A Charitable Scandal

The Big News

"Are you ready?"

How could I be ready? This I hadn't planned for. What I had planned for was working on my website proposals project. That's why I had come in early. That's why when I stepped outside of my apartment I ignored the stars still shining brightly in the cool September sky and headed for work. I was a bit bleary with lack of sleep, but the sacrifice would be worth it because I knew exactly where I was heading and how long it would take me to get there. I'd follow the Goldilocks method for completing my proposals. Not too fast or else it would look rushed, but not too close to the deadline because I wanted to demonstrate my drive and initiative. A solid proposal would take me straight into being made lead on the development of the web site and earn me another notch towards a promotion.

It was a finely tuned, well orchestrated plan. What Alec Radcliffe was presenting me was anything but.

"Of course, Mr. Radcliffe," chimed in Colin Travers with a calm smile. "I am eager to begin work and, really, there's no time to spare on this project."

Colin was technically my boss, though, not many saw him as such. I couldn't fault him for his ambition. The only reason most of the department disliked him was because he simply sucked up better than they did. However, it was the pretentious way he curved his words and how he never looked anyone straight in the face, but from the side of his eye, that ruffled the rest of our feathers. So no one took him that seriously or held much respect for him. At the end of the day, Alec Radcliffe was the one who really ran Quinto Technologies' Public Relations Department. Colin was just our manager and spent every day handling the menial tasks that Alec simply didn't have time to do.

"That's good to hear," said Alec, his elbows braced against his desk and his fingers laced together as he shifted his golden brown gaze over to me. "And what about you Ms. Jeffries?"

"I..." I knew I couldn't fumble with my words, not in front of Colin who was peering over at me with a patronizing smirk curling up his cheek. Some of my coworkers would presume that Colin would have loathed having me share such coveted one-on-one time with the notoriously busy department head, but I knew him well enough to know he relished having me in his presence in case I faltered. Having me fail right next to him just made him look even shinier in comparison.

"I wouldn't say I'm ready Mr. Radcliffe," I said, my words strained beneath a tight knot forming in my throat. I then paused and waited for his brow to bend with disappointment or frustration, but he continued to watch me with his chin resting against his hands and his eyes marred by the shine of the morning sun across his glasses. Taking a breath, I pressed forward. "This is no short order and I want to do it right. I may not be ready to dive straight into the water, but I am ready to scope out the situation before going in head first. Once I hit the water though, I'll be swimming at full speed."

"Good," he answered, dropping his hands to the arm rests of his chair and leaning back. "We don't want to do a sloppy job on this and with the time crunch we find ourselves in, I realize that rushing forward is a very tempting thing to do. So I appreciate having a level head like yours leading the pack."

I may not have been working on web site proposals anymore, but my Goldilocks plan could still be repurposed for this new endeavor.

I will admit, I felt a bit smug just then and I almost looked over to Colin to share my own snarky smirk with him, but Alec's next words caught me off guard and he held my attention.

"It's one of the reasons I picked you Alexis. You have an honesty about you that feeds into your responsible and reliable nature. We'll be needing that on this project." A soft, barely noticeable smile graced his lips with a shadow of a dimple on his cheek.