Pulse 2 (Pulse Series) (12 page)

“
Did you attend the presentations that were scheduled this afternoon?” he asked me.

“
Yes, sir,” I replied. “I took detailed notes on everything. I’ll be able to come up with a thorough report in no time. You’ll be able to make comparisons when you need to.”

“
Good. I expected nothing less.”

“
You’re too diligent,” Cheryl said to me. “There’s no need to be so formal in an atmosphere like this. True, Rafael does need this information but leaving a detail or two out of your inevitable report won’t hurt too much. I’m sure Rafael will appreciate whatever you can come up with.”

“
I don’t work hard for Rafael,” I said. “I work hard because that’s my job and it’s the right thing to do.”

I stared at Rafael. He looked away from me and began cutting at the piece of meat upon his plate. Cheryl smiled at my respo
nse then took a sip of wine from her glass.

“
Alice.”

I turned to the voice and saw a familiar man standing there.

“Dante,” I said. “Hi. It’s good to see you again.”

“
It’s good to see you, too. I have a favor to ask you. I was held late in a meeting. Somebody actually took my seat. I was wondering if you wouldn’t mind me taking this spot—”

“
Not at all, Dante. Please. Have a seat.”

I didn
’t have to think twice about offering Dante the empty seat next to me. I looked around the crowded ballroom to see if Dante’s story was true. But I didn’t care. It was nice to have his company.

“
Hello,” Dante said to the rest of the table. “Dante Kirkwood. Detit Technologies.”

He waved to everybody and they all greeted him warmly. Rafael nodded to him then continued cutting an
d poking at his food. When I looked at Rafael, I noticed that his demeanor was different. He seemed to be less focused on the chatter Cheryl was spouting and lost in whatever it was he was thinking about. She must have noticed it, too, as she turned her attention to the man sitting next to me.

“
Tell me, Dante,” she began. “What is it you do?”

“
Well,” he said with a mouth half-full of food. “I’m a specialist for Detit. I work with their engineers to help them improve some of their projects. I’ve been in the rooms their medical technology is going to be used. It helps to have someone with first-hand experience to help build it.”

“
No doubt,” she replied. “You certainly seem capable of the task.”

“
If you’re interested, my presentation is scheduled for tomorrow. You’re all invited to attend.”

“
That does sound interesting,” Rafael interjected. “But I don’t think it’s on the agenda. To be honest with you, Dante, Detit Technologies isn’t very high on our list of priorities.”

“
Oh,” Dante said with some disappointment in his voice. “I’m sorry to hear that. But if you get the chance, it would be nice if you stopped by.”

“
I’ll be there,” I said.

“
Alice, there are other presentations I need you to attend,” Rafael said to me. “I’m sure Wesley or Travis can attend Dante’s presentation.”

“
I know. But Dante’s presentation is in the morning, right? There’s still time. I can see what Detit is offering then attend the other presentations right after.”

“
Are you sure you can handle sitting through that many meetings?” Rafael asked me. “I don’t want you to lose your focus while you’re sitting there. I know what it can feel like when you’ve been listening to these lectures for too long.”

“
I can handle it.”

I stared at Rafael for a moment then reached forward for another gulp of wine. I
felt his eyes upon me but I didn’t look back at him. Instead, I turned to Dante and smiled at him. He smiled back at me then let me know that he would appreciate my attendance.

I felt the obvious tension growing between Rafael and me. I sat here for the s
econd time and had to endure watching Cheryl and Rafael have fun without me. Even though I knew he wasn’t doing it intentionally, the frustration I felt from being away from him had gotten to me. But now I had wine swirling around in my stomach and a good-looking man sitting next to me.

Dinner proceeded without any serious discussion. While Wesley and Travis continued to be captivated by the endless amount of stories Harold had, the rest of us made small talk about business and happenings of the conference
so far. There was nothing interesting to talk about but I didn’t mind. It was just nice to be included.

“
So, what are your plans for this evening?” Dante asked me.

“
I… don’t have any plans,” I said as I shook my head.

“
No plans at all?”

“
No. I think I might just enjoy the scenery of the beach like I did last night.”

“
Oh, is that right? How about some company?”

“
Of course. It wouldn’t be the same without you. I should remind you that I’m not interested in heading too far from the hotel this time though.”

I w
inked at him as I took another sip from my glass of wine. We smiled at one another before Dante turned his attention to the couple sitting across from us.

“
You’re welcome to join us,” Dante said to Cheryl and Rafael. “There’s nothing like the beach underneath the Maui moon.”

“
I have no doubt about that,” Rafael replied. “But tonight won’t work for me. It’s still early in the conference and I have many meetings to attend in the morning. I won’t be able to forgive myself if I stay up later than I should be. You should probably go with them though, Cheryl.”

Rafael turned to his friend and motioned for her to go with them. Cheryl considered it for a moment, her fingers tapping upon her glass.

“It sounds like fun,” she said. “But it
is
still early in the week. I feel like spending too much time on the beach kind of takes all of the fun out of it. I’ll probably relax at the bar and have a few drinks. But don’t let that spoil your fun, guys.”

She winked at Dante and me as she took a sip from her glass. The a
lcohol I had earlier made me suspicious of her and Rafael but it didn’t give me the nerve to actually call them out on it. If I were going to make a fool of myself, I would need a few more glasses.

