#7 The Twins of Satin Moon

Chapter 11: Maizey

Another week passed since the party and it was now my first day of work. Dressed in a navy blouse, gray blazer, and maroon pencil skirt, I fidgeted with the badge dangling around my neck as I entered Greyback Industries. I took a deep breath and showed my ID badge to the receptionist who was, thankfully, not Ana. I had to swipe my badge to activate the elevator.

When the doors opened on the third floor, I stepped out and looked around. I was standing in a long hallway with a glass wall in front of me. The glass wall protected outsiders from the science lab inside. There was a set of double doors in the middle. Up and down the hallway were more doors, offices I assumed.

“You must be Miss. Grace.” A man I recognized walked up to me,

“Mr. Lively.” Grant Lively was the man who interviewed me and, ultimately, hired me.

“Call me Grant, we are going to be working quite closely together. Let me show you to your office.” Grant said, mourning for me to follow him.

“My office?” I asked in a surprised tone. I was one of five project managers, I never imagined I’d have my own office.

“Yes, didn’t they tell you? You’ve been promoted to the assistant program director.” Grant said.

“What? No, nobody said anything.” I tried to compose myself.

“Oh, my apologies. The person we hired for the position backed out at the last minute to take another offer. We decided to look inward at the project managers and chose the most qualified one. You’ll still manage your own project just like you were going to before, but now you’ll also oversee the other managers with me. Don’t worry, I’ll take the brunt of the work and you’ll primarily focus on your project group.” Grant explained, opening a door that had my name written on the front of it.

“Oh wow.” I admired the office. It was rather large and had a great view out the floor to ceiling windows.

“Can I assume that you’re accepting the position?” Grant asked and I nodded,

“Yes, of course.”

“Good, you can put your things in here and I’ll give you the tour.” Grant said, eyeing my bag. I dropped my bag down on the L-shaped, white desk, and followed Grant back down the hall.

“This is the conference room.” He showed me a large room with a long table and at least twenty chairs,

“And the break room.” He pointed inside a room with a fridge, microwave, stove, countertops, cabinets, and a few tables to sit out. There were also some vending machines and a water jug,

“My office is right across from yours.” He said as we walked back towards the elevator,

“This is the supply closet and copy room.” He opened the door to a room with wall to wall shelves and cabinets filled with clerical supplies. A fancy looking printer sat on the far wall,

“The rest of the rooms are offices. Now, the lab.” He pushed open the glass doors after swiping his ID badge,

“Your station is over here.” We walked through the lab which was stocked with all the latest and greatest technology.

There were five stations set up in the large lab. You could tell the stations apart from the rest of the lab because of the large computer monitor and cushioned stool sitting in front of it. My name was in the center of the monitor.

“Wow, this is all amazing.” I was trying not to gawk.

“We’re holding a meeting in the conference room in five minutes to introduce everyone. Most of the new employees started today as well.” Grant explained before leaving me alone to check out the lab.

“What do you think, Miss. Grace?” I stiffened at the sound of a voice I would recognize anywhere. I slowly turned around,

“Incredibly up to date.” I answered professionally.

“I’m glad that you approve. I heard you got a promotion already.” Hunter said. I narrowed my eyes at him,

“I did, it was quite sudden. You wouldn’t know anything about that, would you?” I said in an accusing tone. Hunter shook his head innocently,

“Maizey, you’ve earned all of this.” He sounded sincere, but I didn't miss how he avoided the question. I just shook my head at home and turned back towards the computer.

“What is your project?” He asked me.

“Shouldn’t you know? It is your robotics program?” I smirked at him, keeping my back turned.

“I’m a hands off sort of boss. The only expectations I have for this program is to be successful and to make a difference. Each team gets to decide on their own project, I have none in mind.” Mr. Greyback said.

“Well, there’s a meeting in a few minutes you may want to attend. I’m sure you’ll hear about everyone’s projects then.” I said, stepping around him to leave the lab.

“That’s why I’m here, of course, to attend the meeting.” Mr. Greyback followed me.

“Uh-huh, sure.” I resisted the urge to roll my eyes.

“Mr. Greyback! I didn’t expect you to attend this meeting.” Grant said as we entered the conference room. I smirked at Hunter before finding my seat.

The table had five pieces of paper spaced out with the names of the five project managers. Two chairs were free on either side of the piece of paper, indicating where the team members were supposed to sit. I sat in front of my name, no one from my team was there yet.

“Miss. Grace, it’s a privilege to meet you! I’m a Stanford alumni.” A man said from across the table, “I’m Dr. Elijah Burn.” I noticed his last name on one of the sheets of paper.

“Dr. Burn, of course I’ve heard of you. I attended one of your seminars at Stanford, actually.” I shook his hand eagerly.

“This is bound to be a good panel with three Stanford alums on the roster.” Dr. Burn chuckled.

“Three?” Just as the word left my mouth, a familiar face walked in.

“Gabe?” I gasped at the young looking man in a red button down shirt and blue slacks. He had black rimmed glasses, startling blue eyes, blonde hair, and a handsome face.

“Maze!” Gabe laughed as he hurried across the room and gave me a hug. I locked eyes with Mr. Greyback from over his shoulder and frowned at his expression. He almost looked angry, furious even.

“What are you doing here?” I pulled away, avoiding Mr. Greyback’s face.

“I’m a project manager here, like you, apparently.” He chuckled, pointing at my name on the desk.

“You two know each other?” Dr. Burn asked.

“We were in the same year at Stanford, and had most of our classes together.” Gabe explained, not taking his eyes off my face. What he left out was the brief year that we dated.

“How lucky you both ended up here.” Dr. Burns said. I thought I picked up on a snarkiness to his tone, but his expression was nothing but kindness.

