Wanted: Girl I Once Met Page 5

  “If you need anything, here is my extension.” Mrs. Wallen handed her a phone list with her number highlighted.

  “Thank you, I should be fine.”

  Grinning from ear to ear, Rane turned around to admire the scene out the window as Mrs. Wallen left. She could look down onto Nicollet Mall, the main street of downtown Minneapolis, and the skyways. When she stared up, the IDS Building, the tallest building in Minnesota, reached into the sky. She could even see the white top of the Metrodome, the home of the Minnesota Vikings for the time being until a new facility could be built. The Minnesota Twins had already bailed out and have a new outdoor stadium. The panoramic landscape was awesome.

  Turning away from the picturesque scene, Rane admired her new office. She wanted to dance a Scottish jig even though she didn’t know how to.

  “My very own office,” she said softly. “David, you piece of crap, look at me now!”

  If only he could see her. How dare he tell her she’d never become successful? Her grandma’s advice rang clear in her head. Good things come to those who wait. She had! The days, weeks, and months of tears and sleepless nights were well worth the cost of all the tissues. She’d waited, and made herself strong in the process.

  The phone rang, jolting Rane out of her memories.

  Clearing her throat, she answered the phone. “Hello, this is Ms. Schoen.”

  “Hello, Ms. Schoen, this is Richard, Mr. Adam, your supervisor. Mrs. Wallen informed me you were in your office and we’re to meet after Systems has had a chance to get you set up.”

  “Yea, that’s what she told me,” Rane confirmed.

  “Well, they’re behind and won’t be by till after ten o’clock. So in the meantime would you care to go to the breakroom? I’m sure Mrs. Wallen didn’t include it on her tour,” Richard said.

  “Ahhh, no, she didn’t,” Rane hesitantly responded.

  She heard a rich baritone laugh as Richard continued. “Mrs. Wallen always fails at that end of her, ah, what should I call it, her routine. Would you like to get something to drink? I hear today’s flavor, Vanilla Chocolate, is very tasty. I’m on my way for a cup right now.”

  “Please call me Rane, and, yea, that would be great. I could use something to drink,” she answered thankfully.

  “I’ll be there in a minute to show you where the breakroom is. You can pick out your own flavor.”

  Mr. Adam hung up. While she waited, she took the time making her desk her own. Shifting her briefcase to her desk, she removed a coffee cup penholder, some brightly colored sticky notepads, colored paper clips, and a picture of Thor.

  Rane was still admiring everything when she heard the door open. She smiled, ready to greet whoever it was.

  A very tall man in his early forties with light brown hair entered. Good looking, but she immediately caught sight of a shining wedding ring. Married. She could check him off as unavailable. No married men for her.

  “Hi, I’m Richard. I’m sorry I wasn’t able to meet with you yesterday. But from what I’ve read in your resumé you’re more than qualified for what I was looking for.” Richard held out his hand waiting for her to shake it.

  Rane advanced forward and took his hand in hers. “Hello, Richard. Rane.”

  “Welcome aboard! Let’s get our morning dose of caffeine. Follow me. I prefer an espresso latte to the plain straight coffee. What about you? Do you favor the Caffe Lattes, Cappuccino’s, or Frappuccino’s?” Richard asked, smiling.

  “I hate to admit it but I’m a Coke drinker. I haven’t developed a taste for coffee yet. Does loving the smell count?”

  “Oh, I see, a newbie. No, enjoying the smell of coffee brewing doesn’t count. I’ll give you two weeks before you turn into a redcoat.”

  Not drink Coke! Never in her lifetime. Not wanting to sound impertinent, she answered back, “I’m open to trying new things.”

  Richard kept up a lively rendition of what the MAC Company did. He filled her in on some of the problems she was expected to fix. Suddenly he stopped and held open a door.

  “This is the breakroom. All you could want. As you can see, it has several coffee machines, and on Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays we have our very own Barista server. The pop machines are over here, along with the most important machine of all, the candy/snack machine.”

  Rane gave him a knowing smile because she’d been thinking the same thing. She entered the breakroom that housed several long tables with chairs, four microwaves, and three refrigerators.

  Richard continued. “Every morning you’ll receive an e-mail informing every one of the day’s coffee blends. Sometimes when the company, or I should say Mr. Christmenn, is testing a new blend you’ll be asked to fill out a survey.”

  “New blends? Are we required to try them?” Rane’s stomach churned at the thought of having to try different coffees all the time.

  “No, but how can you resist? Doesn’t the aroma call to you? Doesn’t it make you want to sample the drink so you can taste the smell you smell?” Seeing Rane shake her head, he laughed and changed the subject. “If you want hot food for breakfast or lunch you’ll have to use the lower level cafeteria.”

  “A cafeteria? Isn’t this the lunchroom? Mrs. Wallen didn’t mention anything. What do they serve?” Rane asked.

  “Almost anything your heart desires. If it’s not on the menu they can make it for you.”

  She caught herself and stopped talking. She had a bad habit of asking too many questions without allowing the person to answer them.

  After making their beverage selections, a latte for him, hot chocolate for her, and heading to the door, Richard suggested, “Would you like a lunch date on your first day?”

