Part 17: THE MEETING
Greenwich CT
Logan Home
It was 3:00am Monday morning. Sean lay motionless in his childhood bed encompassed by impenetrable darkness and silence. His thoughts were filled with the last time he had seen Elana in June of 1989 and how he promised that they would be married within a year. Then he thought about the letter he received 3 months later shattering both his anticipation of her arrival in Boston to be with him during his final year and his hearts desire to have her as his wife until the end of their lives. His emotions ran wild that night and there was nothing he could do to rid his mind of her. He finally decided that the longer he stayed awake, the longer it would take for morning to come and the longer it would take for him to confront the only woman who he had considered the love of his life. She was the one he had tried to drown out of his mind for 9 years, but she was also the one who was about to reappear before him. He wondered if God had punished him for some reason and was now about to take whatever pride he had left. How would Elana react when she saw him? How would they work together with their pasts lingering around them like a heavily laden weight dangling over their heads? How could he be in her presence and not reveal that he never stopped loving her? These questions continued to plague him for hours until the sunlight began to peek through the curtains in his room. It was now 5:30am. He knew the time had come to get up and muster his strength to face whatever fate lay before him.
Long Island, NY
Elana's Townhouse
It was 5:30am and Elana stood in her mirror checking her appearance. She had pinned her hair completely up, which was her signature hairstyle for business. She never wore it down at work thinking it would remind all of the men she worked around of how much of a woman she was and so she had always thought it best to help her maintain her serious demeanor. She dawned a black linen business suit that was tailored to fit her perfectly. Her skirt stopped right at her knees and her silk stockings matched her skin tone perfectly giving off a silky sheen. On her feet she had elected to wear her genuine black alligator pumps with which she carried a matching attaché case that she had bought on her vacation to South Africa. Her makeup was simple and consisted of a dark plum lip color and a thin line of liquid eyeliner only on the top of her eyelids. The dark contrast brought out the lighter shade of her big brown eyes. As she gazed at herself, she was pleased and found that it was time for her to leave so that she could catch the ferry to New York City. She wanted to get to Crealite early so that she would have enough time to settle herself before she met Philip Logan.
She had never met him in person and the only contact they ever had with one another was nine years ago when he called her in Atlanta. His voice was so commanding and authoritative when he had called to demand that she sever her ties with his son or Sean would find himself without a family and penniless. Phillip had promised to strip his son of his inheritance, his future career and of his family. He had accused her of sleeping with his son and trying to get pregnant to entrap him into marriage, thus solidifying her stake in the family in order to reap the benefits of being a Logan. Devastated from his accusations, Elana angrily retorted to Phillip that she did not need to trap any man and that she would never see Sean again, then she slammed the phone down. She felt so angry at his accusing her of using feminine wiles to snag a man and secure her future, but she also feared for Sean. Even though Phillip had demeaned her character, she had no doubt that he would do just as he told her to keep a black woman from being associated with his name and legacy. That's when she vowed to have nothing to do with a family that denigrated her just because she was black, and her love for Sean would not let her be the cause of him loosing everything that he was associated with as a person and as a man. She was determined that she would not strip the man she loved of his manhood because he would eventually resent her for it, so she sat down and wrote the letter in tears that would end any hope of their being together.
But now as she stood contemplating all of the things that had taken place since then, she knew that she would go into that company with pride. The tables had turned and
Phillip Logan would indeed have her associated with his name. She would go into that office and stand before him as a reasonably independent and wealthy woman who had never depended on any man to help her gain success and who just happened to be black. She was coming to save his hide and she would lavish in every moment of it, not giving him any room to intimidate her. She smiled at that thought and then her mind switched to Sean again. If she encountered him she would not give in to emotion. She had become an expert at hiding her feelings because in the business world, any emotional displays on a woman's part were the death of her career and she had learned well to stifle hers in some of the most demanding situations. She would do no less when it came to Sean. Even though she had no idea what effect he would have on her.
Now rejuvenated by her resolve and encouraged by her own confidence, Elana picked up her attaché case and headed out of her door. She skipped down the steps to her private parking spot and unlocked the car door to her 1998 special edition black and gold BMW roadster, threw her case over to the passenger side, and got in. She took a deep breath before starting the engine and then backed out and sped out of the parking lot.
New York City
The drive to the car ferry was easy since it was so early. By the time she arrived in New York City it was 6:45am. She drove into the parking lot of the building where Crealite housed its corporate offices.
"Hello, there ma'am. A pretty lady like you is up kinda early for business ain't you?" Said the parking lot attendant.
Elana sat in her car focused on her assignment. "I need you to take care of me. I don't want my car parked just anywhere. I know how you guys like to spin around these curves." She said with a twenty-dollar bill in her hand.
Taking the $20 and opening the door for Elana, the parking lot attendant was happy to oblige. "Sure ma'am. What company are you visiting?"
"Crealite." She said as she reached for her briefcase.
"They don't open until 8:00am, but you can go to the main lobby or to the Starbucks across the street and wait."
"That will be fine. Thank you."
"Here's your ticket. You're keys will be left at the front desk in the lobby of the Crealite office. You can pay when you leave. I'll make sure you get one of the best parking spaces."
Elana thanked the valet and turned to the elevators to go to the street level and across to the Starbucks Café.
It was 7:15am when she got up to the Starbucks and as she sat at the table facing the window she drank her coffee and went over last minute details that she didn't want to forget. She watched her time because she was to meet Jon Lambert in the building lobby at 8:15am.
Greenwich, CT
Logan Home
7:30am
"Boy, you'd better get on outta here! Don't it take you at least an hour or so to get to New York. Then you got to fight that traffic. You'll never make your 8:30 meeting. That ain't how your daddy taught you to be running no company, on borrowed time! Get on outta here and stop sulking over that colored woman. She ain't gonna want you anyway looking like that. Look like you stayed up all night. Go straighten yourself up."
"Grandpa, please be quiet. I'm trying to get out of here I just need to find my tie."
"Tie? Tie? Boy you just stalling. Get outta here I said! Get on!" Grandpa nudged Sean out toward the foyer with his cane as he continued to complain about what a bad example Sean was going to set being late. Making his way out of the door Sean picked up his brief case and grabbed his new tie from the coat rack, then he jetted out of the door and down the steps to his car, avoiding grandpa's subtle cane attacks. He jumped in and sped off waving goodbye to his grandfather who stood in the doorway still fussing while holding his cane in the air.
Sean opted to take the long way to New York dreading his past awaiting him at the office. He was wearing one of his new Armani suits that he had picked up during his Saturday outing with grandpa and he sported a blue shirt, which brought out the blue in his eyes with gold and diamond cufflinks for his French cuffs. He also wore his gold tie clip and shirt pin, which enhanced his professional style. His hair was still wet from his late shower and he had combed the small curls on the top of his head back off of his forehead.
As he drove to New York he decided that he would try to treat Elana as a dear old friend from college, nothing more. He could handle that, he thought, so he meditated on his reaction until he reached the parking lot of the building where Crealite offices were maintained.
New York City
Crealite Downstairs Lobby.
8:20am
"Hey, Elana, here I am!" Jon said waving down a pacing Elana.
"What took you so long. You know we can't be late for this first meeting. I can't believe you!"
"Elana, calm down. I'm only five minutes late for our meeting . The Crealite appointment isn't until 8:30 remember. Are you ok?"
"Yeah! Why wouldn't I be? I was just getting anxious when you weren't here."
They started to walk towards the elevators to go the 30th floor where the Crealite executive offices were located.
"Could you please take that succor out of your mouth? Your tongue is gonna be all red."
"Oh yea." Elana removed the candy and threw it away before they entered the elevator.
She did not hear a word Jon said as they ascended to the 30th floor. She just watched the numbers of the elevator flash by counting down in her own mind the closer they got to their destination.
"Are you going to be alright? You don't look so good?"
"What? What did you say Jon. I'm sorry."
"Nothing." Jon said.
As Elana stood in the corner of the elevator with her back leaning against the wall and her eyes glued to the elevator floor numbers, Jon was confused but put it off thinking that Elana was having some of her first time meeting-with-the-client jitters even though he had never seen her get this nervous.
Finally the elevator stopped and the doors opened to the offices of Crealite. Jon allowed Elana to go out first and followed closely behind her. At the receptionists desk they asked for Phillip Logan and the receptionist, knowing that they were to meet with Sean instead, walked them to his office area and introduced them to Charlotte.
"Hello, Ms. Powers and Mr. Lambert, could you please follow me. You can wait in Mr. Logan's office. He phoned to inform me to tell you that he will be running a few minutes late. Incidentally, you will be meeting with Sean Logan instead of Phillip Logan today."
"Sean? Sean Logan?" Elana asked.
"Yes?"
"Why are we not meeting with Phillip Logan?" She quickly asked. Elana was mortified when she heard this. How could this be? What had happened to Phillip Logan? She was prepared to meet with him. She had prepared herself for it all weekend, but she had not prepared to meet with Sean. Run into him? Yes, but not spend a whole day or any day with him. Her heart raced and she felt warm around her ears as she contemplated what this meant. She would have to spend a significant amount of time with him while he went over internal company organization and procedures with her.
"He is out of the country, but his son is the President and handles most of the company business now, so he will be the person that you will have to deal with."
Charlotte led Jon and Elana into Sean's office and motioned for them to sit in the chairs facing the large desk where they could look out onto the city from the large wall sized window.
