AN:
Hello, guys. This is a quick update again. Luckily, I have more free time to write during this weekend.
Enjoy the story :)
***
Another busy day consumes me at work. After the lunch break, Jake and I have been handling some other sales and purchase agreements.
I'm busy typing on my laptop when George suddenly appears in front of our desks. I automatically stand up.
Why the sudden change? If he needs anything, he can just call us to come to his office, not the other way around.
"You two need to come with me," he says. "We're meeting the Senior Vice President."
My jaw instantly drops. I glance at Jake, who shares the same expression.
Why would the SVP of this company call the interns? He's like, so high up there, directly reporting to the Chairman.
Heads are snapped toward us as our colleagues also wonder what's going on.
Did Jake and I make any significant mistakes? I'm starting to worry too much.
But we don't have any time to wonder about that, because George has clearly indicated that we have no other options.
We follow George, heading out from our division, and walk to the other wing on this level.
Once we arrive in front of the SVP's room, we're greeted by his secretary. "He's inside," she says.
While stepping into his office, I read the name board attached on his door.
Mark Thompson
Senior Vice President of Strategic Planning and Exploration
I gulp, and my hands are suddenly sweaty. His office is so huge, probably two times bigger than George's office, and the air is so damn intimidating.
"Mark," calls George, approaching the desk.
Mark looks up from the documents on his desk, eyeing the three of us. He looks like he's in his late 40s. A big smile creeps on his face.
"Well, look who we have here. What a delight to meet fresh graduates. Fresh from the oven." He walks from his desk.
George clears his throat. "Interns," he corrects, reminding his boss that we haven't even graduated from our universities.
But Mark seems to shake that information off, as if they're just the same thing.
He shakes Jake's hand first.
"I'm Jake Spencer. It's good to see you, Sir," Jake says.
"Lais Hernandez," I introduce myself, shaking his hand as well. "What an honor to meet you, Sir." Mark's grip is firm, just as I expected.
But just before we finish the handshake, I feel his index finger tease the middle of my palm.
To me, that's a really uncomfortable gesture, and clearly, nobody else except myself knows about this. I feel a sudden drop in my stomach, and a horrible feeling stirs inside me.
Mark gazes at me in a way that makes me shudder, but only because I know how he touched me just now.
"Well, let us sit down and have some discussions," Mark says, and all of us sit down on the sofa, the three of us facing Mark.
"I've noticed our recent accomplishments in executing multiple new contracts with our potential buyers in Australia," he continues. "You two have done an excellent job." He looks at me and Jake.
As we're having this conversation, I'm trying my best to ignore what happened just now and to be professional again.
"Thank you, Sir," Jake says. "We wouldn't have done so without the excellent guidance from George."
I like how Jake speaks, definitely not taking the credits by ourselves and highlighting George's effort to his direct superior.
"That's quite impressive and have made me very happy, actually," Mark says. "You two have shown a good analysis and communication strategy with our overseas branch office, and I believe that's what made the project successful," he pauses, making me wonder about what he's going to say next. "And so I believe that you two will have no problem in helping us again with our plan to expand our exploration in South East Asia."
I can feel that George tenses beside me. "SE Asia? You mean the deepwater development project?"
"Precisely," Mark says. "That one, which says that once we do the drilling, there will be enough oil and gas to secure multiple years contract with the government. Must I say, 20 years?"
My pulse quickens, excitement building up inside me, just by hearing about that big opportunity.
I turn to Jake, and I can even see that his eyes are shining. He would definitely take this challenge.
"But, Mark--" George interrupts. "They're still new. We need--"
"Of course you're still fully responsible for this project, George," Mark cuts him off. "And the front line team are there in our overseas branch office, not here. Lais and Jake just have to do more analysis before we give our branch office any approval to start a negotiation with the government, give us reports and communicate with them daily. That's not too hard, isn't it?"
Now that makes George silent.
"The rest of your staffs are busy maximizing the revenues from our existing contracts, and that's just as crucial," Mark adds. "You don't have any more resources to monitor a project this big, George."
Well, it seems that the instruction is clear.
I somehow feel proud that Mark trusts us, the interns, to monitor this project. I'll learn a lot of experience from it.
And I definitely don't need to overthink about that uncomfortable gesture a while ago. That must have been a mistake, right?
A few weeks have passed since Jake and I was assigned with the new exploration project in SE Asia. Both of us have been working hard, and the more I work with him, the closer we are to each other.
I apparently learn a lot from Jake. I've always known that he's smart, but I never expected the range of knowledge that he has mastered.
His parents are of the same background, oil and gas, so he must have learned from them.
Jake's desk phone rings, and he picks it up. Not long after that, he hangs up.
"It's George," he says to me. "He told us to be prepared. We're going to meet Mark in 15 minutes."
I nod, preparing my files.
I can't help but feel nervous. Finally, it's time for us to update him regarding the progress of this big project.
"Are you nervous?" Jake asks, reading me like an open book.
I sigh. "Kind of."
Jake's eyes soften, a soft smile on his lips. "Don't worry, Lais," he says. "I've got you. You've got me. We're gonna back up each other. And trust me, it's going to be really hard to beat us, even if it's the SVP."
He says it with humor, but I know that he meant every word. I'm really grateful to have him as my internship partner.
But little do I know about the disaster that's going to attack us soon.