For Pat and Alex, the changes are like night and day.
[A.M.]
Alex Miller, 31, joined the sales team of Cohn Solar Systems only 13 months ago. In May, he will be receiving an award for the top new salesperson. He had hoped to get the top new and top overall, but Patricia has held that position for the past 2 years. He met Pat only once, at last year's Sales Celebration. May 13th is the President's birthday, so the Sales team gets together from all over the country to celebrate with Tonya Cohn and let her know (though Alex is sure that she already knows) how the sales team is doing. Alex has held other sales positions and has achieved the top sales level in every company within six months, until CSS. He has to admit that selling solar systems in the deep south, is the greatest challenge he has ever attempted. Last year he got Home Depot and the State Capitol in Atlanta to install systems - a huge win for him, the company, and the industry.
With hair as dark as raven's wings and blue eyes that he can shift from piercing to seductive to mysterious at a thought, he has had little trouble charming his way to the top. He always wondered what it could be like if, with all his charms, if he could add a gorgeous female body to the mix, if there would be anything he couldn't accomplish. He thought he knew now, it was Pat.
When he had met Pat, it was at a party where each was being congratulated for their awards before being escorted away for the big dinner. He remembers the feeling as he shook Pat's hand and congratulated her. It was as if her violet eyes looked right through him. For a moment they stood there, in the middle of the press of sales people talking, just looking at each other. She smiled, her cheek revealing a dimple as her eyes twinkled, then the moment passed. She moved away, leaving him there feeling the loss of not touching her. He didn't think he would ever feel that way about a woman, again. As his arousal began to ebb, his memories competed with the conversations of people trying to ask and tell him things - congratulations and people splitting up to drive to dinner mixing with memories of his wife's death and funeral, now three years old. He had been caught by blue eyes and ginger hair in college, as he was trying to drink and screw his way to a Bachelor's degree. One look and all that ended. Married a month after graduation, they were happy and successful, until undiagnosed aggressive breast cancer took her, suddenly.
[P.M.]
Patricia Montgomery, 33, worked to keep her body fit and stay a little curvy for three reasons: it helps her sell anything to the men usually in the buying positions of companies, she really enjoys the feeling of being a sexy woman in a man's world, and she loves the sensual sensations as her clothes move and eyes roam over her curves. Since being called and recruited by Tonya, herself, 3 years ago, she quickly rose to the top. She has to admit that selling solar systems in Southern California is much easier than in some other parts of the country - lots of sun, hot temperatures, little rain, so few cloudy days - it's almost too easy.
Pat knew of Alex, even before their "chance" meeting at last year's celebration. She had heard of this rising star, and in the deep south, no less. He, definitely could be the one to unseat her, so she just *had* to meet this one. To throw him off, she decided to wear her violet contacts and had her hair trimmed into a cute bob, showing lots of neck and collarbones. The effect on him was immediate and as stunning as she had hoped. What she didn't expect was to be pinned by those blue eyes. There was something behind those eyes, a vulnerability and a sadness, right behind the swagger, she didn't expect, nor was prepared for. As they stood there, his congratulations lost in the maelstrom of chatter, each holding the other's hand as if to shake, but they just stood there, holding hands. The thought popped into her mind and she wondered what it might be like to stare into those eyes over a candlelit dinner or roaring fire. Breaking away from his gaze left her longing, so she fled the scene. She did not put herself into a position to repeat that experience.
Until that moment, she had thought that she would not experience that kind of earth moving moment written about in every woman's magazine, romance novel, and chick flick. The loss of control, in that moment, scared her on a deep level. She had thought herself ready for anything, but she didn't know if she was ready for this year's celebration. Not even Tonya would tell her about the awards, so she didn't know if He'd be there, close to her, again.
Chapter 2
No comments:
Post a Comment