15
“T hat smile on your face tells me you got your back blown out over the weekend,” Xola stated as she took a seat in one of the chairs in front of Olani’s desk.
“Maybe I just enjoyed his company as I have on our other dates,” she countered, leaning back in her chair.
“And maybe he blew the dust off of that thing and took you for a wild ride.” Olani rolled her eyes but remained quiet. “That’s fine. You don’t have to tell me, but I’m taking your silence as admission.”
“What brings you by?” Olani questioned, changing the subject.
“I thought I’d come by and see if you wanted to go grab some lunch.”
“I’d love to, but I have a meeting with a new client in forty-five minutes. If you’re free tonight, we can get dinner.”
“Dinner works and I’ll expect some details on your weekend this evening.” Xola stood. “I’m going to let you get ready to meet your client. Text me a time and place. See you later.”
“See you.”
Olani turned her attention back to the agreement her client would need to sign to make it official. Each agreement was tailored to the company she was partnering with. So, there was never a standard one. It meant more work on her end, but she wanted to ensure she and her clients were satisfied.
Once she’d confirmed everything was correct, she printed the paperwork, placing stickers to show them where to sign.
Having a wet signature on her agreements was always preferred to digital signatures.
It was harder to argue that you hadn’t signed something when it could be compared to your driver’s license signature versus one that was electronic.
She placed them in a folder and slid it into her briefcase.
Olani locked her computer and exited her office, closing the door behind her.
She asked her staff if they wanted her to pick up anything for them while she was out, and she received the same answer she always got.
Cupcakes from the bakery a few blocks away.
It worked in her favor since she would only have to make one stop. That was where she normally got her welcome goodies for new clients. She’d placed the order earlier that morning but would grab a dozen cupcakes when she picked her order up.
Fifteen minutes later, with her welcome goodies and the requested cupcakes secured, she continued to her client’s office.
They were a new plant opening that would produce soft drinks, and she was lucky enough to be staffing ninety percent of their employees.
She’d put the word out on her company’s social media profiles, and she planned a referral system to ensure she had an adequate amount of applicants with qualifying experience.
When she arrived at the plant, she grabbed what she needed and stepped out of her car. Nina, who co-owned the plant with her brother, stood at the door waiting for her. The women greeted each other, and Olani presented her with the goodies before Nina led her to Tyler’s office.
“Olani, it’s good to see you again,” he stated, standing as she entered.
“It’s nice to see you again as well, Tyler. I have the documents that need to be signed by you and Nina, and I came with some treats from my favorite bakery,” she told him, gesturing to the box that Nina was currently pulling a cake pop out of.
“That was thoughtful. Please, have a seat.”
She took the seat he gestured to, pulling the folder from her briefcase.
They’d already gone over how much they would pay per employee staffed through her company, which would vary depending on the department they worked in.
Olani had gone over her mandatory ninety-day probationary period before the employee could be rolled over on the company’s payroll directly, but it wasn’t required they do so at ninety days.
The next half hour was spent with her pointing out the things she’d already gone over with them in the agreement and answering their questions. Once both signatures were obtained, she placed the documents back into the folder and put it into her briefcase.
“When I get back to the office, I’ll email you a copy of the signed agreement and access to set up your fee account,” she informed them.
“Once we receive the email, I’ll set it up so we can start looking at candidates as soon as possible,” Nina replied.
Olani stood, saying goodbye to them and showing herself out. Nina had become more interested in the cookies she’d found in the box.
She drove back to her office, and when she entered with the box of cupcakes, she told her team they’d be in the breakroom.
Going into her office, she scanned the signed documents.
She’d already set up their company profile, and she just needed to activate it in order to send them the link to set up and activate their fee account.
Olani sent them the email, putting their digital documents in their client folder and filing the paper ones in her file cabinet.
Since she had no other appointments scheduled and would more than likely only get the occasional walk-in if her staff were busy, she worked on some giveaway items for an upcoming college fair. She liked to attend as many as possible to get new candidates.
Her phone vibrated sometime later, alerting her to a text. She picked it up from her desk, where she’d placed it before starting on her giveaway items. It was from Elion.
Elion: How do you feel about a picnic on Saturday at two?
Olani: It sounds like fun.
Elion: Great. I’ll put it in and call you tonight.
Olani: I’ll talk to you later.
She placed her phone down and went back to choosing her giveaway items. When she finished, she chose a place for her and Xola to go for dinner and texted her cousin with the information.
Olani supposed she would be nice, and throw her a bone, give her a little taste of information about how her weekend had gone.
“I hadn’t had the chance to ask before, but how was your weekend?” Clara asked.
