Chapter 13

The Next Morning

Torian rolled over to the side of the bed and came face to face with her clock on the nightstand. The time read 7:00 o’ clock.

“Oh, no!” She leapt out of bed. She was due at work at nine, but because of L.A.’s crazy morning traffic, she was normally out the door by six. Her boss would have a cow if she was late especially since they had a big proposal that morning.

Torian rushed into the bathroom, turned the shower on, then rushed to her closet to pick out her outfit for work. It was a good thing she had already lain out her outfit the previous night or she would have wasted extra hours trying on outfits and shoes until she got a perfect match. She shed the t-shirt and pajama bottoms on the floor of her closet, and walked to her bathroom to get in the shower making sure to put on a shower cap to protect her rolled up hair. Once inside she lathered up a loofah and ran it all over her body. She absentmindedly scrubbed away at her arms where the scars were from being stabbed and where she slit her wrist. They had faded out a little bit but were still noticeable if one looked closer. The scars on her face were not as faded but with makeup they weren’t noticeable at all. Remembering that she was running behind schedule, she finished her shower, got dressed, grabbed her work proposal and jetted out the door. She arrived at work just minutes before she was due. She rushed into her office where her twenty-one year old assistant, Ashley, was waiting with a cup of hot coffee and small brown bag.

“Ashley, you’re a life saver!” Tori said as she sat in her desk and Ashley handed her the coffee.

“I know.” Ashley smiled. “You have a history of leaving the house without some type of breakfast so I’ve taken it upon myself to make sure you have something to start your day. There’s some bagels and fruit bars in the bag. Mr. Lewis wants you in the meeting room at 9:30 sharp. I will hold all your calls while you’re in the meeting. Good luck.” Ashley walked out of the room.

When Ashley left, Tori ate her breakfast as she briefed through her proposal sheets for the next 30 minutes. Her mind was barely on the work though. She glanced up at the photographs on her desk. She only kept four photographs on her desk. One was a family photograph that consisted of her parents, brother, and herself. The next was of her brother and his wife and son. The last two were sacred to her. They were from her 20th birthday party. One was a picture of her and her three best friends standing in front of her family’s fireplace. They all had big smiles on their faces and none of them knew it was to be the last picture they would ever take together. For the very last one, someone had thought to capture the moment she and Chris shared their first and last dance together. In the picture, her arms were clasped around Chris’s neck while his were around her waist. Their faces were just inches apart as they gazed into each other’s eyes. The love was clearly there. She had to force herself to get back to her work before she became teary-eyed over the memories. When it was time for the meeting, she gathered her papers, shoved them back into her briefcase and existed her office to head to the company’s meeting room. She worked for Lewis & Associates, one of the top advertising and public relations firms in Los Angeles. For three years she had worked her way to the top to become the firm’s top advertising executive at age twenty-five. Her boss, Mr. Lewis had very high expectations of her and had been hinting around about making her the firm’s general manager, which would mean an even bigger check for her. She knew that her promotion mainly depended on her landing the clients they had waiting in the meeting room. As a black woman working in a nearly lily white firm whose big fish clients were majority white, appearances were everything. She taken care to be neatly groomed and dressed in a tailored cream-colored pantsuit and stilettos for the occasion. When she entered the room there was light chatter going on. Her boss greeted her the moment she stepped in and spoke to her in hushed tones.

“Do you have everything ready, Torian?” Mr. Lewis asked

“Yes, everything is prepared and ready to go.” Torian replied.

“Good.” He patted her shoulder. ‘’Knock ‘em dead.” He walked away and sat back in his seat.

Torian stood at the front of the round table, a big flat screen behind her, and cleared her throat. Everyone in the room quieted down and looked at her.

“Good morning, everyone and welcome. I am Torian White,” Then she nodded to Ashley who went around places folders in front of the clients.” This is my assistant, Ashley Warner and she will be handing out folders. You may browse through it for details about our company‘s proposal to you. Here at Lewis & Associates, we strive to offer you our best services and resources to fit your company’s growing needs. Your product is geared toward women but just what do women want out of your product? I’ve done my research to find out what and how it can be tailored to marketing your product. Here’s what I’ve come up with…”

Tori pointed the small remote in her hand toward the screen behind her and pressed a button. The screen came on and she began her proposal. By the time she was finished an hour later, she practically had the company’s six clients foaming at the mouth over the possibilities she’d outlined in her presentation. When the main client asked ‘where do we sign?’, Tori’s boss seemed like he was going to jump up and kiss her right there.

“I’ll have the paperwork drawn up as soon as possible. They should be up and ready to sign by tomorrow. Please bring your lawyers and have them look over the sheets to make sure you’re comfortable with the terms before you sign. Thank you all and have a pleasant afternoon.”

Once the clients had left and she had shook hands and thanked everyone for coming, she squealed in celebration with Ashley and Mr. Lewis.

“Torian, that was brilliant. Absolutely brilliant! I knew I made a good decision in hiring you. Expect a fat increase in your paycheck by Friday. This recent acquirement of Versace as a client is going to make us millions upon millions of dollars.”

“That means there’s going to be a lot of work to be done in the coming months. My desk is going to be piled with work.” Torian smiled.

“Then you’re going to need a bigger desk, and for that matter, a bigger office.” Mr. Lewis smiled. “We can’t have our new General Manager in a small space. We’re going to get you moved into a bigger office by tomorrow. For now, just enjoy the rest of your day off.” He stuck his hand and Tori shook it in disbelief.

“Are you serious?” She asked him.

“Of course. You’ve been working nonstop to get to where you are for the last three years, you deserve this promotion more than anybody. Now get on out of here and celebrate, don’t worry about the extra paperwork. Someone else will handle it. By the way, are you a basketball fan?” Mr. Lewis smiled and walked out of the room.

“I love the game.” Tori answered.

“Well, I have to tickets for the game at the forum tonight. The seats are the company’s seats at courtside. My wife and I were going to go but she’s not feeling well since this morning and I plan to stay home with her. I don’t want the tickets to go to waste so I’m giving them to you and you can take someone with you.”

“Thanks.” Tori nodded. She wasn’t a big Lakers fan, nor did she want to watch her former boyfriend play ball but she wasn’t about to turn down her boss. “Thank you so much.” Mr. Lewis smiled, handed her the tickets and then walked out. When he left, Tori wanted to scream in delight but knew it would be unprofessional in the office. She’d wait until she got to her car for that. Now about those tickets, who in the world would she take with her?

“Hey, Ashley.” Tori looked in the young woman’s direction who was gathering up papers and stuffing them in Tori‘s briefcase. “You ever sat courtside at a Lakers game?”

TBC…