Faded Love [Mature Content]

C .08-Work, work and more work

Juliette never had to wish she didn’t have to go to work.

Except for today.

The headache from the night before was hell bent on making the day very difficult for her. However, it had vanished once she completed her shower.

She usually tries to make it into the office early-- normally before 7:15 a.m., because she had to leave at 7 p.m. To admit the fact that she generally arrives at work early because once she’s up, she’s ready to get busy. Juliette never liked the idea of sitting around doing nothing, she always liked to be preoccupied.

It was her way of not giving her mind the chance to think of Kallum, but over the years, it had become a constant.

When she got off of the elevator, she greeted Sarah with a lopsided smile, who returned with a high pitched ‘good morning Ms. Stryker’. Probably a little too loud for her current state.

By the time she got to her office, she dialed Rebecca to get her up, so she can get ready for work as well.

“I’m up babe, already showered. Leaving your place now to go to mine.”

“Okay love. Please be safe and call me when you’re at work.”

“Will do, love you.”

“Love you. Later.” Rebecca replied and ended the call.

Juliette placed the phone on the desk and covered her face with her hands. Trying to hide from the light shining in from the windows. She called Sarah over the intercom and asked her to order a coffee from the café across the road. She needed a wakeup call and a coffee was the fastest drink to do that.

By 8:45 a.m., she was reviewing a proposal for a project she had been working on. Mr. Stauber had requested the completion of the proposal for the clients after a meeting he had with them a week prior. So, mid-day today, another meeting will be held to confirm all the changes.

The next on the list was the sketches for Reina that needed to be prepared. Most of the schemes are completed. But the plan drawings to show how the various schemes sit on the site, needed attention to put together.

“Sarah, can you come in here please?” She called over the intercom. “And bring a notebook and a pen.”

Juliette pulled up the minutes from the last meeting to compare with the notes Sarah had. It was 10:15 a.m., and the minutes distribution had to be done.

Knock knock

“Come in.” She replied. “We don’t have much time. There is a meeting at mid-day with some important clients and I would like to compare the notes you have with what I got.” Juliette continued and Sarah nodded, opening the notebook to the meeting in question.

They were currently preparing a record of what was discussed and what was decided. Although she acknowledged the value of the assigned actions, there were fewer things that she dislike doing more than preparing the meeting minutes.

She sighed, rubbing her temples.

“Okay Sarah, I believe that’s it for now. Have those typed up and printed. Make sure there are no errors and take them to the conference room at precisely 12 noon, and not a minute later.”

“Okay Ms. Stryker.”

“And Sarah?” The young woman turned with a glee, clutching the notepad, “Yes Ms. Stryker?”

“Thank you. Once you’re finish with that, you can take an early lunch.”

Sarah replied with a ‘thank you’ and walked out of the office with a broad smile on her dimpled babyface.

At 11 a.m., Juliette was currently in a meeting with one of the CFO to discuss plans for the preliminaries for the new branch. She was offered the job to design the new building, which she accepted with much joy. It was a quick meeting where they basically discussed the roles of the attendees.

All Juliette had to do was present the design and the CFO would present the cost.

More phone calls and replying to emails. By the time mid-day rolled around, Juliette was exhausted. During the busy morning hours, she had received a message from Rebecca of her safe arrival to work, and the long day she was expecting.

It was lunchtime, except Juliette wouldn’t be having lunch. Instead, she was due for a meeting with Mr. Stauber and The Townsend couple about the new renovations for their hotel. Thanks to their friendship, Rebecca had encouraged her bosses, the Townsends, to have the renovations of the hotel done by Nord & Stauber Architectural Inc.

After their first meeting, they thanked Rebecca with a day at the spa for two, to which she enjoyed with no one else, but Juliette. She was about to head to the conference room when her boss had called to push back the meeting to 12:30 p.m., something about an incident at the hotel.

Worried, Juliette tried calling Rebecca to find out what had happened, but she was yet to get an answer or a return call. She tried again for another three times, yet nothing. She had even called the hotel and the receptionist had told her that Rebecca was busy, so she had no choice than to leave a message.

***

Half of the day had passed. Eventually, Rebecca had returned her call. She had mentioned that one of the guests in the hotel had a minor heart attack. They made plans for dinner and went about their day without another hiccup.

The meeting had proceeded smoothly and the project was well on its way to start as soon as the Townsends’ gave the go ahead.

The intercom beeped twice and Juliette tapped the button to take the call, “Yes?”

“Ms. Stryker, Ms. Lewis is here to see you.”

Juliette was just having a minute to herself when she got the call about Reina’s visit. She told Sarah to send her in and she grabbed the sketches she had been working on. She had advised Sarah to cancel all her calls and bring some refreshments to her office.

Knock, knock

“Come, please!” She answered and stood to her feet to greet the woman.

“Welcome, Ms. Lewis—I mean Reina. Please have a seat.”

Reina did as asked and Juliette followed, taking a seat behind her desk, pulling the chair closer.

“So, I’m guessing your back to see and confirm the sketches?” Reina nodded; her hands folded on her lap.

For the next thirty minutes, Juliette and Reina reviewed the sketches and made any necessary changes. It wasn’t much, she had kept the previous idea and just went with a more contemporary look than a simple and comfortable design. After all, it’s a home and not just a structure.

Reina confirmed the sketches and requested that the project begin as soon as possible. They said their goodbyes and Juliette slumped on her desk feeling the weight of the day on her already sore muscles.

Juliette returned to the comfort of her home. She had taken a bath and was now on a call with the CEO of the company for the proposal she had reviewed earlier. He told her he had some questions about the proposal submitted. Questions asked and answered to his approval, he informed her they have kept her firm for the project and they are ready to begin work immediately.

She was ecstatic. It was quite a pleasant way to end the day…. she thought.

The rest of the evening from 7:45- 9:30 p.m., she enjoyed a cooked meal with Rebecca and left all the work for the next day. She had switched off her phone and granted her undivided attention to the movie they were watching.

Neither of them bothered to go to bed. They both fell asleep on the couch, with the flickering lights of the tv in the background and the low conversations of the actors.

Juliette wrapped herself tighter around Rebecca and slept peacefully. After the previous night they had and the day, which was just as long, they welcomed the slumber with gratitude.