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“Ava,” Tanner said.
“Yes,” I said, snapping my head back into reality and blushing. Everyone at the table was looking at me expectantly.
“Why don’t you come up, introduce yourself, and talk to us about some of your ideas for pushing our new financial divisions to the next level during the merger?”
“Okay,” I said, taking in a deep breath and walking to the front. I knew this was coming. He had told me ahead of time, but I was never quite ready for public speaking.
Everyone’s gaze was one me, all looking unsure of whether they should prejudge the fact that I was young, judge me for being the only woman in the room, or stare at my tits. It was a mixed crowd, and Tanner was teetering between respect and tits. I straightened out my skirt and walked to the front of the room, taking in a deep breath. Every time I looked over at him, I felt heat creeping up the back of my neck. I wanted so badly for him to be suffering the same affliction I was suffering, but at the same time, I was hoping he wasn’t, so I could keep myself in check.
“Thank you,” I said to Tanner before turning toward all the faces. “My name is Ava, and I’m going to be assisting in the financial changeover on the client end of the spectrum. I got together with our CFO recently, and we discussed the questions the clients will probably have, especially in the beginning. I have come up with a fact template that will post to all representatives, starting today, and will help them begin to ease their client’s concerns. I also believe full candor is a must when it comes to working with people’s money, so we want to let the clients know what we are doing at every step. I have created a template for that as well, and it will not only be emailed but physically mailed as well to make sure our clients are fully understanding what we are doing at every turn. That being said, all managers in all departments will receive a copy of those letters before they are sent out, and they will be in charge of training their teams on what to say, what answers to provide, and how to calm the client by not addressing their fears so much as letting them know how this change will positively affect their money. We don’t want people running just because they aren’t educated on what is going on. Any questions?”
“Yes,” Tanner said, watching my blushed cheeks. “Will we be providing fact lists with every single letter?”
“Yes,” I said, nodding my head. “Every letter will come with a cheat sheet, if you will, an answer to what we believe will be the most asked questions, so we are able to tackle these issues head-on. My door will always be open to anyone, and I’m willing to answer any questions you or our clients have.”
“Thank you, Ava,” Tanner said.
I nodded my head and walked back to my seat, smiling at the applause from the men. I could tell they were surprised by my knowledge and intelligence, and that was the kind of response I wanted. I was never the girl okay with being quiet and submissive, and I knew I was just as smart, if not smarter, than most of the men in that room, except maybe Tanner. When the meeting was over, I shook the other gentlemen’s hands and collected my stuff, trying not to notice that Tanner and I were the last people in the room.
“You okay?”
“Mhmm,” I said, trying not to blush again.
“Ava,” he said, walking over and putting his hand on my arm. “What is it? You were distracted the whole time, though I’m probably the only one who noticed.”
“Nothing,” I said blushing, standing and staring him in the face. “I mean it’s something, but it’s my problem, and I’ll deal with it. There’s nothing you can do about it.”
I put the rest of my files in my bag and tried to ignore the fact that he was staring at me, a small smirk on his face. I put my bag over my shoulder and pushed in my chair, looking up with beet red cheeks. I turned and walked toward the door, trying to get myself together.
“Ava,” he called out. “It’s because of our attraction, isn’t it?”
I stopped and snapped my head back toward him and saw that he was now blushing slightly, too. I closed the door to the meeting room and sighed, taking my bag back off my shoulder and walking to the table. He was standing there, hands in his pockets, leaning against the table. I shook my head holding onto the back of the chair, trying to figure out how to approach the subject. It was undoubtedly a tricky one, but I was glad that he noticed and kind of turned on that he felt the same way and had the guts to admit to it.
“What the hell are we going to do about this?” I asked the question, not sure if he even had an answer.
“I don’t know,” he said calmly. “I suppose we should work on our professional relationship and try to push this aside. I’ve le
arned through the years that crushes like these tend to fizzle out over time, especially once you start working with someone every day.”
“Really?” I didn’t want it to, but I had to at least act the part. “It’s kind of distracting, and I’m dedicated to this job. I don’t want it to interfere. I’ve known you a long time, Tanner.”
“You don’t have to explain,” he chuckled. “I’ve known you since you were in diapers. If you think it's awkward for you, think about how conflicted by it I am.”
“Okay,” I said taking a deep breath. “Then we will focus on our professional relationship right now, pushing the other stuff aside until it just goes away.”
“Perfect,” he said, walking toward the door. “Oh, do you want to come out to Driscoll’s on Friday for dinner?”
I scrunched my eyebrows and turned toward him with a confused face. We had literally just decided to work on our professional relationship and let the other side fizzle out, and he followed it up with dinner requests. He looked at me and chuckled, shaking his head when he saw my reaction.
“No, no,” he said. “Everyone from today’s meeting will be there. It’s a work dinner, an appreciation for the constant hard work. I didn’t want to ask you in front of everyone in case you had other plans. I always hated being put on the spot by my boss in front of the executives.”
“You had another job before the company?”
“Sure, but it was for my father,” he explained. “Which was why he thought it was okay to put me on the spot.”
“Oh,” I said. “Okay, work dinner on Friday. I will be there, absolutely.”
“Great.” He smiled as he walked from the room.
