At thirty-four, she was only a few years older than me. The woman was a Forty Under 40 in Fortune magazine. Managing a large organization was remarkable, but at such a young age, it was doubly impressive.
She tilted the teapot and poured tea into the teacups. "I've provided feedback to the Wallace team about you and Delilah. We are grateful to have you. One lump or two?" A warm smile lit up her face.
Here we go.
She started the conversation with a lie, and she smiled while saying it. The woman was a piece of work. I picked up the fragments of armor that Joyce's calm demeanor had chipped away and superglued them back in place. I was from the south; I could swap sugar with the best of them.
"Two lumps, please." I smiled.
She used the tongs to lift two sugar cubes and placed them in the tea. She handed me a teacup and leaned back against the sofa before taking a sip.
"I feel like I don't know you. Tell me about yourself," she said.
Over the years of my career, I'd trained and perfected for moments when I had seconds to make a positive impression. My elevator speech was a thing of beauty.
"I've been a consultant at ER Wallace for five years. I've worked on projects for ten of the top fifty companies. My goal is to position myself to take on more responsibility at Wallace. I'm not married, nor do I have children. Now is the perfect time to work toward my dreams."
"Just be sure that you don't sacrifice your life for the job. In my climb, I missed out on a lot of opportunities for a family. I wish I hadn't. I've attended many presentations on having it all. I'm not ashamed to admit that I don't, and I'm a work in progress," she confessed. I detected a note of honesty in her words. "Jasmine, I am not built for the emotional side of business. I care about people too much. This has been a difficult few days. Learning that the hackers were in our network, the stress of getting rid of them, and then having to make a tough decision about one of my trusted advisors. I've spent the entire time obsessing over the choices made and doing damage control."
"At least we've caught it before they could do any significant destruction."
"Yes. Thankfully we did." She leaned in. "I feel terrible about Garrett. He showed a serious lapse in judgment, which left the organization exposed. I hope that time away gives him a chance to recuperate and refresh. We need him in top form if we will have a successful IPO."
"I understand." I didn't want to talk about Garrett or the suspension. "When did you know that you wanted to work in science?"
"I graduated with a degree in chemistry and received an MBA from Northwestern. I had student loans out the wazoo. I could have taken a position with a top one hundred organization or risk it and work at a startup. I took the job at a startup, deciding to have a shot at true wealth over a comfortable lifestyle. What about you? Any thoughts on returning to school?"
"I've thought about it, but I haven't decided." Truth is, I didn't want to go to graduate school.
"Did you know that I was on the e-commerce project? I remember the early days. I worked closely with Garrett on conceptualizing The Scientist's Companion. We were best friends and coworkers, young and fearless. Then our careers took unique twists and turns. Six years later, I became his boss's boss."
Jesus. Not him again.
She threw her head back and chuckled. "We've had fun. He was the life of the party; he knew how to captivate a room. You know how charming he can be."
I knew all about Garrett's charms. Last night, I'd stayed with him. He'd ordered carry out, and we watched the latest Italian mobster flick. After the movies, he'd charmed my pants right off of me, then I'd fallen asleep in his arms.
This morning, I'd stared down at him while he'd slept. I'd hated to leave. He'd looked so peaceful surrounded by the disheveled bedsheets.
It surprised me to admit that he'd grown on me. Our time together was swiftly ending, and I didn't want it to. I knew that life without him would never be the same. I dreaded going back to the routine of travel for work and coming home to an empty house. I wanted a life filled with laughter, children, and . . . him.
I was falling in love.
If given the opportunity, I would continue the journey with him. I needed to make sure he wanted more. Right now wasn't the best time to broach the subject, so I put it all behind me because Garrett had enough on his mind. He had to salvage his professional reputation and figure out his direction forward. My demands for his love and fidelity seemed selfish and self-serving.
I put a pin in my thoughts and vowed to come back to it at a later date and time.
Nodding, I reached over for a cucumber sandwich and took a sip of tea. I needed to steer this ship back to safer waters.
"Yes. He's nice. I read your feature in CEO Monthly. I appreciated your openness with sharing your childhood and teenage years.”
"I didn't have an impressive support system. Growing up with an alcoholic mother and an absentee father, I learned the art of perseverance. Student loans aside, I made it through relatively unscathed. I'm sure you can identify with my struggles."
Did she just try to trauma bond with me? Oh, the bitch was wack. She'd made dangerous and offensive assumptions about me and my upbringing.
"I'm the youngest of two girls. My parents are approaching their thirty-second wedding anniversary. I realize that I may be an exception and not the rule. I'm thankful to have mentors and role models from all walks of life. Thank you for taking time to get to know me."
With her mouth stretched into a thin line, she glared at me. I didn't know if it was because I took control of the meeting or because I didn't fit the image she had in her mind. I reached for a tea cake and sat it on my saucer. If I kept my mouth full, then I couldn't answer her questions, and she couldn't make further assumptions about me or my relationship with Garrett.
I glanced at my wrist. Fifteen more minutes.
"Do you have any advice or lessons learned that you'd care to share?"
Nic took on a determined look. "I had to learn to step on anyone that stood in the way of what I wanted. Nice women never make it far. I would not be a nice woman. I learned never to hesitate to go beast mode on anyone that stands in the way of what I want." Her mouth tilted up at one side with a smirk of malicious amusement.
Well, that was weird.
She stared at me—challenge written all over her gaunt face. Reading her non-verbal cues, she was itching for a fight. Why? I wasn't exactly sure. I knew that it didn't matter if we had a physical or verbal fight, Nic would give me a run for my money. I believed she could kick my ass.
"Thank you, Nic. I appreciate you taking time for me. The tea service was delicious." I gathered my portfolio and rose from the sofa.
"I look forward to the monthly status report." Remnants of her smug smile remained.
Oh shit. In the excitement of this week's twists and turns, the status meeting slipped my mind.
"Yes. It will be informative."
Jasmine
The Wilmette boardroom was Dynex's sole executive-only boardroom. A large mahogany conference table sat in the center of the glass-enclosed space. I'd arrived thirty minutes early to add last-minute fixes to the presentation and distribute handouts. I had fifteen minutes to spare, so I jotted key talking points and mentally ran through events.