Conquest of the Heart (2 page)

Please join us for Employee
Appreciation Night

596 Mitchells
Lane

Brigdehampton, New York
11932

Saturday, April
17
^th

4:00p – 9:00p

Just bring yourselves and
dress casually

The party was only a week away. Everyone
always enjoyed the parties that Adrian threw because he opened up
his home. To him, they were family, and family shouldn’t be
escorted off to some cold and impersonal hotel. No, home is where
the heart is, and that’s where he liked to celebrate.

Faith was getting settled in
her office. She had never had a space as big as this one before.
The furniture was just to her liking – dark walnut. On the left
side of the office, as you walked in the door, there was a square
table with four black leather chairs situated around it.
In front of her was a contemporary executive desk.
It had a strip of white marble just underneath the desktop,
accented with a beautiful off-white leather chair. To the right,
there were large bookcases that matched the desk, with a modern
contemporary off-white leather sofa that matched her chair. There
was a small nook in the corner by the sofa that housed a
medium-sized wet bar and refrigerator with dark walnut glass
cabinets located overhead. This was a corner office, so there were
windows to the right and to the front. She had a magnificent view
of the outside world.

Faith plopped down in her
new leather chair. She practically sank into it. It was so
comfortable. There was a giant bouquet on her desk with a card that
read
‘Glad you’re finally here. Welcome to
the family. Adrian’.
She smiled and stood
up to smell the flowers. As she was taking a deep breath in, her
pleasure was interrupted by a knock.

“Can I come in?” Faith looked up and saw
Carter.

“Sure. I’m just taking it all in,” she smiled
and walked around her desk. “You are - ”

“Carter. Director of Promotions. I’m just
down the hall with the bottom feeders.”

They shook hands. “Would you like something
to drink? I think I’m pretty well stocked over here.”

“No, no. I was just heading out, and wanted
to stop by to meet you personally.”

“Bottom feeders, huh? Are you going to tell
me what you mean by that?” Faith was curious why he chose those
particular words.

“This office,” Carter grinned, “is the most
coveted office on the floor. Gavin has been begging for this office
for over a year now. Adrian wouldn’t budge. He was saving it for
someone special he said. I guess that would be you.”

“I’m not so sure about that,” she smiled.
“I’m just a normal person and I certainly don’t have anything more
special than anyone else here. We’re all special in our own way.
How long have you been with the company?”

“Since I graduated from college, about
fourteen years. Gavin and I went to school together. We took the
same classes, yadda yadda yadda. I’m practically family. I haven’t
quite convinced them to add me as a beneficiary, though.” They both
laughed.

“So where are you going?” asked Faith.

“I’m sorry?”

“You said you were heading out?”

“Oh yeah.” Carter had almost forgotten that
he needed to catch a plane. He was meeting with some associates
from Coca-Cola in Los Angeles for a new ad they were working on. He
was so intrigued by their conversation that he didn’t want to lose
the moment. She was so genuine. Her smile was absolutely magnetic.
He couldn’t remember the last time that he felt so comfortable
speaking to a woman. More importantly, he had mentioned Gavin
twice, and she didn’t ask who he was. This could be promising.

“I almost forgot. I have a meeting in Los
Angeles this afternoon. Thanks for reminding me. You’ve managed to
control this whole conversation and hone in on me. I’d like to hear
more about you, if you don’t mind. It’ll have to wait until I get
back. Will you be at the party? Perhaps you can continue then?”

“I’ll see you there. Have a safe flight.”

“Thanks.” Carter walked out of the office,
feeling as light as a feather. No doubt Gavin would be next in line
at her door. He would worry about him later. This was just the
beginning.

After Carter left, Faith logged onto her
laptop to view her calendar. She only had one meeting today. It was
with Adrian, and was going to last all afternoon. He had lunch
reserved at noon. Following that, he was going to take her around
to meet everyone and show her the office so she would be familiar
with where everything was located. After that, he had a private
meeting scheduled in his office to discuss her tasks for the
upcoming months. Faith was self-motivated. All she needed was a
list of items that needed to be completed, and she would get it
done. That was one of the reasons Adrian hired her. Another reason
was her level of integrity. She believed that integrity should be
at the heart of every company. If this key ingredient was missing,
it could disrupt operations, and could compromise the reputation of
a company.

