Je t'adore

Chapter 9: The Stairs?

Scarlet woke the next morning with the resolution to grab the bull by the horns. She selected her workout playlist and turned the volume up on her stereo, then made her way to her bathroom for a shower.

Looking in the mirror Scarlet smiled at her choice in clothing. She looked like a woman with an agenda. She wore a pair of black fitted slacks, a pale blue button down and a pair of pumps. Her hair was parted ¾'s the way and flowed with loose beach wave curls. Before leaving Scarlet packed her bag and grabbed her breakfast to-go.

* * *

Okay, you can do this. Open the door Scarlet . . .

Scarlet reached for the lobby doors, grabbed the handle then pulled away as if it was on fire.

Okay, maybe not. . . . .

Scarlet turned and started to walk back to her car.

No

She stopped in her tracks

I have to go back! I need this job. . . . because bills are a thing, right? Okay, fair point, but do I need THIS job for money? Fairer point. I can get a new job. Yeah, a new job seems like a splendid idea. I mean, who likes living in the city anyway? It's noisy, always busy, pigeons are everywhere, there's a billion cafes for no reason, and you have to drive a mile or so to reach the nearest grocery store. Ridiculous with a capital R! Even more ridiculous than . . . than, being so nervous that I can't even open a door. I mean, okay, maybe it comes in as a close second? They could be tied. True. Wait, this isn't the point!

"Uggghhhh," Scarlet burst out in the middle of the street. Screw this. She darted towards the lobby, grabbed the handles of the doors and marched in. She briskly walked past the elevator and to the stairs. Well, I don't have to see him right this minute.

After walking up what felt like a billion flight of stairs Scarlet downed an entire bottle of water. Maybe I should actually use my workout playlist at the gym.

After turning the corner Scarlet ran into, well nearly knocked over, Kim.

"Scarlet! I've been looking for you everywhere!"

"Really? What happened?" Scarlet was confused.

"Today's your first board meeting with Mr. Thane. All department heads are required to attend. Didn't you get the email?"

"The email? Oh my god! I did get an email but I thought it was this Friday."

"It was but Mr. Thane pushed the meeting up because of his schedule. Come on, hun, let's go. I'll explain about the meeting on the way there. We're already late as it is."

Scarlet swallowed a lump in her throat. "We're late?"

"Yeah, the meeting started 20 minutes ago."

Scarlet sighed, "I guess we can't take the stairs."

Kim gave her a puzzled look, "The stairs? Why would we take the stairs?"

Scarlet laughed nervously, "No reason."

* * *

As Scarlet opened the door to the conference room all heads turned to face her. The room suddenly became quiet. She swallowed yet another lump in her throat.

"Ms. Stevens," commanded Nathan, "take a seat near Kim."

Scarlet obediently followed Nathan's orders.

"Is it me or does he seem to be in a bad mood?" Scarlet questioned Kim.

"No, he seems fine to me," Kim replied as she opened her notepad and began to take notes.

The meeting drawled on for hours as department heads presented their sector's productivity. Scarlet shuffled through her paperwork and found the statistics she diligently put together over the weekend. She was prepared to show the board that her department was functioning at its capacity and flourishing. Scarlet took a few sips of water, and brushed her slacks before standing for her turn. As she opened her mouth to speak she was cut off by Nathan.

"I would like to thank you all for your patience. I know this meeting was longer than usual," Nathan casually stretched, "but you're now all free to go."

"Thanks," Jim from HR commented dryly as he gave Nate a light shove, "I hope you know my wife blames you for my flat ass."

"Why's that?" Nathan asked innocently.

"You have me sitting here for hours, man. Be careful she might sue you," Jim called out as he made his way out the door.

As everyone collected their papers and exited the conference room, Scarlet sat in a bewildered state. Had he really skipped her? Did he just . . . I spent hours preparing for this meeting and he just skips me? No. He would have thought!

Scarlet gathered her report and walked over to Nathan. He was now typing away on his laptop. So she stood and waited for him to look up.

"Ms. Stevens, is there something you need?" He asked in a confused tone.

Scarlet held out her report to him, "This is my department's report. I included statistics and graphs for the analysis component," Scarlet beamed happily at the work she did.

Nathan on the other hand looked hardly impressed. If Scarlet didn't know any better he seemed annoyed rather than ecstatic to be in her presence. He stared at the report and then returned his gaze to the screen in front of him.

"Ms. Stevens, Kim collects all of my reports for me. You don't need to give it to me directly."

"But, I want to," she confessed. "Aren't you going to take it?"

"Leave it on the table."

"Leave it on the table?"

"Yes, Ms. Stevens," answered Nathan without taking his eyes off of the screen.

"So, first you don't allow me to speak in the meeting and now you won't even take my report directly?"

Nathan closed his laptop abruptly and stood. "Ms. Stevens," he spoke in a clipped tone,

"If you want to speak then you should arrive on time."

"I wasn't aware that the meeting was moved."

"It's your job to be aware."

"Who moves meetings overnight?" Scarlet protested.

"Your boss."

"So, because I was late due to the fact that YOU moved the meeting overnight, I'm the one to be punished? And your only explanation is that because you're the boss? That's hardly fair!"

"You want an explanation, Scarlet? I run an international company. I DON'T have time to waste. I can't wait for you to show up. Do you know how embarrassing your insubordination is to me and my reputation? If you can be late, then why can't the others? It's my job Scarlet. MY JOB and unlike you I value it!"

"I made a mistake! People make mistakes. I care about my job more than anything and we both know that," Scarlet was now eye to eye with Nathan. They were both fuming and it was clear to Scarlet that she was getting nowhere with him. Turning, she placed her report on the table and left.

After he watched her leave Nathan slumped back down in his chair and opened his laptop again. He continued to type but his attention was constantly drawn to Scarlet's report. He sighed, ran his fingers through his hair and picked it up.