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Merlin looked down at Julie's hands and resumed the reading. "Very well. Let's take a look. Hmm, it appears that you are coming to the end of a period of reflection, a time when you needed to pause, to reevaluate who you are and what you really want. This is good and very necessary. When this consolidation period comes to an end, shortly, you will meet someone special but where you least expect it. At first, he will not be what you're looking for and sparks will fly. In fact, you may dislike this person intensely before love eventually blooms. If you both choose, this will become true love."
Julie giggled, "Really? I hope you're right."
Linda whispered, "He's always right, trust me."
Merlin laughed, "It's not me, I'm just telling you what 's already in your mind, your intentions that are out of view, and the path you are currently on. Anyway, it was great to meet you. Julie, your future is bright, enjoy every minute of it."
* * *
Julie had finished rearranged her wardrobe with Linda's help. She now had a new look, stylish new clothes, a new hair style and a wonderful array of new shoes to choose from. She bagged up the old clothes and sang along to the music pumping out of the TV. She was so excited she could barely contain herself.
She'd made other changes too. Reluctantly, at first, she'd tried speed dating, on Linda's insistence, and even enjoyed it. It was a blast sizing up a guy in seconds and doing your best to impress with a ticking clock counting down. She had met one nice guy, or so she thought, but he'd turned out to be a pervert. One date and she ended up storming out of the restaurant because of his lewd comments.
Still, she was unperturbed. She'd sort through the chaff and she would eventually find a good man, it was just a matter of time. She knew that.
Then of course there was always Merlin's Blind Dating Service, that had proved to be very interesting. From time to time Merlin would email her a profile that he felt would be a good match. He never provided a photo only a nickname and an email address. Merlin explained that he could tell which couples were a good potential match. Julie had dismissed the idea as hocus pocus until Linda revealed that it was Merlin's Blind Dating Service that had introduced her to her future husband. Once she heard that, Julie signed up on the spot. Within days, Merlin had emailed her what he called her perfect match, a guy she only knew as, FastDriver.
A daily email exchange between FastDriver and her, BlueCat, quickly became the highlight of the day. He was witty, smart and very sophisticated. Later they would exchange photos if the dialogue moved along and they both felt they had a connection. Hopefully soon. The only issue with FastDriver was his location, based in Cardiff, he was a long way from L
ondon. Still, if they clicked they'd find a way to make it work.
For the first time in longer than she could remember Julie was optimistic about the future. Her weekends were full with horse riding, volleyball and tennis. She was fitter and happier, she'd lost those extra 11 lbs that had stubbornly clung to her for years. Everyone said she looked fabulous and she felt even better than she looked.
The funny thing was, she didn't know if she even had time to have a man in her life. Where would she fit him in? Linda assured her there'd be space somewhere, "You can always find room for the good stuff," she'd laugh when Julie insisted she was quite happy without someone. For the first time Julie understood those women who were radiantly happy, successful and not looking for a man to make things better. She had at last become successfully single. Even the expression made her laugh.
Julie finished tidying up her clothes and grabbed her briefcase to put away the papers she'd reviewed earlier. Tomorrow was a big day in the office. A new manager was taking over her department and he had a reputation for being a stickler for detail. He was known to be one of the up and coming stars in the company, new to the London office, and not someone to get on the wrong side of. Julie was determined to make a good first impression, she'd make sure he noticed her and impress him with her ability to answer all his questions with the numbers to back up her recommendations. This would be a meeting he wouldn't forget. She'd make sure of it.
* * *
Julie walked into the meeting room and joined the 11 nervous members of her department sat around the long glass table. Everyone looked up when the new department manager burst into the room, slamming the door behind him.
Julie looked up and saw a tall, handsome 30 year old man with short jet black hair in an expensive black pin strip suit. He wore a red tie with a white silk shirt and fashionable black leather shoes. He looked too young to be a manager but he was hot. She felt her pulse quicken and she wondered what he looked like without his shirt.
"Morning everyone, my name is Max Ferton, I'm the new department manager. Effective immediately you will all report to me. This will be a very short meeting. I don't beat about the bush as you'll all discover in the weeks ahead.
"I've looked over the revenue numbers and I'm not impressed by what I saw. In fact, I was shocked. If things don't change here and quickly, heads will roll. I guarantee it." Max looked around the room, "Do I make myself clear?"
Around the table not one person made eye contact with Max. Julie stared straight ahead and she wished she could slide under the table and quietly disappear. This guy was an animal. She wasn't looking forward to working with him.
"I said, do I make myself clear?" Max thundered, his face and neck going red over his tight shirt collar.
A subdued "Yes" reverberated around the room as the group reluctantly looked up to acknowledge their new, and clearly deranged, leader.
Max looked around the table and barked. "Meeting closed. Get back to your desks, I'll talk to you all individually throughout the day. Which one of you is Julie? I want you to stay behind, whoever you are."
Julie squirmed in her seat, "I'm Julie," she croaked and sank further into her seat. She watched her team members leave the room and close the door behind them, leaving her alone with her new boss. She hoped she wasn't about to be fired.
"Now that those idiots are out of here I want to talk to you. I've reviewed the performance reports for everyone in the department and you're the only one kicking butt here. Your results are very impressive. Keep going like that and you have a very bright future in this company. As for the rest of the morons working here. Let's just say they won't all be here for the Christmas party," Max snarled.
Julie sat upright and faced Max, "Thank you, I'm committed to doing a good job. I won't disappoint you."
Max looked Julie in the eye. "Good stuff. Look I need you to work with me on a new project. It'll mean long hours and at times the work will be very difficult. I won't lie to you. Still, if you do a good job it'll be very good for your career. Are you in?"
"Yes, I am!" Julie wondered what she was letting herself in for you but knew she couldn't say no. She wanted to make a good first impression and she never refused anything that could lead to a promotion.
Max slammed the desk with his hand and stood up. "Good. I'll reassign your work to one of those jokers and your primary focus will be the Insight Tech project. They want us to redesign their software design process to speed up their product development cycle."
Julie averted her gaze from Max's brown eyes and tried to focus on the discussion at hand. She found him very attractive but annoying, manly but way over the top. She attempted to sound professional. "Sounds interesting, I've worked on projects like that before. I look forward to it."
