anyway, he's just very nervous around you. I think he's impressed and kind of intimidated. You represent the ultimate success that any young man can only dream about.”
Bruce looked at her, skeptical. “Yeah?”
“Yes. Honestly, he's very competent and catches on very fast. He’s very responsible and thoughtful, in my opinion. You can count on him.”
“Well, if you say so,” Bruce said, sweeping the air with his hand. “Okay, I know you want to leave. That’ll be all. Enjoy your trip Jennifer, and be safe. Good night.”
“Thank you, Mr. Wilson. See you in three weeks. Good night.”
***
I t was 10:00 p.m. when Jennifer finally got home. Organized as she was, she didn't really need to do any last minute packing. She had already prepared everything a few days ago, so she could take some time for herself before leaving.
She had a light dinner, a
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