Chapter 2

The elevator stopped and they stepped off into a lobby. The woman nodded to the two large men in dark suits standing on either side of double doors. They nodded and opened the doors for her. Stanley looked at them with wide eyes as they trained their eyes on him the entire time he walked past. He got the impression they were watching for just the slightest hint that he was a threat and they'd take him down. Hard.

Ms. Villamor led him down a long hallway and stopped before an opaque glass door with another sensor. Once she tapped her access card to it the liquid crystal in the glass cleared and he could see a large board room table and many chairs around it. The room was empty otherwise. She opened the door and walked in. Stanley followed. When the door closed there was a sudden hush as the room was soundproofed.

"We are on the top floor. This room is in the center of the floor away from all the windows. It's used once a month. Otherwise it remains empty. If we were to build the new network room here we could build a new boardroom in the basement," she suggested.

He looked at the room and took in the twelve foot ceilings. The carpet would have to go. They could take it back to the cement floor and add a raised floor. He could see the racks of servers, the air conditioning vents and exhaust, the power panels, the cable guides- He walked over to the far wall and put his hand against it, trying to envision where the cables would run to the lower floors and where the room's heat could be dumped.

He was nodding to himself as the picture came together in his mind.

"Would this room suffice?" she asked.

"Do we have roof access? Permission to install a diesel backup generator there? Extra air conditioning units?" Stanley was lost in a world of design and forgot to be nervous as he answered automatically.

She was tapping something into her phone. "I will find out. We own the building so permission is only dependent on city building codes." She looked at him. "Do we have a deal?"

The question snapped Stanley out of his beautiful daydream and slapped him in the face with reality. He was only recently out of college and this would be his first job! He wasn't qualified to do what she was asking. He opened his mouth and nothing came out. He closed it and cleared his throat. He faced the wall.

"I really think you would be better off hiring a company that does this kind of work. I'm hardly qualified and the task is huge! They'll have access to a large group of installers to do the cable runs and the server builds. I'm just talking about the hardware here. I still have no idea about all the software that you currently use and what upgrades you'll need to move to."

"I can get you a team of thirty workers. Absolutely dedicated, hard-working and dependable," she insisted.

He turned to stare at the woman who was putting the future of her company in his hands. He was overwhelmed.

"Why?"

She tilted her head again. "Why what?"

"Why are you p-p-putting this much f-fuh-faith in my ab-abilities? You d-duh-don't even know me!" he gasped.

"Olive wasn't the only one who read your transcript from the college. They were quite impressed with your abilities. Savant was the word they used. I know Professor Stagg. He doesn't give praise like that unless it's deserved."

He felt completely off balance. The old man had been a thorn in his side all the way through his five years at the college. Stanley got excellent grades in the old man's classes but he had to fight for every point. To hear he had such a high opinion of him now... he didn't know what to think.

"Besides, I knew a Garin... a long time ago. He was... a most extraordinary man," she smiled gently to herself as she remembered. When she returned from her memories she pinned Stanley once more with her dark eyes. "Do we have a deal?"

Stanley's inner voices were screaming at him. The cautious, timid one wanted him to tell her he was flattered but he'd pass. The louder voice told him he needed to accept this challenge as it was a once in a lifetime deal.

"Ok."

"Ok?" she said with a raised eyebrow.

"S-sorry. Yes, we have a d-deal," he said, his voice quavering.

"Good. Follow me." She spun once more and Stanley rushed to catch up.

She walked a little further down the hall and came to another glass door but this one was clear and he could see it led to a small waiting room with an executive assistant's desk. A beautiful young woman sat behind the desk and looked up with a smile at them as they entered. Her eyes widened when she looked at him.

Stanley felt his tongue go numb once more as the woman was a younger version of Ms. Villamor. Same long raven hair except hers was pulled back into a ponytail. Same large, dark eyes, high cheekbones, and a slim nose above full sensual lips. The only thing she was missing was the impression of power and dominance. Instead she seemed to exude a warm and happy friendliness.

"Good morning mother."

"Ah!" Stanley thought.

"Paloma, you know you're supposed to address me as Ms. Villamor at the office," the older woman sighed as her daughter's face slipped into a contrite expression. Her eyes slid over to Stanley and her smile was back.

"Hello!"

"Hi!" Stanley managed.

"This is Stanley Garin. Stanley, this is Paloma Villamor, your executive assistant."

"What?!?" Stanley gasped as Paloma's smile brightened.

"You've found a replacement for Mr. Hokensev?" the young woman chirped happily.

"Yes, just now."

Stanley was looking between the two women and his knees were beginning to wobble. The mother saw his trembling and gently took his arm and guided him into his new office to sit in one of the chairs before the large desk. Stanley's eyes took in the heavy and dark stained wooden furniture filling the room.

"This furniture belonged to the previous occupant of this office. You may change it to suit your taste." She turned to the doorway where Paloma was hovering. "Dear, contact the head of HR, Ms. Gunderan, and have her bring up a full executive contract." She looked back at Stanley. "You can start today, yes?"

Stanley was taking slow, deep breaths to calm himself and just nodded.

"Is he alright?" Paloma asked.

"Yes, dear. Ms. Gunderan please," the mother said and Stanley picked up the steel in her tone. Paloma disappeared from the doorway instantly.

"I- I'm s-sorry for being a b-bother," Stanley gasped as he struggled to get his brain back to functioning. It was all happening so quickly. When the day started he'd hoped he would end up in his own cubicle in a pod farm surrounded by other techs, maybe in charge of ordering and installing network adapters in workstations. Here he was sitting in his top floor office with an executive assistant, a gorgeous one at that, responsible for the company's entire IT infrastructure! It wasn't supposed to happen this way.

Paloma reappeared in the doorway. "She's on her way."

"Thank you, dear. Have all of Mr. Hokensev's personal items been removed from the room?"

"Yes."

Ms. Villamor caught Stanley's eyes once more and he felt locked in place. "Do you like this furniture or would you like to change it."

He used the excuse to look away from her amazing eyes. "It's kind of... heavy and the room is... dark? Are those blackout curtains over the windows?" he asked in puzzlement. The woman nodded with a frown as if they offended her too. "I'd like to remove those." He looked at the furniture. "Could I get something modern? Glass and steel?"

When she looked around the room he did as well. "I like the desk lamp and the floor lamp though." They were the only two items he did like. The rest made him feel uneasy. He glanced at the woman standing in the doorway.

Paloma was smiling widely and quietly clapping her hands. Her mother snorted quietly.

"Yes, you can have this." She turned to her daughter. "Dear, I believe you will find Mr. Garin here far more agreeable to work for than Mr. Hokensev." Paloma's smile just got wider. "Summon the workers," the mother said and her daughter disappeared once more.

The doorway was suddenly filled with a broad-shouldered woman with intensely blue eyes. She had to be 6' 4" in her low heeled black boots, surpassing her boss in height as well as width. Fair skinned and blond, the head of Human Resources was a powerfully built woman who gave him the impression that she could probably take both of the men he'd met in the elevator lobby in a fight, at the same time.

"Ms. Gunderan, may I present the newest member of our executive team, Stanley Garin," the CEO said.

Stanley stood up to shake the hand of the tall blond. He saw her long hair was pulled back in an intricately woven braid and the bottom was clasped with a shiny gold cylinder which he spotted as it swung like a pendulum when she moved. She was also in a business suit but with a skirt which showed off her muscular but shapely legs.