Terrible first impression

Making a terrible first impression had never been part of the plan. After graduating from college, Milner’s was my first work place. For over two years, I had worked there and made the best impressions on my seniors. It was how I had managed to rise to the position of Junior Actuarial Manager and made it as a junior executive. 

Now, a new era was about to start at Milner insurance and it seemed like I was destroying everything I had built? There was a possibility that Mr. Carrington would want to change some of the staff. 

After pretending to be at the reception for a work issue and this, I was sure I was close to number one in Mr. Carrington’s staff-to-fire list. That was if I wasn’t number one. 

Mr. Carrington was a very eloquent man and everyone listened to his words attentively. I looked around and saw that everyone was looking at the man and no one was murmuring. Harry who was fond of making jokes with the former CEO’s son during staff meetings was now silent as a grave. 

The meeting was so tense that by the time it ended, everyone felt relived. Mr. Carrington seemed to be a very serious man. He had not smiled throughout the meeting. I wondered if he knew how to laugh. If I hadn’t gone to that party in the woods, I would have thought everyone from Misenium was grumpy.

Harry and I were close friends. We had started working at the same time and so bonded easily due to facing similar struggles.

“Things are about to get tough around here,” Harry said as we entered my office.

“Good morning, Harry.” Kim said.

Harry frowned. “That’s Mr. Smith to you.”

He followed me to my office and sat on the chair opposite mine.

My office was extremely neat and everything was in order. There was a table with two chairs, one in front and the other behind it. On the tabletop was a computer. There were folders, papers, pens and other office stationary on the other side of the table. There was also a framed photograph of me at her graduation with my parents. Next to it was another photo of me in a red jersey and shorts of the same color, carrying a football. Behind me was my best friend who had a very wide smile and was wearing the same kind of clothes. 

Harry placed a bundle of papers on the table. “Could you please sign these for me? You don't have to read through them.”

“What, you want to steal from me now?” I joked.

“Like you have any money in your tiny bank account?” he scoffs. “Are you done paying off student loans?”

“Haha,” I said. “I should be asking you.”

I stared at Harry longer than I should. I’d always wondered why I never fell in love with him. Harry was great and could be the perfect guy for me. He was also my best friend at work. Maybe that was it. I valued our friendship a lot and thought it would be ruined if we started dating.

I lowered my head and started signing.

“By the way, have you finished your presentation for Friday?” Harry asked.

“I haven't started yet,” I told him. “I had a lot of work to do. Now, that Kim is here, I'll be able to finish everything in time.”

I had been swamped with a lot of work after Aaron went missing. They had not yet found a suitable replacement. It was why I had ended up requesting for an assistant to help me with the smaller matters while I dealt with the big issues. 

“You complain about work a lot,” he said, collecting the signed documents. “I wonder why they haven't fired you yet.”

“Because I'm the most competent employee in this company,” I grinned. “Trust me, when I manage to convince the CEO that we need to have the employee of the month award, I'll be the first to win. Shit, I forgot that Milner is now gone.”

“Yeah, you’re going to have to be more careful with this one. Forget Milner who used to love you like a daughter, or was there more to that? Sometimes I wonder if there was something going on behind the scenes. I mean he was always too nice to you.”

I chuckled. “Jealousy doesn’t suit you, Harry.”

“Okay, I’ll pretend that I believe you. See you later.”

He laughed and stood up before striding out of the room. When he was gone, I went to ask Kim to set up a meeting with one of our clients. There was something wrong with his bank account.

“He's really handsome,” Kim said, probably just to see how she I would react.

“Yeah, I guess.” I smiled. I was hoping she was not about to set her eyes on my friend. Although, Harry really needed a woman, Kim was not the type I felt he should settle for. He needed someone less evil. 

After giving her instructions, I went back to my office and opened my email. My eyes narrowed when I saw the name Zane Carrington. 

“Oh my goodness!” I said as I opened the email, eager to see what Zane wanted to say to me.

“Come to my office tomorrow. 10 am. Keep time and doesn’t tell anyone about this.”

I leaned back against my chair, shocked to the core. When the shock wore off, fear set in as I wondered what Zane Carrington could possibly want from me. I grabbed my phone and dialed Anna’s number before remembering that he had said I shouldn’t tell anyone.

Well, that was going to be hard. Anna was my best friend and we shared everything about our lives. It was like this man had arrived to cause chaos in my life.

I remembered how good he had looked and found myself smiling. The fear of getting fired reduced as I considered other possibilities. After minutes of allowing myself to enjoy beautiful fantasies, I knocked myself back to the real world.

There was no way on earth that meeting could be about something good. After my terrible first impression, I had to prepare for the worst.