Another Day, Another Dollar

I arrived at work early. Luis was patrolling the lobby. He opened the door for me as I got near. He gave me a nod and a smile.

"Good morning Chief Hernandez."

"Chief," he repeated as he stroked the hair on his chin. "I like that Mr. Walker."

"You are the Chief of Security."

"Yes. I am. You were on time today. I didn't think you would be after going to the club last night."

"Chief, how do you know that?"

"I have my sources and I won't reveal them," he raised an eyebrow.

"That's fine. It wasn't really a secret. Has Rich made it in yet?"

"Not yet, but I'm expecting him to be late today." Luis walked to the circular desk and retrieved a tablet. "Look sharp. Mr. Grayson and Ms. Brooks are coming."

I stood next to Luis and looked at the main entrance. Mr. Grayson opened the door for Meredith. He stepped inside and they started walking towards us. Meredith's mouth dropped open slightly as she noticed me.

"Mr. Walker, I'm impressed that you're here on time this morning," she said.

"Good morning Mr. Grayson and Ms. Brooks." I turned towards Meredith. "You only get one chance to make a first impression. Your second impression will either validate the first or offer a chance to establish a different impression."

"That depends on your consistency," she retorted while adjusting her glasses.

"Mr. Grayson here's the daily report," Luis said as he offered the tablet.

Rory took the tablet and looked at it. He briefly scanned through the report. Luis was standing at ease next to me. Meredith looked at Mr. Grayson while he continued to flip through screens on the tablet.

"Everything looks good, Luis. Keep up the good work," he said as he handed the tablet back to Luis.

"Yes sir," Luis replied with a quick nod.

"Is my son here yet," Mr. Grayson looked at me with a big smile.

"No sir. Chief Hernandez said that he hasn't arrived yet."

Mr. Grayson nodded with a smile. Meredith scoffed and mouthed the word chief. Luis unconsciously puffed out his chest with pride. Mr. Grayson patted my shoulder as he walked past.

"Don't let Meredith work you too hard," he chuckled.

Meredith glared at me as Mr. Grayson walked to the elevator alone. Luis gave me an appreciative thumbs up as he headed for the control room. Meredith sighed and walked off. I fell into step behind her.

"Let's get started. I hope that you're ready to roll up your sleeves," Meredith said as she glanced back at me.

Time flew by as Meredith kept me on the grind. Things were starting to come together and she could see her vision being realized. Things went smoothly until she got a call from the catering liaison.

"Dammit! Why is this happening at the last minute," she said as she dropped her phone by her purse and put her hands on her temples.

"What's wrong?"

"What's wrong? There will be a lot of guests at the tech reveal party that are apparently allergic to seafood. We were going to serve Blue Cheese Stuffed Shrimp. Now we can't because the mayor can't eat it," she groaned.

"Well, the mayor could eat it, but he might die."

"Ha ha. Do you have any good ideas?"

"Yes. We have the caterers make wraps. They could do chicken, turkey and ham. Fill them with lettuce, cheese and veggies for something delicious and healthy. They could even set up a table to make them fresh in front of the guests."

Meredith looked over her glasses at me. "What about the Stuffed Shrimp?"

"We have it donated to the local shelters and soup kitchens. The company gets publicity and a tax write off. You get credit for being a hero and making a great call," I finished.

"That idea is actually brilliant. I think that I might have been premature in thinking that you were just a musclehead who was getting a handout from a friend."

"Careful Ms. Brooks. That was almost a compliment."

Meredith frowned for a moment. Then slowly the corners of her mouth turned upwards. She had a nice smile and I was certain that it was rare to see it. I took a half step back.

"I better be careful. You're quite the charmer Mr. Walker."

"I assure you that I have no idea what you're talking about. "

"I'm sure you don't," Meredith chuckled.

I was surprised that I had gotten her to smile and laugh in the same day. I thought that I should probably buy a lottery ticket. I was clearly having a lucky day. My phone rang and I didn't recognize the number.

"Hello?"

"Good morning John. Richard wanted you to come to his office," Kimiko said.

"Okay. I'll let Ms. Brooks know."

I ended the call. Meredith was looking at me. Her face had returned to normal.

