Clear

Clear: Chapter 2

Chapter 2: Mixed Greens

"Any more questions?" Chris chirped, turning to me from the mounted TV.

I laughed. "When can I test?"

"Let's get the hell out of this room and get your computer ready," he said with a wink.

I helped him pack his laptop and tidy the meeting room. I tried my best to pay attention to the personal demo for the last forty-five minutes, but the application was difficult to follow, and I felt bogged down with whatever Mr. Leoné wanted to say at noon. Plus, there was still the issue in my armpits!

My uneasiness spiked when we returned to our floor and Chris pointed down the right hall, saying, "On the opposite side of the company sign are the higher up offices of Mr. Leoné, the executive vice presidents and managing directors. And now Mr. Willoughby."

Oh, I'm still sweating. Jesus!

Little did he know, I'd venture down that hall around noon. How would I tell him this? I shadowed him to the left and back toward his office. That's when I saw the bright green dress circle ahead of Renee's smiling face.

"Are you on a tour?" She asked, smiling with her mouth open. Her big brown eyes squinted from her contagious grin.

Chris nodded, and Renee did a little happy dance before approaching with an extended hand.

"Hi," I laughed, and she promised to rub shoulders with me later before she sped into her office beside Chris'.

Chris continued, "In these cubes, we have trading solution specialists, financial consultants, developers for applications, systems and architecture."

We walked down the long row and I smiled at whoever made eye contact with me on either side. Chris informed how he was in charge of the financial team, whereas Renee managed the technical and hardware division.

"Your position is a little weird because it is open-ended. I mentioned during our first interview, you get the chance to work alongside me and Renee. That should give you an opportunity to see where you feel more comfortable to test. However, the reason we opened this contractor position is that we REALLY need someone who can bring the best of our worlds together."

"So a bridge," I inferred. I had a lot of work ahead of me if that app is what they have after a couple of years of development.

"Exactly," he grinned. "And that's why your resume was so attractive, Renee, Mr. Leoné and a few other executives."

Knowing so many important people looked at my resume made my eye twitch. I mean, I knew more than one person would look at it, but the pressure of this awareness crushed me a little.

I followed Chris back to his office. He asked, "Questions so far? I know this morning has been a lot to digest already."

I'm finna give you more to chew.

"Well, this isn't a question," I began, scratching the back of my neck. "When you took Willoughby to his office, Mr. Leoné spoke to me. I didn't want to be rude, so I answered honestly when he asked my opinion about the meeting. I probably said too much, because he told me to meet him in his office at noon."

Chris walked around his desk and raised his brows as far as they could go. I sat with my purse and slumped shoulders in defeat, perceiving the meeting would be bad until Chris finally broke his silence with a snicker. "I don't know what that means."

Tilting my head, I waited for him to say more.

"You're not getting fired because if you were, he would have informed me to relieve you by now." He rubbed his brow and leaned back in his chair. I wanted to believe him, but my manager hadn't sold to me. I wasn't in for a dumpster-fire of an interaction at noon.