Faith grabbed a pen and the personally
engraved notebook (another gift from Adrian) that was sitting next
to her flowers from her desk. She walked over to Adrian’s office,
stopping at the executive assistants’ desk.

Agnes beamed, “You must be Faith. I’ve heard
so much about you. I’m Agnes. If you need anything, I’m the first
one you can come to.” She held out her hand.

Faith shook Agnes’ hand. “It’s nice to meet
you, Agnes. Is it alright if I go in?” she asked, motioning towards
Adrian’s office.

“Yes. He’s expecting you.”

Faith knocked on the door and opened it at
the same time. Adrian was on the phone, and motioned for her to
come on in.

“Yes. That’s right honey,
just the employees this time.
Agnes has
already taken care of the catering and the entertainment. You don’t
have to lift a finger … I know you’re excited … Honey, Faith is
here now to join me for lunch. I’ll call you later, okay? … I love
you, too. Bye now.”

Hanging up the phone, he said, “I’m sorry
about that. Juliet has been calling me all morning since the memo
went out about the party. She absolutely loves seeing
everyone.”

“No apologies necessary. How is she doing? I
can’t wait to see her again.”

Faith had seen Juliet when Adrian was
visiting the Paris office, and again when she came to visit New
York before starting the new job. Juliet was the sweetest woman
anyone could ever know. She was petite, standing only five feet,
two inches tall. Her hair was almost completely white, and she kept
it cut short, to fit her small rounded face. Her eyes were as blue
as the Caribbean ocean.

Adrian and Juliet were childhood sweethearts.
They married young, and had Gavin when they were in their late
twenties. They never had any other children. Juliet had a difficult
pregnancy with Gavin, and almost lost him during her second
trimester. They were told additional pregnancies would be high
risk, and were advised to use adoption as the safest, more
reasonable option for more kids. Instead, they directed all of
their love and affection toward their son. Juliet cared so much for
Gavin, but she was no pushover. She was quite the spitfire if you
pushed the right buttons, and boy could Gavin do it. He did his
best not to cross her, knowing there would be hell to pay if he
did.

“She’s doing fine,” said Adrian. “Are you
hungry?”

“Famished,” Faith smiled as she grabbed her
stomach. She hadn’t eaten since breakfast, and that was only a cup
of yogurt and some cherries. She had been nervous about her first
day, and didn’t want to get sick, so she kept her meal light. “I
could eat a small horse right now.”

Adrian laughed boisterously and said, “Well
let’s get you fed. I don’t want to find any missing employees
because I let you starve.” They continued to laugh as they walked
out of his office.

As they walked toward the
elevators, Gavin was in his office preparing to meet with a client.
He heard laughter and looked out and saw Faith and Adrian. He
watched as they approached and waited for the elevator, studying
Faith’s every move – her walk, her smile, even how she carefully
swept loose hairs that were going astray behind her ears. He hadn’t
gotten a chance to speak with her yet. He knew Adrian would be
keeping her very busy for the first few weeks until she was able to
set her own schedule and agenda. He himself was going to be in and
out of the office with engagements. ‘
I
guess I’ll have to wait until Saturday’,
he
thought as he gathered up his paperwork, carefully placed it in his
portfolio and left for the afternoon.

“So where are we going?” asked Faith as the
limo pulled around to pick them up.

“You said you liked Mexican food, so I chose
Agave. It’s one of the best Mexican restaurants in the city.
Speaking of which, how are you adjusting to New York? How was your
move?”

“As with work, I’m still getting settled,
still digging out of my boxes. I never in my life thought that I’d
move to New York. The pace is so fast. In Paris, things are so much
more laid back.”

