Chapter 4 Unexpected Meeting

The week was busy, and I was really getting the hang of my new job. I rarely saw Grayson as he was always in meetings. Plus, Charles was his right hand man and then Julia, so I didn't have to work with him directly very often. When I would see him, I would get so nervous, so naturally I liked it when I didn't have to see him.

I decided to have a laid back weekend and catch up on my binge shows and sleep.

Monday morning came quick.

I was surprised to not see Julia at her desk when I walked in this morning. She was always the first one into the office.

Charles came in right after I had sat down. "Ms. Jones, you will need to get prepared to go with Grayson to a meeting outside of the company today! Unfortunately, Julia has come down with a stomach bug and I am scheduled for a meeting in office today."

He walked into his office before I could say a word. I sat there with my eyes wide open in shock. Was I ready to accompany the CEO to a meeting? I guess I have no choice!

I logged into my computer to see what meeting was scheduled for today.

It looks like Grayson has a meeting at 11am with a potential client. He was the CFO of Global Enterprises. They are major health corporation that is looking into switching their internet security. This would be a huge client to obtain, which is why Grayson is going personally.

This made me even more nervous. I was lost in thought and hadn't noticed that someone was staring at me. I looked up from my desk and saw Grayson staring at me with furrowed brows. "Are you going to be this distracted at our meeting today?" He said angrily.

"I am so sorry sir; I was preparing myself and hadn't realized you walked in." I said to him quietly.

He rolled his eyes and turned to leave.

I don't know why this man made me feel so inadequate. I am very detail oriented and great at my job. But around him I feel like a mumbling idiot.

It was almost time to leave for our meeting, so I started getting all my things together.

Grayson walked out of his office and said, "let's go!" before heading to the elevator. Luckily, I had all my things ready, so I quickly got up to follow him.

We were alone in the elevator. I wanted to break the silence, so I asked, "have we ever met before?"

He didn't even look at me when he answered. "Tessa, I have met lots of people. I can't remember them all.”

I immediately regretted asking him that question. Even if it was him that night, I am sure all he wants to do is forget it ever happened. I decided it was better to stand in awkward silence, so I said nothing else.

We finally got to the bottom floor and there was a car waiting for us. He was busy on his laptop the whole ride to the meeting.

The meeting went well, and I was so thankful that I didn't screw anything up. I was finally overcoming the nervousness I felt around him.

The ride back to the office was not nearly as overwhelming, I was feeling relieved.

We were waiting in the elevator. He startled me when he started speaking. "You did well today, I am hoping you can continue to prove me wrong" he said as we got to our floor, and he quickly exited.

I was so excited. Did he just praise me? Wait, what does he mean prove him wrong? Does this mean he expected me to screw up? I felt like what he said was such a back handed compliment. He sure knew how to bring my mood down.

I sat down at my desk to finish my work I got behind on since I was not originally supposed to be gone this afternoon.

Charles came out of Grayson's office and came to my desk. "You will need to accompany Grayson on his work trip to Oregon tomorrow." He said.

"How come you aren't going with him?" I questioned.

"I need to stay to finalize reports for Global Enterprises and Julia is still sick. You will need to be ready at 6am sharp tomorrow. The car will be at your apartment to pick you up and take you to the airport" After speaking he went back into his office. He seemed a little upset with me. It made me wonder if he was not happy that he had to stay behind.

The elevator dinged and a tall women strode out. She glanced at me and quickly walked over to my desk.

"Hello, my name is Vanessa Johnson. I am head of Marketing here. What is your name?" she asked.

She was clearly gorgeous and somewhat intimidating. "My name is Tessa Jones." I said just as Charles walked over to greet her.

"Hello Vanessa, Grayson will be with you as soon as he is off his call." He said to her. She barely acknowledged him before turning back to face me.

"How long have you worked here Tess?" she asked. Before I could answer Charles answered for me. "

She has been here for a week. Please excuse her, she needs to go home to prepare for the Oregon trip tomorrow." He answered.

Vanessa looked bewildered and said, "Grayson is going to Oregon tomorrow, are you accompanying him?”

"Yes, I just found out" I said as I was getting my things together to leave.

She was staring at me intently and it was making me feel uncomfortable.

"You have only been here a week, but you are going with Grayson and not Charles?" she asked me. Before I had a chance to even open my mouth she said.

"No need to explain, I bet it is because you are a splitting image of…….." She did not get to finish her sentence because Grayson interrupted her.

"Vanessa, come in.”

She said nothing else and left to go to his office.

I looked at Charles as I was very confused by what just happened and asked "What is she talking about? Who does she think I look like?" He just shrugged his shoulders and walked back into his office. The whole situation just now was very strange but I needed to focus on this work trip.