The final two managers entered and the team members filled in. Grant stood to begin the meeting.

“Hello, I’m Grant Lively, as most of you know. This is Mr. Greyback, the CEO of Greyback Industries.” He motioned towards Hunter who stood briefly and nodded at his employees,

“Just pretend I’m not here.” He said before sitting back down.

“And this is Miss. Maizey Grace, a project manager and the assistant program director.” He nodded towards me. I stood on shaky legs and waved weakly at the group.

“Dr. Elijah Burns, Mr. Gabriel Lock, Mr. Evan Gold, and Dr. Lucy Dane are the rest of the project managers.” Each manager waved as their name was spoken, “Would each manager please stand and introduce themselves and their project briefly.”

“I’m Dr. Burns. I have a doctorate in robotic engineering from Stanford, a master’s in computer programming and a master’s in basic robotics. I spent most of my life working for NASA but decided to spend my retirement working on a project closer to my heart, cobolts. My team will be primarily focusing on collaborative robots and how they can help in the medical field.” Everyone clapped at Dr. Burns’ introduction and he nodded politely.

“I’m Gabe and I also graduated from Stanford just last year with degrees in applied science, robotics, and computer programming. I will be working on autonomous mobile robots, the focus is to be determined with my team.” Gabe smiled brilliantly at his team before sitting back down.

“I’m Dr. Dane from Florida Tech with degrees in robotic engineering, mechanical engineering, and applied sciences. I will be using a 3D printer to create more affordable and reusable parts.” Dr. Dane was curt with her introduction and seemed like a no nonsense type of woman.

“Hi, I’m Evan, I’m from right here in Georgia. I’m far less impressive than all of you with only a master’s in robotics and BA in computer science. I’ll be focusing on automated guided vehicles to create the tech of the future!” Evan cheered and was met with a round of applause. He shot a grin at Mr. Greyback and I assumed that they were friends.

“I guess that leaves me,” I smiled, standing up, “I’m Maizey and I just graduated from Stanford with master degrees in robotics, mechanical engineering and computer programming. My focus is on creating devices that can be used off of renewable energy and low maintenance, highly reliable tech, primarily for third world countries.”

I wasn’t a public speaker, so I felt myself turning red as I tried to speak as confidently as I could. I sat back down, trying to avoid everyone’s gaze as they clapped for me. I glanced up and realized that Hunter was watching me with admiration in his expression. I quickly averted my eyes.

“Great, now that everyone is acquainted, I’ll leave the managers to oversee their teams. If you need anything, you know where to find me or Maizey.” Grant said, ending the meeting.

Everyone broke off into their teams. The other teams all left the conference room so I decided to keep my group there. I realized my mistake when Hunter refused to leave the room. I sighed and was determined to ignore him.

“Alright, let’s start with introductions, shall we?” I smiled at my group.

Everyone was young, only a few years older than me, and seemed eager to work with me. The managers were picked first and everyone else who was hired came in with a particular manager in mind, meaning they chose us, not the other way around. I was thrilled about that, knowing that my team chose me despite my age and gender.

My team was made up of two men and two women: Vera, Penelope, Frankie, and Ryker. They were all interested in renewable energy and low cost tech. Among them were degrees in the usual, robotics, mechanical engineering, computer science, but also other important subject areas like applied science, environmental science, and electrical engineering.

“I think this is going to be a great mix.” I smiled after the introductions and everyone nodded in agreement.

“Did you have projects already in mind, Miss. Grace?” Vera asked me.

“First off, just call me Maizey. We’re going to be spending a lot of time together, we need to be familiar.” I laughed, “And I have a few ideas, but I want everyone to be able to work on their own ideas, sort of like a smorgasbord of collaborative minds. Instead of five minds working on one project. We can all give input on each other’s projects and prioritize projects when necessary.” I explained.

Everyone seemed cautiously excited, looking at each other curiously.

“I know that’s not normal, but I’m not someone who rules with an iron fist.” I tried to ease their worries.

“I think we can all agree that we are excited about getting started.” Frankie said and the others nodded.

“Let’s head to the lab then. I can show you my office on the way so you guys always know where to find me. Also, feel free to use my office anytime you need a quiet space.” I said, standing from the table. They all followed me.

“Mr. Greyback.” I nodded at Hunter who was still sitting off to the side of the room.

“Miss. Grace.” I was surprised by how professionally he addressed me, but his eyes said something else as they gazed over my body. I chose to ignore him and leave the conference room.

“I should ask, because it seems like everyone is, is anyone from here or from Convington?” I asked my team as they followed me down the hall.

“Frankie and I are from here, the reservation in Covington, actually.” Penelope said.

“So, you both know Mr. Greyback, then?” I looked at them and they nodded.

“I just moved to Convington from California, but my brother went to school with Mr. Greyback.” I wanted to nip any rumors in the butt right now.

Frankie and Penelope shared a look like they had already heard something different. They all nodded without saying anything. We made it to the lab and got settled in our station. Every Greyback employee also had their own ipad which was used to work on projects. We all broke out our tablets and started sharing our rough ideas and blueprints.

Vera wanted to work on medical equipment that could be used out of renewable energy and Frankie was so interested he decided to forgo his own ideas to help her. Penelope, who liked to be called Pen, had an idea for radios, walkies, and phones that could be made simply and powered by solar energy. Ryker, who had a degree in robotics with a focus on AMRs, wanted to use his time to create robots who helped replace the lack of manpower they had in third world countries. I already had blueprints written up for a water filtration system powered by solar and wind energy.

“I think we have a great game plan. If anyone needs help, we’ll call a group meeting. We’re all here to support each other. I think that, if we’re able to, we should all break for lunch together everyday as a way to catch up on the projects, agreed?” I asked the team and they all nodded in agreement.