The CEO's Secret

Chapter Eleven - Rekindle

It had been a few months of meetings outside of work and the department was already doing better. It was obvious that whatever Shane and I were managing to accomplish was working. I had been called to his office during the work day for the first time in several months.

“Hey, nice to see you at a normal time!” I joked.

“You haven't been having fun after hours?” Shane said with a laugh. Truthfully, I had. Shane was a lot of fun and we'd gotten a lot closer with each meeting. It was about half work and half personal life at each meeting now.

“I have, don't worry. It's been fun getting to see our hard work pay off and it's been a pleasure getting to know you.” I said.

“Likewise. Which is why I have a favor to ask you.” Shane said.

“Okay, what's up?”

“Next month there's a Pharma Expo in Los Angeles. I know it's a huge trip and short notice, but I'd really love for you to come with me. We meet a lot of huge customers there and I need someone with impeccable customer service skills to help speak with them. I'm incredibly awkward and a little anti-social which is why I'm the CEO and not a customer service team member.” Shane said.

“Yes, I'd love to!” I said.

“I'm glad to hear it.” He said. “It's long days. We'll leave Wednesday and the first day is meeting with some executives and nothing too fun. Thursday we'll probably just hang around, swim, hot tub, eat. That night we'll set up our booth. Friday and Saturday is the Expo and we'll be there sun up to sun down talking to people about our products. We'll head back on Sunday.”

We talked about the different products we'd be discussing and what I might need to bring with me. It was an honor to be asked to attend. I'd seen other people in the company go in previous years. It was a big trip and a good way to get in Shane's good graces for your yearly review.

As soon as I left Shane's office, I got a text from Colt. He was brave, I gave him that. He was asking me to hang out just as friends. He said he really meant no funny business and just wanted us to have a good friendship.

I agreed to go but promised myself and him that I would leave if he tried anything crazy. After work, I met him at the usual bar.

We made small talk at first. We exchanged usual pleasantries. It was even more awkward than being on a first date. I was curious about his motives and unwilling to let my guard down. On one hand, I assumed he was just being nice. I knew realistically thought that he probably was trying to use me in between dates.

Eventually we broke the ice and fell into a more comfortable conversation. He asked about my job and I shared how hard I'd been working. I told him that I got invited to the expo and what a big deal that was. He congratulated me and it felt genuine.

He told me about his job. There wasn't a lot of change there, but he gave me updates on the coworkers who's names I'd gotten to know while we were dating. When we were dating, we would each talk about our coworkers a lot and got to recognize names and their situations. Joe in accounting finally proposed to his girlfriend. The one girl who was constantly making mistakes finally got fired.

His parents were doing well and they got a new dog to replace the one that had passed away a few months back. His sister was messing up in college and making everyone miserable but at least she was sticking with it.

We eventually decided to call it a night. I'd actually had a good time which was shocking. I was definitely still skeptical. We agreed to meet up again sometime and keep in touch. Maybe we possibly could be friends someday.