Settling into my chair, I powered up my computer and dove into work. The familiar routine helped ground me and keep my mind off Mr. Mancini’s visit. Spreadsheets, client reports, and statistics were my friends and I lost myself in the familiar.
It worked, until an email notice showed up at the bottom of my monitor.
From: Brenda Masterson
Subject: Heads up
They’re coming.
My heart rate instantly doubled, and I needed to take a deep breath to calm myself. “It’s just a meeting,” I muttered under my breath. “I got this.”
Everything Henry gave me suggested Ralph Mancini was a fair man, who talked about the company family. He’d enacted worker friendly benefits to make sure employees didn’t have to choose between family and work. There was no reason to be this nervous.
My palms missed the memo, and were sweaty in under a minute. I smoothed my tie, Henry’s tie, and tried to check my reflection in my monitor. It didn’t work, so I had to hope I was presentable.
The low murmur of voices grew louder, and I resisted the urge to peer over my cubicle wall. How weird would I look if Mr. Mancini saw me peeking over the wall to see if he was close. I decided I didn’t want that to be his first impression of me and double checked I’d cleaned my desk.
I heard them as they turned down my row. Henry told me to stand up when he was close because I already knew he was coming to see me. Mr. Mancini was tall, trim, looked young for fifty-five. His brown hair had gone gray on the sides, which made him look distinguished. He wore an expensive suit that probably cost more than my monthly rent. But he smiled and greeted everyone he passed.
Beside him, looking decidedly less comfortable, was Janet Kowalski, our division’s Senior VP. She acted more nervous than I felt.
“And over here, we have our account management team,” she said a touch too loud and cheerful. “They’ve been instrumental in driving down our costs almost 15 percent.”
Ralph nodded politely, but his eyes had locked on me. I gulped, but was proud of myself for not trembling.
They approach my cubicle and Janet finally noticed me. “And this is….” She looked down at her notes.
“Nick Fenton,” Mr. Mancini said, smiling cheerfully at me. “The young man I came to see.”
Janet’s face flushed, clashing with her coral blouse. “Of course, sir. Nicholas Fenton.”
“Thank you, Janet,” Ralph said. It wasn’t sharp or angry, but it was clear he didn’t need her to keep talking. “I can take it from here.”
A young man threaded his way to the front of the group and had his camera out as Mr. Mancini approached me. He extended his hand to me and the camera clicked as we shook.
“A pleasure to meet you, Nick.” More pictures. “I’ve heard good things.”
Hoping my legs didn’t give out, I shook his hand. His grip was firm and surprisingly comforting. His gaze stayed on me, but his smile never faded. He wasn’t searching for faults, he was trying to put me at ease.
“It’s an honor to meet you, sir.” The pictures kept coming and I think I flinched.
“That’s enough, Jeremy,” he said, and the man lowered his camera. “You should call me Ralph.”
Seriously, the CEO of my company, my boss’s, boss’s boss to the power of a hundred, expected me to call him by his firstname like we were old friends. “I’m not sure I can do that, sir. I mean, I’ll try, but it’s not respectful.
He laughed and looked back at the crowd following him. “Respectful. Did you hear that.” The group chuckled nervously. “Do you know what I did this morning, Nick. I got up, put my pants on one leg at a time just like you. I had coffee with my wife, and went to work. Does that sound familiar?”
The hangers on laughed. Except Jeremy. He smiled, but he didn’t feel the need to flatter his boss. “I did the same, except I had coffee with my boyfriend.”
“Good,” he said approvingly. “And since we have such similar lives, you can call me Ralph.”
I glanced down and smiled at how he’d played that. “Ralph it is.”
“Excellent.” He put his arm around me, his genuine way putting me at ease. “This is a good day, Nick. Jeremy doesn’t let me leave headquarters very often so I need to make the most of my freedom.”
Ralph was nothing like I expected and that was a good thing. “No offense, Ralph, but I’d have gone to a baseball game if I had a free day.”
“Well said,” he said lowering his arm. “Is your direct supervisor here? I’d like to speak to you both.”
