Falling for My Playboy Boss

Meeting Catherine

Chapter 2

Cora’s POV

  I was early, but it couldn’t be helped. I have to go with the bus schedule, and I can either be early or late. Late is not ever an option. My father raised me with the philosophy of “If you are not early, you are late” mentality, as you always need to be arriving at work early to get set up for your day, so you don’t rush and make mistakes.

  The office building had a little sandwich shop in the lobby, the size of a newspaper stand, where you could get a wrapped sandwich, a bag of chips, and a drink for $9.00, which isn’t a bad price. The sandwiches were small, but they might come in handy if you didn’t have lunch to bring with you.

  Across the hall from the little sandwich shop was a cute little coffee shop called “Cool Beans”, which I thought was a super cute play on words. As soon as I smelled the coffee, I walked promptly over and made my order and picked out a raised table with two tall chairs near the exit, and I got there just in time, as five minutes later as I was sipping my drink, the whole place filled up. I sat watching the crowd and wondered how it got so busy at 920 in the morning. The crew was ready for them and got the drinks done in a pretty fast way and worked the line down. I was sitting there, people watching as people hurriedly crossed back and forth in the lobby, when I heard a soft voice as if they could have my free chair.

  I turned and saw an older lady, in her 60s with soft grey hair piled up in a nice bun on the top of her head. I nodded at her and said, “Of course, please do.”

  “Thank you, honey,” she says as she gets up into the chair, surprisingly agile as these were tall stools.

  “My name is Catherine Bradford, what brings you here today. I don’t believe that I recognize you,” she tells me.

   “My name is Cora Bowers, I am here to be interviewed by V.P. of Finance, Gerald Siler, at 10 am. I am applying for one of the Finance positions”, I told her.

  “Oh, Jerry is a nice man and a good boss. You will like him. Do you have an interest in finance?” She asks me.

  “Yes, numbers have always been my thing. I have wanted to work in finance for the last 8 years and worked to make my goals happen”, I tell her.

  “You must have decided at an early age then, honey. You can’t be more than 25 years old” she said to me.

  “I am 24 years old, I just graduated last week from Harvard. I got my bachelor’s degree from Columbia and stayed with my parents while I did those 4 years to save money, and then I went to Harvard for my master’s because I like a challenge, and I feel like the master’s in business administration from Harvard shows that I am serious about my work” I tell her, and she nods at me in approval.

  “That is very impressive and really smart to stay at home to save as much as you can, college is awfully expensive. I don’t see a lot of young people with that kind of gumption these days and I have to say that it is refreshing to speak with you. You seem like you have your head on right and I see a very bright future for you, Cora. I just love your name. It is an older name. Where did you get it if I can ask?” Catherine asks me.

  “It was my grandmother’s name. I am an only child. My parents tried to have children for the first 15 years of their marriage, but it never happened. When they got into their mid-thirties, they ended up pregnant with me. My parents were a little older than the norm, but they loved me to pieces, and I had a great childhood. They are both very smart and I got that from them, and their wise advice. This is why I ended up here an hour early for my interview. I took the bus from Jackson Heights. My dad always tells me if you aren’t early, you are late,” I tell her my dad's favorite quote.

  “That is an excellent quote and I follow it as well. So, are you not working yet, Cora?” She asks me.

  “No, I just graduated last week with my MBA, and I have put some resumes out, but I have not heard back just yet. One of my schoolmates that graduated last year told me he heard that Lauder Financial was hiring and set up my interview. It is actually his father that will be interviewing me for the position”, I told her.

  “Oh yes, Christian, he does have a great mind and will do well on his own in the Financial District. Yes, he wasn’t allowed to work here under his father, but he has already made a name for himself at where he is already. One day, when Jerry retires, they will try to lure Christian here to take over for his father, I am sure. Is it OK if I ask you a few questions honey, I am really enjoying our conversation”, she tells me.

  “Go ahead, I am enjoying our conversation as well. I still have another 25 minutes before I need to go upstairs for my interview, so I have plenty of time to talk”, I told her and smiled.

  “Have you ever worked somewhere where you had to write reports? Or make schedules?” She asked me.

  “Yes, I helped out at my dad’s office every summer to earn extra money for college. He wanted me to be well-rounded and told me that it would always help me out in life. I have worked in reception, done filing, accounting, scheduling, drafting reports, and written requests when I worked for him each summer. I am also strong at communication, negotiation, leadership skills, strategic perspective, marketing, and I have company and customer expertise, due to those being the main aspects of my MBA. I usually know how to address the customer’s needs and concerns quickly and effectively to make sure I keep and maintain a strong relationship. I believe that my best skill is that I have excellent interpersonal and listening skills, so I can be initiative-taking with whatever is needed to be completed before they have even realized that it even needed to be completed. My father said that this is my best quality, and he feels that my empathy makes me excel at the job”, I tell her.

  “Your father is right, he has set you up for success and you will be a highly effective employee wherever you go, I agree. Where does your father work?” she tells me.

  I wince and tell her, “He doesn’t work anymore. My dad was diagnosed with prostate cancer last year and he ended up losing his job. He was tired all the time and my mother took care of him. He is feeling a little stronger now, but he has been dealing with fatigue for the last year, and so I would come home on the weekends on the bus. I would study on the trip here and the trip back. I would get their groceries for the week in the car, which helped them both out. And mom could go take a nap and just decompress with me watching dad for her, as she doesn’t sleep well listening out for dad, in case he needs help”, I tell her. I don’t know why I felt so comfortable telling her my personal information, but she is a lovely woman and I feel like I can confide in her.

  “She smiles at me across the table, squeezes my hand, and tells me “I am so sorry your parents have to deal with all of that. It is amazing to me that you still managed to buckle down and succeed with all you had weighing you down. Most would have crumpled, but you just got it done. I have to say that I am impressed and want to ask you another question if I may?” she asked me.

  “Sure, go ahead,” I told her.

  “Do you know what the salary was for the job that you were going to apply for was?” She asks.

  “Yes, I was told that it was over $100,000 to start, but not really a specific amount over $100,000. I frankly need it so I can handle rent for our home, my student loans, and my dad’s medical bills”, I told her.

  “Well, we will just head up to see Jerry and let him know that you are no longer available for the job,” Catherine tells me as she gets up from her chair and goes to throw away her coffee cup.

  “Wait, I need that job. I don’t want to tell him that. I need to be working or we could lose our home. My parents are going through their savings too quickly, and I am the only one who can fix this for us. I have to take care of my family”, I tell her. I know I am getting visibly upset. I don’t know what she is talking about, and I feel like I just need to get away from her and go up to meet V.P. of Finance Siler to conduct the interview. I don’t know who this lady is, but I really don’t want her to cost me this job. I definitely need it to provide for my family.

  She sees me looking around and I know that she has figured out that I am now a flight risk and about to take off on her. She holds up both of her hand's palms out towards me like when you want to show someone you are not a threat and said to me, “No, honey, you don’t need that job because I am hiring you for a better one. I am going to hire you for my position. I have been looking for someone who can handle an extremely fast-paced work environment, with a brain that is always a step ahead, on top of all the skills you already have, and I have found you. I will train you for three weeks and in the middle of next month, I can officially retire. You are a Godsend child and I am so happy that I met you,” she tells me, and I start to relax, my breathing going back to normal.

  “Let me grab my boss a coffee and we will go up and see Jerry and explain why you won’t be working for him anymore,” she tells me as she gets back in line to grab the coffee.