Chapter 15
“Please take a seat while I see if Mr Summer is in yet.” She said in a formal tone. I sat on a modern black leather couch and watched as she picked up the phone. “Mr Summer, Ms Phillips is here, should I send her in?” She paused. “Would you like a coffee?” Another pause. “A pastry? I believe we have cherry Danishes and an assortment of doughnuts? Or we have muffins or croissants? Or I could send someone down to the deli for a bagel? I believe we also have some yoghurt, and we have fresh fruit in the kitchen? I could make you a bowl?” Yet another pause. “Yes sir.” She hung up the phone and turned to me. “Would you like a coffee? And something to eat?” She asked, but she didn’t look as happy to fetch something for me.
“I would love a latte if it’s not too much trouble.” I smiled; I didn’t want another employee to hate me. “A drip coffee with milk and sugar would be fine too.” I hastily added.
“We have an espresso machine with a milk steamer, and a fully stocked coffee bar, we have an assortment of different kinds of milk and syrups. I can make you anything you’d like.” She stated flatly, but her back straightened like she was incredibly proud of their amenities.
“In that case, I would love a soya caramel latte, thank you. It’s wonderful that the employees here are able to get so many options without leaving the building, it cuts down on time wasted and I’m sure it makes people more productive. It’s a fantastic idea, I’m really going to enjoy working for such thoughtful bosses.” I hoped I wasn’t brownnosing, I just wanted her to like me, and I did think it was a great idea.
“Actually, it was my idea. Of course, Mr Daniel allowed me to implement it, and he pays for everything, I just resupply it using petty cash. He even offered to pay someone to stock it and run it, but I don’t mind doing it and people are happy to make their own coffees. After all, he has done so much for everyone here.” She practically gushed the last part and I felt like I understood her better. She didn’t trust that I would be a good hire yet, she may even be worried I hadn’t earned my enormous paycheck and bonus. She was loyal, I liked that, and I liked that Mr Summer inspired that level of devotion, it implied he was a good and fair boss.
“He’s lucky to have someone as faithful as you watching his back.” It slipped out before I could stop myself, but to my surprise, she smiled at me, it was the first time I had seen her look anything other than slightly annoyed.
“You can go on in, I’ll bring your latte in with Mr Summer’s breakfast.” She got up, from her desk, and turned towards a door behind her.
“Thank you very much,” I called after her as I got up. I took a deep breath and knocked on the door.
“Enter!” I heard him shout and suppressed a snort. I pushed the door open.
“Hello, Mr Summer, I apologise for being so early-"
“No problem at all, please come in and sit down.” He interrupted. “Did Ms Michaels offer you coffee? Pastries?”
“Yes, she did thank you,” I said sitting opposite him.
“Well, it appears my brother will be back sooner than expected so I’ve set up a meeting with him on Wednesday. And I took the liberty of setting up some interviews for your assistant position, the first of which will be here at eleven. That gives you some time to have a quick tour of the floor, get your paperwork squared away and get settled in your office. But the quicker you hire someone the quicker we can start interviewing for your team and get started on making your designs real for us to sell to our clients. I’ve also set up a meeting with our R and D guys who will want to start running simulations as soon as you have some specs for them, but that’s not until next week. I hope I’m not overwhelming you.” He furrowed his brow, concern clear on his face, and I realised my mouth was wide open.
“No, no... well yes a little.” I laughed. “But in a good way. I just didn’t expect this level of trust, and are you sure you want to give me a team?” It was his turn to laugh now.
“You said in our first meeting you believed you could make your designs the industry standard in thirty years, yes?” I nodded, confused.
“Yes, I said that, and I believe it. If we don’t start producing self-sufficient houses soon, there will be major water shortages, and people will suffer. If we can start in areas with adequate rainfall, we can start using the excess in those areas for places where there are already water shortages. Hopefully preventing mass migration and severe water shortages later on, maybe even prevent a water war from ever happening.” I truly believed that we could do it, with funding and if companies were willing to take a chance on doing something new. “I also believe that if we can reduce the bills of the poorest households, we will see the wealth gap decrease, the average life expectancy in poorer neighbourhoods increase, and the health care gap between the rich and the poor become smaller.”
