Is He The One?

Chapter 1

It's 20 minutes into my lunch break and I am stood in the waiting line at the post office at Covent Garden. Couldn't they have more people at the desk? Why today? I have my appraisal in 40 minutes with my line manager and one of the senior directors.

Standing here sweating, I wonder who the Senior Director is. Would it be Paul Goode the HR Director? Or would it be a Regional Director? I mean, our company is only UK based even though it's in the Top 20 growing businesses worth millions. But surely it's can't be anyone else right? I don't even know anyone higher above the Regional Director, Jon Ramsey. I spend the time waiting and wondering as I didn't have much time to prepare and do a little bit of research on this 'Director'. If I knew who they were, I could have at least prepared questions for them or know what kind of character I would be facing. Will I get fired? Have I been performing well? I work in Communications and I have done everything I can to make sure I have done the best job possible as a Junior Press Officer. In fact, I have been one of the most up to date members of staff when it comes to being in the loop with the latest news and my articles. Surely, I have nothing to worry about? I mean, come on, why on each is a fucking Senior Director attending my appraisal? I wish I could stop the thoughts from running across my head at 100 miles per hour. Alas, my subconscious likes to do its own thing.

I finally get served at 1:45pm, with 15 minutes before my lunch break ends and my meeting begins. I rush my eBay parcel through and run to the office. I make it to the meeting room with 5 minutes to spare. 'Good, I'm the first one to arrive. 5 minutes to calm my nerves down and compose myself.' I look around the room and admire the beautiful paintings on the walls to my right and left. Whoever chose the pictures, clearly liked sunny days in the city. The wall to my right had a mesmerising picture of St Paul's Cathedral. The cathedral was glowing in the sunshine. To my left, was a painting of Green Park on a sunny day in possibly 18th Century or so. As you walk into this room big enough for 20 people to sit around the oval table, you feel warm and welcome. Thanks to the glass wall looking over river Thames. 'Beautiful' I said to myself.

"It is indeed." I heard a coarse voice behind me. It sounded like it came from someone possible in their 40's. It wasn't a voice a recognised and it made me jump. I turned around to this possibly 6 foot tall handsome young man. He couldn't have been much older than me. Probably 28 or 30, I thought. It definitely wasn't someone I knew. If I knew this guy, trust me, I would know and remember him. He is too handsome to not remember. I stood there frozen and staring at his porcelain skin, brown epicanthic folded eyes and thin lips. His hair was neatly parted on the side, like they did in the 50's. I am sure he knew he was handsome. His dark blue suit and white shirt with no tie, made me weak at my knees. what a striking man, I thought to myself.

"Sorry, I didn't mean to startle you." After a few seconds of struggling to get my words out, I responded. " No, it's fine. I was lost in my own world for a second there." 

" I'm Alex Bennett, the chairman of BenZi Communications." Oh. my. god. Why is the fucking chairman meeting me for my appraisal? What did I do wrong? I was starting to panic and my face drained. Trying to keep my calm, I replied with a mere "Nice to meet you". 

"Please, take a seat. I believe you are Abigail Watts?" I walked around the table to sit opposite him with my back to the peaceful view. "Yes, Mr. Bennett." Will he be doing my appraisal? Where is Sharon? She is my line manager! She could have warned me about this yesterday! We spoke about our meeting before we left work and she asked me to make sure I was on time. She could have fucking told me. That bitch! My subconscious was screaming and shouting, kicking things. 

"Miss Watts, please don't be alarmed by my visit. Sharon will not be joining us today, I think I can handle this meeting without her." Holy fuck! All I could do was nod in response. "Let me save you from further panic. I am not here to fire you. In fact, you have done incredibly well in your role. Even my father was impressed with the work you have done and the articles you have written. You must be proud." Okay, that's a compliment and a positive sign. I sighed a breath of relief and think he may have heard me. I mean, it would have been a nightmare to find a new job. I left my family in Cornwall to be here and start a new life. I managed to get my own place about 6 months ago and just about started to feel like I was heading in the right direction. 

" Thank you, Mr. Bennett" " Please, call me Alex. I don't think I am much older than you. Plus, I prefer to be called by my first name by everyone." "Of course, Alex." 

" So, thank you for coming and albeit the nervous start to this meeting, I see that you are feeling much calmer now." I couldn't stop myself from smiling at the fact that I was the most obvious person on the planet. " The reason for my visit was to personally meet you and also discuss my proposal with you." Proposal? oh! I wasn't sure what to think. "What kind of proposal?" "For weeks, we have been keeping a close eye on our Press Officers to find out who would be the best person for this role. By far, you have been excellent in every aspect. From keeping confidentiality to helping your colleagues. You really have done a great job." " Thank you." "After speaking to various people within the company and my father, the founder of BenZi, it has been agreed to find a suitable person to attend various meetings with me. We are looking for someone who has a background in a Press Office role with some secretarial experience. I don't know if you are aware, but we also have a chain of hotels catering a very specific clientele. Each hotel represents it's own character. This person we take on, will be working with me to find opportunities and ideas for our future hotels. They will travel with me to locations around the world to find possible sites for us to acquire." He paused for a second and looked at the view behind me. 

"Would something like this be of interest to you?" My heart stopped. I am only 25 years old, I didn't go to any university and have no qualifications whatsoever past A levels. I started as a receptionist in this industry and have made my way up to my current role. How on earth did I manage to get an offer for what sounds like an amazing life opportunity? I was day dreaming about travelling the world whilst staring straight at him. "I know this has come as a shock, but we didn't want to publicise this role before trying to figure out if there is indeed someone we can take on to do the job internally. "

I must have looked like a right idiot, staring at him with my big brown eyes. "Sorry, it has come to me as a surprise indeed. I thought I was going to get fired when they first told me my appraisal was going to be with a senior director." He smiled as if he found it funny. "Sorry about that. It was my idea to label this meeting as an appraisal." " Oh, so the appraisal was just a ruse to get me to attend this meeting?" " Yes, it was indeed. Apologies for any stress this may have caused you. " 

" It's fine. I just found it all a bit... strange." " Will you think about it? It would be great if you could let me know by Friday. I will be going to Chicago for the weekend and will be in the office on Monday to discuss the next steps if you decide to take the offer." " Thank you, Alex."

I left the room with a confused look on my face and a smile to go with it. Do I take it? Wait, is that even a freaking question? I asked myself. Why would I turn down a once in a lifetime opportunity? Hell yeah! I am going!