Elana sat ramrod straight in the chair with her legs crossed and tried to concentrate on subsiding the sickening feeling that was building up in her stomach. Jon started to talk about the offices and joked that all of their money was going into furnishings. Then he commented on the skimpy clothing of Sean's secretary and alluded to the fact that he was probably sleeping with her. Elana did not hear a word of it as she tried to concentrate on the Crealite reports she had studied. She kept rubbing her temples as thoughts rushed through her mind. What would she say? What would he say? Would he try to get her alone and ask what happened nine years ago? She tried to flood those thoughts out of her mind with all of the facts she had memorized about Crealite as she also contemplated how she would be able to face the only man she had ever given her heart to.
New York City
Crealite Parking Lot
8:45am
Sean slowly drove into the parking lot and stopped to be greeted by Scottie the parking attendant.
"Hey, Mr. Logan. You're in a little early for a Monday. How is your morning going so far?"
"I don't know yet, Scottie."
Scottie was writing up a ticket to park Sean's car when he heard Sean say,
"Scottie, I'm gonna park myself today. I'm not in a hurry. I'll see you later?"
"Sure Mr. Logan. Have a nice day." Scottie stepped out of the way so that Sean could continue driving up the ramp. Once he reached his parking spot Sean noticed a black BMW roadster that had never been there before. He knew that this level was for the executives only, so he couldn't imagine who had parked there. When he got out of his car he glanced over and saw the license plate read 'POWERS' and Sean knew that Elana was in his office waiting for him. He slumped down onto the rear of his car and took a deep breath. 'So this is it' he thought to himself in less than 3 minutes or so he was going to come face to face with her and he didn't know if he could hold up. As he stood there he heard a car wheel around the corner. It was James in his black Ferrari. He parked directly next to Sean and jumped out of the car.
"Hey, Sean . Why are you standing out here? I thought you would be meeting with Powers & Lambert at 8:30."
"I am. I was just running late. I came from Connecticut. You know how that traffic can be."
Edging him on James grabbed his briefcase and motioned for Sean to come on.
"Look I came to help you out. I know your father usually does this, so I figured you could use some support."
Sean got up off his car and picked up his pace to catch up with his eager Vice President.
"What are you talking about. I don't need any help. I know how to run a business James and I don't like what you're implying. What are you really up to?"
Putting his arm around Sean's shoulders, "Look buddy. You can always see straight through me. Actually, I just needed an excuse to meet this Elana Powers." James said as he pushed the elevator button. "I have been reading about her work for a while now and I'm fascinated with her. She is one intriguing woman and she has accomplished so much and to tell you the truth I saw her at an AICPA convention last year and I was mesmerized by her. I just wasn't sure of how to approach her at the time because I don't know if she's into white men, so now I'm hoping that the God's are in my favor and if I have my way, before this is all over with, she will be putty in my hands." The elevator opened and the two men went inside.
Sean winced at James comment and then laughed internally, knowing that Elana wouldn't be putty in any man's hands. He had tried it before.
"I intend to break through that invisible firewall everyone says she has up. She just hasn't met James Payton yet. You know what I mean." James nudged an unamused Sean again and laughed. Sean felt a tinge of jealousy, but at the same time he felt that Elana probably wouldn't have anything to do with him if she really knew the type of person James actually was. And he was sure that she would be able to see straight through him. As James continued to iterate the many tricks of the trade he would use to woo Elana, Sean watched the numbers of the elevators change as they moved toward the 30th floor, counting down in his own mind. Finally the elevator stopped and Sean knew it was time to put all of his apprehension behind him and be professional. Before the doors could open good. James was out, "Come on and let's get a look at this woman and after the meeting watch me work my charm. You might learn something, buddy." James didn't wait on Sean, but headed straight to the office. Sean stopped at Charlotte's desk as he watched James go inside and heard him introduce himself.
"Do I have any messages Charlotte?"
"No Mr. Logan, but your 8:30am appointment has been here since 8:25."
Sean looked over Charlotte's appearance and felt embarrassed. He knew that if Elana had seen her she would think that he had hired trash to work for him. He decided that he would talk to Charlotte again about her attire after this meeting.
Now he couldn't hold off seeing Elana any longer. His office door was directly in front of him and he could hear two male voices conversing. He walked toward the entryway, which seemed like a long corridor leading to an unknown place. Finally he reached the threshold and straightened himself then walked in confidently. "Hello everyone. I'm sorry I'm late." As he came in his eyes met directly with Elana's. He had almost forgotten those beautiful brown eyes, but now staring into them he remembered everything.
James chimed in "Ah yes, this is my boss, Sean Logan." He said as he patted Sean on the back. "Sean this is Jon Lambert..." Jon walked closer and held out his hand and Sean's attention was diverted from Elana. They shook hands and James continued his introductions, leading Sean over to where Elana sat. "...and this is Elana Powers." Sean's gaze returned to Elana and for a moment all they saw was each other. Elana held out her hand and Sean took it.
"Yes, Ms. Powers and I already know each other." He said quietly as he softly took her hand but did not shake it. He couldn't take his eyes off of her and for a moment he felt as if it were nine years ago when he had last seen her. Suddenly there was an awkward silence and Elana looked away and tried to pull her hand from Sean's grip. Feeling the pressure in his palm he released her hand and went to his desk.
"Oh really, Sean. You never mentioned it. When did this come about?" James asked.
"Yeah, Elana, you didn't tell me you already knew Sean Logan. When did you guys meet?" As the two men looked at their partners Sean and Elana captured each other's gaze. Elana sat motionless, not knowing how to respond and hoping Sean would not spill their business all out in this open forum to get back at her for leaving him.
"It was a long time ago." Sean finally said as he broke his gaze with her and opened his briefcase. After that James and Jon took their seats. James sat diagonally to Sean with his back facing the window. Sean rummaged through the contents of his briefcase to extract his paperwork. Without looking up he began speaking. "Mr. Lambert and Ms. Powers I trust that you received the information that was federal expressed to you on Saturday.
Jon replied, "Yes, Ms. Powers received the package. I did look over the initial specs we received last week. Ms. Powers will be handling this case. I have just come today to help with any preliminary work."
After taking everything he could out of his case, Sean closed it and took his seat. "So. Ms. Powers what is your assessment of our little company." He asked bluntly as he sat back in his chair and wove his fingers together and placed them in his lap. Again he turned his attention to Elana, capturing her eyes with his own.
Elana did not know what to think about Sean's entrance. He walked in with so much confidence. He had to know that she would be here and yet he seemed so unaffected by their seeing each other after nine years. She was determined to appear indifferent even though she did not know how long she could keep up the pretense under his blue stare. Whenever he looked at her, her knees would turn to Jell-O and now she was grateful that she was seated for fear that the effect had not changed.
"First of all the company isn't very little at all. I think you would be classified as a pretty large conglomerate firm. Also, I took a long look at your prospectus and the portfolio, but I will need much more information to come up with a concise answer as to the overall assessment of Crealite. From what I did see it seems that you have a common weakness and some outside threats, but that will be determined by a detailed SWOT analysis."
James jumped in. "Now what exactly is a SWOT analysis and how long will your analysis take Ms. Powers?"
"SWOT is an acronym for strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats and looking at the number of employees that you have on payroll. It may take six to eight months to complete the analysis." Elana answered.
"I'm sure that will be time well spent. I for one look forward to working with your company. I am sure my boss here will give me every opportunity to familiarize you with our operations." James retorted, flashing his sexy smile at her.
Sean was getting irritated with James antics and so he interrupted. "Mr. Lambert what will you need to do first?"
Jon answered. "We will need to meet with your managers and first line supervisors as soon as possible to inform them that Ms. Powers will have to meet with each and every employee in every department to conduct an in-depth interview and asses their function within the business."
James, speaking to Elana said, "Will this be a one-on-one interview or group."
"Preferably one-on-one." Elana answered.
"I certainly will be your first volunteer."
Sean was somehow offended by James obvious flirting with Elana so he sought to get rid of him. "James, thank you for your input. Now that Mr. Lambert has told us that we need to meet with the managers right away, Could you please, go and get all of the managers and supervisors together to ask them what would be the best time for a staff meeting, then set it up for us, please. I'm sure Charlotte will be more than happy to give you some assistance with that."
James, recognizing Sean's slight, but not wanting to appear unprofessional, decided to leave, but he would wait for another time to continue his pursuit of Elana Powers. He got up and shook both of their hands. "It was nice to meet you both. I'll see you in the staff meeting."
After James left. The three continued to talk about what preliminaries would need to be implemented. Elana sat quietly, happy that Sean preferred to talk to Jon, but then Jon received a page. "Excuse me." He said. He looked at the pager number and recognized it as one of the accounts that they were working on. "This may be important. Is there a private phone I can use to return it?" He asked Sean.
"Sure, just go outside and ask Charlotte to let you use one of the phones in an empty cubicle."
Jon thanked Sean promising to be back soon and he made his way out the door, leaving Sean and Elana alone in the office.
Initially Sean and Elana just sat in their seats saying nothing, then Sean got up from his chair and turned to lean against the side of the window with his arms crossed, looking out at nothing in particular. Neither of them spoke for a moment, not knowing exactly what to say, but knowing that they couldn't pretend that nothing ever existed between them. They couldn't pretend that the last they had heard from each other, things were cordial between them. Elana felt it best if she did not speak first because she knew she was the cause of their separation and she feared that if she said something then Sean would let into her with many false accusations. Finally Sean spoke.
"So, how have you been?" he asked almost whispering while still looking out the window.
"Things have been good. My business is going great. We're expanding and getting ready to hire a few more accountants. I have no complaints." She said trying to sound very professional and unaffected.
Sean turned around to face her then walked around to the front of his desk and rested on the right edge directly in front of her as he put his hands in his pockets. He sat there holding his head down to the floor as if he were heavily concentrating on something. Then he raised his eyes to meet hers.