  She nodded. “That would be lovely.”

  “How does twelve-thirty sound?” Richard asked. “The main rush should be finished by then.”

  “Sounds great, and thanks for the offer. It’s very nice of you to ask. I’m surprised at how big this building is. I know I would’ve gotten lost if I had tried to find this room on my own. Thank you,” Rane said, forcing herself not to ask any questions.

  “No problem, I’ll also be able to take you on a tour of the building after lunch,” Richard replied as he held open the door.

  As they made their way back to her office, Richard stopped several times to introduce her to other employees. When they reached the elevators, Richard excused himself and went to talk to a man standing at the reception desk.

  Rane waited off to the side, giving the two men privacy. She had a feeling she and Richard were going to work well with each other. She found him to be quite nice.

  About to go back to her office alone, seeing Richard might be a while with the man, she stopped when Richard motioned for her to come over. As she did, Richard moved aside, giving her a closer look at the other man.

  Shit! It was him. Mr. Hunk. Mr. Brickwall. Damn!

  Richard smiled. “Mr. Christmenn, this is Ms. Schoen, our new Director of Company Resources. Ms. Schoen, this is Mr. Christmenn, the owner of MAC Enterprise.”

  The bowl of Special K she’d eaten for breakfast threatened to come up. This man couldn’t be the owner! The owner of a company this large would have to be old and hunched back. She felt so stupid for having acted like some babe looking for a good time. She’d given him the once over like he’d been some male stripper showing off his wares. She’d done that to the president of the company of all people. Triple damn!

  Shit! He recognized her. She saw his eyes light up.

  Play it cool and take charge. Rule Number Fifteen.

  “I’m pleased to meet you, Mr. Christmenn.” Rane spoke first and held out her hand.

  “It seems we’ve met before.”

  The Adonis grinned at her. Holy shit! He’d definitely recognized her. This was it. He was going to fire h
er.

  “I guess you could say we have,” she mumbled, not knowing what else to say. Crawl and hide. No, run and hide.

  “I’m pleased to be formally introduced to you. Call me Mark. Welcome aboard. Mrs. Weber, my secretary, will set up a meeting to go over your findings. I’m very interested in what you find.”

  Thank God! Her new career wasn’t over before it started.

  Before she could respond, he dismissed her with a turn of his body, and he directed his next statement to Richard.

  “I believe we have a meeting at three-thirty today.”

  “Yes, we do.”

  “I’ll see you then, Richard.” Mark turned back to her and said, “Ms. Schoen, I’m pleased to have met you.”

  She couldn’t answer because he simply turned and dashed away. She blinked and forced herself to refocus.

  Oh my God, could he strut.

  “Do you know Mr. Christmenn?” Richard asked as they strolled to her office.

  “Well no, but I did run into him yesterday not knowing who he was. He was, uh, helpful,” she said, stumbling through her reply, not sure how to say she’d literally run into him. After a pause, she added, “I didn’t think I’d meet the president of the company so soon. You don’t think he really wants to have a meeting next week. I’m good, but he made it sound like he wanted to meet today,” Rane said nervously.

  Laughing a little to herself, she acknowledged it hadn’t been a misfortune, since his body had been so fine to run into. However, she knew she had to definitely check him off her list of eligible men. Rule Number One from Val’s dating rules: Never date the boss.

  Richard replied, “No, he comes across like that but he knows his business. Don’t worry, he’ll be fair! I see Systems has left you your sign on and your password. Let’s get started.”

  Rane then noticed the yellow sticky note on the computer screen. Pushing aside her thoughts of how Mr. Christmenn’s hips had moved when he’d swaggered away, she turned her attention to Richard, who was beginning to instruct her on her job.

  Chapter 7

  “Do you want to share what’s funny?” Mrs. Weber asked.

  Mark’s grin vanished and he replaced it with his stony mask that scared most people. “What?”

  “You had a smile on your face. And I'm wondering what could’ve put it there.”

  “No one, I mean-nothing. I just saw Richard and confirmed our three-thirty meeting but I meant to cancel it,” Mark said.

  He slid his hands into his pockets and shook his head to clear his mind.

  “Are you feeling all right?”

  “Yes, I’m fine, I was preoccupied and have a lot on my mind. Please call him and apologize and reschedule it for next week. Do you have everything ready? I want to leave at about two o’clock.”

  “As if you'd have to ask. Your overnight bag is packed. Hal has the flight plan and Philip has been informed,” she said casually but with a quirk of humor. “Did I forget anything?”

  He ignored her tone and placed his hand over his heart. “No, but I’m wounded, remember? Maybe when I bumped my head, some humor was knocked into me.”

  Without waiting for a reply, he rushed into his office, smirking and unable to believe his luck. The beautiful woman with the incredible perfume who’d bumped into him was working for him. He knew she’d recognized him. Her face had said it all. He was a little taken aback that she hadn’t acknowledged him. Most women would’ve taken advantage of the incident and played up to him. She’d been cool and collected.

  Very unusual. He needed to find out more about Ms. Schoen, his newest employee!

