Survivor

Chapter 10

Chapter 10

The work day goes by slowly and I head home. Pulling in the driveway, I see Cami's car and Luca's truck sitting there. I walk in the door and hear them laughing from the kitchen. I walk into the kitchen and Luca has his back to me and I put my arms around his torso and put my hands on his chest and my chin on his shoulder. He puts his hands on mine and laces his fingers with mine before turning his head and giving me a kiss. "Hey baby." he says. I move around him and he puts his arms around me and just holds me. I don't say anything but just snuggle into him. "Hey, you okay?" he asks. "Yeah. Just a long day." I tell him. He pulls me closer and kisses the top of my head. "Anything I can do?" he asks. "You're doing it." I tell him and see Cami smile. Luca tilts my head up to look at him and sees the stress in my eyes. "Hey, talk to us." he tells me. I take the seat next to him but he doesn't let go of my hand and I tell them about my day. "We have this client coming in. I have an idea on how to get the account but my boss doesn't want to listen to me. He thinks that I don't know what I'm talking about." I tell them. "What's your idea?" Cami asks. "The customer is looking for someone to handle their renovations on their newest property. I suggested letting the client tour a few of the projects we have going to see how we do things. Give them a taste of what they would be looking at. I've spoken to this client before and I know they are more visual than statistical. But my boss won't listen." I tell them. "Damn babe. What are you going to do?" Luca asks. "I don't know." I say. "Have you thought about mentioning it during the meeting with the client?" Cami asks. "I can't do that. This boss has it out for me. He didn't want me coming back after my attack but he couldn't stop it since my immediate boss had it approved through HR." I tell them. "What do you think will happen if you do say something?" Luca asks. "I'm pretty sure I'll be fired. He doesn't get it. You have to know your clients and how they process in order to better handle them. But to him, they are all the same." I tell them. "So say something." Luca says and I look at him shocked. "And what do I do when I get fired?" I ask. "You take your client list, and you start your own business. You have your inheritance. You could start your own business. You know about the business inside and out. You know about the business side and the construction side." Cami says. I look at her and actually think about it. "If I did that then I could work from home if I wanted." I say. "You always said you wanted to do something for the homeless. Maybe offer jobs." she tells me and I look at her and say "That's a good idea." I tell them. "Okay, so the meeting is tomorrow so I'll probably be unemployed by tomorrow afternoon." I tell them and we all start laughing. At least I have a game plan and apparently a support system.

The next morning I head into work and into the conference room for the meeting with the client. We are all sitting in there and the boss is talking about numbers and statistics and ideas and the client looks bored. Once the boss finishes he asks "What do you think?" The client says "I still don't know." I speak up. "What if we gave you a tour of a couple of projects we have going so that you can see first hand what you would be looking at and what we can do for you?" I ask. The client looks at me and says "That would be great." Looking at my boss he asks "Can you set that up? Actually seeing it might put it in a better perspective for me." My boss glares at me and then looks at the client and says "I'll set that up for you. Does tomorrow work?" The client smiles and says "It does. Thank you." He looks at me and says "Thank you Abby." I just nod. Once the client gets up to leave, before everyone leaves the room, my boss says "What the hell was that?" I look at him and say "You have to learn to read the client. Not all clients run off numbers and facts. They need to see what you're selling them. He's one of those people." I say. "That's not your place. I told you that we weren't presenting that idea." he tells me. One of the others speaks up and says "I saw the client's face after you were done presenting. His eyes were glazed over. I honestly think we would have lost him had Abby not spoken up." The boss looks at him and says "You want to keep your job, keep your mouth shut." The boss turns to me and says "Clear out your desk. You're done." I nod and say "Works for me." before getting up and heading to my desk. I clear it out and my immediate boss walks over. "What happened?" she asks. "I was let go." I tell her. "What are you going to do?" she asks. "I have a plan. Don't worry. We'll talk soon." I tell her before hugging her and leaving the building.

I get home and as soon as I walk in the door, I pour a glass of wine, get my laptop together and start working on a business plan to start my own business. I have my client list and will be getting my business license and then setting up my website and getting the ball rolling. It's going to take me a beat but I can finally do things my way and I won't be treating people the way my boss did me. A little later, Luca and Cami walk in from work and see me sitting there. "You okay?" Luca asks. "Never better babe." I say before kissing him softly. "After dinner can you two look over this business plan and let me know what you think?" I ask. "Sure. We got you." Cami says and I can't help but smile. "I take it you took the idea to the client?" Luca asks. "Yep and then was promptly fired. Seriously thinking about calling the client and seeing if they will let my take their business once I get up and running." I tell them. "That's your client list. You're the one that's over that account. I would do it." Cami says and I just nod, making up my mind knowing that it will be a few months before they will start work on his project will give me time to get up and running and get a plan together to present to him.