"I meant you, how have you been doing Elana?"
Elana wished that he wouldn't look at her so intently. He had to know what effect it was having on her. It was the same way he would always stare at her when he desperately wanted to make love to her after her many refusals. She didn't want him to affect her, but he did and she found herself at a loss for words, fearing that tears would break through and she would not be able to stop them.
Again there was an awkward silence as Sean studied her, waiting for an answer and hoping that she would confess that she had been just as lost without him as he had been without her for all of these years. She never answered him and he was now faced with the opportunity to ask Elana why she had decided to end their relationship even though he remembered the words she had written. He somehow didn't believe them after having all of this time to contemplate it. He didn't know what to do. Should he address it or should he just leave it be and concentrate on the business at hand. He decided to do the ladder. There could be no point in drudging up the past and she had made herself clear in her letter. If she had changed her mind she always knew where to find him, but he had never heard from her, so he concluded that her feelings had not changed and that he should leave well enough alone.
Finally, Jon came back into the room breaking the spell that Elana felt Sean was trying to weave for her, but he announced that he had to go to another site to help their employee Sheila on a pending account. Elana tried to cut in and explain that she would go, but reason won out and Jon convinced her that she should stay and go to the board meeting that would be scheduled for the day. She desperately did not want to be left alone with Sean for the whole day because it was apparent that they didn't know how to deal with each other because of their past together. Elana, knowing Sean, surmised that at some point he would be really blunt and ask her something or say something that would catch her totally off guard and she wasn't quite ready for that even though it was inevitable.
After Jon left Sean spoke. "Well, Ms. Powers. It seems that you and I will be spending the day together. Before we get started, is there anything that you need before we continue?
'Yes.' She thought. Seeing Sean again had caused a rush of memories to flood her mind. He looked so handsome standing there in his office wearing the blue dress shirt and navy suit that brought out the brilliance of his eyes. When he looked at her it took everything for her not to break down in tears and apologize. The emotional wall she had built over the years was tearing down just by being in Sean's presence. If she didn't get a hold of herself she knew she would risk loosing her composure. "I would like a small office to work out of since almost all of my time will be spent here for the next several months and I'll need access to a secretary to do any administrative work."
"That's easy enough. There is an office right across the hall from mine and Charlotte can handle whatever work you may have. If it gets to be too much I can call in a temporary secretary."
"Thank you."
"Why don't I show you the office and then I can take you around to familiarize you with the environment here and all of the departments?"
"That would be good. I'll need to know where everything is."
Sean buzzed Charlotte. "Charlotte could you come in here please."
Within seconds Charlotte was in Sean's office and standing directly in front of Elana facing Sean who was behind his desk.
Elana couldn't fathom why Sean or any man would let his secretary walk around so scantily clad. The woman obviously was taken with Sean and Elana wondered whether he had a relationship with her at one time or another.
"Charlotte could you have the office across the hall set up for Ms. Powers and I would like for you to handle any administrative work she may have in the future. Let me know if things get overloaded and we'll get some help for you."
"Sure, Mr. Logan." Charlotte turned around to face Elana, who could tell that she made the woman uneasy. "Ms. Powers I'll have that set up for you by the end of the day. You should be able to move in tomorrow morning."
"Thank you Charlotte."
Turning back to face Sean Charlotte asked. "Is there anything else Mr. Logan?"
"No, that will be all for now."
Charlotte walked out of the door flashing her long legs and shapely behind in her tight lime green skirt that stopped mid-thigh. Elana watched her as she purposely switched her hips back and forth hoping that Sean was watching.
"I intend to talk to her about that." Sean said knowing what Elana was thinking as he watched her watching his secretary.
Elana turned around and stood from her seat. "Talk to her about what?"
"About her appearance. I know she looks less than professional and you'd probably be more comfortable if she dressed a little more conservatively."
"She's your secretary, not mine. You can have her dress any way you want." Elana said trying to regain the confidence that Sean had already started to tear down "I guess I'm ready for that tour now."
"Sure." Sean walked out from behind his desk and over next to Elana. "After you." He said in a softer more familiar voice. She walked toward the door and he opened it for her and directed her toward the elevators to go to the other floors where Crealite held offices. As they waited for the elevator, Sean's thoughts raced through his mind. Smelling her perfume and watching her confident demeanor made him think of when they were in college. She always held herself with such pride and she was more beautiful now than he ever had remembered. The pictures on the magazines did her no justice. Her skin was smooth and flawless. Her lips were temping and her clothing fit her to a T. Sean was suddenly overtaken by her, and had an urge to take her in his arms and kiss away all the years they had been apart, but he knew he had to be careful. He had told his grandfather that he didn't know if he was going to be able to keep it together and now he was sure that he would not be; not for long. He could feel his old feelings creeping up on him like a lion scoping its prey. He knew that eventually he would be fiercely attacked by the full force of those feelings, he just hoped that no one else would be around to witness his defeat. When the elevator bell rang, James quickly came around the corner.
"Hey, where are you guys going?"
Sean and Elana looked at him as he made his way to the elevator. As the door opened, Sean slightly touched the small of Elana's back to direct her into the elevator before him while he responded to James "We're going on a tour of the departments." James followed closely behind them into the elevator. When the doors closed, Sean pushed the button for the 31st floor as he listened to James.
"I can take Ms. Powers on the tour Sean. You must be extremely busy having to run everything around here. You shouldn't be burdened down with giving a simple tour. That's for us peons to do."
"It's no burden James. And I'm the best person to familiarize Ela -- Ms. Powers with our departments."
"Well as a major stockholder I know all of the departments just as well as you do, so..."
Elana was getting uncomfortable with the tug of war that existed between the two men even though she knew James had been trying to come onto her, she also recognized that their conflict was from some other source, so she tried to resolve the matter to prevent it from escalating. "Gentlemen, I'd be happy if you both could take me on the tour. Two heads are better than one, so whatever one of you doesn't mention then the other may, which will give me a more complete idea of how things are run."
"Splendid idea. Do you see Sean how it takes a woman to solve a man's problems sometimes?"
Sean rolled his eyes at James who had now directed his attention to Elana.
"Ms. Powers, Do you have any plans for lunch today?"
"No not yet."
"I would be honored if you joined me today for lunch. Since your going to be with us for a while I would like to make your experience here as wonderful as possible and it helps if you have a few friends around."
"I'm not here to make friends Mr. Payton. I'm here to help Crealite stay in business."
Thrown off from her bluntness, James attempted to try again, "Um yes, I know, but it wouldn't hurt if you had someone you could..."
The elevator door opened and Sean spoke "31st floor. Here we are!" Sean waited while Elana, walking past James, stepped out of the elevator. He couldn't help but laugh to himself at James trying to make a play for Elana because he knew that it would take more than what James was putting out to convince her to go on an informal date.
James walked out of the elevator, ignoring Sean and walking up next to Elana. "You're a woman after my own heart Ms. Powers. Maybe I should just say that I would be delighted to take you to lunch today and get to know you better, if you would like too." Elana now couldn't ignore that James was directly asking her out and she felt a little uneasy discussing this in front of Sean for some reason, but she also recognized it as a date, something she hadn't been on in a long time. She quickly looked over James and found that he was a very handsome man. His blonde wavy hair was combed back and fell slightly to the side. He towered over her and his brown eyes were soft and comforting. She surmised that he had to be in his late 30's or early 40's and even though she had never dated any white man other than Sean, she thought that this may be her opportunity to start getting over him once and for all and finding true happiness for herself.
"Well, Mr. Payton, since you asked like that how can I refuse?"
Sean was shocked that she agreed and stood to the side feeling as if someone had just slapped him while he listened to James organize their lunch plans.
After a few minutes Sean interrupted. "James, did you get that meeting set up for today?"
Looking up slightly from his conversation with Elana, James replied, "Yes, it will be at 2:30 this afternoon." Then he directed his attention back to Elana.
Sean was now feeling like a third wheel, so he opted to let James do the tour while he went back to his office to recoup and catch up on some other business until the meeting at 2:30.
When he returned to his office Charlotte informed him that Sheridan was on the phone. He went into his office and reluctantly picked up the line.
"Hello, Sean here."
"Hi, love. It's me. Look I just called Elana Powers office and the secretary said that she was there today."
"Yes, her accounting firm will be revamping our company."
"Well, why didn't you say that Friday night Sean, when I was going on and on about how I wanted to do business with her! I swear you sometimes don't see a good thing even when it's right in front of your face! Would it be possible for you to tell her about me and get me an appointment with her."
"Sheridan, that's not my place. You're going to have to do that yourself. She's going to have an office here, so I'll give you her number and you should be able to reach her tomorrow morning."
"Oh that would be great. Thank you love." Sheridan made several kissing noises on the phone.
Sean gave her the number and they ended their conversation. Afterwards, he reflected on how empty his relationship with Sheridan was and he decided that the next time he saw her he would talk to her about ending their courtship. Then his mind wandered to James and Elana. He wondered what lies James was making up or what things he was telling her to impress her and secure himself points in seducing her. Ever since Sean had first met the man, he knew James had an unearthly desire to conquer and acquire anything and everything he set his desires on even Crealite. Sean also knew that James had visions of taking over Crealite, he just hadn't figured out how to yet. After thinking it over, Sean felt that he had an obligation for the sake of their friendship to at least warn Elana about James even though he was more than sure that she would eventually see right through the man.
