Donna Hill - Mistletoe, Baby

Alexis took a moment to get her bearings. She caught a glimpse of soft pink at the end of the corridor, moments before the slender figure crossed a threshold and was out of view. She wondered if Tracy would be attending the meeting. Hopefully she would. It would give Alexis an opportunity to see up close and quickly how Tracy operated and the dynamics between Tracy and Graham.

The rhythmic click of her long-legged stride was absorbed in the dove-gray carpet. Graham’s door was open. Several people were in the office. She walked in.

* * *

Graham sensed her before he actually saw her. The short hairs on the back of his neck tingled. He turned from the conversation he was in with one of his staff members and his gaze zeroed in on Alexis. The tingling sensation spread down the center of his spine. His jaw clenched.

“Ms. Montgomery, please come in.” Graham waved her in and the other four people in the room stopped in midsentence and looked at her.

Alexis felt like she was on the runway at Fashion Week and was being appraised by potential buyers. Graham made the introductions.

“All of you are aware that R.E.A.L. has a new VP of Development. I would like to formerly introduce Alexis Montgomery.”

Alexis’s gaze swept the small assembly and graced them with a warm but professional smile. “Good morning.”

Graham continued the introductions that included Anthony Harrelson, Vivian Small, Kwame Knight and Jae Jennings. They were all the heads of each of the departments: Finance, Corporate Communications, Marketing and Social Media. They would all report to Alexis.

“It’s a pleasure to meet all of you. I’m looking forward to us working together and me getting to know you.”

“You can set up your individual meetings with the department heads and they can bring you up to speed,” Graham said with a briskness that indicated this would not be the place for chitchat and small talk. Everyone took their cue and moved to the rectangular conference table and sat down.

Graham undid the single button on his suit jacket before he took his seat at the head of the table. Alexis found herself between Jae and Vivian. Jae was head of Social Media, and Alexis was sure the evolving digital platforms kept her challenged. She reminded Alexis of a lightning bug in a bottle, buzzing and flashing pinpoints of light and biding its time until the lid was opened and it could escape. Vivian was the diametric opposite. There was a calming aura about her. The strands of silver that ran through her intricately twisted upswept locks belied the buttery smoothness of her skin. Alexis placed the head of Corporate Communications in her early to mid-forties, and noted she wore a striking wedding band encrusted with diamonds.

Anthony Harrelson and Kwame Knight, heads of Finance and Marketing respectively, sat on the opposite side of the table. They could have easily stood in for magazine cover models—gorgeous from head to toe. Alexis absently wondered if good looks was part of the hiring criteria.

Then much to Alexis’s surprise Tracy strutted in and joined them, taking the seat nearest Graham.

“Let’s begin,” Graham said, turning to Tracy.

“The first agenda item is from Finance.” She gave a short nod to Anthony and placed her iPad on the table. She took notes as each executive outlined issues of concern in their departments and gave updates on pending projects.

Alexis remained an observer, which allowed her to get a good sense of the staff members’ styles and personalities, as well as the dynamic between Graham and Tracy.

It was clear that he relied on her and she knew it. Alexis had to give Tracy her props, though. She knew her stuff. She was up on every nuance in every department and if she didn’t understand what was being conveyed, she had no problem challenging the information.

Alexis was surprised at how laid-back Graham appeared to be. She perceived him to be one who relished control, but what she slowly realized was that Graham controlled everyone in the room without uttering a word. It was in a look, a subtle shift of his body in his seat, the sound of a low hum in his throat. Each person in that room deferred and hitched their star to Graham Stone.

The meeting lasted for exactly forty-five minutes. Tracy announced that everyone would have the details of the meeting uploaded to the corporate shared drive by the end of the day.

Everyone except for Tracy and Graham gravitated toward Alexis at the conclusion of the meeting, offering warm words of welcome and promises to contact Claire to set up a one-on-one. Even as she shook hands and smiled and nodded, she managed to catch glimpses of Graham and Tracy nearly head-to-head at the conference table, talking in low whispers.

Alexis was at the door when Graham’s voice stopped her. “Would you wait a few minutes, Alexis? I’d like to have a word.”

Alexis would have sworn on a stack of hotel bibles that Tracy’s perfectly made-up face contorted. But it happened so quickly. Maybe she was wrong.

“Of course.” She moved back into the room.

Tracy took a seat.

Graham’s gaze dropped down to her. “No need for you to stay.”

This time Alexis didn’t mistake the shift in Tracy’s expression. It was lightning quick but it happened.

Tracy grabbed up her iPad and phone. “Oh, of course. I have some calls to make. Don’t forget about your three o’clock.” She breezed by Alexis as if she didn’t exist.

Inwardly Alexis rolled her eyes at Tracy’s immature behavior and took a seat at the table.

“How has the morning been so far?”

Alexis smiled. “A whirlwind. But not more than I expected. Claire is wonderful and everyone seems friendly and good at their jobs.”

Graham nodded while she spoke and Alexis had the feeling that Graham wasn’t really listening, not from the way he was looking at her. His unfaltering gaze and the way he would periodically run his tongue across his bottom lip ignited a slow heat inside her belly, akin to a pot of water put on the stove to simmer.

“I’d like to hear your thoughts on the proposal that I gave you to read.”

Alexis swallowed and shifted a bit in her seat. She crossed her legs. Graham’s gaze momentarily tracked the movement then returned to her face.

“The proposal is solid, which I’m sure you already know. I did a bit of research and I couldn’t find any other urban model that resembled it. I know we can sell the idea to charter and independent schools.”

“I want to begin with the public school system.”

Alexis’s brow flicked. “Okay. If we select a school and set up a model...”

Graham slowly rocked his jaw and pressed his body forward. “My goal is to give every inner-city child—particularly children of color—the educational opportunities that the kids Uptown and in suburbia get. The Public-Private Partnership Initiative will bring in successful people from every area of discipline to conduct classes on how they did it. Ten months of school, ten separate sessions. We work it into the curriculum.”

She was mesmerized by his intensity. The way he presented the proposal was so definitive, so clear, so doable. Except she knew the NYC Department of Education was a sea of bureaucratic red tape. It might take her the length of her five-year contract to pull it off.

“I’ll get working on making the contacts at DOE. I take it you have a list of investors.”

“I do. I’ll get you the list. I want you out front on this.” He leaned back a bit the heat that he emanated lessened. His eyes moved lazily across her face. “You’ll need to set up individual meetings with each of the potential investors, pitch them the idea, and get them on board. Once you and I knock out all the details—this will be tight,” he added, tapping his long finger on the table. “And then we’ll have Legal draft a contract for the investors. I need you to complete this phase of the project in three days.”