Authors: Thomas McDermott
“I am giving you full clearance to Celgen offices and laboratories. You are free to interview any employee from the top scientist to the driver of your car. I will of course need approval of anything you write before it runs. Will this be a problem?” She sounded like she was challenging him and once more he was overcome with the sensation of playing an old familiar game and now it was his move. Everything depended on his response.
“Certainly not Celine. This is exactly what I was sent here to do. You have a story to tell the world, you just think of me as your pen. I know that your company is on the verge of something very exciting. The global buzz is totally viral. I would however love a little background on the woman behind this revolution so that the public gets a sense of who your are and what your goals are for this industry. Just a little bio that you want to give me would be perfect, and I promise not to make you the focus of the article.” He finished his second glass and placed it on the desk. “Maybe one day you will fill me in on the woman behind the power.” He instantly hoped he had not gone too far. Customs were always very blurry when traveling internationally. What one might consider harmless flirtation could be seen as grotesquely inappropriate somewhere else. He watched her for a reaction. She just smiled and for the first time since meeting, the smile was real.
“ I think it is most fortunate for me that the original journalist could not make it. I think we are going to be friends. No?” She was back to flirtatious and flippant. “ I like your style Taylor Hamilton and in Paris style accounts for so much, especially in this business. You know the beauty business can be so ugly.” She shrugged her long shoulders. “I’m glad you like my water. You know it is the purest water in the world. After you drink it you will never be satisfied with anything else.. Now take your pass and I look forward to our meeting in two days. Also, here is a company credit card. We will be paying all of your bills while you are here and please don’t be modest and shy. I would be forced not to like you so much. Besides it’s a tax write off and between you and me, what is a little money to the CEO of Celgen?” Her arrogance was amazing and so very natural. She wasn’t bragging but simply stating the facts. “I want you to enjoy your time here in Paris so please get out and see our famous city.” She rose and he understood it was his invitation to leave her presence. She was right though, he wanted more of that water and felt incredibly thirsty.. Celine walked him to the door of her office. “I’ve arranged for us to lunch at one on Wednesday. I hope that works for you.” She placed her arm on his as if they were old friends.
“That sounds perfect. I cannot wait.” He began to feel he was under her spell. Somehow she had turned the tables on him. He was going to seduce her into telling him all her secrets and now he felt as if he would do anything she asked him to. She was good he had to give her that. He had two days to find out just how good she really was at this game. He would begin with the offices since he was already here and then move on to the labs. Also he wanted to see that pretty American woman he met outside. She might come in real handy and secretly he just wanted to see her again. There had to be a reason that she was so familiar. It must have been college. It wouldn’t be bad to spend time with her either. What was not to like? She was pretty and friendly and obviously intelligent and she worked for Celine. It was a win-win situation. Yes this was turning into the assignment of a lifetime. He remembered that the woman had an appointment with Celine at ten thirty. He would manage to return to this area around the same time so he could bump into her again. This was turning out to be more like a vacation rather than work and he didn’t mind one bit. If only he wasn’t so thirsty. Must be the damned jet lag and he was still dehydrated.
Sasha pretended to be working at her computer. She was randomly flipping through files and charts as if she were doing something of the utmost importance. Just a few more minutes and she would be meeting Madame Le President. She could not calm her nerves no matter how hard she tried and now she was simply anxious to get it over with. The sooner it began, the sooner it would be all over. She stopped trying to guess what the meeting was about over thirty minutes ago as that was only driving her insane trying to speculate what Celine D’Aumont could possibly want with a peon like herself. Finally it was time to go. She opened her compact from her purse to make sure her make up was perfect and that her hair was in place. Not bad she thought to herself as she stared into the tiny mirror. She did not look at all like a person who was totally freaking out because she was suddenly afraid that her hard earned Parisian life was going to be yanked away from her clutching fists. She had fought way too hard to crumble before some corporate self made millionaire. She reminded herself that she had come this far and would not let anything stand in the way of her dreams and goals, she would wait tables if she had to in order to stay in her beloved city.