“Well, I know that your first months with
C&A will be a little stressful, but they’ll quiet down a bit.
I’m not one to overwork my employees. Family should always come
first, do you understand? I mean that wholeheartedly.”

“I know you do. Thank you.”

The driver pulled along the curb on Seventh
Avenue in front of the restaurant. He came around the car to open
the door for Faith and Adrian. As they walked in, Faith looked
around, taking in the tall buildings, the atmosphere, the sounds.
The host showed them to their table on the patio, which was perfect
for such a warm day. They were handed menus and their server
brought them some water.

Faith opened her menu and asked, “So what’s
good here? What do you suggest?”

“Well, I like the Masa Crusted Chicken
Sandwich. It’s my favorite. I also like the Steak Wrap, and the BBQ
Sliced Steak sandwich. Please tell me you’re not thinking about
just having a salad?”

“No. I’m really hungry, so you’ll have to
forgive me because my manners are going to be out the door once we
get our food.” She smiled and continued to look at the menu. “I
think I’ll try the Grilled Adobe Chicken Breast Quesadillas. Those
sound delicious.”

“I’ve never tried their quesadillas. They do
sound good,” said Adrian.

Their server came out and politely spoke,
“Are you ready to order? Do you have any questions about any items
on the menu?”

Adrian ordered for both of them. “We’re
ready. The lady will have the Grilled Adobe Chicken Breast
Quesadillas, and I will have the Masa Crusted Chicken
Sandwich.”

“Anything to drink?”

“I’ll just have water,” said Faith. “As will
I,” said Adrian, handing their menus to the server.

“So, we’ll go over my schedule when we get
back to the office? What hours would you like me to work?”

“Yes, we’ll cover all of that when we get
back. Right now, I want to talk to you about another matter.”

Faith raised her eyebrows. “Uh oh. Please
don’t tell me there’s drama already.”

“No, not exactly. It’s about Gavin. You know
you’ll eventually be reporting directly to him?”

“Yes. We haven’t formally met, but I figured
he’d have some time set up for us to go over his expectations.”

“That’s what I’m concerned about.” Adrian got
a serious look on his face. “He has some very deviant behavioral
patterns that I’m almost certain will impact you. I’m sure he’s
already drumming up a plan to make you his next prize.”

“Prize?” Faith looked bewildered.

“Yes,” said Adrian, embarrassed. “The women
in the office are not strangers to him. He knows them very well, if
you know what I mean.” Adrian looked Faith directly in the eyes. He
was very concerned about her welfare. Gavin was extremely cunning.
There hadn’t been a single woman in the office that Gavin
approached with the ability to deny him. He didn’t want Faith to
get hurt.

“So he makes it a point to get all the women
he works with to sleep with him?”

“That’s a nice way to put it. Not all of
them. He tends to be picky, but regardless, I don’t approve of
this,” he said shaking his head disappointedly, “and I definitely
don’t want this to change your mind about working for us. We really
need your expertise. He will be your boss, but ultimately, I have
the final say in any decisions or changes that need to be made. If
you ever have any problems, please come to me. You can come to me
any time you need to talk. You’re going to need that outlet.”

Faith smiled and took Adrian’s hand. “Thanks
for the warning, and thanks for the open door. You’ve been so kind
to me, so helpful. I just want you to know how much I appreciate
that.”

At that moment, their lunch arrived. They ate
and enjoyed more conversation.

Saturday came faster than expected. It was
such a busy week, with promotions, tours, meetings, and training.
Everyone was looking forward to a break.

Gavin finished a jam-packed week of meetings
with clients and prospects. Chandler helped him end his week with a
bang, literally. It was morning, and she had just left his bed and
gone home to get ready for the party. He still had her smell on
him, so he couldn’t wait to shower and head over to his parents’
house to help get things ready. He also had a few things to pick up
on his way there.

As he showered, Gavin couldn’t stop thinking
about Faith. He was looking forward to talking to her. He had heard
from most of his colleagues that she had a very charming and warm
personality.