  What an interesting turn of events. Too bad he had to leave for the weekend. The coffee plant in San Francisco needed him. They'd come up with a new flavor and needed his approval before the roasting process could start.

  Time was an issue. It always was. Why they couldn't have called him the day before was beyond him. He could’ve flown to San Francisco from San Diego and met with them yesterday morning but if that had happened, he wouldn't have had his run in with Ms. Schoen.

  Fate? Was it on his side this time?

  He hit the intercom button. “Mrs. Weber, please come in here.”

  “Yes, Mr. Christmenn.”

  Mark waited and drummed his fingers on his desk.

  When she sat in her usual chair he asked, “Will you have the Development Team run some stats on the cost of introducing a new flavor this close to the holiday season?”

  “Right away. I heard you met the new employee, Ms. Schoen.”

  Her comment caught him off guard and he peered at her in surprise. He wondered if there was already gossip about his encounter with her yesterday.

  “Yes, I did just now. I believe my request of finding out who she is has been resolved.”

  “I was able to obtain her employment records from Mrs. Wallen. I set the file in your inbox. If that's all for now, I'll contact the Development Team.”

  “Thank you.”

  Mark glanced over at his in-basket and saw the file. It called to him. Should he cancel his unexpected trip and just tell the plant to go ahead? Should he request to meet her this afternoon?

  Responsibility took over and instead of reading what was in the file, he picked it up, and placed it into his briefcase. He was going to have plenty of time to do some soul searching this weekend.

  When two o'clock arrived, so did his reports and Philip. Mark told Mrs. Weber to leave early, and that he'd see her Monday morning. She said okay and smiled, but he knew she wouldn't.

  As he and Philip neared the elevators, Mark glanced over toward Ms. Schoen’s office. No sign of her. A little disappointed, he entered the elevator and took another look at Ms. Schoen’s office. He was going to have to wait for another day.

  Chapter 8

  Sitting in her office Rane heard several dings from the elevator in a matter of ten minutes. She checked the time on the computer.

  Four-thirty-seven.

  She couldn’t believe it. Her first official day had ended. The weekend had arrived and she only had an hour before Val arrived. She clumsily searched for notes on how to log off the computer. Finding them, she successfully shut it down and watched as the screen went black.

  She grabbed a handful of manila file folders, paper clips, and reports and placed them in her briefcase, knowing she’d be able to find time to work on them at home this weekend. As she exited her office, Rane took one last good look around, smiled, and then closed the door.

  As she left the parking garage, Rane called her mother, her weekly duty. Their conversation usually began with her mother’s usual questions.

  How are you doing? Are you eating enough? Are you dating? When are you coming to visit?

  Rane would then change the topic to ask about her Grandma Gretta. Her mother would then go into her usual guilt trip about having to leave her in Minnesota by herself. However, to her surprise, she got her mother's voicemail.

  “Hello, Mom. My first day at my new job went great. I'm sorry I missed you. I'll try calling you tomorrow. Bye.”

  Half an hour later, the sight of her two-story brick twin home brought a smile to her lips. She’d bought it with the money from her divorce, the payback for putting David through medical school. The bare flowerpots by the front door reminded her of what she needed to do this weekend as she entered the garage.

  As if on cue, the phone rang the minute she stepped inside the house. She checked the caller ID. Val.

  “Hey, Girlie, I just got in. Are you on your way?” Rane asked as she bent down to pet Thor.

  “Yea, I’m about five minutes away. I have the movies, ice cream, and, of course, our usual mini Korbel champagne. I’m ready to celebrate!”

  “Me, too. Me, too. I’ll have everything ready. Oh, you’r
e never going to guess what happened today. Remember the man I told you about yesterday?” Knowing she had Val’s full attention, she paused. “Oh, it’s going to have to wait, see ya in a few.”

  Rane heard Val laugh before the connection ended. Thor wouldn’t leave her alone so she picked him up and got his purring approval. She took out his canned food and grabbed a bag of special treats. If she was going to celebrate, he was going to also.

  Val arrived in less time than she’d indicated and entered the house talking.

  “Okay, I drove like a mad woman to get here. Now out with it, Rane, before I die. Did you see the man again?”

  Rane smiled, not able to get a word in edgewise. She and Val were like two peas in a pod.

  “You’re never going to guess who he is.” Rane turned when the popping of the champagne bottle scared Thor and he ran off. “He is the—”

  She deliberately took a sip of the champagne, letting the bubbles tickle her throat.

  “Rane! We didn’t toast yet. And you’re stalling. Come on, I’m dying.” Val grabbed the glass away from Rane and held it out of her reach. “Tell me now, or I’m going to pour all the champagne down the drain.”

  She reached for the threatened bottle, but Val jerked it away and held it over the sink.

  “Stop! I’ll tell you.” Rane paused and waited as Val completely straightened the bottle. “He isn’t an employee. My boss introduced me to him this morning. He owns the company.”

  “No, way! Did he remember you?”

  “Yea,” Rane squealed. “He mentioned that we’d met before and left it at that.”

  She smiled and took her now-filled glass from Val’s hand.

  “You’re kidding?

  Rane shook her head and Val joined in by taking a sip from her own glass.