Either Jake didn’t notice my bare feet, or he didn’t care. He hung up the phone. “I’d like you to sit in on all my meetings with me today, if you’re up for it. I think you’ll bring a warm, comforting presence. People tend to get nervous when they pitch.”
I could only imagine how intimidating it would be to pitch to a man with as severe an expression as Jake. When he was lost in thought he was an impossible man to read.
“I’m up for it,” I said, smiling. “Come see the conference room. I took some liberties to make it a little more inviting.”
Jake followed me out of his office and around the balcony of the second floor to the conference room. I moved inside first, and he followed, coming to a stop just inside the doorway.
“You’ve outdone yourself.”
I grinned. “You think? I just thought food would put people at ease, and the flowers were a nice pop of color. Oh, shoot! I need to get coffee cups still. Hold on.”
Off I went to track down coffee cups. When I returned, Jake had taken his seat at the head of the table and began flipping through all the folders. He almost looked impressed.
I set down the coffee cups next to the carafe. “I’m not sure how you usually keep track of things, but I thought you might find it helpful to have a folder for each business so you could take notes and know who’s who.”
He nodded. “I like it.”
I paced in front of the windows, savoring the morning sun pouring through. “So, how does this usually work? They show up and start? Do they usually need time to set things up?”
“It varies from pitch to pitch. Most people keep things simple, which is what I tend to prefer. If you’re up for it, I’d like you to meet them at the elevator and escort them here. Make them feel welcome. We’ll offer coffee, water, and food, and after a five-minute ease-in period, I will ask them to begin.”
“I can handle that.”
“And you’ll sit here, beside me.” He pushed out the chair on his right.
“Okay.”
For some reason, I had butterflies. Was I nervous? If so, why? It wasn’t like I had personal stakes in these pitches going well.
I moved toward the door. “Your first clients are going to be here any minute. Do you need anything else from me, or should I go wait by the elevators?”
He gave me a surprisingly easygoing smile. “Go ahead. I think you’ve checked off every possible box to prepare us for the day.” He stood, helped himself to a cup of coffee and a scone of some sort, and sat back down. “Good call on the breakfast food.”
Smiling to myself, I quickly slipped my shoes back on and hurried down to the elevators, where I only had to wait a few brief minutes before the first clients came in. They were a pair of sisters in their late thirties who couldn’t have been more different. One was petite and brunette and had a large cross-body bag, and the other had fiery red hair and had to be close to five nine. Their names were Jess and Jen, and they each shook my hand with vigor.
“Good morning, ladies,” I said. “My name is Gabi. Please let me know if you need anything at all while you’re here. Mr. Cassidy is looking forward to hearing from you this morning. Please, follow me.”
The women followed. The brunette whispered something to her taller fiery sister, who whispered back. I put myself in their shoes and imagined they must be terribly nervous.
If I was them, what could someone do to make me feel more comfortable?
I smiled over my shoulder at them. “I’m a bit nervous about today, so forgive me if I seem a bit out of sorts. This is my first time ever assisting Mr. Cassidy with his pitches. I’m sort of like a midfield player in soccer. I do whatever I can to assist all the players in the room. That includes you two. So please, like I said, if you need anything at all, don’t hesitate to ask me.”
The brunette, Jen, smiled warmly. “Thank you, Gabi. You don’t seem like a newbie at all.”
“Fake it till you make it,” I said.
The women chuckled.
They followed me up the stairs to the conference room. As soon as we entered, Jake rose smoothly to his feet and held out his hand. He introduced himself and greeted the women warmly. “It’s so nice to finally put faces to names and meet you both in person. I’ve been looking forward to this,” he said. “Please, help yourself to coffee, water, and a breakfast pastry if you like.”
The women flitted about the room, helping themselves to what we had to offer before making themselves comfortable at the far end of the table. I took my seat beside Jake, who told them he was ready when they were.
Jen opened the large black bag she carried on her hip and pulled out what looked like a large, folded kite. I cocked my head to the side, trying to make sense of what I was seeing, as she began unfolding it.
I leaned toward Jake. “What is this?”
“A safety tool for employees in high-rise buildings,” he explained. “In their email, they said they’ve been working on it since 9/11.”
“Okay,” I said, watching as the kite got bigger and bigger. What the heck was that thing?