Chapter 571: The Stafford Foundation
Wednesday, March 1st, Afternoon
The elevator doors opened, and she looked at the door before her. The sign on the door read "The Stafford Foundation." She stepped forward and opened the door. Slowly, she looked over the wood-paneled walls. She looked at the receptionist.
"Good afternoon, Ms. Stafford," the receptionist said.
Fallon removed her sunglasses and looked at the receptionist, "Afternoon, Amber," Fallon said.
"How are you doing today?" Amber said.
"Well, you know, maybe still a more than usual," Fallon said, in an almost parody of who she really is.
"Do you need anything?" Amber asked.
"Already popped a few Midol and been drinking water like a fish," Fallon said.
"Hope you feel better, Ms. Stafford," Amber said, "You may enter."
"Thanks," Fallon said and pulled the door open. She didn't need any of that, but it's all part of the show. The head of the foundation was appointed by her grandfather, Baldwin Stafford III when the foundation head was a young man. Her dad, Baldwin IV, never removed him and even straddled Fallon with a lousy contract. Tanner Rich, there wasn't much Fallon could say that was very nice to him.
Walking through the office, Fallon felt she was at a party for some brand in Paris. In the summer, she could mistake it for Ibiza. The staff was mostly young women, with a few strategically placed men. Fallon walked through and looked age wise; she would fit in perfectly. If anything, Fallon was probably on the older side of the age group. Fallon never worried about the possible pettiness as she was the alpha and effectively owned everything.
Fallon walked into her office; the office was still decorated how her dad and granddad had it. Her dad never changed it, as it was unimportant, except put a picture of him, her, and her mom on the desk. Fallon didn't want to waste money on redecorating, so all she did was add two pictures of her and her closest friends.
Taking a seat behind the desk, Fallon shook her head. Her outfit was not her usual style; it was part of a crafted image to make her look like a vapid, shallow heiress. Fallon preferred the power suit, and though she's small, both short and slight of build, she had made older business executives bend to her will.
Fallon took off her battered sneakers. No matter how much of a put-on she'll do, Fallon could never wear her stripper heels to walk here. She reached into her bag, extracted her stripper heels, and put them on.
Any moment she expected Tanner to show up and see why she was there. Not that she would visit once a week, just to check-in. Tanner thought of this place as his fiefdom. Often they would bring the books, and Fallon wouldn't look at them. This was the only place where Fallon wasn't taken seriously.
Fallon heard someone at the door. She finished strapping on her stripper heels. Straightening up, Fallon adjusted her top, then hair, before turning to the door. To Fallon's surprise, it wasn't Tanner standing at the door.
The woman standing at the door probably was between just out of college and her middle twenties. She had blonde hair, about three inches taller than Fallon without her heels, and looked like she had an athletic build. Fallon made a face and nodded; Tanner certainly had a type.
"Please, come in," Fallon said.
The woman nodded, "Thank you, Ms. Stafford," the woman said.
"You're welcome. Are you new here?" Fallon asked.
"Yes, I am," the woman said.
"Please, come in," Fallon said.
The woman nodded and walked into Fallon's office and put down the books and files on Fallon's desk. Fallon looked up at the woman and noticed she had big dark brown eyes with an intelligent look.
"Mr. Rich wanted me to bring these to you, Ms. Stafford," the woman said.
"Please call me Fallon," Fallon said.
"Yes, Ms. Stafford," the woman said, "Oh, sorry, Fallon," she said and blushed slightly; it added a bit of cuteness to this woman. Yes, she was Tanner's type.
"You know my name, but I don't know yours," Fallon said.
"Oh, sorry," she said, "I'm Janella, Janella Mills."
"Well, hello Janella, Janella Mills," Fallon said.
Janella blushed again and giggled, "Nice to meet you, Fallon," she said.
"So, what do you do here, Janella?" Fallon asked.
"I'm the assistant to Mr. Rich, Mrs. Cussler, and you," Janella said.
"So, Tanner finally got a new assistant," Fallon said.
Janella nodded, "Yes, and it's me," she said.
"So, how long have you been here?" Fallon asked.
"This is my second week," Janella said.
"So, how do you like it here?" Fallon asked.
Janella nodded, "It's interesting; I didn't expect there to be so many women working here," she said.
"So, am I, but I trust the directors to choose the best people," Fallon said.
Janella nodded, "Well, Mr. Rich also wanted me to see if you will be joining him and Mrs. Cussler for lunch," she said.
"Of course, they always get good food in here," Fallon said.
"What would you like?" Janella asked.
"Do you have a menu?" Fallon asked.
"Yes, it's on top of the pile," Janella said.
Fallon reached over to the pile. She looked at the menu and smiled pleasantly; Tanner always had good taste in food and wine. Fallon turned to Janella and ordered her lunch, which Janella wrote it down. Fallon nodded, pulled out her smartphone, and started checking her business email. Out of the corner of her eye, she noticed Janella studying her. After a minute or two before she left. Fallon shrugged, put her smartphone down, and pulled over the pile. Fallon sorted out the pile and started to read the correspondence.
