In Love With My Personal Assistant(17)

James cleared his throat and instructed Jennifer on what she could  expect. These were old men who believed in the old way of doing things.  They were hesitant to make changes. Even with their impressive age  difference, the one common denominator these men would have in common  was money. They understood that talk. The meeting was just to wet their  lips about the services they offered.

Jennifer was every bit of inquisitive about New Jersey being the place  James used to call home so many years ago, but she stayed focused to the  business and tapered her questions. James still ntoiced her wondering  eyes about the slowness of the suburb.         

     



 

He wondered briefly what she would think about him coming from such a no  name place. Seriously. No one but those from Summit really knew about  it. This close to the New York, many only knew about Jersey City and  Newark; but there were several little townships that branched out from  those larger cities where many affluent individuals decided to live.  Many communted to New York for work, just like any other border  metropolis hovering close to statelines, like Chicago.

Timothy was waiting for the duo when they arrived. From the looks of it,  ABC Training owned the entire building and leased the bottom floor to  other businesses. This company had real potential for sure.

The new CEO was a thin, lanky man with silver hair. He wore a suit with a  peppered hankercheif and greeted James like he was an old friend. With  Jennifer, he held her hand with both of his meaty palms and kissed the  back delicately. It was a bit of a southern gesture, but James wasn't  going to judge.

"And who might this beautiful woman be?" Tim asked, smiling  mischeiviously. She answered him with a polite grin and locked hair  behind her ears.

"Jennifer's worked with me for the past five years. Her work within the  company is beyond replaceable at this point," James said confidently.  Jennifer grinned at him.

"Let's talk about your needs, shall we?" James tried to steer the conversation quickly.

"Well, hold on, Mr. Melone," Tim said with a frown. "Are you in a rush?"

Jennifer turned to James and smiled. After glancing between Jennifer and Tim, James forced himself to relax and shook his head.

"No. Not at all."

Tim beamed. "Alright. Let's go for a walk then. I'm so grateful and  pleased that you flew in so quickly to speak with me. I appreciate it a  lot."

James nodded. "Not a problem at all."

"You know, James helped us get noticed back in the day," Tim mummbled.

Jennifer's brows pinched together. A smile drew at her lips and she looked between Tim and James.

"What do you mean?" She asked curiously.

"Youth sports," Tim clarified. "As a young man, James sponsored the start of a regional league."

"Really?" Jennifer's eyes were wide. "That's incredible."

James cleared his throat uneasily, and watched Jennifer. He had always  been careful to keep his personal life and interests separate from work.  There was a certain type of vulnerability that came with letting  someone discover who you really were.

"What's more impressive is the slots he held each year on the training  teams for scholarships," Tim nodded and turned to James. He planted a  large palm on his back.

"I don't think I understand." Jennifer glanced in between the two men.

Clearing his throat again, James gestured around the area they stood in.  "Summit is ranked as the 16th-highest per capita income in the state.  Out of the county, about 30 percent are in poverty. I wanted to help the  30 percent." Jennifer nodded with understanding, her eyes widened as  she watched James.

"And you used sports to help the youth?"

With a weak smile, James shrugged his shoulders. "I read a lot of  studies. I found results that seemed to suggest innercity kids lacked  drive because they had no concept of the choices they could make."

"The reality of the real world," Jennifer nodded eagerly in agreement, "that being born poor didn't mean you had to stay poor."

"Exactly," James smiled at her. Jennifer's eyes darted across his face.  She seemed to struggle with words to say, but in the end, she fell  silent and turned her back to Tim and James.

"It didn't help everyone from union  but it did help," Tim said  emphatically. He reinforced his words with another strong pat on James's  upper back. For a thin popsicle of a man, Tim had a considerable amount  of strength in his swing. James arched his back to get the older  gentlement to release his hold.

"So tell me," James said with a forced cough, "why consider New York  now? After so many years? I looked through your balance sheets and  fiscal reports. You could have made this move five years ago and made  several billion by now." With a tired sigh, Tim turned to James. It  seemed like he was finally ready to get to business.

They spent the next thirty minutes walking along the well maintained  grounds of the complex. Hidden behind the building face was a luscious  garden of trees, brush, gazeebos and flat, green grass. Tim explained  that many companies would benefit from allowing their employees time to  go outside and bask in the sun.

As the number one corporate team building company of choice, they had to  model their own suggestions. Everyone leasing within the building  benefited from the beautiful grounds. Two gazeebos were designated for  smoking and four more were just for relaxing and passing lunch breaks.         

     



 

"It's not quite the Googleplex," Tim joked, "but I think we've got a pretty good start."

They passed another 20 minutes with Tim. He gave them a tour of the  building and came to understand the needs they had and wanted to create  with an office in New York City. That meant future trips to the East  Coast. The more they spoke, the more apparent frequent travel was  becoming as a requirement to fulfill a contract to satisfaction. As time  passed, James caught himself watching Jennifer periodically.

She said very little, but took everything in, listening closely. She  grew tense the moment it became apparent that a contract with the  company would mean more trips.

It was after four before they ended the meeting and Tim walked them  curbside to the escort vehicle. There was more small talk and catching  up about the economy and state of the small town. Afterwards, they said  their goodbyes with another polite hug, back slap, and a kiss on the  hand from Tim to Jennifer. Ever the professional, Jennifer smiled and  took his compliments with style.

Jennifer stepped into the car first and slid to the driver's side door.  James climbed into the vehicle next, and with a few more waves, and good  wishes, shut the door with a loud sigh. He turned to Jennifer quickly,  and looked her over.

"What do you think?"

Jennifer crossed her legs lazily and looked over her nails.

"How do we have time for a contract like this, James?

He nodded quickly. "I know what you're thinking. We have Seogen and Carnal first."

"With everything needed for damage control, I just don't know if we  should spread ourselves so thin," Jennifer said softly. She avoided  James's eyes.

It would be no big deal to right the time crisis he set up in Colorado.  He was actually looking forward to a potential East Coast contract. He  loved that side of the States, their beaches, greenery, and slow way of  living; and more than anything, he loved having an excuse to visit New  Jersey and come back home.

"And I don't think hiring a bunch of staff will fix the problem. If we  expand too fast internally, we're likely to pick the wrong candidates,"  Jennifer continued.

James nodded. She had a point; but, all her worry was based off an event  that he more or less fabricated. James decided to put the conversation  on hold. There was one last thing he wanted to do before they left New  Jersey, and if he were being honest with himself, he was pretty stoked  about it.





Chapter Ten

Back to Reality





"I'm pretty hungry," James announced loudly. He was getting ready to  segue to his surprise. Jennifer nodded weakly, but didn't respond. "I'd  like to take you somewhere before we get something to eat."

Jennifer's face drew blank. She met James's eyes, but remained silent.

"Is that okay?" James asked, searching for validation. He itched to give  the driver the new directions. Lowering her gaze, Jennifer shrugged  with hesitation. She crossed her arms over her body, and then as an  afterthought, drew a seat belt across her lap to buckle.

The driver met James's eyes in the mirror. He was waiting for direction.  Glancing to Jennifer, James hesitated. She slipped a hand into her  purse and checked her phone. After staring at it for a moment, she  looked at James and held his gaze. She supplied him with a weak smile.

James turned to the driver again. "Baltusrol Place please," he nodded as  he gave the instructions and turned his attention back to Jennifer.  "What's wrong?" He asked softly.