I take a seat at the table, opening my laptop. I look at the blank screen. Maybe I've been going about this all wrong.
Soulmate Scanner wasn't developed to match a person with the love of their life. It was created to aid you in finding the one. It's an "everything happens for a reason" type of theory.
I pull the device closer to me and start typing.
***
The elevator doors slide open and the busy atmosphere floods my senses. People are rushing around. The smell of burnt coffee, and sweat float through the air. I walk with purpose out of the elevator to my office. I glance at Jen's desk on my way, but it's still empty. When I walk inside my office, a sense of confidence washes over me. The euphoria only lasts for a second though, before my name is yelled.
"Davis!" I toss my bag on my desk and make my way to Mr. Bucher's office.
I won't lie, a little part of me missed his irritated voice. He is sitting at his desk with Hudson across from him. I sit down next to Hudson. He greets me with a smile, and I am satisfied that it is no longer awkward between us.
"Glad to see you are back and healthy, Davis."
"Glad to be back, Sir."
"Look, I'm going to make this short and sweet. Corporate will be here any minute and so will Mr. Cunnings. I need one of you to greet Corporate and one of you to greet Mr. Cunnings. Davis," he turns his clasped hands towards me, "you have spoken with Mr. Cunnings before, so I would prefer for you to handle him. Thomas, I want you to greet Corporate."
"Right." Hudson responds. "But I think the first step in making a good impression is not calling them corporate." Mr. Bucher gives Hudson a deadpan look. "Sorry, Sir."
"Get out of my office, now. Both of you."
Hudson and I stand and exit Mr. Bucher's office. He walks down the hall beside me. "I can't believe you thought it was a good idea to make a joke."
"It's all part of my charm," he winks, earning a laugh from me. The humor sizzles out between us. "How are you doing?"
I grin. "I'm on my way to being okay." It's a small moment we share, but it's enough to calm my nerves. The elevator doors open and a herd of people come into view, a small, red-headed woman walks in the center of them. "Go get 'em." I nudge Hudson with my elbow, and he saunters to the crowd. I stand in view of them and cross my arms, watching his successful attempt to make Melissa Ingrim blush. I will never understand how girls fall for that.
He leads her to the conference room, and then it's my turn. The elevator slides open again. I straighten my skirt and walk to the doors. Mr. Cunnings takes a step from the vinyl of the elevator to the thin carpet of the office. Ms. Green follows closely behind.
"Good morning Mr. Cunnings," I greet them. "Ms. Green." I shake both of their hands.
"Good morning, Mrs. Davis. Is Mr. Thomas not here again?" Mr. Cunnings asks, scanning the room.
"He is already in the conference room with the head of our department, Melissa Ingrim."
"I didn't know I was being greeted by so many people in this meeting."
"You are a valued client, Mr. Cunnings." I smile.
"Yes, well, shall we get this started?"
"Right this way, Sir," I gesture in the same direction as the conference room.
The conference room is packed full, more people to witness my failure. Hudson introduces me to Mrs. Igrim, and I politely shake her hand. Then, it's my turn to introduce my guests to every party in the room. Mr. Cunnings shakes Hudson's hand while commenting, "I wasn't sure you were real, Mr. Thomas, with how little I have interacted with you." I hide my smile.
"Yes, I apologize for missing the last meeting. I had something come up." He sticks his hands in the pockets of his blue pants.
"I suppose these seats are for us," he pulls out the chairs across from Mrs. Ingrim. Her group of assistants are stationed behind her against the wall.
"Yes," I answer, "Please, have a seat." They sit down, leaving a seat for me. I stay standing, as does Hudson, until Mr. Bucher rushes into the room.
"I apologize for making you wait, I had something come up."
"Yes, that seems to be going around," Mr. Cunnings comments, and I bite back my smile when my eyes catch Hudson's embarrassed expression.
