Eight

Alicia is a beast at what she does.... the conference room is impressive. Everything is black and gray. A bouquet of black orchids sit in a crystal vase in the center of the table. A large table is off to the side of the room along the wall of windows with an assortment of pastrues, bottles of scotch, water, and an expresso machine and pans of dim sum from an upscale chinese restaurant downtown.

There is a female Chef and a male bartender along with one of Alicias junior team member, Alex standing at the door to greet the attendees. Alex is pretty young and her eyes are literally bugging out of her head. I wonder if this is her first pitch conference.

I don't even have to look at my father to know that he has entered the room. He has that commanding presence. But I'm wondering if he is gonna be tame or will he try to challenge Alicia.

Everyone has arrived and Alex dims the lights. Alicia has put together a video presentation of her company to introduce AnJ to the Hutchinson team. The video is no longer than 5 minutes and she enters the room.

I spend the next hour transfixed in a daze. The way she navigates the meeting is powerful and I will admit... I'm kinda turned on. Alicia is a petite woman... but in this room with these powerful business men and these lawyers.... she is on point. She's charming, she's funny, and she takes no shit. She's already called out the behavior of one particular gentleman when he questioned the validity of her recent sales numbers.

My father seems to be impressed. He's very open and receptive to Alicias ideas on the commercial advertisement. A date has been set for 1 month from now to travel to Oregon to my old family home to shoot the commercial.

So far things are going smooth.

Meeting is over and the evening turns into an impromptu cocktail hour or sorts. Attendees are enjoying the scotch and the dim sum. Alicia works the room with her charm and every now and then she catches my eye, her way of making sure i am okay.

Just when I thought I was gonna come out of this unscathed... my father approaches me.

"Jonathan."

"Dad."

"I must say that I am quite impressed. You've handled representing the firm quite well."

"Thank you. I was more than happy to help."

"Ms. Johnson speaks very highly of you."

I glance across the room and see her huddled in a corner with Alex and Gretchen and one of my father partners in deep conversation. Jameson. I don't like the guy and he knows it. He is a total ass hole that my father has taken under his wing. My father prefers Jameson over me. He's told me many times how he wished that I were more like him. Little does he know... that his perfect Jameson is a man whore who dabbles in hard drugs and prostitutes. He seems to be getting a little too friendly with Alicia... every time she laughs at his jokes he responds with whispering in her ear.

"I have to hand it to you son. I never thought you'd take one on for the team and screw the CEO to secure our contract."

"Hold up... what?”

"She's a very attractive woman. Every man in this room is turned on by her. And she has a great business sense. Are the rumors true? Does she command the bedroom with the same precision as she does the boardroom?"

"Jameson looks like he is quite taken by her," he sighs, "I bet you he will have her spread out on this table before the night is through."

I grab him by the elbow and pull him into the lobby.

"You sick fuck. I was wondering when you were gonna show your true colors."

"I'm obviously joking Jonathan... lighten up some. You need a drink my son. It will loose you up."

"I'm good. Perhaps you should lay off the sauce some."

"The drug addict alcoholic weakling has nerve to tell me, his father, to lay off?"

"Nope. See this isn't about me. This is about you and your sexist partners basically saying that she is some loose slut whos slept her way to where she's at. Which isn't the truth at all."

"Son..." he spits the word out as if me being his son is something vile and unworthy.

"You shamed our family by abandoning your family and your binging. Your poor daughter doesnt even know what the fuck is going on. I always knew you were weak! But I never ever expected you to fuck up so bad that your daughter....."

"You miserable pathetic..." he cuts himself off when his eye catches movement behind me.

Alicia rounds the corner my father immediately switches gears and tells her how impressed he is with her presentation. She gives him curt nod and he is off to schmooze the crowd in the conference room.

"Hey... come on!" she turned to me.

"Huh?"

She grabs my hand and heads towards the elevator.

"The party is over? I'm confused."

"Fuck the elevator." She opens the door to the stairs and pulls me into the stairwell with her.

"Where are you going?"

We walk down two flight of stairs and go through a set of doors onto a lower floor. She heads to another elevator and then drags me inside once the door opens.

We ride the elevator in silence and exit into the lobby.

I follow her out onto the street and she hails a taxi, pulling me inside with her.

"35th and Madison she tells the driver." She pulls out her phone and calls Gretchen.

"Have they all left?" she asks, "Good! I owe you. Thanks Gretchen."

She ends her call and she looks at me and her face is pretty relaxed.

"I wasn't gonna let him insult you any longer," she says quietly as she stares out of the window.

"You heard his tirade..."

"Yeah I did... i also heard you defending me."

"I'm sorry you had to hear the filth that came out of his mouth."

"He's not the first rich asshole to insult me," she laughs.

"Doesn't make it right though."

"No it doesnt... but that's how most of these older fuckers with money are."

We arrive at our destination... whenever it is and she pays the fare and gets out of the taxi. I have no idea where I am so I just follow along and let her lead the way.

We cross the street and Alicia leads me into a high rise residential building which I'm assuming is where she lives.

We enter an ornate lobby of black marble granite and silver fixtures. But instead of heading upstairs to an apartment we head into a little dive bar located on the first floor of the building.

The little bar is quaint and very private. It's very cozy and reminds me of the local bars back home in Oregon.

She seems to know the place well and we take a seat at a small table outdoors on the patio.

She orders us a round of shots and she pulls out a menu.

"Come here often?" I ask

"Quite often. I live upstairs in one of the penthouses."

"Why?"

"Why not?" she questions me with a raised eyebrow

"No...i mean... why did you ditch your own party to bring me here?"

"I knew you needed to get out of there."

"Your dad seems to be a piece of work," she sighs. "My father is the exact same way."

She knocks back her shot and asks for another and I am not sure that me getting shit faced with her is the best of ideas right now.

"Thank you for the assist," i say...

"Trust me. I know what it feels like... to be belittled by your own parent."

She orders a third shot and nods at my empty shot glass.

So we get shitfaced drunk and forget about it for a little while she laughs

She orders a basket of fries and she is eyeing a rare rib eye.

"Hungry much?" I chuckle.

"Very! I didn't eat any of the food."

I grab her hand across the table. "Thank you.."

"No sweat."