Forgiving My Mate

Chapter 4: My Mate and My Mother

"It is a pleasure to meet you, Miss. I'll have you pack your things, and you can bring them down when you are ready." I left my mom's stuff in my mom's car. I'll have to pick those up sometime today or tomorrow.

"I going to grab my stuff later. Is it okay if I check out the room now?"

"Sure, thing. There is a change of clothes on the dresser. In twenty minutes, you are expected to be in the conference room to meet your co-workers." After leading me to a door and handing off a key, Katie was on her way back to her workstation. I opened the door and was surprised at how nice it was. The room was filled with pastels and the lights had little diamonds hanging from them. There was a sweet smell in the room. I felt that if I tasted the scent, it would taste like strawberries and vanilla ice cream.

Twenty minutes was not a lot of time to look presentable, so I got to work quickly. The dress was a simple black dress that hugged my curves, and it came with a small purse. After adding some pearl earrings to the look, I looked in the fridge. There was a variety of fruits, vegetables, and a take-out container of Chinese food. On the takeout container was a message from my dad.

Enjoy the food. We bought the Chinese food right before you came so it is still fresh. I remember how it was one of your mother's and your favorite foods. The fridge will be restocked with some additional food each week, but you can buy what you like with your paycheck.

-Dad

I prepared a bowl of fruit and watched some videos on my phone before I realized I was five minutes late to the meeting. I threw on the heels I wore earlier and searched for the conference room. After a few minutes of searching, I found the conference room and sat down in a chair in the back. I hope no one saw me walk in late.

"Our guest of honor has finally arrived. Come sit up here, Laura, and introduce yourself to your co-workers," my dad welcomed me with a forced smile. He didn't seem happy that I was late. Oops. I walked up to the stage and prepared myself to speak in front of twenty people. I saw Katie eating some fruit and she gave me a quick thumbs up.

"Hello, everyone. I am Mr. Francisco's secretary and I'm excited to work with you. Thanks for your time," I spoke into the microphone, and everyone clapped afterward. Someone was clapping really loud, and I turned in that person's direction. Oh no. What was Lance doing here? I left the stage and sat next to my father in the front.

We ate some light refreshments as we talked. Things seemed to be going well and I think I am going to like it here.

"Hey, beautiful. It's nice to see you again. I am also Mr. Francisco's secretary so you will be seeing a lot of me around," Lance said and gave me a welcome card. I turned away from him and told my dad I was ready to head back to my room.

My dad gave me a stern look. "Why were you late?" Oh no. As expected, he was upset with me.

"I'm sorry. I lost track of time."

He sighed out loud and gave me my first assignment as his secretary.

"You are to organize a meal for some friends from Arizona that I helped train. Mr. Knight will be assisting you with this task." My dad waved someone over and I saw it was Lance.

"I'm honored to help train Ms. Francisco. I'm sure with my help she'll get a promotion within the month," Lance cheerfully said, and the two men laughed. Oh hell no. Of course, Lance was friends with my dad and my dad wanted me to work with him. Lance handed me a bouquet of flowers and I recognized them from my mother's flower shop. I wish I could smash these like I did earlier, but my dad was watching me like a hawk.

"Thanks for the flowers. They are lovely. I'm sure Katie would be a great help as well. Mr. Knight looks really tired and needs to rest," I tried reasoning with my father, but he held up a finger.