AllFreeNovel
Share Us
By the time I made it to the podium, my heart was beating out of control. I gripped the podium and looked out at the rows of people all staring at me. I still wasn’t fond of it. Even though I was dressed to impress, and I was having an unusually good hair day. Admittedly, I had kept it down in long wavy tresses—the way Kane loved it. Yes, I wanted him to notice. I know, I needed help. Like right now.
I swallowed, and my throat seemed to swell up mid-swallow. I gripped the podium tighter, trying to get the rest of the swallow down. Did I mention that everyone was staring at me and the lights seemed awfully bright so I was blinking way too much? My brain finally remembered that I should say something. “Thank you for that introduction,” I stuttered. Now what did I say? Oh yeah, note cards.
My hands were trembling so hard I could barely see the words. Thankfully, I knew the joke I was going to start with by heart.
“Did you hear about the outgoing pathologist?” Without any sort of comedic timing, I rushed to say the punchline. “He stares at YOUR shoes when he talks!”
Crickets. Apparently, no one got it. Except I heard one lone laugh. A laugh I knew better than my own. My gaze naturally drifted to Kane, who was now sitting at the end of the front row. I felt my eyes begin to sting with tears, not only because the joke had flopped but because he had tried to support me. He flashed me a smile before mouthing, “You can do this.”
In that instant, I knew he wasn’t my enemy; he was my ally. Which, in a way, made it harder. I didn’t want to defeat my ally. So, for a moment, I forgot I was competing against him. Instead, I decided my presentation should complement his. This wasn’t about me. This was about the people sitting in this room and in our many offices around the world. It was about our partners and the patients on the receiving end of our life-saving treatments.
I nodded at Kane and smiled. “Let’s try that again. An internist, radiologist, surgeon, and pathologist walk into a bar.” I paused for dramatic effect, and because I didn’t really know a joke that began like that. “Just kidding.”
This time everyone laughed, and I relaxed a bit, even letting go of the podium.
When the laughter died down, I started with, “All joking aside, I want to thank Kane for his inspiring words. We’re fortunate to be part of the global Armstrong family.” For the first time, when I said that, I not only meant it but felt it in my heart. “A company whose main goal is to save lives. And regardless of what position we each hold, everyone in this room plays a part in fulfilling that mission. We’ve all heard the saying that not all heroes wear capes; I would say that all Armstrong Lab employees are heroes.”
The audience spontaneously clapped. I was so taken aback by their response, I almost forgot to speak again when it died down. Thankfully, I remembered I had note cards, and they had become legible to me again.
“Though we’ve made great strides, we know our work isn’t done. There are over two thousand plasma proteins, the vast majority of which are waiting for us to unlock their life-saving potential.” That seemed to pique several people’s interest. I’m not sure how the rest of it went as I delved into some of the latest technology, research, and equipment that we were using or planned to implement. I think I might have used my monotone voice, but no one fell asleep, and I got another round of applause at the end when I used part of the mission statement I had been working on. “Together we will better humankind, one plasma donation at a time.”
I took their applause as my cue to hustle back to my seat. Auggie had made sure I was the last speaker during this session. I felt like it should have been Kane. Kane, who gave me a wink and nod of approval before I sat down. But that was all—his attention was quickly drawn toward the emcee, who thanked all the presenters and directed everyone to the restaurant that had been reserved for our party only.
I had barely sat down before everyone was standing. I jumped up too.
Auggie beamed at me and gave my hand an almost imperceptible squeeze. “Well done, Scarlett.”
“Thank you.”
Jaycie and what looked like almost everyone else, including all the board members, rushed to Kane, to bask in his glory and congratulate him on a job well done. A few people, on their way to him, said they enjoyed my presentation.
I looked at Auggie and bit my lip. I didn’t have to say a word—he knew what I was thinking. Kane had scored some major touchdowns today, perhaps even the winning one. And truthfully, he probably deserved to win.
