WORK IN PROGRESS The Parent Contract

Induction

Toni

I looked up at the majestic building for the second time this week.  This time I  wasn’t feeling nervous.  I was feeling excited. 

Our first meeting to begin the process of formalising the hiring policy for Lonsdale Industries was going to happen.  For the first time, my insomnia last night was justified.  I was like a little kid before Christmas.  If I can help Drake prove beyond doubt how productive people with disabilities can be,  that sometimes their disabilities are an advantage, then I’ve won.  I’ve succeeded. All those detractors who silently cheered when I had to leave parliament, will have to keep their lips closed and applaud me. 

I walked into the lobby and over to the receptionist I’d seen before.  I made sure to step into the laser line so the chime would sound. Her smile lit up her face again as her eyes swung to me.
“Good morning Ms Lees. Welcome back.  I’ll let Mr Webster know that you’ve arrived. Please take a seat.”
“Thank you, Stacey,” I replied moving to sit in the comfortable chairs. She threw me a smile and turned back to her work.

I didn’t have to wait long until I saw Steve pop out of the elevator. He had a similar bounce in his step to Drake as he approached greeting me in sign and verbally.
“Hi Toni,  welcome on board.”
I stood up and waved hello, before holding my hand out for a shake. 
“Thank you for this opportunity, Steve, I really appreciate it,” I told him as he turned beside me to guide me into the elevator. 
“Oh no,  Thank you for the backup. This had been the hardest part of the journey really.  The battle against prejudice.” He pressed the button for the floor and stepped back beside me with a relaxed sigh.
“I hope you don’t mind,  but I’ll take you to a room to do the induction for the contractors, before we meet in the board room.” Steve’s smile took away any sting of the basic request. 
“That’s not a problem.” I conceded

There was a moment of silence, and then Steve blurted out.
“Can I ask you a question?”
“Sure.”
“How do you feel about Drake?”
I froze.  This was a question that I really didn’t want to answer. I took a careful breath to calm my racing mind.
“Why do you ask?” I said in a low voice. He frowned at me and tapped his headpiece.
“We’re going to have to teach you how to talk properly.  I didn’t hear you and you looked away.”
I winced and faced him
“I’m sorry,  I said why do you ask?”
His eyes searched my face.
“Can you work with him even though he betrayed your trust? He is an integral part of this. I need to know.”
“I wouldn’t have said yes to this if I couldn’t work with Drake,” I assured Steve. He gave a huge sigh and relaxed his shoulders.
“That’s good. He was worried you were apathetic about him after your last visit.” He said as we reached our floor. I followed him out and down the hallway into a large office. His words tumbled in my head.

He indicated for me to sit down in one of the seats in front of the desk.  I sunk down and then frowned at Steve, who closed his door before stalking his way to his chair.
“Were those his words or yours?” I asked. Steve raised an eyebrow.
“Apathetic.” I clarified. He chuckled.
“Actually it was yours. The opposite of Love isn’t hate,  it’s apathy.”
I closed my eyes in embarrassment.
“I didn’t mean it like that.” I groaned. “Drake and I have spent too much time together for me to feel apathetic about him. He’s an amazing person. He’s sweet,  caring, optimistic…” I paused, shaking my head. “I have no idea how he developed into such a wonderful person, especially since meeting his mother.” I glanced up at Steve. “Have you met her?”

He smirked and nodded. This book is abattoirs for free on Wattpad.  Please go to this app to search for it.
“My aunt recommended the facility that she’s living in.  I check up on her every now and then as a favour for Drake, seeing as he is very low contact with her. She’s one of the few people I like to switch my headpiece off for all discussions.  Normally I’m too curious, but her.” He shuddered, “I can’t believe the amount of prejudice that one body can hold.  It’s like a horror show.”
I almost laughed at the twinkle of laughter in his eye, and instead just silently nodded.
“It’s a miracle that he turned out to be a functioning human being, let alone the only man that’s ever been able to distract me from work.” My lips quirked up sadly.  Steve looked at me in silence for a few minutes,  seemingly assessing me and my words, then cleared his throat and spoke. 
“Let’s go through this induction and then we can go up to Drake’s office and get started.”