Anything For You

Part 6

Michael was going to meet Jenna for the first time tomorrow and he was nervous.

Laying on his bed he recalled the conversation he had with President Marks. He walked into Michael's office and spoke to him about a new Professor that he would like to recruit.

"Do you remember the gala evening in Turkey?" Dr Marks asked smiling as Michael nodded. "I hired the Professor that did the unveiling that evening. Her name is Jenna Edwards and she will be here in two weeks". As soon as Michael heard her name his heart lost its rhythm, a sharp silent intake of breath made him feel dizzy.

"Doesn't look like I have a choice. I wish you spoke to me first before making a decision like this." Michael said smiling.

"You don't look upset Michael", Dr Marks said smiling and stood up. "We need her at this University so make her feel welcome, take her around the city and if you don't like her, let me know". Dr Marks said heading towards the door.

"Alright, I'm not promising anything though". Michael shook his hand and Dr Marks left.

The morning of meeting Jenna started off disastrously. He overslept, soap got in his eyes in the shower and as he rubbed it, it became worse. He couldn't find his car keys and halfway down the drive way he remembered that he forgot his briefcase at the front door. When he braked, his coffee spilled onto his shirt. "Wonderful, just fucking wonderful!" he exclaimed patting is shirt with his hand.

Walking into the house his phone rang and without looking at it he figured that it could only be one person. His bloodshot eyes were still stinging from the episode in the shower and he strained his eyes to dial the number. He put the call on speaker and threw it on the bed.

"Sofia, I see that I have a missed call from you. Is there a problem?" screaming at it from his closet.

"Mr Jensen, what is the point of having a cell phone if you're not going to answer it?" Sofia was fuming and Michael just smiled. When she called him Mr Jensen, he knew he was in trouble.

"How far are you? Your 9am is already in your office", Mrs Delport said tapping her nails on her desk.

"Sofia, I'm on my way, I just had some issues this morning" he exclaimed but she was not impressed.

"Move your butt and get here, this honey girl is just...." Sofia smiled and cut the call before he could say anything.

"Sofia? Sofia!" he screamed at the phone. "Dammit", he exclaimed fighting with this tie.

Sofia got up from her desk and walked over to Michael's office. "Jenna honey girl, Mr Jensen will be here in about ten minutes okay. You want some tea or coffee while you wait?" Jenna turned and saw her grandma. She jumped up and smiled. "No thank you Mrs Delport. I'm just fine."

"Okay honey, you relax". Sofia walked back to her desk leaving the door open.

Jenna looked around the room, memorizing the lay out. There was a huge window to the left of her that represented a wall. The sun filtered in and it warmed the office. Directly in front of her was a white wooden bookshelf that housed books on Ancient Egyptian studies, awards and paintings.

The floor was a dark mahogany wood and she remembered that it creaked slightly when she walked in. Ancient Egyptian paintings hung on the wall behind her and the plants looked as if they wanted to escape. There were no family photos anywhere.

She decided this was an old man's office and seemed to relax at the idea. Older professors made her feel better, they didn't stare as much and spoke to her with the respect she deserved and worked hard for.

While Jenna was sitting in the Deans office waiting for him to arrive, she started to fidget with the items on his desk. She was always a super clumsy and an over active child and it filtered into her adulthood. It was only 8:50am and she was already bored out of her mind.