"Rich wants me."

"Go ahead. You've done good today." She spoke again when I turned to leave. "Mr. Walker, I hope that today wasn't a fluke. You proved yourself to be better than expected. I expect this from you going forward."

"I won't let you down."

She nodded wordlessly as I left. I hopped on an elevator for the 30th floor. I exited the elevator and headed towards Rich's office. Kimiko was seated at her desk, but rose as I drew near.

"Please follow me."

I followed Kimiko into Rich's office. I couldn't help but admire her figure. She walked behind Rich's desk and turned on his computer. She typed in some info and his computer sprang to life.

"Rich wanted to have a video meeting with you," she said as she opened the app. "Did you have a good time last night?"

"Last night?"

"At Club Zion? I follow Sarina Singh and she posted pictures of you with her."

"It was fun. Sarina is usually busy, but she made time to hang out with us. We ended up with a larger group than expected," I said as the computer made a ringing sound.

"It almost looked like a work get together."

"If I had known it would turn out like that, then I would've invited you."

"Hey Kimiko. Is John there," Rich said as he finally answered.

"Yes sir," Kimiko answered as she turned the laptop to face me.

"Good morning Rich. You don't look too good."

"Thanks. I feel great." He rolled his eyes and rested his head on his hand. "I need you to pick up some paperwork from my lawyer and bring it back to the office. I should be there by the time you return. Kimiko will give you the info."

"No problem. I'll see you then."

Rich disconnected and Kimiko turned off his computer. She handed me a note with a name and address on it. I opened the door for her and she returned to her desk.

"I have a question for you, John."

"Okay. Shoot."

"What did you think of my sister?"

"I didn't know that you had a twin. Honestly, I only went up to her because I thought that she was you."

"Yeah. I don't mention that to people that I just met. She told me that you played it cool. You didn't mention the resemblance or me at all," Kimiko smiled.

"She didn't have your lovely jade eyes. So, I knew that I'd made a mistake, but I didn't want to make it awkward," I said with a shrug, but noticed her blush.

"So... what did you think of her?"

"She seems to be fun and outgoing. She has a sense of humor. You're identical. So she's obviously as beautiful as you. She seems like a handful."

Kimiko nodded and smiled. Her phone rang and she sat down to answer it. I was about to leave but she stopped me. She pulled out a sticky note and quickly wrote something on it.

"Don't make me wait too long. You did see me first," she said before answering the call.

I chuckled to myself as I immediately saved her number in my phone. I felt like I was walking on clouds. I picked up the paperwork from Rich's lawyer and headed back to the office. Kimiko motioned for me to enter Rich's office when I arrived.

"You look better," I said as I entered and placed the manilla envelope on his desk.

"Not so loud. My head is pounding," Rich said as he opened the envelope.

He glanced through the contents before placing them back in the envelope. He opened a drawer and placed it in his desk. He leaned back in his chair and put his feet on his desk.

"I want you to go with me tomorrow to look at some property. I have an idea and I want your input."

"You got it. Should I go tell Meredith?"

"Nah. I'll have Kimiko send her an email." Rich sat up and looked at me intently. "Speaking of which, have you shot your shot yet?"

'My, how quickly your health and attitude improved," I said with a raised eyebrow.

"I had hoped to keep you from finding out about Kiyoko for a little while. I know how you get distracted by twins," Rich said while he interlaced his fingers.

"That was only one time."

"I'm not referring to the Kaneli twins. I was thinking about the Gonzalez twins," Rich said with an evil grin on his face.

"Okay twice."

"Let's not forget about, Tamika and Tamila, the Johnsons," his smile grew.

"Damn. So it's been a few times," I said as I scratched my head. "Hey, real quick. Turn around and do that slow movie villain reveal."

He quickly spun around. Then he slowly turned around and mimed as if he was petting a cat. We both started laughing.

"I won't lose my focus. Meredith would kill me," I chuckled.

"You're probably right." Rich sighed. "I need you to be at your best. I need to prove to my father that I'm dedicated to making Grayson Industries into a bigger and better company."

"Rich, you are the future of this company. Don't let your dad get in your head."