As he sat there he tried to sort through his feelings. He had seen her and he had made it through without any embarrassing breakdowns. His heart fluttered as he couldn't help but see how she looked at him when he asked her how she was doing. He didn't know why she never answered. He couldn't help but think that he had noticed a glossiness come over her eyes after a few seconds of their staring at each other. 'Could that mean that she still has feelings for me and couldn't bring herself to tell me?' he wondered. 'No, of course not, because she had just accepted a date from James, right in front of me. If she still had feelings for me she couldn't have done that' he thought.
Meanwhile, James showed Elana throughout all of the Crealite executive and administrative offices on the 30th through 33rd floors. He introduced her to all of the managers and first-line supervisors and gave her a brief excerpt of what function each department served as she took meticulous notes. At lunchtime he took her to an exclusive restaurant in his Ferrari and all he talked about was himself. He told her about his elusive father and all of the money he had made. Then he told her about all of his hobbies and daredevil feats that he had performed. He spoke about his own wealth and the houses and cars that he owned, the exotic vacations he took and on and on and on. Elana did not get a word in edgewise; not that he asked her anything about herself that day. Nevertheless, Elana was intrigued with him. He was exceptionally handsome and sophisticated. He could speak 4 languages and he was very sure of himself. She saw him as a man who could take her wherever she wanted to go and help her achieve whatever she wanted, but she didn't know if he could share some of his love for himself with her. She decided that it was way too early to tell this and that he may just be nervous. She was not sure if he had ever dated interracially before, but if he hadn't that may be the cause of his nervousness. After lunch they returned to the office so that Elana could prepare for the presentation. When she went back to Sean's office to get her briefcase, he was sitting at his desk on the phone. When she came in he kept his eyes on her as he talked and finally he ended his conversation and got off of the phone.
As he hung up the receiver he asked, "So, how was your lunch with the illustrious James Payton?"
"It was illustrious." She said figuring that Sean knew his employee well.
Sean got up from his desk and put his jacket back on and walked towards Elana as he spoke. "I hope he didn't overwhelm you?"
"I'm not easily overwhelmed." She said putting her notes into her case and noticing how close Sean was standing to her.
"Yes, I remember." He said as he stood over her.
Sean's statement made Elana blush as she finished packing her attaché case and picked it up.
"Are you prepared for this meeting? You know there will be about 35 managers and supervisors there."
"Yes, I'm well prepared. Can we go?" Elana felt herself getting more and more nervous as she and Sean stood next to each other. Even though she never looked directly at him she could feel him staring at her again.
"Sure, after you. Ms. Powers." He motioned to the door causing Elana to turn and walk out with him following. James had shown her that the conference room was on the 33rd floor, so she went straight to the elevators. Sean pushed the button and they stood there waiting in silence until it came. When the elevator door opened there were several people already inside leaving very little space for anyone else.
"We can wait for the next one." Elana suggested, not wanting to be that close to Sean.
"There are 45 floors in this building. The next elevator may take a while and we'll be late for the meeting. I know how you hate to be late." Sean said with a smile on his face knowing why she didn't want to get on the elevator.
Reluctantly she stepped into the small space that was left and Sean went in beside her. To make enough room she had to turn sideways with Sean standing behind her. They were so close, that Elana remembered how he would always stand behind her wrapping his arms around her waist and rest his head on her shoulders whenever they stood in a line or were waiting for something. As she longed for the 33rd floor to be reached, it couldn't have come soon enough. When the doors opened, Elana intended to be the first one out, but a few people stammered out of the elevator first blocking her way. Elana was so close to Sean that she could feel the vigorous pumping of his heart and she froze. Sean had to speak to get her out of the elevator, so in an almost whispery voice he spoke in her ear. "This is our floor Ms. Powers." Elana practically ran out of the elevator and headed for the conference room not even looking back at Sean.
Sean on the other hand decided to let her walk on ahead of him, so he stopped briefly at the receiving desk. He knew that with her body so close to his, Elana had to feel how fast his heart was beating, so he took these few seconds to try and calm himself.
When she arrived at the conference room door Sean had caught up with her and reached in front of her to open the door. She thanked him as they both walked in together. Once they were in the conference room Sean took on his professional demeanor.
"Good afternoon ladies and gentlemen." He said and everyone returned the greeting. "I'm sure that most of you had a chance to meet Ms. Powers this morning..." As he talked he noticed that Elana did not have a seat, so he interrupted his speech. "Charlotte, could you get Ms. Powers a chair please." Charlotte got up from her chair in the corner and went outside to return with another conference room chair. As she slid the chair up to Sean everyone watched her try to make her way in her 3-inch heels. Sean finally met her half way while he was still talking after he noticed the spectacle she was making and reminded himself to talk to her about her clothing this afternoon. He rolled the chair right up next to his own at the top of the conference table. "You can sit here, please Ms. Powers." He said as he lightly put his hand on her back and seated her then pushed the chair up under her. Then he continued.
"As you all know we have been having some trouble with our budgeting and other corporate concerns. Ms. Powers company has come to save the day. She will be conducting one-on-one interviews with you and your staff. Please make sure that she has everyone's full cooperation so that this thing can run smoothly and she can figure out where our problems exist, so that we can correct them. Now I'll let her speak with you all and if you have any questions please feel free to ask. Ms. Powers, would you please let everyone in on your strategy." Sean went back to his seat and sat down as Elana stood up.
"Hello again everyone. I enjoyed speaking with some of you this morning, so you are already somewhat familiar with what I'm doing here. As Mr. Logan said our job is to find out where Crealite's weaknesses are and address them. The way that I will determine this is to do a detailed analysis of all of the functions of you and your employees. Evidently somewhere within your operations there's a weak spot which is causing the company to lose revenue. This is detrimental to you all because if it continues Crealite will have to release some of its employees in order to save revenue. Eventually if the trend continues, the company will have to file bankruptcy and everyone will have to move on elsewhere, so this is why Mr. Logan and your board of directors has called us in. I'm sure he is not interested in loosing any of his workers so we're going to try and do everything we can to avoid this."
Elana continued to explain what would be taking place over the next few months. Sean sat following every move that she made. He felt really proud of her. She handled a room of people like she had handled him at one time. She had everyone 's rapt attention. He could see that the female managers and supervisors were proud to see a woman was coming to take on an important role and many of them asked questions whereas they usually sat silently listening to whatever the men had to say. The men were also impressed that a woman and especially a black one had so much knowledge about corporate and financial matters. Many of them did not get the full understanding of everything she was saying, but didn't want to let everyone else know, so they kept quiet.
As she continued to talk and answer questions during their 21/2 meeting, Sean couldn't help but think how things would be if they had gotten married. They would have this meeting, end it and then he would take her into his office, lock the door and make love to her right on his desk. He was so turned on by listening to the soft, vibrant voice that at one time could have asked anything of him and he would have happily obliged her. As he admired her perfectly formed legs, he couldn't help but remember them wrapped around him more than a few times; and then he wondered what men had she given the privilege of enjoying her beautiful body. As the meeting progressed Sean felt that she had to be the most fascinating woman he knew. She had almost all of the answers to everyone's questions and those she didn't know she would acknowledge it and indicate that she would get back to them later with the information. Finally, at 5:45, the meeting came to a close and Elana tried to direct everyone's attention back to Sean so that he could say any final words and everyone could go home.
"Mr. Logan was there anything else you needed to say." There was a pause while Sean languished in his daydream. "Um Mr. Logan?" Elana smiled at everyone as she touched Sean's shoulder almost feeling awkward for him.
"Yes, I'm sorry everyone." Sean said as he realized that he was too deep in his daydream. Elana sat back down in her chair beside Sean and as he got up she couldn't help but notice his piercing eyes again.
"I hope I wasn't boring you too much Mr. Logan." She said with an unexpected smile on her face and causing everyone to laugh.
Her smile went right through Sean as he remembered how she would always smile at him and his insides would turn to jelly as they were at that moment. He smiled back at her and said, "You could never do that, Ms. Powers." Lightly touching her shoulder as he walked over to the side of the room, Sean asked for any final questions and after no response he dismissed the meeting.
Everyone made haste in clearing the room eager to get home for the evening. Sean stood at the door saying goodbye and he noticed James talking to Elana at the head of the conference table. Finally James made his way to the door and patted Sean as he walked out "James Payton charm my man." James said as he left room leaving Sean and Elana alone again.
Sean stood at the door watching Elana pack her things. He walked back towards her.
"Are you leaving right now?" He asked.
"I had planned to. I'll probably be coming in every morning at around 8 or 8:30. I may be staying late every afternoon."
"How late?"
"I'll try to get out of here by 6:30 or 7:00."
"Do you always work this hard?"
"It's the only way I got where I am today. I'm used to it."
"What about dinner?"
"Oh I always manage to eat dinner. Even though it sometimes is just..."
Interrupting her, Sean clarified his question. "No Elana, I mean what about dinner with me, tonight?"
Elana was shocked and stopped what she was doing and looked up at him seeing that old familiar look he had when he was about to try and convince her of something. She slowly resumed her packing. "I don't think that would be a good idea."
"Why not. Two old friends sharing a nice meal together. Talking about old times. Why wouldn't that be a good idea?"
Elana didn't know how to answer and again they stood silently. Finally Sean moved in closer to her. "Elana we need to talk and you know we do."
She closed her bag and looked back up at him. "Yea, I know. Tonight is not good because I have other plans."
"You going out with James?"
"Yes, I'm meeting him somewhere."
Sean looked away from her. "I see. Well, let me know when you get the time." He picked up his materials and walked toward the door.
"I don't know when I'll get the chance, I'm going to be so busy, but I'll let you know." She said quietly.
When he opened the door he looked back at her. "Take your time. I can wait a little longer. I've been waiting for nine years. Elana." He continued out of the door and left Elana standing in the conference room alone.