A chic, self possessed young woman led Sasha in through the ominous portal to Celine’s office. She stared straight ahead at the woman behind the desk. A shiver ran through her very soul. Something visceral yanked at her insides and told her to run. She tried to remind herself that this was only anxiety and that al she needed to do was focus on her breathing and keep her mind still. She made herself smile and held out her hand to the dominating woman who commanded all of her attention simply by being in the room. The woman with the fiery hair smiled back at her and Sasha thought she detected a hint of amusement. Did she seem funny to her? This thought made her angry and her fear dissolved into fury. All morning long Sasha had been fighting demons and now this woman had the gall to be amused! Still, she did sign her paychecks and her company made it possible for her to be in France for longer than three months at a time. She tried to be grateful but found it difficult. She waited for the president of Celgen to speak. For a full minute they stood regarding each other, sizing each other up and slowly there crept into each of them an ounce of admiration and approval. It was clear that they were both masters of their own destiny and they each held themselves in check with perfect posture and perfect smiles. They each, in their own way had learned to play the game and could recognize a worthy player. Someone had to speak soon or Sasha would appear rude. She just couldn’t make her mouth work as if she were afraid of the sound of her own voice. This woman before her was polished and honed like a piece of sculpture. She was striking in appearance as beautiful as a work of art though a little too harsh. One could easily see that her nose was just a tiny bit to peaked and her eyebrows rose unapologetically up to her temples. Maybe life had not been too kind to Celine and she too had to fight like Sasha for everything she wanted in life. Still she could not shake the feeling that she should run out of the room and leave the company far behind her. There was no reason for this feeling yet it pervaded everything. The hair on the nape of her neck stood up and she felt like a cat who was facing an enemy. Miss D’Aumont broke the silence much to Kyra’s relief.
“I am so pleased to finally meet you Sasha.” Her smile widened but her emerald green eyes remained cool.
“The pleasure is all mine Ms. D’Aumont.” She wished she could keep her mind from racing and keep her gushing down to a minimum. Whenever Sasha got nervous, like many people she began to gush whatever random thoughts happened to be running around her active brain. She bit her lip to make sure her mouth had stopped talking and saw that Celine was summoning her to have a seat.
“I make it a habit to meet all of my employees. It takes a long time to get to everyone but I like to know who is running my company!” She smiled and emitted a tinny laugh. “It makes things more personal in this digital world.” She made a grand gesture all around her. Sasha thought that she could have easily been a dancer with those long legs and arms of hers. Celine’s voice was soft and nurturing as if she were talking to a precious child. It was almost hypnotizing and Sasha sank down into the very comfortable black leather chair and tried to compose herself. So, maybe this was just routine and she had gotten herself all worked up over nothing. She just wished she could shake the feeling of animosity she felt towards the woman behind the desk. Was it professional jealousy? Here was a woman who had made a tremendous success of her life and Sasha’s similar journey was just beginning; she had so much to accomplish even though she was only twenty four. All she knew that for some irrational reason she hated Celine. Was she being catty? It was so unlike her and at this point she couldn’t tell what was going on with her bizarre emotional response to the boss lady. For now she focused her sharp mind and tried with every fiber of her being to be as nice and composed as possible.
“I love working for your company Miss D’Aumont.” She made herself stop talking as soon as the sentence was out. Celine leaned forward at her desk and quickly glanced at some papers which Sasha assumed were all about her.
