Apology Lunch

Rosie walked into the premises of Brass Enterprise. The company was situated at the center of the city. It is a very big company that had her gushing at its beauty and class.

Earlier at ZED agency, Owen had made her day at the office a living hell. Having waited for the signed contracts all through Monday but didn't get them.

He placed several calls to Brass Enterprise and was told Gregory was in a meeting. He even dropped a series of messages with his secretary but received no reply.

So, once Rosie came in to work the following morning, he didn't allow her any breathing space. He literally forced her to Brass Enterprise to see Mr. Gregory and apologize for what she did to him at the Coastal-inn over the weekend.

Because he felt Gregory might be stalling with the contract as a form punishment for Rosie being rude to him.

Stepping into the reception, Rosie was met by Gregory's Secretary who looked everything but friendly. She greeted the secretary

"Good afternoon." The secretary replied, shifting her gaze briefly from the screen of her monitor.

"Please I'm here to see Mr. Gregory Johnson." Rosie continued.

"Do you have an appointment?" The secretary asked.

"Oh no, I don't. But I... I honestly need to see him please."

The secretary took a few seconds to give her a once-over She hissed and continued with her monitor. "You can't see him without an appointment ma'am." She finally said, not sparing a glance Rosie's way.

"Please, it's really important that I see him. My Job depends on this. I actually work with ZEd agency. Just tell him I'm a rep from ZED."

The secretary didn't bother to look up nor did she say another word to her.

"But, if he is around Ma, I don't mind waiting." Rosie asked. Yet, no reply.

Confused and clueless on what to do next, she leaned on the wall and shut her eyes, terrified at the thought of experiencing Owen's possible reaction and certain that he's going to blame her for any mishap that happens to him all through the week, until she gets this project thing sorted out.

"Good afternoon Sir." In her deep agony and swarm of thoughts, she heard the secretary greet someone while scrambling on her seat.

Pushing her eyes open, Rosie saw Gregory Johnson walk out of a corridor into the reception area, obviously on his way out.

"How are you, Genevieve?" Gregory asked his secretary.

"Good afternoon Sir" Rosie interrupted, moving away from the wall, dawning out Genevieve's reply.

Genevieve quickly stepped-up in-between Rosie and her Boss.

"Sir, this lady doesn't have an appointment and I've asked that she leave a long time ago but she's been persistent. I was about to call the security when..."

Gregory smiled and pointed the secretary to her seat signaling her to go sit down while ignoring everything she was saying.

"Hello Miss Bainer, this is indeed a surprise visit. Is there a problem?" He smiled warmly at Rosie.

'He remembered my Name.' Rosie thought to herself with fear. Then she spoke up. "There's no problem sir. Good afternoon Sir."

She knew these types of men. They are always the busy type and once you have their attention, it's always good to utilize it well. So, she went straight to the point.

"I came to apologize for the other day sir. I'm really sorry, I was..."

"I'm headed out right now, Miss. Bainer." He cut her short. "I'm hungry, and I'm going to lunch. Are you hungry?"

"Sir, I..."

"If you insist on an apology, then you'll have to continue with that over lunch." He said and started heading towards the exit. "Are you coming?" He asked, on seeing that she was still glued to the spot.

"Of course." came the soft reply from Rosie. She rushed down behind him and followed him into the waiting elevator car.

The Coastal-Inn enveloped Rosie with its thick warmth of wealth and beauty as they stepped in for lunch. She settled in opposite Gregory on a table kept exclusively for him. And the warmth of the atmosphere sank in.

"Do you have a meal preference?" He asked and she shook her head. "Can I suggest one for you then?"

"Yes Sir." She smiled shyly.

"Do you like Chicken?"

"Yes, I do."

"Chicken Fajitas then. You'll definitely love it." He suggested.

"Okay Sir."

"You heard her, Ben," he said to the Waiter, who was waiting for their order. "Get her Fajitas. Get us a bottle of Red wine too. Please hurry up with that, I've got a lot on my plate today with limited time to attend to them." He instructed. The Waiter left hurriedly.

"Speaking of time sir, I got a little something just to apologize for how rude I was the other day. I'm so sorry. I know this is so small but please, accept it." Rosie said and handed him a gift bag.

Gregory was taken by surprise at her genuineness. He took the gift bag from her. "You didn't have to spend your money on anything. Saying you're sorry did it for me. Moreover, you actually did nothing wrong."

She shook her head, and looked down at her table. "Thank you so much" He told her, and placed the bag beside him.

"The other day, I didn't know who you were, and my colleague did not explain everything to me well enough. I was a bit errrrr..., I was kind of, I think I went over..."

"It's okay." Gregory cut-in in the softest and silkiest tone.

He stared at her and his heart swelled from the fact that she had gone out of her way to apologize, even though he didn't think she did anything wrong.

"I was too straightforward myself." He started.."I should have introduced myself when I got there. The thing is I had a lunch date with my daughter and her friend. So from the description my daughter gave, I thought you were her friend. Your outfit was a match to what I was told the friend would be wearing. So, I'm so sorry too." He said smiling.

"I'm still sorry." She insisted. "I was having a very bad day. I hope this doesn't reflect on how you see our company, sir."

"No, never." He said. "That's business."

"Can I ask you something Sir?"

He nodded, "anything."

"You're yet to send over the signed documents like you promised to. I was wondering if maybe, it slipped your mind sir." She said, sounding as polite as she could.

"Oh no, I did not forget. Actually, I sent them over to my lawyer. I should be able to sign and send them over before the weekend." He smiled, reassuringly.

"Thank you so much Sir." She said gratefully.

Having nothing more to talk about, she darted her eyes round the Coastal-inn, appreciating the wonderful effort put into its interiors. As her eyes roamed slowly, Gregory's gaze settled on her.

Rosie's phone rang, interrupting the quietness on the table. She noted the caller as Owen and frowned briefly. Gregory looked at her with a raised eyebrow and she looked away. Owen, being as persistent as he always, called again.

"This is work related sir, do you mind if I take it?" She asked.

"Please, go ahead..." He urged her.

She stood up quickly and headed to the restroom to take the call.

"Hello." She said into the phone.

"Why are you not picking your calls? How many missed calls did you see on your phone? Roseline, what is wrong with you?" Owen started by being his usual annoying self.

"Good day to you too." She replied, sarcastically.

"Oh please, answer my question and stop being unnecessarily sarcastic." He shot at her.

"I didn't take your calls cause I was busy, Owen. B.u.s.y."

"What do you mean you were busy? What were you doing?" He asked.

She leaned on the empty bathroom sink. "You're the one that couldn't let me have peace of mind. Your reason was I should apologize to Mr. Johnson. I'm here trying to do just that and you can't even allow me to do it in peace!" She shouted at him, fed up already.

"Okay, just calm down... Let's be calm." He started. "You can't blame me for trying to know what you're doing. You know how the world works now. People keep missing every minute of the day without being accounted for."

"Oh please!" She snapped.

"Okay, I get it, you were busy. So, how was it? Were you successful with the apology? When is he sending the documents over? Please don't mess this up for me." He said.

"We were having a discussion before you called." Rosie replied.

"How, I don't understand."

"Please Owen, I'll speak to you much later. I'm in the middle of something and taking this call isn't going to add anything positive to my efforts. We'll talk once I get to the Office. Bye for now." She hung up, totally pissed.

She quickly left the bathroom, back to their table. The Waiter was setting their food when she arrived. Gregory stood up and helped with her seat.