Greenwich CT
Logan Home
It was 3:00am Monday morning. Sean lay motionless in his childhood bed encompassed by impenetrable darkness and silence. His thoughts were filled with the last time he had seen Elana in June of 1989 and how he promised that they would be married within a year. Then he thought about the letter he received 3 months later shattering both his anticipation of her arrival in Boston to be with him during his final year and his hearts desire to have her as his wife until the end of their lives. His emotions ran wild that night and there was nothing he could do to rid his mind of her. He finally decided that the longer he stayed awake, the longer it would take for morning to come and the longer it would take for him to confront the only woman who he had considered the love of his life. She was the one he had tried to drown out of his mind for 9 years, but she was also the one who was about to reappear before him. He wondered if God had punished him for some reason and was now about to take whatever pride he had left. How would Elana react when she saw him? How would they work together with their pasts lingering around them like a heavily laden weight dangling over their heads? How could he be in her presence and not reveal that he never stopped loving her? These questions continued to plague him for hours until the sunlight began to peek through the curtains in his room. It was now 5:30am. He knew the time had come to get up and muster his strength to face whatever fate lay before him.
Long Island, NY
Elana's Townhouse
It was 5:30am and Elana stood in her mirror checking her appearance. She had pinned her hair completely up, which was her signature hairstyle for business. She never wore it down at work thinking it would remind all of the men she worked around of how much of a woman she was and so she had always thought it best to help her maintain her serious demeanor. She dawned a black linen business suit that was tailored to fit her perfectly. Her skirt stopped right at her knees and her silk stockings matched her skin tone perfectly giving off a silky sheen. On her feet she had elected to wear her genuine black alligator pumps with which she carried a matching attaché case that she had bought on her vacation to South Africa. Her makeup was simple and consisted of a dark plum lip color and a thin line of liquid eyeliner only on the top of her eyelids. The dark contrast brought out the lighter shade of her big brown eyes. As she gazed at herself, she was pleased and found that it was time for her to leave so that she could catch the ferry to New York City. She wanted to get to Crealite early so that she would have enough time to settle herself before she met Philip Logan.
She had never met him in person and the only contact they ever had with one another was nine years ago when he called her in Atlanta. His voice was so commanding and authoritative when he had called to demand that she sever her ties with his son or Sean would find himself without a family and penniless. Phillip had promised to strip his son of his inheritance, his future career and of his family. He had accused her of sleeping with his son and trying to get pregnant to entrap him into marriage, thus solidifying her stake in the family in order to reap the benefits of being a Logan. Devastated from his accusations, Elana angrily retorted to Phillip that she did not need to trap any man and that she would never see Sean again, then she slammed the phone down. She felt so angry at his accusing her of using feminine wiles to snag a man and secure her future, but she also feared for Sean. Even though Phillip had demeaned her character, she had no doubt that he would do just as he told her to keep a black woman from being associated with his name and legacy. That's when she vowed to have nothing to do with a family that denigrated her just because she was black, and her love for Sean would not let her be the cause of him loosing everything that he was associated with as a person and as a man. She was determined that she would not strip the man she loved of his manhood because he would eventually resent her for it, so she sat down and wrote the letter in tears that would end any hope of their being together.
But now as she stood contemplating all of the things that had taken place since then, she knew that she would go into that company with pride. The tables had turned and
Phillip Logan would indeed have her associated with his name. She would go into that office and stand before him as a reasonably independent and wealthy woman who had never depended on any man to help her gain success and who just happened to be black. She was coming to save his hide and she would lavish in every moment of it, not giving him any room to intimidate her. She smiled at that thought and then her mind switched to Sean again. If she encountered him she would not give in to emotion. She had become an expert at hiding her feelings because in the business world, any emotional displays on a woman's part were the death of her career and she had learned well to stifle hers in some of the most demanding situations. She would do no less when it came to Sean. Even though she had no idea what effect he would have on her.
Now rejuvenated by her resolve and encouraged by her own confidence, Elana picked up her attaché case and headed out of her door. She skipped down the steps to her private parking spot and unlocked the car door to her 1998 special edition black and gold BMW roadster, threw her case over to the passenger side, and got in. She took a deep breath before starting the engine and then backed out and sped out of the parking lot.
New York City
The drive to the car ferry was easy since it was so early. By the time she arrived in New York City it was 6:45am. She drove into the parking lot of the building where Crealite housed its corporate offices.
"Hello, there ma'am. A pretty lady like you is up kinda early for business ain't you?" Said the parking lot attendant.
Elana sat in her car focused on her assignment. "I need you to take care of me. I don't want my car parked just anywhere. I know how you guys like to spin around these curves." She said with a twenty-dollar bill in her hand.
Taking the $20 and opening the door for Elana, the parking lot attendant was happy to oblige. "Sure ma'am. What company are you visiting?"
"Crealite." She said as she reached for her briefcase.
"They don't open until 8:00am, but you can go to the main lobby or to the Starbucks across the street and wait."
"That will be fine. Thank you."
"Here's your ticket. You're keys will be left at the front desk in the lobby of the Crealite office. You can pay when you leave. I'll make sure you get one of the best parking spaces."
Elana thanked the valet and turned to the elevators to go to the street level and across to the Starbucks Café.
It was 7:15am when she got up to the Starbucks and as she sat at the table facing the window she drank her coffee and went over last minute details that she didn't want to forget. She watched her time because she was to meet Jon Lambert in the building lobby at 8:15am.
Greenwich, CT
Logan Home
7:30am
"Boy, you'd better get on outta here! Don't it take you at least an hour or so to get to New York. Then you got to fight that traffic. You'll never make your 8:30 meeting. That ain't how your daddy taught you to be running no company, on borrowed time! Get on outta here and stop sulking over that colored woman. She ain't gonna want you anyway looking like that. Look like you stayed up all night. Go straighten yourself up."
"Grandpa, please be quiet. I'm trying to get out of here I just need to find my tie."
"Tie? Tie? Boy you just stalling. Get outta here I said! Get on!" Grandpa nudged Sean out toward the foyer with his cane as he continued to complain about what a bad example Sean was going to set being late. Making his way out of the door Sean picked up his brief case and grabbed his new tie from the coat rack, then he jetted out of the door and down the steps to his car, avoiding grandpa's subtle cane attacks. He jumped in and sped off waving goodbye to his grandfather who stood in the doorway still fussing while holding his cane in the air.
Sean opted to take the long way to New York dreading his past awaiting him at the office. He was wearing one of his new Armani suits that he had picked up during his Saturday outing with grandpa and he sported a blue shirt, which brought out the blue in his eyes with gold and diamond cufflinks for his French cuffs. He also wore his gold tie clip and shirt pin, which enhanced his professional style. His hair was still wet from his late shower and he had combed the small curls on the top of his head back off of his forehead.
As he drove to New York he decided that he would try to treat Elana as a dear old friend from college, nothing more. He could handle that, he thought, so he meditated on his reaction until he reached the parking lot of the building where Crealite offices were maintained.
New York City
Crealite Downstairs Lobby.
8:20am
"Hey, Elana, here I am!" Jon said waving down a pacing Elana.
"What took you so long. You know we can't be late for this first meeting. I can't believe you!"
"Elana, calm down. I'm only five minutes late for our meeting . The Crealite appointment isn't until 8:30 remember. Are you ok?"
"Yeah! Why wouldn't I be? I was just getting anxious when you weren't here."
They started to walk towards the elevators to go the 30th floor where the Crealite executive offices were located.
"Could you please take that succor out of your mouth? Your tongue is gonna be all red."
"Oh yea." Elana removed the candy and threw it away before they entered the elevator.
She did not hear a word Jon said as they ascended to the 30th floor. She just watched the numbers of the elevator flash by counting down in her own mind the closer they got to their destination.
"Are you going to be alright? You don't look so good?"
"What? What did you say Jon. I'm sorry."
"Nothing." Jon said.
As Elana stood in the corner of the elevator with her back leaning against the wall and her eyes glued to the elevator floor numbers, Jon was confused but put it off thinking that Elana was having some of her first time meeting-with-the-client jitters even though he had never seen her get this nervous.
Finally the elevator stopped and the doors opened to the offices of Crealite. Jon allowed Elana to go out first and followed closely behind her. At the receptionists desk they asked for Phillip Logan and the receptionist, knowing that they were to meet with Sean instead, walked them to his office area and introduced them to Charlotte.
"Hello, Ms. Powers and Mr. Lambert, could you please follow me. You can wait in Mr. Logan's office. He phoned to inform me to tell you that he will be running a few minutes late. Incidentally, you will be meeting with Sean Logan instead of Phillip Logan today."
"Sean? Sean Logan?" Elana asked.
"Yes?"
"Why are we not meeting with Phillip Logan?" She quickly asked. Elana was mortified when she heard this. How could this be? What had happened to Phillip Logan? She was prepared to meet with him. She had prepared herself for it all weekend, but she had not prepared to meet with Sean. Run into him? Yes, but not spend a whole day or any day with him. Her heart raced and she felt warm around her ears as she contemplated what this meant. She would have to spend a significant amount of time with him while he went over internal company organization and procedures with her.
"He is out of the country, but his son is the President and handles most of the company business now, so he will be the person that you will have to deal with."
Charlotte led Jon and Elana into Sean's office and motioned for them to sit in the chairs facing the large desk where they could look out onto the city from the large wall sized window.
