John

The grace that a woman uses to carry herself was never something I would have noticed if it wasn't for the woman in front of me. Nicole Garza, that is her name. The woman presented a proposal that was not assigned to her initially. I detest when a person with a higher position is incapable of stepping up to responsibility. It should not be here up there, it should be her supervisor, who is sitting down with no shame. A person as such is detestable. Throwing away a responsibility that is his, he is nothing lower than trash. 

As she concludes the presentation proposal, I take the time to ask what I came for. I know this was not her project, she should not be the one presenting this to me. But when you take up a task, you need to see it through. I want to test her confidence. I look over at my secretary who took notes and I know wrote down questions to ask. He looks at me for approval to which I nod. He shoots the first question, "How would this benefit the law firm in court when we already partnered up with another forensic lab?"

As soon as he finished asking his question, I noticed her go blank. Her confidence diminished by a percent. It would be too much if, she had confidence in something she is not well aware of, such as the terms of our partnership with her laboratory. She lacks preparedness, but I know it's not on her but her supervisor. She takes a quiet breath before speaking, "Our lab is not a forensic lab, that is just a side branch of what we do here. As far as I know, our specialty could move in that direction."

I'm intrigued. Anyone else would have not answered. But she is not like everyone else, she analyzes and executes. Her vague answer is wise but the partnership requires more than vague answers. "Is that the desire of the company?" My secretary pushes for details. 

"I believe the company's goal is to not only expand its resources but also provide many alternatives to the public such as taking cases into court." She answers with calmness. 

I speak up, "What about its employees?" She seems puzzled by my question. I continue, "The reason why I bring the employees up is because in many cases, even if you have the maximum amount of employees hired. That number could change if the forensic branch becomes the laboratory's specialty. With that being said, are the employees willing to start or are they looking for what they have now?"

She doesn't speak right away, she simply glances at her supervisor who is boldly glaring at her. This man has no respectable pride. He should be the one answering this specific question. 

I continue to elaborate, "This Amex project as your colleagues have labeled it, could only work if everyone hired is striving for the same goal. An expansion is great if you have the people to depend on, NOT if the number of employees will be reduced. For this Amex project to work, we need not only management but the leadership, support for these plans, and resources to be used effectively."

Her next course of action intrigued me even more. She doesn't look at her supervisor anymore, instead, she fixes her posture and walks toward me to say. "I know you are no fool. And you are not blind to what you just witnessed, so let me be the one to explain. This was not my assigned project. I was asked a few moments ago to present this project. I apologize for wasting your time." With that, she exits the conference room. 

I turn to the supervisor, Mr. Nelson who turns to me with a sly smile that carries no apology for wasting my time. "Do you have something to say?"

"I will be sure to discipline my employee. She is usually very professional. I asked her to present this proposal as I know she is capable." 

" I do hope you mean employees. As I do recall she was not the one assigned to present this initially. If you knew that, then why appoint your employee to an unreasonable task?"

"I will take that in mine. Please excuse me." He stands up to excuse himself to, I am guessing, talk to his employee. As I turn to my secretary, Mr. Hanson, and ask him what he thinks about the situation. 

"For someone who was thrown to present a proposal for our partnership at short notice, she was foolish to accept." He closes his notebook and clicks his pen, "But I will give her credit for what she pulled here. Someone like her, with the right tools could go a long way."

As Mr. Hanson finishes up, we both start hearing voices coming from outside. I look over at Mr. Hanson who stood up to look at the situation, and tell him to let me take care of it. As I step outside of the conference room, I see Mr. Nelson and Nicole. I dismiss Mr. Nelson so I can speak with Nicole without his interference. As he walks away I take a look at my watch and wait for him to be no longer in sight before I start to speak, but to my surprise, Nicole starts speaking. "I know you are probably bothered with my performance back there but I will not make you a false promise. If you want me dismissed, I will pack my things and not protest. But to avoid a dismissal notice, it was against my own will to present a project that was not mine."

I do not blame her for the poor management of her superior. But I do wonder why she did not argue against presenting this proposal, "Where is the person assigned the project?"

"I do not have the information. All I was told was that he was not here and I was."

"So you decided to do what was best for the company?"

"I did what I was asked to do."

"Why not reject his request?" I gesture towards the direction that Mr. Nelson went. 

"I am only an employee." 

"Would you like to be more than just an employee?" She may just be an employee but she can be much more than that if she wants to. I would like to be with someone who is predictable, a partner. 

"Unfortunately, all of my hard work has only got in me this far."

"I can help you," She doesn't look at me with hope, but as if I am the one persecuting her. I don't blame her. This world wants people from her background to crumble. But I don't want that. I need her. She is exactly what a person like me needs. 

"Help me?" She crosses her arms as she tilts her head perhaps confused by what I mean. "Why would I need your help?"

"You could be so much more than just an employee."

"Others would disagree with you."

"I am not blinded by their prejudice." 

"Why not?"

"Should I blame you for your supervisor's shortcomings?"

"I would prefer that you don't."

"I would be wise not to. Anyway, I want to help you. I could fire him if you asked. Someone like you could be so much more than just an employee."

She narrows her eyes, "The difference between you and I is that I earned this. It may not seem like much of an accomplishment to you but I don't sleep around, I work hard for what I have accomplished. "

I try to direct the conversation to clarify, "I am not asking to degrade yourself or for your virtue. What I mean to say, is that you are someone I would like to befriend in a professional sense. I need someone reliable, honest, and trustworthy."

"Work for you? I am afraid I do not want to do that either. I would like not to owe anyone any favors."

"I do not mean as an employee. I need someone I can trust. Someone to be close to me. Forgive my boldness but do you believe in love?"

She is taken aback by the question, "I would prefer to have something more practical, than love. But I would like to state that is a rather inappropriate question to ask a person you know very little about."

"I agree. But I rather be direct about this particular subject." I take a look at my watch and give a knock at the door where Mr. Hanson is still waiting for him to come out. "If it made you feel uncomfortable, I understand and I apologize for overstepping."

Mr. Hanson comes out of the conference room, and I take the liberty to hand her my contact information. "Here is my card. If you ever need assistance." She takes my card and I dismiss myself. I do not know if she knows what I am talking about, but I hope she is seeking the same thing as me. If she is, I will soon find out.