?? Allen cajoles. “Like the old man says we can make it stretch. That means thinking outside the box, outsourcing, and adding a little charm here and there. There are cheaper ways of getting what we want, and still bringing quality to the table.”
Fucker, although he’s siding with me I wish he would stop calling me old man. I’m forty-six and I could wipe the floor with his thirty year old ass if I needed to.
“How are you going to get things cheaper?” Rachel asks wrinkling her nose. “Even if we outsource providers they won’t be that much cheaper than the people we already use.”
“Woman, I think if the old man delegates I’ll take over the outsourcing. I’m a man of many charms. I think I may surprise you in more ways than one,” Allen says leaning closer to her.
She recoils with a frown on her pretty face and turns away from him.
“What say ye, old man?” he asks me.
Now what should I say to him? I’m a hot tempered Italian who grew up around the mafia. This guy is making my blood boil. He’s aggravated me to no end for the last hour and if we weren’t at work I would have probably knocked his teeth down his throat by now. The fact that I’m allowing this fool to undermine me to make himself look good makes me want to do it. But… I’ll calm myself, and try to answer him in a manner that will shut him down.
“No,” I say shocking him. “The old man, who’s right up here in front of your ass thinks he’d like to follow through with his plans to make this a team project. We don’t have time for shit and charm.”
That’s me the straight talker, except he’s never heard me talk like that before.
Peter; Rachel’s father, loves this guy because he’s a hot shot. I think he’s a prick but maybe, truth be told, I just can’t stand the fucker because he has a better chance of getting the woman I want.
The restructure was last week and Peter put me in charge of their department.
This is the first time we’ve all worked together, although I’ve always worked for the company. I travelled and came back to Chicago a few months back.
Allen has probably seen me around the office but thinks I’ll treat him like God’s gift because Peter likes him and wants him to date his daughter.
“Oh… I just assumed that you’d delegate,” Allen states.
“No,” I say again, more pointed this time and out the corner of my eye I catch Rachel trying to bite back a smile. “For this project to work the way I envisage we’ll work together. This week I want us to plan out what we think we’ll need to make this campaign a success. Then, and only then, will we talk about the budget.”
“I like that idea,” Rachel answers much to his dismay. She holds my gaze and I feel that thing I’ve been feeling since she was about sixteen.
It’s the lure of attraction.
Temptation to explore the spark of chemistry that’s always rippled between us. Temptation to venture into paths I know I shouldn’t touch.
“Fair enough,” Allen says snapping me out of the trance. “Just know though, in case you change your mind that I know a thing or two about getting people to agree to whatever I want.”
“I’m sure you do.” I give him a fake ass smile, but he doesn’t take the hint that I can see through his bull shit and I know he’s used this meeting to parade himself around Rachel. “Anyway, that’s what I have for now. What I want is you guys back here on Thursday, same time same place with ideas we can put together for brand awareness and sales. I expect you to do your research on Activate, which should include looking at their sales figures and other reports, basically everything they sent over. If you need more info contact their business liaison officer. Any questions?”
They both shake their heads.
“Great, meeting adjourned,” I add and move back to the desk to start packing up my paperwork. While I do that I’m half listening to the lame ass conversation Allen starts with Rachel.
“So when are you going to lunch with me, baby?” he asks her.
“I’m not, I’m busy,” she answers with an edge of irritation in her tone.
“What about dinner then, you had a mountain of excuses last week, surely you can fit me in for dinner this week. How about tonight at eight.”
“Allen, I’m busy,” she dismisses him.
“Fucking hell woman, what the fuck are you afraid of? Do you think you’ll like me too much?” He laughs.
I glance up at her to see her reaction. I’m just curious to see if she likes him. I’ve seen her with so many different guys over the years and this is what I do. I just watch and turn a blind eye. That’s all. I won’t cross the line. I won’t even go near it.
I can’t stand this guy though. His arrogance and the shit that comes out of his mouth grates me the wrong way and I fear I’ll just snap one day.
“I don’t think I’ll have that problem,” Rachel answers to my relief.