I froze midway towards the two gentlemen with my hand stretched out, about to greet them with a handshake. My brows tied into a knot as I looked at them, puzzled. It has been 4 years since I had any connection with Black Industries.
Did he finally find me? Does he know I work for Maude? Does he know about...?
I almost went into panic mode but Helen, sensing something was up, cleared her throat to snap me back to the two handsome men in front of me.
"It's a pleasure to meet you, Mr. Styles. Mr. Stevens. You already know Helen right?"I quickly recovered, putting on a smile while shaking hands with them. I had mastered putting on a mask while working for Maude the past few years. So I did just that, forgetting about my past with Black Industries. I'll have to deal with my questions later.
"Please, sit down," I said as I looked at the two gentlemen more closely.
Mr. John Styles was clearly older than me by a few years, so I'm guessing he should be in his early thirties. He was quite handsome, well maybe if he smiled a bit more. He had a shaped moustache but what was more obvious about him was his tan. It reminded me of the beaches in LA that I used to frequent. Mr. Styles probably spends weekends on the beach. Mr. Stevens on the other hand, evidently hadn't been out in the sun for a long time. Typical.
"How is summer in LA these days, Mr. Styles?"
"Oh, please call me John and it's been fun," his eyes twinkled as he answered, "You should come visit and spend some time on the beach. I'm sure you would enjoy, Miss Maude."
"Please call me Mel and I'm sure I would. I actually miss the beaches in LA. It's been a long time."
"How long is a "long time" if I may ask?" he probed.
"It has actually been four years. I've been quite busy with work. Running Maude here in New York takes up most of my time and it should, we don't want to disappoint our partners, both present and future like Black Industries." The name still doesn't roll off my tongue easily but it has to if I want to close this deal.
Hearing my last line, Helen hands the two men in front of us a folder each. They contained my presentation hand outs and the latest statements from the finance department.
"As you can see, our revenue has been steady the past 5 years and our projections look positive as well. Of course, we are more than willing for you to prove our claims..." I continue to discuss about the company hoping to impress them with our healthy numbers. Maude was indeed doing well for the past ten years and we've had offers but we choose the companies that we work with.
I didn't know I was meeting with Black Industries today, they had kept their identity until now. I wonder why? I need to find out later. Great! More questions when I don't want anything to do with Black Industries and him, ever again!
I didn't need to make a background check on them though. I was more than familiar with the company and the CEO. It's hard to miss any news about them when they were on TV quite often but despite what happened, I can't help but be proud. They have maintained their spot as one of the most successful companies in the country.
"Well, I hope I covered all your questions today John," I said after an hour into the meeting.
It wasn't an easy meeting, John had a lot of questions but I was able to answer all of them. I've made several presentations already and this one was no different.
Meeting with investors wasn't one of my functions as an artistic director however, Bella had me sit in on many investor meetings in the past. Lately, she began to delegate the task over to me saying I have enough experience to handle it on my own.
I don't complain. I'm always happy to step up to lighten Bella's load. I treat her as a daughter would a mother and at her age, I'd prefer her to be travelling and enjoying her success.
"I think we have everything we need. We'll have a team review the data and should have an answer by the end of next week," John said.
"That's good to know then. Would you like a tour of the office?" I offered.
I always take future investors around the office. Here at Maude, we maintain a relaxed and carefree work environment. The walls were painted in bright cheerful colours and were decorated with framed blown up copies of our latest designs. We also had a gym and a small lap pool for when employees needed to blow off some steam.
"Of course, we'd love a tour Mel. Please lead the way," John said as he started to gather his things from the table.
We all stood up from the conference table. With Helen leading the way, we first went to the design department a few floors down. The tour soon ended at the reception an hour later.
"Thank you for the tour Mel. We'll keep in touch once we've made our decision."
"The pleasure is ours and, thank you for your time as well" I politely replied, shaking their hands for the last time.
After the meeting, I had several more meetings with the different teams and by the end of the day, I was beat. It was a good thing it was a Friday.
I always looked forward to weekends with Alyssa.
YOU ARE READING
Second Chance at Love
Romance"No, don't come near me! You lost the right the moment you opened your legs to another man." I have never seen the look he had on his face right now - full of anger, disappointment and disgust. It was the last thing I would have expected from him...
