Skaydal - Hybrid's Omega

7

Amani

I don’t know why I felt so nervous, but as I stood on the porch of the packhouse with my hands shaking, I forced myself to take a deep breath before I knocked on the front door. While I knew that the packhouse was open to everyone, I couldn’t simply just waltz right in, could I? No. I giggled nervously as I stood waiting for someone to answer and open the door.

“Amani?” Sierna questioned as she opened the door. “Come on in, Grayson is waiting for you,” a wave of panic slammed into me as her words registered.

“Am I late?” I asked and Sierna frowned.

“No,”

“Oh, ok,” I breathed out in relief as I entered the packhouse.

“He is in his office, you can go ahead,” she said as she gestured toward wherever his office was. I nodded before I quickly made my way to where I thought his office might be. Luckily, the door to his office was open and I quickly took one more deep breath before I knocked on the door.

“Come in,” Grayson called out and I slipped inside. “Ah, Amani,” Grayson is a beast of a man, and I blushed as I hurried into the office. However, I was suddenly unsure as to whether I should close the door or not. “It’s fine, leave it open,” he said, and I quickly relaxed as I sat down.

“Thank you for meeting with me,” I remarked casually as I set my folder carefully on my lap.

“Of course,” he said. “Go ahead, the floor is yours,” he then added.

“Ok…so, I don’t want to assume that you know anything, so I am sorry if I make any mistakes,” I said before I got started with my presentation. “I studied agricultural, and I worked on a project…” my voice trailed off as I wondered if this was even worth it. “Sorry, am I wasting my time here?” I then asked. Grayson frowned as he studied me closely.

“Amani…I wouldn’t have agreed to have this meeting if I thought you would be wasting your time…or mine for that matter,” his voice was stern, and I suddenly felt like I was way out of my depth. “So, I don’t want you to worry about whatever it is that is going through your mind right now. I want you to pitch your idea and then we can discuss it,” I relaxed slightly and then nodded before I continued.

“Ok, so I worked on this project, and I came up with this idea,” I said as I pulled out the plan I had been working on. I carefully handed it over to him as I continued to explain my idea. “Since we grow our own crops…by the way, I asked my father for quite a bit of information, so…anyway, my idea is that we have more people working in the factories than out in the field,”

“How?” Grayson questioned as he studied the diagram I had given him.

“By investing in certain machinery,” I removed another printout and handed it over to him. “With these types of machinery, you can cut the workload by more than eighty percent and that will make the jobs easier for those working in the factories,”

“Hmm,”

“For example, you currently have twenty people employed as planters,” I quickly looked down to confirm my numbers before I continued. “But if you purchased a planter machine…or three, then that specific job would be cut down to three,”

“Ok…” I could tell that he was interested and that made me feel excited. All I wanted was to be heard and Grayson was paying close attention. That gave me the warm and fuzzies as well as the confidence to continue. I went through each machine and how it could be useful in ways that will ultimately benefit everyone. Not only was I suggesting how to make everyone’s lives easier, but I was also creating even more job opportunities.

“I know that it will cost quite a large sum of money to purchase all of these different types of machinery, but ultimately it will make the work easier and faster, which means you can provide not only for Skaydal but neighboring towns as well…I mean, if you wanted to,”

“Well, Amani, I must say you most certainly have done quite a bit of research and…I understand that you studied this in college, but this is far more than I expected,” he admitted, and I frowned.

“What did you expect?”

“Honestly, I was expecting you to talk about how to use the correct fertilizer or how to grow other products,” he explained, and I smiled as I pulled out the next part of my plan.

“Oh, I did,” I said as I handed over the second part of my presentation. Grayson chuckled as he took the plan and glanced over it.

“Well, I am impressed, and I support these ideas one hundred percent,” his words washed over me, and I felt proud to be able to use what I learned to help the town. “However, I think what we need to do is set up a meeting with Zack and Dwight…in fact, I think we could even call in the twins,”

“The twins? You mean Conrad and Callum?” I couldn’t help but blush at the mention of the twins.

“Yes, them. What do you think? Would you be willing to present this to them?”

“The vineyard as well?” my mind started going crazy with ideas and possibilities while Grayson nodded. “Sure, yes, when?” he chuckled, and I blushed. I was over-eager, but this was what I had studied for, and I couldn’t be happier. Well, I had a feeling my date with Josiah would make me happier, but I was over the moon right now.

“I’ll be in touch,” Grayson said as he handed over my plans. I hurriedly shoved them into my folder and stood up. I was giddy with excitement.

“Thank you, Alpha,” I said before I hurried out of his office. I had a date to look forward to and I couldn’t wait to give my parents and Josiah the good news.