Mr. Bucher takes a seat. "Alright, let's get started." He shuffles some papers. "Thomas, you go first."
"Yes sir." Hudson plugs a flash drive into the computer at the end of the table. Before I sit down, he whispers in my ear, "Good luck trying to top this."
I sit down and scan my notes. I don't know if my idea will top Hudson's, but it's okay. It's alright if I lose my job. I'll just have to work some minimum wage job for a little while until I can put myself back on my feet. Losing a job doesn't come close to losing Julian.
The projector lights up with the title of a presentation. Hudson flicks the lights off and begins to talk, clicking the remote in his hand every time he needs to move on.
His idea is good: basing the advertisement on the story of people who matched, the people who reviewed the app with five stars. He even presents a draft of having commercials play as movie trailers. It's a good concept, and I feel my stomach churning. There's no way I can top that. My idea is farfetched, and it more than likely won't be what they are looking for.
Hudson concludes his presentation, and Mr. Bucher signals for me to present mine. I stand up, and I switch Hudson's thumb drive with mine. The screen comes up with a picture of a video camera. I take a deep breath and focus. I got this.
"First, I would like to say good job to Mr. Thomas." Politeness can only add points. "Now, I took my approach to Soulmate Scanner a little differently. As you know, Mr. Cunnings, I have used your app, and I was really frustrated with the results it gave me. How could I possibly match with someone who is not my husband? You explained to me that the app doesn't necessarily give you the person you are supposed to spend the rest of your life with. It gives you the person that you need to push you in the right direction."
Mrs. Ingrim pipes in, "I don't see how telling your life story has anything to do with advertising."
Mr. Cunnings holds a hand up to her, "Please, let her continue."
A wave of relief falls over me. I have at least one person on my side. "Thank you, Mr. Cunnings. What I'm trying to say is, I think a good way to advertise the purpose of Soulmate Scanner is by showing the end result." I push play on the remote and watch with them as the video plays.
The picture of the camera on the wall shifts to a video of Julian and I. I swallow the lump in my throat as Julian's face fills the screen. "So, Alex thinks that I am making a new recipe, when I am actually..." he shuffles a little and then places his hand in front of the camera, a shiny ring on display, "going to propose to her." I wring my hands together as I watch.
He moves further away from the camera, to the stove where he pretends to be stirring something. I walk out from down the hallway wearing sweatpants and a sweater with my hair tied up, not camera ready.
"What are you cooking?" I ask as I try to peek into the pot. He quickly put the lid on it so I couldn't see it was empty. The sound is tuned out with soft music that I added in. They don't need to hear the next part.
In the video, I cross my arms and pout. Julian pulls me to him and mumbles something that makes me pull away and turn around. He bends down on one knee and calls my name. I turn around and cover my face with my hands in shock. It only takes a second before I nod my head , and he scoops me up in his arms.
The video cuts. I wipe a quick tear from my eyes and move to stand in front of the projector. "As you can see, this is what everyone hopes to find: something real. I think this is the best way to portray that to everyone. We can put commercials on television of videotaped memories of happy couples. There can be posters that portray that happiness. We will put everything together to give consumers a message of hope. The message you intended, Mr. Cunnings."
The room is silent when I finish and a hint of fear runs up my spine. I lost to Hudson. I can already tell.
Mr. Cunnings is the first to say, "Well, both pitches were substantial, so it's going to take me some time to decide which one I want to go with." He stands. "Ms. Green will be in contact." He shakes everyone's hand in order, mine last. "It was a pleasure to see you again, Mrs. Davis, and I hope everything has worked out."
He has both hands wrapped around mine. "Thank you, Mr. Cunnings." They leave the room.
Mrs. Ingrim is next to stand. "Let's go!" her voice is commanding, causing her group to flock behind her. "Mr. Bucher, we will be in touch."
When she is out of the door, Mr. Bucher shakes his head "I hope one of your ideas was good enough to satisfy them."