Elana sat ramrod straight in the chair with her legs crossed and tried to concentrate on subsiding the sickening feeling that was building up in her stomach. Jon started to talk about the offices and joked that all of their money was going into furnishings. Then he commented on the skimpy clothing of Sean's secretary and alluded to the fact that he was probably sleeping with her. Elana did not hear a word of it as she tried to concentrate on the Crealite reports she had studied. She kept rubbing her temples as thoughts rushed through her mind. What would she say? What would he say? Would he try to get her alone and ask what happened nine years ago? She tried to flood those thoughts out of her mind with all of the facts she had memorized about Crealite as she also contemplated how she would be able to face the only man she had ever given her heart to.
New York City
Crealite Parking Lot
8:45am
Sean slowly drove into the parking lot and stopped to be greeted by Scottie the parking attendant.
"Hey, Mr. Logan. You're in a little early for a Monday. How is your morning going so far?"
"I don't know yet, Scottie."
Scottie was writing up a ticket to park Sean's car when he heard Sean say,
"Scottie, I'm gonna park myself today. I'm not in a hurry. I'll see you later?"
"Sure Mr. Logan. Have a nice day." Scottie stepped out of the way so that Sean could continue driving up the ramp. Once he reached his parking spot Sean noticed a black BMW roadster that had never been there before. He knew that this level was for the executives only, so he couldn't imagine who had parked there. When he got out of his car he glanced over and saw the license plate read 'POWERS' and Sean knew that Elana was in his office waiting for him. He slumped down onto the rear of his car and took a deep breath. 'So this is it' he thought to himself in less than 3 minutes or so he was going to come face to face with her and he didn't know if he could hold up. As he stood there he heard a car wheel around the corner. It was James in his black Ferrari. He parked directly next to Sean and jumped out of the car.
"Hey, Sean . Why are you standing out here? I thought you would be meeting with Powers & Lambert at 8:30."
"I am. I was just running late. I came from Connecticut. You know how that traffic can be."
Edging him on James grabbed his briefcase and motioned for Sean to come on.
"Look I came to help you out. I know your father usually does this, so I figured you could use some support."
Sean got up off his car and picked up his pace to catch up with his eager Vice President.
"What are you talking about. I don't need any help. I know how to run a business James and I don't like what you're implying. What are you really up to?"
Putting his arm around Sean's shoulders, "Look buddy. You can always see straight through me. Actually, I just needed an excuse to meet this Elana Powers." James said as he pushed the elevator button. "I have been reading about her work for a while now and I'm fascinated with her. She is one intriguing woman and she has accomplished so much and to tell you the truth I saw her at an AICPA convention last year and I was mesmerized by her. I just wasn't sure of how to approach her at the time because I don't know if she's into white men, so now I'm hoping that the God's are in my favor and if I have my way, before this is all over with, she will be putty in my hands." The elevator opened and the two men went inside.
Sean winced at James comment and then laughed internally, knowing that Elana wouldn't be putty in any man's hands. He had tried it before.
"I intend to break through that invisible firewall everyone says she has up. She just hasn't met James Payton yet. You know what I mean." James nudged an unamused Sean again and laughed. Sean felt a tinge of jealousy, but at the same time he felt that Elana probably wouldn't have anything to do with him if she really knew the type of person James actually was. And he was sure that she would be able to see straight through him. As James continued to iterate the many tricks of the trade he would use to woo Elana, Sean watched the numbers of the elevators change as they moved toward the 30th floor, counting down in his own mind. Finally the elevator stopped and Sean knew it was time to put all of his apprehension behind him and be professional. Before the doors could open good. James was out, "Come on and let's get a look at this woman and after the meeting watch me work my charm. You might learn something, buddy." James didn't wait on Sean, but headed straight to the office. Sean stopped at Charlotte's desk as he watched James go inside and heard him introduce himself.
"Do I have any messages Charlotte?"
"No Mr. Logan, but your 8:30am appointment has been here since 8:25."
Sean looked over Charlotte's appearance and felt embarrassed. He knew that if Elana had seen her she would think that he had hired trash to work for him. He decided that he would talk to Charlotte again about her attire after this meeting.
Now he couldn't hold off seeing Elana any longer. His office door was directly in front of him and he could hear two male voices conversing. He walked toward the entryway, which seemed like a long corridor leading to an unknown place. Finally he reached the threshold and straightened himself then walked in confidently. "Hello everyone. I'm sorry I'm late." As he came in his eyes met directly with Elana's. He had almost forgotten those beautiful brown eyes, but now staring into them he remembered everything.
James chimed in "Ah yes, this is my boss, Sean Logan." He said as he patted Sean on the back. "Sean this is Jon Lambert..." Jon walked closer and held out his hand and Sean's attention was diverted from Elana. They shook hands and James continued his introductions, leading Sean over to where Elana sat. "...and this is Elana Powers." Sean's gaze returned to Elana and for a moment all they saw was each other. Elana held out her hand and Sean took it.
"Yes, Ms. Powers and I already know each other." He said quietly as he softly took her hand but did not shake it. He couldn't take his eyes off of her and for a moment he felt as if it were nine years ago when he had last seen her. Suddenly there was an awkward silence and Elana looked away and tried to pull her hand from Sean's grip. Feeling the pressure in his palm he released her hand and went to his desk.
"Oh really, Sean. You never mentioned it. When did this come about?" James asked.
"Yeah, Elana, you didn't tell me you already knew Sean Logan. When did you guys meet?" As the two men looked at their partners Sean and Elana captured each other's gaze. Elana sat motionless, not knowing how to respond and hoping Sean would not spill their business all out in this open forum to get back at her for leaving him.
"It was a long time ago." Sean finally said as he broke his gaze with her and opened his briefcase. After that James and Jon took their seats. James sat diagonally to Sean with his back facing the window. Sean rummaged through the contents of his briefcase to extract his paperwork. Without looking up he began speaking. "Mr. Lambert and Ms. Powers I trust that you received the information that was federal expressed to you on Saturday.
Jon replied, "Yes, Ms. Powers received the package. I did look over the initial specs we received last week. Ms. Powers will be handling this case. I have just come today to help with any preliminary work."
After taking everything he could out of his case, Sean closed it and took his seat. "So. Ms. Powers what is your assessment of our little company." He asked bluntly as he sat back in his chair and wove his fingers together and placed them in his lap. Again he turned his attention to Elana, capturing her eyes with his own.
Elana did not know what to think about Sean's entrance. He walked in with so much confidence. He had to know that she would be here and yet he seemed so unaffected by their seeing each other after nine years. She was determined to appear indifferent even though she did not know how long she could keep up the pretense under his blue stare. Whenever he looked at her, her knees would turn to Jell-O and now she was grateful that she was seated for fear that the effect had not changed.
"First of all the company isn't very little at all. I think you would be classified as a pretty large conglomerate firm. Also, I took a long look at your prospectus and the portfolio, but I will need much more information to come up with a concise answer as to the overall assessment of Crealite. From what I did see it seems that you have a common weakness and some outside threats, but that will be determined by a detailed SWOT analysis."
James jumped in. "Now what exactly is a SWOT analysis and how long will your analysis take Ms. Powers?"
"SWOT is an acronym for strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats and looking at the number of employees that you have on payroll. It may take six to eight months to complete the analysis." Elana answered.
"I'm sure that will be time well spent. I for one look forward to working with your company. I am sure my boss here will give me every opportunity to familiarize you with our operations." James retorted, flashing his sexy smile at her.
Sean was getting irritated with James antics and so he interrupted. "Mr. Lambert what will you need to do first?"
Jon answered. "We will need to meet with your managers and first line supervisors as soon as possible to inform them that Ms. Powers will have to meet with each and every employee in every department to conduct an in-depth interview and asses their function within the business."
James, speaking to Elana said, "Will this be a one-on-one interview or group."
"Preferably one-on-one." Elana answered.
"I certainly will be your first volunteer."
Sean was somehow offended by James obvious flirting with Elana so he sought to get rid of him. "James, thank you for your input. Now that Mr. Lambert has told us that we need to meet with the managers right away, Could you please, go and get all of the managers and supervisors together to ask them what would be the best time for a staff meeting, then set it up for us, please. I'm sure Charlotte will be more than happy to give you some assistance with that."
James, recognizing Sean's slight, but not wanting to appear unprofessional, decided to leave, but he would wait for another time to continue his pursuit of Elana Powers. He got up and shook both of their hands. "It was nice to meet you both. I'll see you in the staff meeting."
After James left. The three continued to talk about what preliminaries would need to be implemented. Elana sat quietly, happy that Sean preferred to talk to Jon, but then Jon received a page. "Excuse me." He said. He looked at the pager number and recognized it as one of the accounts that they were working on. "This may be important. Is there a private phone I can use to return it?" He asked Sean.
"Sure, just go outside and ask Charlotte to let you use one of the phones in an empty cubicle."
Jon thanked Sean promising to be back soon and he made his way out the door, leaving Sean and Elana alone in the office.
Initially Sean and Elana just sat in their seats saying nothing, then Sean got up from his chair and turned to lean against the side of the window with his arms crossed, looking out at nothing in particular. Neither of them spoke for a moment, not knowing exactly what to say, but knowing that they couldn't pretend that nothing ever existed between them. They couldn't pretend that the last they had heard from each other, things were cordial between them. Elana felt it best if she did not speak first because she knew she was the cause of their separation and she feared that if she said something then Sean would let into her with many false accusations. Finally Sean spoke.
"So, how have you been?" he asked almost whispering while still looking out the window.
"Things have been good. My business is going great. We're expanding and getting ready to hire a few more accountants. I have no complaints." She said trying to sound very professional and unaffected.
Sean turned around to face her then walked around to the front of his desk and rested on the right edge directly in front of her as he put his hands in his pockets. He sat there holding his head down to the floor as if he were heavily concentrating on something. Then he raised his eyes to meet hers.
