Chapter 12
Working for him
Emma
I was home to spend the weekend with my family; it felt so good to be around mom and dad.
"Emma, have you booked your cab already?" Mom asked while handing me a brown bag that had the food, she packed for me.
"Mom, my stomach is still hurting from all the food you have stuffed me. Please, I cannot eat anymore."
"Come on, Emma, let your mom pamper you a bit. You hardly eat home-cooked food now." Dad said, forcing me to keep the bag.
"Thank you, guys. I love you both."
"We love you more darling, and we are proud of you." Mom gave me a peck on my cheeks before saying goodbye.
I was a mess before coming to my parent's house. After my awful meeting with Jake, I cried myself to sleep.
He might be hugely successful and may have many girls forcing them on him, but he had no right to imply that I was looking for something to happen between us. It was a mere coincidence that I happened to have his company as my first client project.
After meeting my family, I realised how all of this was baseless. I was determined to keep my distance from him, and never ponder about the events that happened in Corsica anymore. None of that mattered. I was well placed and had a long road ahead.
Jake and his lovers could all go to hell, for all I care.
I was looking forward to begin work at Richmond Corp and wanted to keep faith in all things good.
The next day I went to Richmond Corp and met Mark and his team.
"So, Emma, let me show you your cabin." Mark stated as he gave me a warm smile and led the way.
As I walked behind him, I took a minute to observe how well he looked in his brown tailored suit that perfectly fit his strong build. His hair was gelled and set backwards and his body language radiated confidence.
"Here we are." He declared. I stepped inside my cabin and was amazed to see how spacious it was. It had big windows, blue and beige walls, a big office table and chair at the center, with small cabinets on both sides.
"Wow. This looks great. Thank You Mark."
"Anytime, Emma. Let me know if you need any help settling in."
"Sure. Umm Mark, how about you give me a tour of the place, showing me the basic facilities? You can do whenever you are free, no pressure."
The moment I requested his help, his eyes became soft. He gave me a pleasant look; I could not read him properly but I always felt a bit nervous around him.
"How about during lunch? I can give you a tour and then we can eat together." He offered.
"Sure."
As promised, when it was lunch time, Mark offered me his services and accompanied me to the cafeteria for lunch. The moment we stepped inside many people, mainly girls, gave me cold stares and a lot of others greeted Mark out of courtesy and admiration. He clearly held a prominent position at Richmond's and he seemed to be highly respected, someone people looked upto.1
The rest of the week flew by in having several meetings with different departments and understanding the current status on various upcoming projects for Richmond's.
The next big one was in Europe. Richmond Corp was planning on collaborating with Windson Inc.'s for a government tender based in Norway. Windson's were another shark and our stark rivals in the industry, and due to the evident competition, there was a lot of uproar in world media for this association. Two leading companies were joining hands on a deal.
The team was preparing for the opening ceremony that was supposed to be held in two weeks from now, Mark filled me in on the details and surprisingly was always available to guide me every step of the way, even when he had an extremely busy schedule.
He was always there, no matter what.
We started working very closely ever since I was beginning to get to know him better. Since my first day, often had lunch together, which usually use to be quick breaks between the heavy workload we both had. From my little acquaintance of him, I know he was around twenty-seven and single. He never mentioned any girlfriend, and was basically in a relationship with his work. He was very hardworking and was one of the most trusted team members of Mr. CEO.
Thankfully, in my two weeks here at Richmond's, I didn't see Jake even once, and I preferred keeping it that way.
The week was coming to an end. It was Friday and close to eight pm, and suddenly I heard a knock at my cabin door.
"Hey, Emma! Still, working? Sorry to disturb you but I just got free from a board of director's meeting on the Norway project. It is kicking off next week, and we had to plan everything. Are the files ready that I entrusted you with?" Mark entered in a rush, his eyes resting on the files he was holding.
"Hey, Mark. Yes almost, I am giving them a final review. I should be able to send them to you before I leave tonight." I said without looking up, engrossed in my work.
I observed he was still standing, looking at an envelope in one of his files. I looked up, "Is there anything else you want to fill me in with?"
"Yes, actually these are your documents, you will be travelling with us for the opening ceremony to Norway. Here in this envelope are all the logistic details." He said, handing me the envelope.
