Pulse 2 (Pulse Series) (4 page)

Chapter 4

The small conference room I sat in was significantly smaller than the boardroom. I thought it was strange that Rafael asked us to meet here but my curiosity was battling the fatigue I felt every Monday morning. I sipped my cup of coffee while one my fellow interns speculated and expressed all of the thoughts I was too tired to say myself.

“
He
did
say that he had a big announcement,” Wesley said. “But why would he make a big announcement in one of the smaller conference rooms? And where are the other board members. Do you think he’s going to fire us?”

“
Do you really think he would ask us into this room just to fire us?” Travis said.

“
What else could it be? Is he going to promote us to the board already? I doubt that.”

“
With the quality of your work, I have the same doubts.”

“
Okay, okay, okay. Then what is it?”

“
Maybe you should stop wasting your energy trying to figure it out and wait for Mr. Barnett to tell us.”

“
Because our future is on the line! I can’t take it. I have to know. Alice, did he tell you anything?”

I wondered if Wesley knew that Rafael and I had something between us. I shook my head remained staring at my cup of coffee.

“No,” I shrugged. “Your guess is as good as mine.”

“
Well, I hope he gets here soon,” Wesley said as he peeked at his watch. “The anticipation is killing me.”

Rafael didn
’t speak about business or the company or anything involving work when we were alone together. The
business
we conducted was of a more personal nature. But it still wasn’t enough for me to gain any more insight into the man I thought I was developing feelings for. I sighed as I thought about the night I just spent with him this past weekend, half-frustrated and half-content with everything that happened.

With one elbow propped upon the table, I rubbed my index finger against my temple and took another sip of coffee as I waited for my boss to arrive. Seconds later, Rafael strode into the office with an energy I
was envious of.

“
Good morning,” he greeted us. “I’m sorry to keep you all waiting. I trust you all remembered the big announcement I had promised you.”

Wesley was nervously shaking in his seat like a schoolgirl. Travis
’s demeanor was calm and seemingly apathetic. I looked at my boss and the power suit he stood in and no longer saw the man I was intimate with just a few nights ago. Instead, he had my curiosity for different reasons.

“
Okay,” Rafael exhaled. “I won’t waste your time. I’ve asked you all to this room because the board meeting is going on without us. One of the board members, a Mr. Martin Green, will be conducting the board meetings on a semi-regular basis in my stead. I won’t be attending another board meeting for the next week or so. And neither will you.”

I scrunched my face in confusion. I was cautiously optimistic mainly because of the smile on Rafael
’s face.

“
We’re all going on a business trip,” he said.

“
Business trip?” Wesley asked. “Where? Uptown? In the city?”

“
No, somewhere a little farther. Hawaii.”

I thought I misheard him. I looked at him more confused then turned to Wesley, who was just as perplexed.

“Wait,” Wesley said. “Hawaii? Like
the
Hawaii.”

“
There’s a business conference scheduled to take place in Maui starting this Thursday,” Rafael explained. “This is very important. Representatives from companies all over the world will be there.”

“
Wait a second,” I said. “Is… This is a joke, right?”

“
A lot of important people are going be there,” Rafael said. “They thought it was only appropriate that they picked a spot that everybody would be comfortable in. Do any of you object?”

The announcement was unlike anything I was expecting. I was still having trouble accepting the ridiculousness of it. I wanted to laugh. I looked over at Wesley an
d saw the beaming smile on his face. When I looked at Travis, even he was having trouble trying to contain himself. But still, Rafael seemed more excited than any one of us.

“
I’m sorry to spring this on you with such short notice but I had to get clearance with the board,” Rafael said. “I’m having reports sent to all of you. Over the next few days, I want you to learn more about the businesses we’re dealing with. You’re going to meet a lot of people with a lot of money on the table. This could be the key to expanding our international sector. Is that clear to all of you?”

We all nodded in unison at Rafael.

“All right,” he said. “Again, I’m sorry about the short notice. You can leave early tonight to pick-up some things to wear. The weather over there is a little different in the city this time of year. Do you have any other questions?”

The rest of us remained silent and he excused us. Wesley and Travis quickly made their way out of the conference room while I gathered my things. I looked up at Rafael as he wa
ited for me to leave the room. Just as soon as I began to open my mouth, he held his finger up to me.

“
Not in here,” he said. “I’ll speak to you in your office when I get the chance.”

He gave me a polite smile and I nodded to him before exiting the room. A
s I made my way to my office, I was still in disbelief. This was work. This was company business. I couldn’t treat this like a vacation. But despite that, every bone in my body was excited at the prospects of getting a chance to work outside of the building. And Rafael would be right there with me. At least, I hoped that he would. With a trip to Hawaii on the horizon, I suddenly found myself struggling to focus on the work in front of me.

* * *

The morning hours passed and I felt like I didn’t get any work done. There was a knock at the door to break the monotony.

“
Come in,” I said, expecting the lunch I usually had delivered.

I didn
’t look up and continued to mark the papers on the desk in front of me.

“
Are you busy?”

I looked up and saw Rafa
el closing the door behind him.

“
I’m always busy,” I smiled.

“
Well, do you have time for me?”

“
Of course. How can I help you, Mr. Barnett?”

