“You’re going to have to repeat that for me.”
“I thought it would be a good idea for you to meet him today.” She repeated, a bit slower but still faster than she would have normally, “Nothing is set in stone, you can still refuse the documentary; I just thought you would like the challenge.”
I didn’t say anything, just stared at her with a raised brow and my hands still crossed above my chest. This seemed to put her more on edge because she squirmed.
“Why aren’t you saying anything?” she asked, “Do you want me to cancel?”
“Why did you think I’d want to meet him?”
“What?”
“You agreed to it for a reason; why did you?” I leaned forward, “If you give me a good enough reason, I’ll do it. If you don’t, then you are going to call him and cancel. I have explicitly refused every single documentary request for years, so please tell me why you thought this was a good idea.”
She swallowed and stepped into the office then closed the door behind her slowly. She fidgeted with her hands for a while and I watched her carefully. I could have forced her to speak immediately butthere was no need.
She was already nervous, making it worse would do absolutely no good. She would probably have ended up crying, and an emotional Marissa was not something I wanted to deal with today. The last time she cried on the job, she overbooked my meetings for two weeks, and forgot to put calls out to investors and to our suppliers.
I should’ve let her go then, but I didn’t have the patience to train a new assistant.
“He’s a cut throat journalist,” she began, “I watched a few of his documentaries last night and they were amazing. He asks the hard hitting questions and he isn’t swayed by the opinions of the general public. He has given some very controversial opinions about some very big names.”
“I’m going to need a lot more than that to convince me,” I stated in a dry tone.
“Do you remember that scandal with Le Mont?” I nodded slowly, my interest suddenly piqued, “Well he caused it with his documentary on them. He was the one who exposed how the workers were being underpaid and how they were sometimes using expired produce. He noticed it while filming and apparently, he was offered a huge amount to sweep it under the rug, but he didn’t.”
“So he’s an honest journalist; good for him.” I tried to keep my tone bored but she already had my interest.
“I know how much you value honesty, and I know how you want your story to be told by the right person. Well, here he is.”
After her little speech, she rocked back and forth on her toes watching me with baited breath. I looked at her slowly and I saw her swallow. I counted a good ten seconds before I sighed and said the next words that sealed my fate.
“What time is the meeting?”
I saw the tension visibly deflate from her body. A huge smile broke out on her face as a tiny squeal escaped her lips.
“I thought you would fire me for sure,” she said in a rushed exhale, “I was already worried about how I was going to have to call and cancel and where I would apply for a job. I would have needed a letter of recommendation from you but I wasn’t so sure if you would be willing to give me one after firing. Although I think you would have given me one, you’re-”
“Breathe,” I interrupted her and she let out a heavy exhale.
“I’m sorry.”
“You’re all good,” I assured her, “What time is the meeting?”
“It’s at 2pm, at the café downtown- Angel’s Cafe. He wanted it to be in a public and neutral setting so no one would feel swayed to make a decision.”
“It’ll be 2 in half an hour.” She glanced at the clock and gave me a sheepish smile, “I’ll meet him but I can’t promise a documentary will come out of it.”
“A meeting is all I ask for, thank you.” She got to the door before I stopped her.
Upon hearing her name, she froze and I saw her take in a huge gulp of air before turning.
“Don’t ever make a plan like this without asking me first.” I warned.
She swallowed and nodded, “Yes, Adira.”
****************************
Because of the traffic, I got there at fifteen minutes past 2. I hoped Mr. Cowe didn’t mind waiting for so long.
