Louise and The Men of Transit

First Meeting

"Good morning, Louise," Andy said from behind his desk without looking up as Louise was walking around the front of Harold's desk in her rutted path towards her own metal desk.

"Hey, Louise," Harold said through his mouthful of cheese.

Andy's head shot up. Louise halted, her mouth dropping open at Harold. He returned her gaze placidly chewing.

Louise slowly turned her head to look at Andy as if to seek an answer from him about the first time she'd ever heard Harold speak. Andy straightened abruptly. He stared at the top of her honey-blonde head before lowering his eyes slowly to look into her tawny brown ones, rimmed with long, dark lashes, supported by her faintly blushed cheeks, and underpinned with lips of Himalayan sea salt pink. He blinked and stared. She'd been in her new made-up skin for a couple of weeks, but he hadn't been in the CCTV office for a while.

Andy galvanized himself back into his perpetual rapid movements. "Look, why don't you come with me to my meeting with Barg and Van. It's just a short one, an informal informational sort of thing."

Louise's jaw hung further down.

"He just asked you out," Harold whispered to her profile. "Say yes."

Louise said: "Yes."

"Good. Come with me."

Andy buzzed out of the office, and Louise swivelled on her heel and hustled to catch up. Before she had time to draw breath, he was leading her into a boardroom on another level.

Morning light flooded the room. A large table in the shape of an 'O' anchored the generous space, its centre hollow except for a square pedestal on which sat projection equipment. The screen set near the far wall was tucked up into its base in the ceiling; there was no presentation being given today.

CEO Barg sat with his back to the tall sun-filled windows. Various men and women sat in the tall-backed navy-blue polyester-covered foam chairs ranged round the table. Louise hugged her purse to her breasts as Andy lead her to two empty seats opposite from Barg. He indicated where she was to sit with an open palm and then pulled out his chair and sat, pulling on the arms of the chair to snug himself up to the table authoritatively. He placed his large smartphone on the mahogany veneer tabletop, screen up in front of himself.

Louise released one hand from her purse and unwrapped her arm from around it to grasp the chair back that Andy had indicated. Everyone was either chatting or staring at their smartphones. Andy said to her, without looking up, "There's coffee on the side there." Louise looked around at the others. They all had coffee cups in their hands or on the table in front of them, full or empty; she quickly negated the idea for herself as the prudent course of action. Her hands were shaking too much. Her heart was pattering against her ribs. Her breathing was in awe of being in the same room as the heads of all the departments — and CEO Barg himself. She could hardly believe it. She'd spill coffee down her front if she tried to drink any, she was certain.

She pulled on the chair back. It stayed put. Louise's eyes opened in panic as she hauled on it. It finally moved a little bit over the charcoal-carpet. Andy reached out his left hand to grasp the chair arm nearest him and shove the chair back. Louise skipped out of the way of the suddenly rearing chair. She thanked him and sat, her legs too short for her feet to lay flat on the floor. She pointed her toes to touch the carpet.

"Right. We're just waiting for Van," Barg's booming voice stopped the chatter. Louise stilled herself but had to stabilize herself in the chair before the seat tipped her off it. Barg continued: "She wanted to sit in on the meeting. Andy will be updating us on the work CCTV has done for the TTW, integrating affirmative customer feedback with stakeholder values."