Page 8 of Alex

When the printer finishes printing my meeting notes, I grab the papers and all the other items and carry them to the conference room.

It’s past eight and I’m alone, so I use the computer in the conference room to put music on through the bluetooth system.

Just another perk of working for a technologically advanced company.

I keep the volume low because even though no one is here, there are still cameras all around, and I don’t want Mr. Strickland to think I’m not working.

The set up for team meetings is pretty standard depending on what the meeting is about.

Tomorrow’s meeting is just a continuation of today’s meeting, hence why today’s meeting could have been an email.

Except Mr. Strickland will go more in detail about the specifics of the new company. Like the profits they could bring, any problems we may incur along the way, and potential backlash from the local population.

There shouldn’t be any local backlash because this new company won’t affect the locals. There won’t be a warehouse or shopping center built nearby that causes extra traffic and land clearing.

Getting started on the meeting preparations, I grab the bottle of table spray and the rag and clean the table from this afternoon’s meeting.

Mr. Strickland hates seeing fingerprints and smear marks on the table during meetings, so I need to make sure the table is clean before setting up.

Sure, he might hire cleaning staff, but if I set the table first, they won’t clean the table, and then Mr. Strickland won’t be happy with me tomorrow.

After the table is clean and dry, I separate the papers into their packets and put them in the navy blue folders that Mr. Strickland likes to use for every meeting.

I finish with the team folders and dance around the conference room as I place a folder directly in front of their assigned seat.

Mr. Strickland sits at the head of the table, and I sit to his left. No one ever sits to his right while everyone else sits at the other end of the table, leaving the other head chair empty.

Grabbing the pens, I place one to the right of thefolders before grabbing a bottle of water for each person.

Mr. Strickland doesn’t get a bottle of water because he prefers his water to be ice cold and sparkling. I’ll grab his special water from the drink refrigerator under my desk a couple of minutes before the meeting starts tomorrow.

The conference room door squeaks open and I let out a yelp. Everyone has already left for the day. No one should be opening the door.

I turn around, pressing my hand to my pounding heart and come face to face with Mr. Strickland.

“Oh!” I jump back and crash into the mahogany table.

Ouch. I’m going to have a bruise there tomorrow.

The edge of the table presses hard into my lower back as I stare at my boss’s face. He doesn’t seem upset, but doesn’t seem happy either. His expression is always hard and emotionless.

It’s hard to tell what he’s actually feeling.

The corner of his lips curl into a smile and his eyebrows raise as the music changes into a not safe for work song.

“S-s-sorry. I’ll turn off the music.” I click the button on the computer keyboard and the music instantly stops.

“You didn’t have to turn it off on my account. Enjoy your music and the amenities the building has to offer.”

Is he serious right now?

Why isn’t he yelling at me for taking advantage of the bluetooth speaker system?

“Is there something else you need me to do? I was just finishing up here.”

Why is he back at the office? Was he checking to see if I got everything set up?

“It looks great in here, thank you. I was just stopping by to ask if you could set up another seat as we will have a guest at the meeting tomorrow.”

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