"I meant you, how have you been doing Elana?"
Elana wished that he wouldn't look at her so intently. He had to know what effect it was having on her. It was the same way he would always stare at her when he desperately wanted to make love to her after her many refusals. She didn't want him to affect her, but he did and she found herself at a loss for words, fearing that tears would break through and she would not be able to stop them.
Again there was an awkward silence as Sean studied her, waiting for an answer and hoping that she would confess that she had been just as lost without him as he had been without her for all of these years. She never answered him and he was now faced with the opportunity to ask Elana why she had decided to end their relationship even though he remembered the words she had written. He somehow didn't believe them after having all of this time to contemplate it. He didn't know what to do. Should he address it or should he just leave it be and concentrate on the business at hand. He decided to do the ladder. There could be no point in drudging up the past and she had made herself clear in her letter. If she had changed her mind she always knew where to find him, but he had never heard from her, so he concluded that her feelings had not changed and that he should leave well enough alone.
Finally, Jon came back into the room breaking the spell that Elana felt Sean was trying to weave for her, but he announced that he had to go to another site to help their employee Sheila on a pending account. Elana tried to cut in and explain that she would go, but reason won out and Jon convinced her that she should stay and go to the board meeting that would be scheduled for the day. She desperately did not want to be left alone with Sean for the whole day because it was apparent that they didn't know how to deal with each other because of their past together. Elana, knowing Sean, surmised that at some point he would be really blunt and ask her something or say something that would catch her totally off guard and she wasn't quite ready for that even though it was inevitable.
After Jon left Sean spoke. "Well, Ms. Powers. It seems that you and I will be spending the day together. Before we get started, is there anything that you need before we continue?
'Yes.' She thought. Seeing Sean again had caused a rush of memories to flood her mind. He looked so handsome standing there in his office wearing the blue dress shirt and navy suit that brought out the brilliance of his eyes. When he looked at her it took everything for her not to break down in tears and apologize. The emotional wall she had built over the years was tearing down just by being in Sean's presence. If she didn't get a hold of herself she knew she would risk loosing her composure. "I would like a small office to work out of since almost all of my time will be spent here for the next several months and I'll need access to a secretary to do any administrative work."
"That's easy enough. There is an office right across the hall from mine and Charlotte can handle whatever work you may have. If it gets to be too much I can call in a temporary secretary."
"Thank you."
"Why don't I show you the office and then I can take you around to familiarize you with the environment here and all of the departments?"
"That would be good. I'll need to know where everything is."
Sean buzzed Charlotte. "Charlotte could you come in here please."
Within seconds Charlotte was in Sean's office and standing directly in front of Elana facing Sean who was behind his desk.
Elana couldn't fathom why Sean or any man would let his secretary walk around so scantily clad. The woman obviously was taken with Sean and Elana wondered whether he had a relationship with her at one time or another.
"Charlotte could you have the office across the hall set up for Ms. Powers and I would like for you to handle any administrative work she may have in the future. Let me know if things get overloaded and we'll get some help for you."
"Sure, Mr. Logan." Charlotte turned around to face Elana, who could tell that she made the woman uneasy. "Ms. Powers I'll have that set up for you by the end of the day. You should be able to move in tomorrow morning."
"Thank you Charlotte."
Turning back to face Sean Charlotte asked. "Is there anything else Mr. Logan?"
"No, that will be all for now."
Charlotte walked out of the door flashing her long legs and shapely behind in her tight lime green skirt that stopped mid-thigh. Elana watched her as she purposely switched her hips back and forth hoping that Sean was watching.
"I intend to talk to her about that." Sean said knowing what Elana was thinking as he watched her watching his secretary.
Elana turned around and stood from her seat. "Talk to her about what?"
"About her appearance. I know she looks less than professional and you'd probably be more comfortable if she dressed a little more conservatively."
"She's your secretary, not mine. You can have her dress any way you want." Elana said trying to regain the confidence that Sean had already started to tear down "I guess I'm ready for that tour now."
"Sure." Sean walked out from behind his desk and over next to Elana. "After you." He said in a softer more familiar voice. She walked toward the door and he opened it for her and directed her toward the elevators to go to the other floors where Crealite held offices. As they waited for the elevator, Sean's thoughts raced through his mind. Smelling her perfume and watching her confident demeanor made him think of when they were in college. She always held herself with such pride and she was more beautiful now than he ever had remembered. The pictures on the magazines did her no justice. Her skin was smooth and flawless. Her lips were temping and her clothing fit her to a T. Sean was suddenly overtaken by her, and had an urge to take her in his arms and kiss away all the years they had been apart, but he knew he had to be careful. He had told his grandfather that he didn't know if he was going to be able to keep it together and now he was sure that he would not be; not for long. He could feel his old feelings creeping up on him like a lion scoping its prey. He knew that eventually he would be fiercely attacked by the full force of those feelings, he just hoped that no one else would be around to witness his defeat. When the elevator bell rang, James quickly came around the corner.
"Hey, where are you guys going?"
Sean and Elana looked at him as he made his way to the elevator. As the door opened, Sean slightly touched the small of Elana's back to direct her into the elevator before him while he responded to James "We're going on a tour of the departments." James followed closely behind them into the elevator. When the doors closed, Sean pushed the button for the 31st floor as he listened to James.
"I can take Ms. Powers on the tour Sean. You must be extremely busy having to run everything around here. You shouldn't be burdened down with giving a simple tour. That's for us peons to do."
"It's no burden James. And I'm the best person to familiarize Ela -- Ms. Powers with our departments."
"Well as a major stockholder I know all of the departments just as well as you do, so..."
Elana was getting uncomfortable with the tug of war that existed between the two men even though she knew James had been trying to come onto her, she also recognized that their conflict was from some other source, so she tried to resolve the matter to prevent it from escalating. "Gentlemen, I'd be happy if you both could take me on the tour. Two heads are better than one, so whatever one of you doesn't mention then the other may, which will give me a more complete idea of how things are run."
"Splendid idea. Do you see Sean how it takes a woman to solve a man's problems sometimes?"
Sean rolled his eyes at James who had now directed his attention to Elana.
"Ms. Powers, Do you have any plans for lunch today?"
"No not yet."
"I would be honored if you joined me today for lunch. Since your going to be with us for a while I would like to make your experience here as wonderful as possible and it helps if you have a few friends around."
"I'm not here to make friends Mr. Payton. I'm here to help Crealite stay in business."
Thrown off from her bluntness, James attempted to try again, "Um yes, I know, but it wouldn't hurt if you had someone you could..."
The elevator door opened and Sean spoke "31st floor. Here we are!" Sean waited while Elana, walking past James, stepped out of the elevator. He couldn't help but laugh to himself at James trying to make a play for Elana because he knew that it would take more than what James was putting out to convince her to go on an informal date.
James walked out of the elevator, ignoring Sean and walking up next to Elana. "You're a woman after my own heart Ms. Powers. Maybe I should just say that I would be delighted to take you to lunch today and get to know you better, if you would like too." Elana now couldn't ignore that James was directly asking her out and she felt a little uneasy discussing this in front of Sean for some reason, but she also recognized it as a date, something she hadn't been on in a long time. She quickly looked over James and found that he was a very handsome man. His blonde wavy hair was combed back and fell slightly to the side. He towered over her and his brown eyes were soft and comforting. She surmised that he had to be in his late 30's or early 40's and even though she had never dated any white man other than Sean, she thought that this may be her opportunity to start getting over him once and for all and finding true happiness for herself.
"Well, Mr. Payton, since you asked like that how can I refuse?"
Sean was shocked that she agreed and stood to the side feeling as if someone had just slapped him while he listened to James organize their lunch plans.
After a few minutes Sean interrupted. "James, did you get that meeting set up for today?"
Looking up slightly from his conversation with Elana, James replied, "Yes, it will be at 2:30 this afternoon." Then he directed his attention back to Elana.
Sean was now feeling like a third wheel, so he opted to let James do the tour while he went back to his office to recoup and catch up on some other business until the meeting at 2:30.
When he returned to his office Charlotte informed him that Sheridan was on the phone. He went into his office and reluctantly picked up the line.
"Hello, Sean here."
"Hi, love. It's me. Look I just called Elana Powers office and the secretary said that she was there today."
"Yes, her accounting firm will be revamping our company."
"Well, why didn't you say that Friday night Sean, when I was going on and on about how I wanted to do business with her! I swear you sometimes don't see a good thing even when it's right in front of your face! Would it be possible for you to tell her about me and get me an appointment with her."
"Sheridan, that's not my place. You're going to have to do that yourself. She's going to have an office here, so I'll give you her number and you should be able to reach her tomorrow morning."
"Oh that would be great. Thank you love." Sheridan made several kissing noises on the phone.
Sean gave her the number and they ended their conversation. Afterwards, he reflected on how empty his relationship with Sheridan was and he decided that the next time he saw her he would talk to her about ending their courtship. Then his mind wandered to James and Elana. He wondered what lies James was making up or what things he was telling her to impress her and secure himself points in seducing her. Ever since Sean had first met the man, he knew James had an unearthly desire to conquer and acquire anything and everything he set his desires on even Crealite. Sean also knew that James had visions of taking over Crealite, he just hadn't figured out how to yet. After thinking it over, Sean felt that he had an obligation for the sake of their friendship to at least warn Elana about James even though he was more than sure that she would eventually see right through the man.