He chuckled at me then took a seat in front of my desk. I put my pen down and waited for him to tell me what I was e
xpecting us to talk about.

“
I just spoke with Wesley and Travis,” Rafael said. “Each of them seems to be okay with this trip.”

“
Why wouldn’t they be? How often do you get to go to Hawaii?”

“
Well, it
is
kind of sudden. Whatever plans you might have this weekend will have to be canceled. I just want to make sure that it’s not an inconvenience for you.”

I looked at him confused. I had to stop myself from laughing at the thought. He knew that my weekends we
re usually planned around his schedule. But it was something we never discussed directly while we were inside of this building.

“
No,” I said. “Everything is fine. My schedule is clear except for work. If you need me to work for a week in Hawaii, then I’ll work there.”

“
Good. I’m glad to hear that, Alice. Because that’s what this week will be. I need to make it clear to you that this
is
a business conference. It’s very important to learn more about the people you’ll be dealing with. It will also give you a chance to learn some skills. There will be a few workshops that I want you to attend. I don’t have them on me right now but I’ll point them out to you when we get there.”

“
Of course.”

Rafael looked at me then began nodding his head. I watched his jaw clench
as he began grinding his teeth together. I stared back at him and narrowed my eyes. There was something else on his mind but he wasn’t saying it.

“
Is there… anything else?” I asked him.

He paused for a moment before exhaling a deep breath. He looked away
from me then to the side. He looked out of the large glass window of my office and into some of the nearby rooms around me. He watched the people outside of my office go about their business like the usually did on a busy Monday morning. He shifted his eyes back to me before turning his head along with them.

“
It’s really important that you understand that this is a business meeting, Alice. You’re here for work. You’re a representative of the company—”

“
Sir, you don’t have to keep reminding me. I’ll be there to work. I’ll be there to learn. I will do everything I can to make sure that I do my part to make sure that Barnett Industries is well represented.”

I reassured him to let him know that I understood. This was business. Despite any feelings I may or may n
ot have for him, this job was still important to me. I wouldn’t let whatever conflicting emotions I might have affect my performance.

“
Okay,” he said as he nodded. “I’m glad to hear that. But… this is also an opportunity for… what we talked about. A few nights ago. I don’t know if we’ll have any time alone together but if we do get a chance, we’ll have to be secluded from everybody else. These people are no different. If they know that there’s anything going on…”

“
I understand. You don’t have to worry about me. Whatever happens… happens. I’m sure that it will be an exciting adventure for everybody involved.”

Rafael exhaled a sharp breath then smiled at me.

“Is there anything else?” I asked him.

We stared silently at one another. As I looked into his eyes, I
could almost see his lips twitching just beneath them as if he was fighting off a smile. I bit the corner of my bottom lip and pointlessly tried to keep my face from blushing. Without saying a single word, I knew what he was thinking. But even though we were in my office, I knew that every passer-by would be suspicious of even the slightest hint of flirtation. I wanted nothing more than for him to come around my desk and bend me over upon it. And I knew that he wanted it just as bad as I did. But we couldn’t. Not in my office or his or anywhere else in this building. Never again. Just like he promised.

There was a knock at the door and the tension in the room dissolved. Rafael jumped out of his chair then straightened his tie before nonchalantly answering th
e door. It was the delivery man with the lunch I just ordered. Rafael reached into his jacket and searched for his wad of money.

“
Perfect timing,” he said. “Don’t worry, Alice. This one’s on me.”

Rafael paid the delivery man, who placed my lunch down upon
my desk. Rafael didn’t say anything more to me. Not a goodbye or anything else. There was no wave or wink or bowing of his head. Instead, he wrapped his arm around the delivery man’s shoulder and they left my office together. I laughed to myself at the image of the two of them then took a break from my work to enjoy my lunch. There were a lot of thoughts running through my head. My mind could use the break to try and sort all of them out.

Chapter 5

I stood in front of the mirrors and stared at my reflection from every possible angle. It wasn’t very often I looked at myself this way. Usually after a shower in the morning, I had a towel around myself while I applied my makeup. I turned around and held my arms out to the side.

“
What about this one?” I said. “How does this one look?”

My best friend scrunched her face then started shaking her head.

“What?” I exclaimed. “What’s wrong with it?”

“
It’s just not… you.”

“
What does that mean? Does it make me look fat? Am I showing too much?”

“
No. It’s just… It’s not you, Alice.”

“
Fine.”

I let out a half-frustrated sigh as my friend snickered at me. I headed back into the dressing room to peel off the latest swimsuit she had given a thumbs down to.

“Just relax,” she shouted out to me. “You managed to get the day off from work. You have plenty of time. You might as well use it. By the way, how
did
you get the day off?”

“
I already told you. It’s a business trip. I told them that I needed to get something to wear. Besides, I’m expected to be doing work at home. I can get things done outside of the office.”

I tied the next bikini-top around my back then pulled the bottoms up over me. I straightened the outfit out then stepped back out to model it for my friend.

I managed to get the day off because I needed to shop. Rafael actually insisted I take some time to myself. He suggested I get something nice, with his underlying intentions to buy something specifically for him subtle but still obvious. I dragged my friend Danica into a shop to pick-out bathing suits for my business trip to Hawaii. If anybody knew anything about skimpy outfits and exposing skin, it was my curly-haired friend.