Elion looked up from the sculpture idea he was sketching. “It was good. We had fun.”
“What did you do?”
“We went to the museum, went for a hike, had a picnic by the lake, and had dinner. We just spent time together.”
“Did you do anything else?”
“Like what?” Elion inquired, and he wished he hadn’t when his niece looked over her shoulder and smirked at him.
“Like each other.”
He shook his head, turning his attention back to the sketch.
It didn’t matter if he answered her or not, she would draw her own conclusions, so it was best if he didn’t supply her with any information.
After a few seconds, he saw her return to the set of sculptures she was packaging for a buyer.
It was quiet between them for a few minutes until she finished.
“Well, when are you going out again?” she asked.
“Saturday if she’s available.”
They had just spent the weekend together. So he wanted to give her time away from him. He’d decided to bypass Wednesday, which was usually one of the date nights for Saturday. Once he finished working on the sketch, he would text Olani to see if she was available.
Clara nodded as she took the small box and exited the room. With no more distractions, he completed the sketch, and was happy with the way it came out. He couldn’t wait to get started on it, but figured it could wait a day. He took his phone out to text Olani.
Elion: How do you feel about a picnic on Saturday at two?
Olani: It sounds like fun.
Elion: Great. I’ll put it in and call you tonight.
Olani: I’ll talk to you later.
He went into his room, and to his walk-in closet, where he pulled one of his drones from the top shelf.
He chose the easiest of the two to maneuver and navigate.
It hadn’t been flown in a while, and Elion placed it and the controller on the charger.
It would be something fun for them to do after the picnic.
After that, he put the date into the site before checking the time and calling his dad. He knew his mom was with her gardening club. They met twice a week on the same days at the same times, and he made a mental note to call her later that evening.
“Hey, son,” his dad answered, and Elion could hear the sounds of nature from the other end.
“Hey, dad. Are you fishing?” he asked. It was the only time his father would willingly spend time outdoors. He assumed it was because his mother had kept them all outside so much when he and his sister were kids.
“Yep, and I’ve caught quite a few. What are you up to?”
“Nothing much. Just finished a sketch for a piece not too long ago.”
“Are you getting ready for another show?”
“I am. I have a few pieces finished for it already.”
His dad hummed. “I’m sure it’ll be great. The last one was. Those people were ready to fight for your pieces.”
Both men chuckled. The older man was only slightly exaggerating.
His parents and sister had come to his last exhibit, and two clients had begun arguing over a piece.
It hadn’t turned physical thanks to security, but neither was happy with the other one trying to constantly outbid them.
Elion had assumed they knew each other, and there was animosity from something else that spilled over.
The two spoke for another hour before hanging up, and he decided he would spend the rest of his day watching a few of his favorite movies until he called his mother and Olani.
E lion stepped out of the shower later that night and dried off before entering his bedroom.
He grabbed a pair of boxers from his drawer and slipped them on.
He turned on the lamp by the bed and turned out the overhead light.
Picking up his phone, he settled into bed and called Olani. It only rang twice before she answered.
“Hey, babe,” she greeted.
“Hello, Sweetheart. How was your day?”
“It was good. We had some new applicants come in, and I met with a business client to get their paperwork signed. What did you do today?”
“A couple of pieces sold from my site, and I sketched the next sculpture I’ll be making for the exhibit. Clara was also being nosey and trying to mind my business.”
Olani laughed. “She seems to be pretty good at it. Xola was the same. She’s convinced you must have blown my back out over the weekend.”
“She isn’t wrong,” he responded.
“I mean, no, she isn’t, but I decided to let her come up with her own scenarios.”
“Clara asked the same thing, and I took the same approach.”
Again, Olani laughed. “She asked if you blew my back out? I couldn’t imagine asking my aunt something like that at that age, let alone my uncle.”
“She didn’t use those exact words. She asked if we did each other, and I pointedly ignored her.”
“Good call. Do you need me to bring anything for our picnic?”
“Only your gorgeous self,” he replied.
“I can do that. I have dinner plans later that evening with Xola and some friends, but I’m all yours before then.”
They spoke for a while longer until Olani yawned, and Elion glanced at the clock. He hadn’t realized that two hours had gone by, but he always lost track of time when he spoke to her or when they were together.
“Get some sleep, Sweetheart. I’ll text you in the morning. Goodnight.”
Texting her every morning was one of the two habits he’d fallen into when they exchanged numbers. The other was speaking with her in some capacity each night before she went to bed.
“Goodnight, babe,” she responded, and they ended the call.
He placed his phone on the charger, turned out the lamp, and turned in for the night.