Knowing that I would be the only one he would be spending
time with on the beach, Dante gave me most of his attention. We talked about work and school and all of the things we had in common. When I told him how hard I worked in college and how desperate I was to get a job with Barnett Industries, he understood completely. He laughed and told me the story of how many resumes he filled-out to get into graduate school. We were more alike than I realized, even though he was a few years older than me.

As Dante told me the story of how he eventually ended up at this bus
iness conference, I noticed that he had my full attention. I had no idea what was happening on the other side of the table. I didn’t care. I was enjoying the conversation Dante and I had because we had so much in common. He a friend I wasn’t expecting to meet.

Dinner slowly came to an end. Dessert was passed out and the last few bottles of wine were emptied. The small band next to the dance floor began to play. I watched as the tables emptied and people made their way out.

“Alice?” Dante said suddenly.

“
Yeah?” I said as I turned to him.

“
Would you like to dance?”

“
It would be my pleasure.”

I smiled at him as he held his hand out to me. He led me out onto the floor between all of the people. I stretched my arms up and wrapped them around h
is neck. I looked up into his eyes and saw the sly smile on his face.

“
What’s so funny?” I asked him.

“
You’re drunk,” he laughed.

“
No, I’m not.”

“
A lot of people don’t realize that it doesn’t take very much wine to affect you. They drink it because it tastes so good. And then before they know it, they’re stumbling around and having trouble thinking.”

“
Well, I’m not stumbling or having any trouble thinking.”

“
True. But your face
is
quite red.”

If it weren
’t, it would have been at this point. He laughed at me again. Thankfully, the alcohol made me feel less embarrassed. I looked down at the ground and watched my feet shuffle back and forth.

“
Don’t worry,” he said. “You’re not stepping on my toes.”

“
Not yet.”

I felt his body shake with laughter underneath my gr
ip. There were couples surrounding us from every side. The music was loud and throbbing. Dante’s broad shoulders were hard and rigid underneath my wrists. I stopped thinking about everything and just enjoyed this moment. I sighed as any stress I might have left me.

When the song came to an end, I stopped dancing and applauded with the rest of the crowd. The next song began and all of the couples resumed dancing.

“Would you like to dance again?” Dante asked me.

I looked back at our table and watched as Rafae
l escorted Cheryl onto the dance floor. I turned away from them and looked back at Dante.

“
I think I’ve had enough dancing for tonight,” I said. “Who knows when that alcohol will kick in?”

“
Hmm, good point. How about the beach?”

“
Yeah, that sounds like fun.”

“
Thirty minutes?”

I nodded and smiled at him. We headed out of the ballroom together. I didn
’t look back to see what was happening behind me. Instead, I thought about changing out of my dress and into something more appropriate for the sand.

Chapter 13

I took another gulp of coffee to try and perk myself up even though I knew it wouldn’t help very much. Thankfully, my head wasn’t throbbing as it would if I had a hangover. I didn’t drink as much as Dante suggested but the taste of the wine was still lingering somewhere between my stomach and tongue.

Instead of the old men and women from the conference, Dante and I spent the rest of the night surrounded by the younger beachgoers who were enjoying the surf and sand. We sat there on the beach and had pointles
s conversations. It was all just a reason to relax underneath the stars and enjoy the atmosphere. I would have fallen asleep right there on the beach if it hadn’t been for Dante reminding me to come to his presentation the next morning.

And here I was. I d
ragged myself out of bed and cleaned myself up to look like the representative for Barnett Industries that Rafael wanted me to be. I had to force myself to look away from the water. It had been three days since we arrived and I still had not experienced what the beach was like during the day. Today wasn’t looking any different.

My schedule was completely loaded with presentations and workshops I needed to attend. The responsibility of an impending report for Rafael and the board of directors was always loom
ing over me. I thought I made a mistake in tacking-on another presentation to attend but Dante seemed appreciative as he stood in front of the conference room. He smiled and winked at me before beginning his presentation to all of the executives and representatives in the room.

Despite how friendly I was with him, the presentation was little different from everything else I was forced to sit through. Dante was charismatic and enthusiastic as he talked about all of the latest developments his company was mak
ing. It made it all a little easier to stomach. But while I took my notes, I was still waiting for the moment when it would finally end. No man could make discussing business more entertaining than it actually was.

I sat there in my seat next to Wesley. He
was actually scheduled to be at this presentation, so my being there was redundant. But he wasn’t the only other person from Barnett Industries that showed up. In the middle of the presentation, I looked to the side of the room and saw Rafael step through the door. Cheryl walked in right after he did and the two of them stood off to the side. I noticed that I wasn’t the only one who noticed him. He was getting an unusual amount of attention I chalked up to his notoriety. Rafael was the only CEO that was under 40 and he was barely 30.

Rafael looked at me from across the room for a second but he didn
’t have any expression on his face. I thought it was curious as to why he would show-up. My focus was being taken away from Dante and his colleagues’ presentation. Instead, I was thinking about what Rafael was doing here.

He
’s not actually here to see the presentation, is he? Wesley was the only person he assigned it to.

I was too tired and too bored to think about it any longer. I took another big gulp of coffee t
hen scribbled my notes down, hoping that the presentation would finally end. When it did, the audience applauded then slowly started to file out of the room.