Unresolved

Chapter 3: Problems

It was half past twelve when Jaxtyn Memori entered Verochka's personal cabin. She was rather busy finishing off reading for her ongoing projects. In her mind, she had made two Jaxtyn's, one from her past and one that stood before her in a tailored suit. While the first Jaxtyn held a special place in her heart, the new one shouldered nothing but the worst of her opinions. 

"What brings you here, Mr Memori?" She asked, taking off her reading glasses. She emphasized the unfamiliar name hoping it would ease her heart into differentiating the two.

"Mr Fields wanted me to spend some time with the team." It was an odd exchange, he seemed frustrated by his own posture and it made it hard for Verochka to maintain a straight face. She assumed he was having difficulty placing her in his current life just as she was. 

"Is that so?" She raised an eyebrow at him, leaning back in her chair. "Do tell me what an investment banker has to offer?"

"You should question your superiors on that." She didn't say anything further. It was obvious that he was a watch guard, perhaps he had his own firms money banking on the product or even his own neck.

"Fair enough." She said, straightening and pushing forward the timeline of the project she had drafted. "I believe this is what you'll be interested in. We are looking at a completely functional chat bot by the end of three months." 

She couldn't stop herself from drinking in his appearance as he busied himself with the details in the file. His hair was perhaps the only thing she didn't like on him, it suited his current persona yet felt wrong on him. She missed, as she had for many years, his wavy hair that she would run her fingers through.

Verochka was far too tempted to run her hand against his slight stubble to see if it offered the same roughness she imagined. The truth was, Verochka was far too tempted to do a all of things to the man before her that were a little too inappropriate for the office environment. 

If it had been anyone else, she would've initiated a conversation but she could only swallow so many of her questions. One of them would inevitably see the light if she got comfortable. Even if happy memories were all she could recall, that doesn't erase the sad ones and she made it a point to keep telling herself that.

"Is this as fast as the development can go?" He asked, not looking up from the file. 

"Seeing as the testing period is flexible, it could take lesser time but it could take longer." She was surprised he caught that. An average chatbot would've taken less than half of that time. The one the Hamson estate requested had a few changes that made it content heavy. 

"Yes, about that. You cannot involve an external testing team." His eyes pierced her, staring into her soul without an ounce of emotion in them.

"How do you suggest we do the review then?" It was meant to be a jab at him, but assessing his reaction she understood her point was not put forth. Without a team it would increase Verochka's work manifold and the fact that the core consisted only of three people capable of testing. That included her, Betty and the coder himself. Since Timmy would be writing the program he would not certify as the external reviewer nor would he do an efficient job at pointing out his own mistakes. Betty was a software engineer and was qualified to test though without a team on that task it would take significantly longer. 

"I have looked into the credentials of your colleagues, Mrs James is equipped to handle that sector." Verochka resisted the urge to roll her eyes at him. She knew her team, inside out, how could he come and assume his research was anything compared to all the time and experience she had. 

"Not alone." She said instead. 

"You can assist, I'm sure." Jaxtyn was provoking her, and while she wanted to act like it didn't affect her she couldn't let him walk over her. 

"That is not my job. And I would insist that you keep from telling me who to assist in what." She was the head of the project. He had no say on her process. 

"I recall you asking for my suggestion."

"I recall injecting that sentence with sufficient sarcasm. You do your job, Mr Memori and I can do mine. Any discrepancies I will take up with the chairman himself." 

"Funny. He gave me full freedom to make changes as I please." The smirk he supported was unwelcomed and brought out the irritation she felt clear on her face.

"Why would he give an investment banker such importance?" 

"Money speaks. But I think that is a little over your paygrade, Ms Keatings." He stood up to button his coat and she had to clench her fist to top herself from slapping the smug look from his face. "I will keep dropping in like this, hope you pay heed to my words before I am forced to take some drastic measure."

Verochka grit her teeth and kept her mouth shut, arguing with him was turning out to be less and less fruitful. 

"Ms Keatings, there seems to be a misunderstanding." The chairman didn't look surprised when Verochka arrived at his cabin. "Mr Memori is not your superior. You both are sort of co heads. I must warn you, do not underestimate him. He was chosen by our clients to handle the team. I requested them to let me decide the designations." She felt cheated, too much of what was happening was being shielded from her. 

"Why did they assume he would be a better fit?"

"He is a man of many talents, his specialization is in data science which makes him a perfect fit as an investment banker." She was shocked, it had not once crossed her mind that he could have some knowledge besides finance.

"Is that so?" She whispered more to herself. It suddenly hit her, as much as she had tried her previous knowledge of him would always affect her current view. 

"I cannot let an outsider run the show which is why I had asked Jeffords to bring me the best. I hope to not be disappointed, Ms Keatings."

Having a conversation with the chairman was supposed to help her feel at ease, she was instead thrown into a world of uncertainty. Though, she knew what she had to do next. 

Verochka had not realised that two hours had passed since she opened her laptop to type out his name. She had gained a lot of knowledge, she didn't know where to place it.

Jaxtyn had been busy after he had left her highschool. He had attained a business management degree and was considered the youngest to climb the cooperate ladder as quick as he had on his own. His name was no longer tied to his fathers as it had in high school. Jamie had been right about that. He had taken his mothers maiden name and had built his own career from scratch. 

The chairman had not been wrong, he had completed a specialization in data science while doing his business management. Jaxtyn Memori was definitely an achiever. His wikipedia page seemed endless, it detailed all his successes but had little to nothing about his past. His past that she knew about. Had she not known they shared a face, she would've assumed Jaxtyn Memori was a stranger. Unlike his father, his name had no scandal attached to it.

While she didn't want to, her eyes caught on to the area that detailed his love life. Jaxtyn had dated his fair share of women, all of whom were perfect from every angle. Another thing that was unlike the old Jaxtyn.

"So you're telling me that I am your first girlfriend?" A sixteen year old Verochka asked, Jaxtyn had his head on her lap while she sifted through his hair. 

"I told you are special." Verochka giggled and leaned in to place a kiss on his lips.

"I would feel special if ten years down the line you say I am your last." 

"Is that your way of confirming our marriage?" Verochka blushed, and put her hand on his eyes.

"Sure, if my brothers don't murder you before that."

"That is least of your worries, beautiful. But right now, I promise you will be on my mind for the rest of my life."

Guess changing his name was a sort of rebirth because Jaxtyn was definitely not thinking of her anymore. And he hadn't been when he had Tessa, Jessy, Paris and five other in his arms.

Promises like that seemed so childish to Verochka at her age now, but when he had said those words, she had smiled recalling them. Rather it made her blush for time to time. Though, with his sudden disappearance they had become a beacon of hope. She wished he still thought of her. And when he didn't answer her calls, she calmed her aching heart by reminding herself of the promise. 

But promises are meant to stay in the pages of a fairytale, Verochka knew that well now.

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