“It shows. Your performance is exemplary. In the four short months you have been working for us you have accomplished a great deal.” She handed Sasha a glass of crystal clear liquid. “ I want you to know that all of your work has not gone unnoticed. That is also why I wanted to meet with you today. I would like to offer you a raise and a bonus. I want you to know I realize what a valuable commodity you are to my company and I am not about to lose you to the competition.” She drank heartily from her own glass. “Paris may seem big but the beauty business is a very small incestuous and vicious circle. You’ll learn that soon enough. There is something very ugly about the beauty business today and I would like to change that..” She placed her empty glass on the desk and handed Sasha a piece of paper. Sasha tried not to shake as she took the paper from Celine to look down and see the staggering figures. Her salary was basically doubled and the bonus amount would buy a very lovely car. “I’ve had the bonus deposited into your account and the raise is effective immediately which you will see on your next paycheck. All the details are in this paper here.” She slid another piece of paper across the desk. Celine’s voice dropped suddenly to a husky whisper. “Hard work is rewarded here at Celgen. It was hard work that got me where I am today. But you know all about hard work don’t you Sasha?” Her tone sounded slightly menacing and Sasha had the sensation that she was just a mouse that some cat had cornered in the kitchen, content to play with it for hours before the kill. The words were sincere but something emanating from Celine was not. Sasha knew when people were being dishonest. It was something she was born with and she knew that Celine D’Aumont was not being truthful with her. Who knows, maybe she needed so many foreigners in her company for a tax break. She was thrilled with the money for Paris was as expensive as it was beautiful and this would help her out immensely. She hadn’t expected this kind of money for at least a few years when she would prove herself to the world. Her marketing skills were unparalleled but they were yet to be seen by most of the world. How could Celine be so sure of her ability? Perhaps that was something she was born with, the ability to separate the wheat from the chaff. She quickly reminded herself not to look a gift horse in the mouth and take advantage of this amazing opportunity. Celine would probably want to draw up an inclusive non-compete document to make sure she would get her money’s worth. She reached for the glass of water and suddenly stopped. Water! A warning bell was ringing in her brain that had to do with Celine and the water. She knew that it was insane but she also knew that the glass would never make it to her lips. For a second she thought she remembered something and she was filled with anxiety. Celine continued to stare at her as if she were observing a subject in an experiment. The smile never left her face.
“I’m hoping that your silence means you will accept my offer.” She was all false sympathy again. “All I ask is five years and then we can re-evaluate if you want to commit to another five years or you will be ready to start your own company at that time.” Sasha looked straight into the lovely green eyes. “Oh don’t worry. I see the drive in your eyes and it reminds me of myself. You will do amazing things out there Sasha and I am just fortunate to have snapped you up before someone else did.” She paused dramatically. “Someone who would not recognize your talents and your passion. I would hate to see it wasted on some fumbling man. You see, we women must stick together in this man’s world!” Celine refilled her own glass and held it up to Sasha in the manner of a toast. Sasha lifted her crystal tumbler and tipped it to Celine’s to create a sonorous tone. “Cheers Miss White and welcome to Celgen! I guarantee we are going to create a storm out there. A storm that nobody can hide from!” She laughed heartily and drank again. Sasha wanted to drink the water if it really were water. She realized she had now entered the country of Paranoia and had no passport. In a gesture of self defense and excitement she placed the glass on the table and pretended to cough, when she realized Celine still staring at her with the cat eyes so she reached for the water and clumsily knocked it off the desk.
Oh my goodness! I’m so sorry!” She tried her best to sound shocked and embarrassed. “How very awkward of me.” The embarrassed part was easy as she felt ridiculous for all the crazy thoughts in her head. She stood up quickly and picked up the glass which landed with a thud as it hit the plush carpet. Celine’s smile and a stormy look of anger clouded her beautiful mask for a millisecond before it returned to it’s former composure and control. Sasha saw the look before it vanished and she swore that she heard Miss D’Amont whisper the word “touché” under her breath.
“Oh don’t worry about it. I tend to make people nervous. Especially my employees.” Celine pushed a button on her telephone. Sasha knew she was being dismissed. “I am so glad I finally got the opportunity to meet you and again wish to extend my congratulations on such fine work. I know this is the beginning of a long and fruitful relationship. I just know we are going to be friends forever.” Sasha felt a cold chill envelope her body at these words. Celine ignored her and continued. “You see with Celgen going global I want to appeal to the American public and you being American is of great value to me. I will eventually need you to take over the American marketing team which would mean you would have to travel to New York a few times every year. I hope this isn’t a problem?” Her voice was warm and sugary again. Sasha coughed and somehow managed to speak.