As he sat there he tried to sort through his feelings. He had seen her and he had made it through without any embarrassing breakdowns. His heart fluttered as he couldn't help but see how she looked at him when he asked her how she was doing. He didn't know why she never answered. He couldn't help but think that he had noticed a glossiness come over her eyes after a few seconds of their staring at each other. 'Could that mean that she still has feelings for me and couldn't bring herself to tell me?' he wondered. 'No, of course not, because she had just accepted a date from James, right in front of me. If she still had feelings for me she couldn't have done that' he thought.
Meanwhile, James showed Elana throughout all of the Crealite executive and administrative offices on the 30th through 33rd floors. He introduced her to all of the managers and first-line supervisors and gave her a brief excerpt of what function each department served as she took meticulous notes. At lunchtime he took her to an exclusive restaurant in his Ferrari and all he talked about was himself. He told her about his elusive father and all of the money he had made. Then he told her about all of his hobbies and daredevil feats that he had performed. He spoke about his own wealth and the houses and cars that he owned, the exotic vacations he took and on and on and on. Elana did not get a word in edgewise; not that he asked her anything about herself that day. Nevertheless, Elana was intrigued with him. He was exceptionally handsome and sophisticated. He could speak 4 languages and he was very sure of himself. She saw him as a man who could take her wherever she wanted to go and help her achieve whatever she wanted, but she didn't know if he could share some of his love for himself with her. She decided that it was way too early to tell this and that he may just be nervous. She was not sure if he had ever dated interracially before, but if he hadn't that may be the cause of his nervousness. After lunch they returned to the office so that Elana could prepare for the presentation. When she went back to Sean's office to get her briefcase, he was sitting at his desk on the phone. When she came in he kept his eyes on her as he talked and finally he ended his conversation and got off of the phone.
As he hung up the receiver he asked, "So, how was your lunch with the illustrious James Payton?"
"It was illustrious." She said figuring that Sean knew his employee well.
Sean got up from his desk and put his jacket back on and walked towards Elana as he spoke. "I hope he didn't overwhelm you?"
"I'm not easily overwhelmed." She said putting her notes into her case and noticing how close Sean was standing to her.
"Yes, I remember." He said as he stood over her.
Sean's statement made Elana blush as she finished packing her attaché case and picked it up.
"Are you prepared for this meeting? You know there will be about 35 managers and supervisors there."
"Yes, I'm well prepared. Can we go?" Elana felt herself getting more and more nervous as she and Sean stood next to each other. Even though she never looked directly at him she could feel him staring at her again.
"Sure, after you. Ms. Powers." He motioned to the door causing Elana to turn and walk out with him following. James had shown her that the conference room was on the 33rd floor, so she went straight to the elevators. Sean pushed the button and they stood there waiting in silence until it came. When the elevator door opened there were several people already inside leaving very little space for anyone else.
"We can wait for the next one." Elana suggested, not wanting to be that close to Sean.
"There are 45 floors in this building. The next elevator may take a while and we'll be late for the meeting. I know how you hate to be late." Sean said with a smile on his face knowing why she didn't want to get on the elevator.
Reluctantly she stepped into the small space that was left and Sean went in beside her. To make enough room she had to turn sideways with Sean standing behind her. They were so close, that Elana remembered how he would always stand behind her wrapping his arms around her waist and rest his head on her shoulders whenever they stood in a line or were waiting for something. As she longed for the 33rd floor to be reached, it couldn't have come soon enough. When the doors opened, Elana intended to be the first one out, but a few people stammered out of the elevator first blocking her way. Elana was so close to Sean that she could feel the vigorous pumping of his heart and she froze. Sean had to speak to get her out of the elevator, so in an almost whispery voice he spoke in her ear. "This is our floor Ms. Powers." Elana practically ran out of the elevator and headed for the conference room not even looking back at Sean.
Sean on the other hand decided to let her walk on ahead of him, so he stopped briefly at the receiving desk. He knew that with her body so close to his, Elana had to feel how fast his heart was beating, so he took these few seconds to try and calm himself.
When she arrived at the conference room door Sean had caught up with her and reached in front of her to open the door. She thanked him as they both walked in together. Once they were in the conference room Sean took on his professional demeanor.
"Good afternoon ladies and gentlemen." He said and everyone returned the greeting. "I'm sure that most of you had a chance to meet Ms. Powers this morning..." As he talked he noticed that Elana did not have a seat, so he interrupted his speech. "Charlotte, could you get Ms. Powers a chair please." Charlotte got up from her chair in the corner and went outside to return with another conference room chair. As she slid the chair up to Sean everyone watched her try to make her way in her 3-inch heels. Sean finally met her half way while he was still talking after he noticed the spectacle she was making and reminded himself to talk to her about her clothing this afternoon. He rolled the chair right up next to his own at the top of the conference table. "You can sit here, please Ms. Powers." He said as he lightly put his hand on her back and seated her then pushed the chair up under her. Then he continued.
"As you all know we have been having some trouble with our budgeting and other corporate concerns. Ms. Powers company has come to save the day. She will be conducting one-on-one interviews with you and your staff. Please make sure that she has everyone's full cooperation so that this thing can run smoothly and she can figure out where our problems exist, so that we can correct them. Now I'll let her speak with you all and if you have any questions please feel free to ask. Ms. Powers, would you please let everyone in on your strategy." Sean went back to his seat and sat down as Elana stood up.
"Hello again everyone. I enjoyed speaking with some of you this morning, so you are already somewhat familiar with what I'm doing here. As Mr. Logan said our job is to find out where Crealite's weaknesses are and address them. The way that I will determine this is to do a detailed analysis of all of the functions of you and your employees. Evidently somewhere within your operations there's a weak spot which is causing the company to lose revenue. This is detrimental to you all because if it continues Crealite will have to release some of its employees in order to save revenue. Eventually if the trend continues, the company will have to file bankruptcy and everyone will have to move on elsewhere, so this is why Mr. Logan and your board of directors has called us in. I'm sure he is not interested in loosing any of his workers so we're going to try and do everything we can to avoid this."
Elana continued to explain what would be taking place over the next few months. Sean sat following every move that she made. He felt really proud of her. She handled a room of people like she had handled him at one time. She had everyone 's rapt attention. He could see that the female managers and supervisors were proud to see a woman was coming to take on an important role and many of them asked questions whereas they usually sat silently listening to whatever the men had to say. The men were also impressed that a woman and especially a black one had so much knowledge about corporate and financial matters. Many of them did not get the full understanding of everything she was saying, but didn't want to let everyone else know, so they kept quiet.
As she continued to talk and answer questions during their 21/2 meeting, Sean couldn't help but think how things would be if they had gotten married. They would have this meeting, end it and then he would take her into his office, lock the door and make love to her right on his desk. He was so turned on by listening to the soft, vibrant voice that at one time could have asked anything of him and he would have happily obliged her. As he admired her perfectly formed legs, he couldn't help but remember them wrapped around him more than a few times; and then he wondered what men had she given the privilege of enjoying her beautiful body. As the meeting progressed Sean felt that she had to be the most fascinating woman he knew. She had almost all of the answers to everyone's questions and those she didn't know she would acknowledge it and indicate that she would get back to them later with the information. Finally, at 5:45, the meeting came to a close and Elana tried to direct everyone's attention back to Sean so that he could say any final words and everyone could go home.
"Mr. Logan was there anything else you needed to say." There was a pause while Sean languished in his daydream. "Um Mr. Logan?" Elana smiled at everyone as she touched Sean's shoulder almost feeling awkward for him.
"Yes, I'm sorry everyone." Sean said as he realized that he was too deep in his daydream. Elana sat back down in her chair beside Sean and as he got up she couldn't help but notice his piercing eyes again.
"I hope I wasn't boring you too much Mr. Logan." She said with an unexpected smile on her face and causing everyone to laugh.
Her smile went right through Sean as he remembered how she would always smile at him and his insides would turn to jelly as they were at that moment. He smiled back at her and said, "You could never do that, Ms. Powers." Lightly touching her shoulder as he walked over to the side of the room, Sean asked for any final questions and after no response he dismissed the meeting.
Everyone made haste in clearing the room eager to get home for the evening. Sean stood at the door saying goodbye and he noticed James talking to Elana at the head of the conference table. Finally James made his way to the door and patted Sean as he walked out "James Payton charm my man." James said as he left room leaving Sean and Elana alone again.
Sean stood at the door watching Elana pack her things. He walked back towards her.
"Are you leaving right now?" He asked.
"I had planned to. I'll probably be coming in every morning at around 8 or 8:30. I may be staying late every afternoon."
"How late?"
"I'll try to get out of here by 6:30 or 7:00."
"Do you always work this hard?"
"It's the only way I got where I am today. I'm used to it."
"What about dinner?"
"Oh I always manage to eat dinner. Even though it sometimes is just..."
Interrupting her, Sean clarified his question. "No Elana, I mean what about dinner with me, tonight?"
Elana was shocked and stopped what she was doing and looked up at him seeing that old familiar look he had when he was about to try and convince her of something. She slowly resumed her packing. "I don't think that would be a good idea."
"Why not. Two old friends sharing a nice meal together. Talking about old times. Why wouldn't that be a good idea?"
Elana didn't know how to answer and again they stood silently. Finally Sean moved in closer to her. "Elana we need to talk and you know we do."
She closed her bag and looked back up at him. "Yea, I know. Tonight is not good because I have other plans."
"You going out with James?"
"Yes, I'm meeting him somewhere."
Sean looked away from her. "I see. Well, let me know when you get the time." He picked up his materials and walked toward the door.
"I don't know when I'll get the chance, I'm going to be so busy, but I'll let you know." She said quietly.
When he opened the door he looked back at her. "Take your time. I can wait a little longer. I've been waiting for nine years. Elana." He continued out of the door and left Elana standing in the conference room alone.