Alyssa's Second Chance [Completed]

5-Winning the War

Amir's Point of View

I settle into my seat at the head of the conference room table and watch as Alyssa plays hostess ensuring that everyone serves themselves lunch.  The leadership team gathers around her like she is a celebrity, competing for her attention with small talk.   Silently, I observe her interactions with the team while she passes out drinks and adds cookies to their plates.  Alyssa laughs at a joke made by the old guy in finance and playfully slaps his arm.  Suddenly, she turns and her bright blue eyes lock onto mine.   A look of sadness passes over her face and then she looks away. 

I try not to stare at her, but can't help stealing glances at her between checking emails on my phone.  She is truly beautiful, but it's not one feature that stands out.  Even under her conservative business attire, you can tell that she has a great body.   Her long red hair makes her stand out and she has those amazing blue eyes.  I look up from my phone and watch her as she makes two plates of food and begins walking in my direction.   She slides one of the plates in front of me with a smile.  I get distracted as she nervously bites her bottom lip before starting to say something.  I think about what it would be like to kiss her and I miss what she is saying. 

"I'm sorry did you say something?" I ask.   

She smiles and repeats, "I served you some lunch.  I am sure that you're hungry after your busy morning, you should eat something before we start the meeting."  Her smile seems genuine and the spitfire from this morning seems to be gone. 

I don't know what to make of her.  On one hand, she seems to be this sweet, nurturing woman that everyone adores.   This morning, I saw a whole different side of her.  She was passionate and didn't back down from a conflict.  I haven't been challenged by a woman in a long time in personal or professional life. 

She sits next to me and takes a few bites of her lunch while she prepares to start the meeting.   She calls the meeting to order and introduces me to the team.  I haven't met anyone on the West Coast, so I ask the team to introduce themselves.  I ask them to tell me about their background, role with the company and anything they would like to share about their personal life.    

It's always good to know a little about the team, but I am most interested in Alyssa's responses.  She starts by sharing that she has 13 years of experience in various HR related roles.  She originally started with DNT Consulting about 10 years ago.  She briefly worked for a smaller competing consulting firm and then returned to the company about three years ago.  She was promoted to Director of HR for the Western Region last year.  She mentioned that she has two sons.  Her free time is spent chaffering them to baseball and football practices and fundraising for their school. 

As the rest of the team shares their background, I continue to think about Alyssa.   She seems young to have kids old enough to play sports.  She didn't mention a husband or a boyfriend.  It shouldn't make a difference to me.  I make it a rule not to get involved with my employees, but it makes me happy to think she might be single. 

As the final team member finishes his introduction, there is a loud knock at the door.  Then, the conference door suddenly opens revealing a tall man with blond hair and blue eyes.  Everyone begins to greet him.  Alyssa jumps up from her seat and the man pulls her into a hug. 

Holding her longer than seems appropriate for a colleague, he kisses the top of her head and says in a heavy British accent "I missed you so much, love.  I just got back from London and I have a meeting with a client in 30 minutes, but I wanted to stop in and say hello."

"Alex, I can't believe you guys are finally back.  Three months is way too long without you guys.  How are the girls?  I can't wait to see them.  I have missed them so much.  I mean that I have missed all of you so much!" She gushed. 

"Wait until you see how much they've grown. We just got back, so the cupboard is bare.  If my meeting doesn't run late, we'll stop by for dinner at yours.   I'll grab some takeout for us on the way." He says. 

"No way, I'll make something.  It's the last day of school for the boys.  I'm sure that I will still have a ton of kids hanging out when I get home.  Just drop by when you can."   

I realize that I probably have a look of irritation on my face as I take in this scene.   I want to know who this guy is and what his relationship with Alyssa is.  It doesn't seem like they just work together.  Is he her boyfriend?

Then, Alyssa turns and realizes that the rest of the group is watching her.  She turns and introduces me to Alex Taylor.  I search my memory and try to place the name.  Then, I realize that Alex Taylor is our lead partner in San Francisco.  He's only been with DNT for a couple of years, but he was a COO at his last consulting firm and he is well known in the industry.  The company sends him in to create the strategy for high-value projects in supply chain and operations.  He also represents the company at a lot of industry conferences and publishes a lot of papers and articles on our behalf.   

I've never met Alex, but I've seen him as my rival for a while.  Our CEO had considered promoting him to replace Geoff when he retired.  I won the position, but he was the second choice.  Geoff made it clear that I need to have strong performance in my first year because our CEO wouldn't hesitate to make changes to his leadership team.   I need to get to know this guy.  Keep your friends close and your enemies closer.   I shake hands with Alex and tell him that we should set up some time to talk soon.  He leaves the room and the room and we continue our meeting. 

Over the next hour, Alyssa leads us through our discussion of the candidates.  After making decisions on who we want to hire, we wrap up the meeting and most of the interviewers file out of the room.  I look up and find myself in alone in the conference room with Alyssa.  She seems to be finishing up work on her laptop.  I look over at the screen and see a picture in the background of kids in a backyard.  There are two teenage boys with dark brown hair and green eyes each of them are holding an identical twin baby girl with red hair and blue eyes.   "You have a beautiful family" I comment. 

She looks up and smiles. "Actually, the boys are mine.  The twins are Alex's daughters.  This was taken at Easter before the Taylors left for London. "

Again, I start wondering what the connection is between Alex and Alyssa.  I shouldn't be interested in my employee's personal lives, but I can't help it.  I realize that there is a strong personal connection between Alex and Alyssa if they spent Easter together and the thought aggravates me. 

"Did I say something wrong?" Alyssa asks. 

"No, of course not." I return to checking email on my phone and return a few missed calls from earlier today.  I lose track of time, but look up in time to see Alyssa gathering her things. 

"Are you leaving already?" I ask with frustration in my voice.

"Yes, I've been here since six am.  It's nearly four.  I've wrapped up everything that is urgent and I am leaving before traffic gets bad.  It was nice meeting you."  She says politely and turns to leave.

"I don't care what time you came in.  I expect my employees to stay in the office until at least six pm.  Executives in this office need to set a good example for our other staff.  If you don't have enough work, I would be happy to find you an extra project."    As the words come out of my mouth I wonder why I am confronting her on this. 

She turns and looks me straight in the eye and says, "Good thing, I don't report to you." 

"You don't get to just leave work early so that you can make your dinner date tonight.   You work in the US, so you are now my employee and you will meet my expectations or there will be repercussions." I state with more venom than I intended. 

"Actually, I report to my boss, Julie who leads HR in the US.  She reports to our company's Chief HR Officer who reports to our CEO, just like you will once Geoff retires.  If you don't feel that I am working hard enough, feel free to contact my boss or our Chief HR Officer or go straight to the CEO.   I work hard.  I carefully manage my workload and make sure that everything is covered.  I will not feel bad about leaving at the end of a long day.   Have a nice weekend."   With a click of heels on the hardwood floor, she turned and walked out the door.  

I'm not keeping score, but I feel like I lost this battle.  If she thinks this is over, she has another thing coming.  She might have won one small battle, but I won't lose the war.