“So do I.” I was stunned. “And I want you to make your designs the industry standard in fifteen years. We are behind, we need these houses now. It's not possible yet but it will be soon if you are given the chance to create them. So, can you, do it? Can you help us build the first of these houses in five years?” He asked with a smile.
“I will do my very best, and I believe I could have a prototype house ready for clients to see in three years sir,” I replied, confident and determined.
“Excellent, I knew you were the right person for the job. We have some brilliant people here, and we have been working hard to incorporate green materials, and eco-friendly builds for the past twenty years. But no one here has the kind of vision you do. So, shall we sign that contract?”
“Yes, sir, thank you, I will do my best, sir.” I was blabbering. Thankfully a knock at the door stopped me from saying anything else and I took the opportunity to pull out the welcome pack from my bag. “Enter.” He called, his signature response it would seem. Ms Michaels wheeled in a little chrome cart with the coffees and an assortment of pastries, a bowl of fruit salad, and a little bowl with packets of brown sugar, white sugar and sweet ‘n’ low in it, neatly arranged in a circle. She placed Mr Summer’s coffee in front of him first on its own little plate with a spoon, then mine which she had put in a recyclable to-go cup, then she placed the bowl of fruit next to his coffee. Finally, she placed the sugar bowl between us. “Thank you, Ms Michaels, my brother is very lucky to have you. Are you sure I can’t steal you away from him?” He asked smiling, she blushed, and I averted my eyes, I didn’t want to embarrass her by staring.
“That’s very kind of you to offer Mr Summer, but I’m happy where I am.” She murmured, clearly uncomfortable with the attention. He sighed.
“You sure? I’ll give you a raise?” She giggled, it was sweet and a little unfair, he was a handsome man, and he was using that fact to his advantage despite the wedding ring he wore. “Ah, okay, would you be so kind as to bring in your notary stamp so we can get these contracts signed then?” He shot her a dazzling smile that I’m sure would’ve made me weak in the knees once upon a time, there was something so familiar about it, so much like him. She practically ran to her desk; I didn’t even have a chance to put a sweet ‘n’ low in my latte before she was back. I took a sip of my latte, it was delicious, and pulled out my contract. “Okay, that will be your copy, we will also have you sign a copy for us to keep on file. Then I’m sure I can spare Ms Michaels long enough for her to show you around the office, and where you can get your badge which will allow you to access to anywhere in the building, near enough.” He smiled at me this time; however, it wasn’t as flirtatious as he had been with Ms Michaels. He pulled a second contract out of a draw, handed me a pen and looked to Ms Michaels. He signed his copy and I made sure to sign mine, when he handed his copy to me, I scanned it to make sure it was the same contract and added my name to the bottom above his. Once both copies were signed, he handed both copies to Ms Michaels, who dated, signed and stamped them both. She handed one copy to me and took the second over to a cabinet, which she unlocked with a key that she had around a chain on her neck. Once the contract was away, she came back to me.
“If that’s all Mr Summer we should really get downstairs to have security generate an ID badge for Ms Phillips.” Ms Michaels said, and I understood why she had made my coffee in the to-go cup, while Mr Summer’s was in a ceramic cup.
“Yes, that’s all thank you, Ms Michaels. And congratulations Ms Phillips, I expect great things from you.” He added with one last smile. Ms Michaels pulled some napkins from the underside of the cart as I gathered my belongings and placed a couple in front of Mr Summer, she then handed two to me.
“You should take a pastry, it might be a while before you have a chance to get something to eat, but when Mr Summer gives me his lunch order I will bring you a menu, there will be a lot to take care of today.” She said to me, with a soft smile that made her sharp features, quite beautiful.
“Thank you, that’s very thoughtful of you,” I responded with a big warm smile of my own. I really wanted to be friends with this woman, she may not be the most important person in the office, but it was obvious she was influential and respected. I wanted her on my side as I was sure I would need her help at some point in the future. I took the napkins and picked up one of the cherry Danishes, then with one more smile to Mr Summer, I followed her out of his office.
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