Him : A Fantasy

Chapter 2: Last Night

I blinked at Silas Houl, trying my best to keep my composure. My face was probably dismantled for less than a second for anybody to notice, but he did. The smirk on his face grew more mischievous. Is he planning to take revenge on me, immaturely?

I was never this embarrassed in my life before. I puked at the COO of Simwes and head of operations of our brand new project last night. I thought luck had my back with the promotion, but god!

I stared at him with an unfazed expression as a scene from last night hit my brain. My silly smile when I saw his face in shock, his blue button-up shirt half covered in vomit- oh god!

“It’s my pleasure, Dr. Houl”, I replied to his earlier greeting.

I managed to focus on the rest of the meeting, though my mind was constantly troubled by the situation I had put myself into.

When it was finally Simwes’s turn to introduce the project, Silas rose up to take the spotlight.

He looked scrumptious in a suit- what? That’s a new thought.

“First of all, thank you for this opportunity”, he began.

“Simwes has been waiting to enter the American market for quite a long time. Since we are doing it for the first time, we thought a collaboration with an already established company like Altos would be the perfect idea, considering the project we are planning to initiate”, he explained.

That made sense to me. It was a good business decision, but not necessary unless their idea was risky. It’s clear that they are seeking some American input before they go forth.

And once he began explaining their idea,I immediately figured out the risk. I smirked.

Simwes was planning to introduce a line of air-warfare planes. They had tons of raw ideas, sample plans and necessary resources. They were planning to establish their base in the United States by making a version of the new line of weaponized aircraft according to our rules and market. The difference in the market was pretty real.

It was smart of them to come to the US and collaborate before they began the project, because they didn’t exactly have to spend extra money after producing a line for Canada.

This was a massive project. The output, if done right, would be highly beneficial for both companies.

“I can’t wait to witness this turn real”, he said, ending his presentation.

Dr. Reem took over the conference for further announcements.

“All the directors concerned will have a meeting with Dr. Houl tomorrow morning at 9:00”, he said.

“Engineers from Simwes are expected to report to their respective directors after the meeting. Welcome to Altos!”, he smiled, looking at the employees from Simwes.

Altos employees will probably have a trip to Simwes Canada someday.

The meeting ended shortly after. I slumped into my chair with stress. I need to talk this out with Silas.

I exited the room to find Silas in the corridor, typing something into his phone with a slight frown. Come on, you can do this!

I approached him slowly with a polite smile. I stopped at a good speaking distance in front of him. He jerked his head up to look at me.

“Dr.Houl, am I distributing you?”, I asked, at his blank face.

“No”, a polite smile finally appeared on his face. “Please go on”, he added.

“This is about last night, if you are comfortable talking”, I proposed.

He nodded. It seemed like I was the only one drunk.

“I am terribly sorry for what I did last night. I feel like I made a bad first impression”, I explained.

“Don’t worry about it. Your personal life has nothing to do with our professional arrangement. I don’t prefer to underestimate your ability in anyway, considering you weren’t really sober last night. Everybody makes mistakes, Dr. Baner. I expect you to enjoy your life”, he smiled assuringly.

“Thank you, Dr.Houl”, I smiled back with a slight nod.

“I’ll see you around, Dr.Baner”, he said, ending the conversation.

“Same Dr. Houl”, I said, walking away.

That was a relief, but I’m still embarrassed. Last night wasn’t really a pleasant experience anymore. It was a nightmare.

I was again submerged in my work until I had my cue to leave home.

Driving back, traffic also seemed worse. Did all of Toronto come to LA or what?

I reached home later than I would every day.

"Berry", Alin cheered through the living room. She was on her laptop.

"Hey Al", I replied with zero enthusiasm.

"Bad day?", she frowned.

"Not really", I smiled softly. "I got a promotion", I added.

Her eyes shot up. "Omg! And you're depressed?", she almost screamed.

"No, I'm over the moon about it!", I said. "Something else also happened and I am embarrassed", I sighed.

"What's it?", she asked as I plopped onto the sofa next to her.

"So this afternoon I was promoted to the position of Director of Mechanical Design, since Dr.Schoklar resigned. My delight was unmeasurable. We also got a massive new project in collaboration with Simwes Canada, which I'm obviously going to play a big part in. But... the guy who is leading the project from Simwes...", I paused, cupping my face with my hands.

"The guy who is leading the project from Simwes...?", Alin nudged.

"is the COO of Simwes and the Head of this project, but also...", I sighed in pain, "the guy I puked on last night".

Alin's eyebrows shot up high again, and her right hand traveled up to close her opened mouth dramatically. She caught my terror.

"The blue button up hottie?", she asked, her eyes weirdly sparkling.

"Yeah", I cried.

"Then what happened? Did you talk to him?", she asked, all worked up in concern now.

"He said not to mind it. He was being sweet but... I'm still embarrassed, you know", I crashed into her.

"Aww... it's okay", she patted my back. "Were there any hidden threats in his words?", she asked softly.

"Nope. Clear and concise", I told her.

"That's great then. Don't get worked up about it. If you keep that in the back of your mind, you will mess up stuff you never intended to", she said.

"That's right. I don't wanna waste my time feeling embarrassed. I hope I won't have to confront him ever", I said, straightening myself.

The pep talk worked. I finished up my work for the night with a better mind.

The next morning, I woke up with confidence as high as a mountain. Nothing can weigh me down, nothing!

I finished my morning routine by 6 am as usual. I found Alin awake on the couch when I stepped into the hall.

"Don't tell me you stayed up late", I said.

"I am loaded", she replied.

"Getting to office early today?", she asked.

"Yes. And you need some sleep Alin", I replied. "You sound dead", I added.

"Yes. In five minutes, baby", she smiled lazily.

"Do you need breakfast?", I asked.

"No. I will sleep soon", she said.

I continued making my favorite Kelloggs cereal, with a boiled egg. I wanted to go for something basic today instead of cooking. A phone call interrupted my breakfast. It was Dr.Jeryl Wu.

"Sigrid, sorry for the short notice but I expected you to be awake now", he sounded sleepy. "Silas is expecting you in the office by 7.30 am. Seems like there is some stuff he wants to discuss with you prior to the meeting", he said in an apologetic tone.

"Interesting", I mumbled, feeding myself the last spoon of my cereal.