A Second Chance

Ally powered on her phone as the plane rolled to the gate. It had been a long six weeks. She was looking forward to just being home and having a week off before returning to the office. Being a consultant was a dream job and allowed her to travel, but these long term contracts were exhausting. She looked back down at her phone and saw a text had come through from her boss. “Sorry A. I need you to come to the office as soon as you land. I will have a car waiting,” the text read. Her heart sank. The way these long contracts work is that the consultant gets a week off before their next assignment, and even then it was a local or a remote contract. It should be another month before she was assigned to another long term contract, but Ally was in high demand. Some clients would pressure her boss into shortening that gap. She deplaned and headed to baggage claim. She awaited her two large suitcases. She regretted not shipping the bulk of her belongings back. Flying first class meant her bags were among the first to hit the carousel. She hefted the bags to the ground and then rolled them to the pick up area. Mitchell, Gary’s driver was no where in sight. She quickly texted Gary to let him know she would be on her way soon. She looked up from her phone and saw Mitchell parking at the curb in front of her. He quickly jumped out the car. “Sorry I’m late Ms. Ally. I was unaware Mr. Collins would require my assistance this afternoon.” She shot him a little smile. “No worries Mitchell. You don’t know what tragedy awaits me do you?” she asked. “I’m afraid not. All I know is he wants you back at the office as soon as possible.” he replied as he grabbed the handle of one of the suitcases and headed towards the trunk of the car. As he loaded her belongings, she realized she wasn’t really “client ready.” She was dressed in nice jeans and a sweater, but it was far from business wear. She had put her long black hair in a braid on the plane and the make up she put on that morning was likely long gone. She sat in the back seat of the sedan and dug through her purse hoping to find something to salvage her look. She shook out the braid and brushed out her hair. There was a compact with trace amounts of powder in it and some lip gloss in the deep crevices of the bag. Those would have to do. The car stopped in front of the building. “Mr. Collins said he would call me when you are done so I can take you home,” Mitchell said as he turned to face her in the back seat. She thanked him and headed inside. Her anxiety built as she took the elevator and then headed down the hall to Gary’s office. She stepped inside his office suite and was greeted by his administrative assistant Gwen. “He is expecting you in the conference room with a client,” Gwen whispered as she lead Ally to the attached room. She walked in and saw her boss sitting across from a woman who was around her age. There was something familiar about the woman, but she couldn’t place it. The woman had long dark brown hair pulled into a low bun. She wore a crisp grey suit and looked flawless. Ally squirmed and fumbled with her sweater as the two rose to their feet and invited her to sit with them. “Welcome back to Minneapolis,” Gary greeted her, “and great job with the Harris project.” “Thanks,” Ally replied trying to force a smile as she sat down in the leather chair. She nervously looked back and forth between the two other people at the table. Who was this woman and what did she want.