Chapter 4 THE NAME ON THE FORM

"Thank you very much," Isabel Harper says with a pleased smile as she proceeds to board the elevator.

Just as she is leaving, the intercom on Ava's desk rings with a call from Nicole Collette's office.

"Is he here yet?" comes a question from Nicole Collette even before Ava can say the word 'hello'.

"Not yet...." Ava Greenwich says looking to the entrance of the reception to make sure truly he has not arrived but there he was, just working towards the building having parked his vehicle at the carport in the office. "Oh, he just walked in now. I'll send him up immediately."

"Please do," Nicole Collette says before ending the call.

"Welcome sir," Ava Greenwich says with a smile. "Ms. Collette has been expecting you. You can go on up sir."

"Thank you very much," says Chris Hanks as he heads for the elevator. Stopping in his track, he turns to Ava Greenwich to ask what floor Collette's office is located on. "Please what...?"

"Sorry," Ava Greenwich says, her eyes turning in Chris Hanks' direction.

"Never mind," says Chris Hanks reneging on asking her what floor Collette's office is on, having suddenly remembered. "I wanted to ask what floor her office was..."

"Oh, it's the 7th floor, sir," Ava Greenwich cuts in with an answer before Chris Hanks can finish his statement.

"...but I...just....remembered," says Chris Hanks, a little surprised at the eagerness of Ava to answer the question before he has even asked it. "Thank you anyways. I will go up now."

"You're welcome, sir," Ava Greenwich says with a feeling of self-satisfaction, overly pleased with herself that she is able to do something to help. One of the reasons she loves her job. Chris walks his way into the elevator to take him up to the seventh floor, pressing on the button so quickly to take him up, it almost feels like he did so to avoid a scenario where Ava would feel the need to help.

Arriving at the seventh floor, he is almost surprised to see Nicole Collette standing at the door of the elevator,

"Oh, you're finally here," Nicole Collette says with a smile as she ushers him out of the elevator. "I was beginning to think you had lost your way on the way up here because Ava had told me you were around some twenty minutes ago so I was quite surprised that you had not shown up yet so I thought to come get you."

"Yeah?" Chris Hanks begins. "That's thoughtful of you."

"Oh, silly me," Nicole Collette says sheepishly. "I totally forgot we were standing just in front of the elevator. Please let us go into my office."

"Sure," Chris Hanks obliges. "After you."

Going before him, Nicole Collette leads Chris Hanks to her office. Opening the door, she heads to stand behind her desk while she offers him a seat. "Please sit. Make yourself comfortable."

"Thank you very much," Chris Hanks replies as he sits down in one of the two chairs across from Nicole Collette before she takes hers.

"Welcome, once again," Nicole Collette begins. "I called you here today because I wanted us to bring it back a bit...."

"Okay??" Chris Hanks cuts in. "Bring it back? How do you mean?"

Nicole Collette takes a deep breath. "....I would need you to be calm first,please...."

"So I am not calm....?" Chris Hanks asks with a surprised smile on his face. How could she accuse a gentleman like himself of not being calm.

"....I'm not saying that..." Nicole says trying to clarify what she means but is cut off again by Chris Hanks.

"So what then are you saying?"

"I'm sorry to say but you tend to jump the gun a lot," Nicole Collette says quickly, fearing he might cut her off again.

"Is that so?" Chris Hanks asks curiously trying to understand what she is driving at.

"Quite, quite, Mr. Hanks," Nicole Collette affirms. "I mean you just did it right now again."

"Really?" Chris Hanks asks again, probably hoping she was not being serious with what she had said and would say exactly that.

"Yes," Nicole Collette says again but pauses, expecting Chris Hanks to cut in as usual but when he does not. She continues. "Anyways, I called you to inform you about the health center's decision to go on with the partnership with Chrisinks Holdings."

"Oh, I see," comes Chris Hanks' response, a little uninterested about the partnership anymore.

"Why do you sound that way?" Nicole Collette asks sensing the uncertainty in his voice. "You're still interested in the partnership, aren't you?"

"Well...."

"What do you mean 'well'?" Nicole Collette queries, about to become vexed by Chris Hanks' disposition towards the discussion.

"See?...," Chris Hanks begins with an accusing tone. Aiming to hold the charges of the rudeness she had accused him of earlier against her.

"See what...?" Nicole Collette asks, trying not to lose her patience with Chris Hanks right there.

"You are doing exactly what you were castigating me about just a moment ago," Chris Hanks posits.

"I don't understand".

"Just now you were chewing me out about interrupting you rudely," Chris Hanks accuses Nicole Collette. "But here you are now doing exactly the same thing."

"I did no such thing," Nicole Collette says defensively.

"Ah, but you did," Chris Hanks begins. "You did exactly that when I was just about to tell you the reason I said I see."

"If I did, I'm sorry," Nicole Collette apologizes. "It was not my intention at all."

"But that does not change the fact that you did it anyway," Chris Hanks says careless of her countenance that now seems to have changed from apologetic to threatened. "For that reason I would be taking my money elsewhere."

"C'mon now," Nicole Collette says. "You can't actually be choosing to deny this organization this wonderful opportunity because of something like that."

"Oh, but I am," Chris Hanks says dismissively. "Or are you going to accuse me of something else again?"