Chapter 9
“I’m so sorry about this morning.” Maribel brought a steaming hot cup of coffee and placed it in front of Junie. “I’m glad you were able to come back.”
“Luckily I was able to shift things around in my schedule.” Junie mixed some of the sugar into her coffee and pretended to be completely engrossed in the application in front of her.
“I’m sorry we got off on the wrong foot.” Maribel looked as though she couldn’t leave until she’d been given some kind of absolution. “From the sound of it you and Mr. Ronaldo will be working together closely, and I just can’t bear to think you and I can’t get along.”
This always mystified Junie. The need to be liked and approved of made no sense to her. “Don’t worry about it, Maribel. We’re good. I’m hoping all of this actually turns into something. I am tired of working my ass off and getting nowhere.”
“I’m sure it will.” Maribel took out a tablet and started keying something in. “He’s asked me to extend the reservation on your hotel room. Just let me know your room number and I’ll take care of that.”
“You don’t have to do that.” Junie shook her head and laughed. “You’re his assistant, not mine. I can get my own coffee and extend my reservation.”
“Of course you can.” Maribel smiled gently and pushed her glasses up a little tighter on her face. “But if you’re doing that sort of stuff you aren’t doing what needs to be done. I can easily update your reservation, but I can’t do whatever that is.”
“It’s an application for a patent. I’m not so confident I can do it either. Look at the requirements. Specification, claims, drawings, declaration, and information disclosure statement. This is going to take forever just to figure out.”
“You figured out how to invent something.” Maribel put her tablet down on the table and gave Junie a long look. “It’s a paper. Take one step at a time and I’ll bet you can figure it out. If not, use this.” She clicked a button on a small remote and a large screen rolled down from the ceiling. “It’s called a smart board. You can use it for searching just about anything. The tablet for it is there.”
“Thanks.” Junie pulled the tablet closer to her but didn’t feel any relief. She’d been able to make her way to this point with tenacity and brute force. Now the rubber was starting to meet the road and she wasn’t all that sure she knew where she was supposed to be driving.
“One more thing.” Maribel took the phone from the conference room table and dialed a quick extension. “Hello this is Maribel. I’m the executive assistant to Mr. Ronaldo.” She sighed loudly. “R-O-N-A-L-D-O. Mr. West personally hired him this week. I suggest you learn the name. Now I need someone from our litigation team up to conference room B1. Make sure it’s someone skilled in processing documents.”
“Can you do that?” Junie asked in disbelief. “I mean I knew you could kick people out.”
“I’m not usually like this.” Maribel tucked her wispy hair behind her ears and blushed. “Mr. Ronaldo told me to walk around this place like I own it. He’s quite inspiring. I’ve been a temp here for two years and now here I am with a full-time job. I don’t want to lose it, so I’m going to do everything I can to make this work.”
“He does give some good pep talks.” Junie sipped her coffee and closed her eyes. It was strong, fresh, and heavenly good. She couldn’t imagine what it would be like to brew something like this for herself every morning. “I half believe I can patent this product and change my life.”
“I think you can.”
“At this point I’m not even sure I can show up at this office every day this week. I only packed two business outfits and this is the second one.”
“We’re about the same size. I can lend you a couple of skirts and tops. I live right around the corner. I’ll run home at lunch and get you a couple of things.”
“You don’t have to do that. I know we didn’t have a great first meeting, but you don’t have to spend all this time trying to make it up to me. We’re more than even at this point.”
“Your success is going to be my success. We’re all a team now. Whatever I can do, you better believe I’m going to do it. I’ll bring you some clothes at lunchtime. You just get that paperwork done, and don’t hesitate to ask me for anything else.”
“You’re full of surprises, Maribel.” Junie refocused on the application and the smart board, trying to pull together what she could. One of the company lawyers would be here soon so she had better look like she at least partially knew what she was doing.
Her phone chirped with a text message and she fished it out of her bag.
Hugo: That interview was a dud. I think you might have ruined me for being impressed by people. You set the bar too high.
I’m going to have some stiff competition in Maribel. She’s brought her A-game this morning.
Hugo: Good. I hope you’re getting everything you need. I’ll be busy most of the day but let’s do dinner. Maybe you pick the place tonight.
We like very different places. Not sure that’s a good idea.
Hugo: You’d be amazed what I like. Surprise me. Something very you.
There was a light knock on the door and Junie juggled her phone as though she’d been doing something scandalous. Texting back and forth with Hugo certainly didn’t break any rules. It’s not like they were sending dirty pictures.
A short man with a rapidly receding hairline came into the room, looking confused. “I’m Steve Baleful. My boss told me to come up to this conference room.”
Junie thought for a second about Maribel’s little mantra. Walking around like you owned the place wasn’t a bad idea.
“Yes.” Junie stood, gestured to a chair at the table and cleared her throat. “My name is Juniper O’Malley. Feel free to call me Junie. We’re going to be working on completing this patent documentation today.”
“And you’re working for . . .?”
“What do you mean?” Junie narrowed her eyes and watched as Steve squirmed nervously.
“I’m sorry,” Steve stuttered. “Who is the patent for? I was wondering what you’re doing in here and like, why.”
“Hmm.” Junie let her face show disappointment as she leaned back and folded her arms across her chest. “Who is the patent for? Because I couldn’t possibly be the person who needs this done? You know what Steve, I’m not sure I need you in here. Perhaps there is someone else on your team who doesn’t mind working with a woman. I understand it’s probably a shock to your system and you need some kind of explanation. But I don’t intend to explain my role to you. Mr. Ronaldo has given me his support on this task. I intend to complete it. You are welcome to be the man who decided he didn’t want to assist. I can let him know that.”
“I didn’t decide that.” Steve practically ran to a chair as though the music had just shut off and he was going to lose the game. “I’m happy to help. I’ve done a lot with this sort of stuff. It’ll be a breeze.”
“Oh,” Junie sang, clapping her hands together, “that’s good to hear. These things are so tedious; I just hate them. I’ll defer to you and will assist if you get stuck. I’ve got some project management tasks to work on.”
“Of course.” Steve slid the stack of papers closer to him. “You’re going to be listed as the sole developer of this product?” His brows were high up on his forehead as he looked her over again.
“I’m just blowing your mind this morning, aren’t I, Steve?”
“Sorry,” he said, shaking his head and turning bright red. “I’m going to shut up now. I’ll just let you know what information I need as we go.”
“Sounds good, Steve. Did you want Maribel to bring you a coffee? I’m sure she wouldn’t mind.”
“I can get my coffee.” Steve was treading lightly now, as though everything was a test and he was already failing.
Junie pulled her phone back out. Now that she’d delegated, it was time to work on what was really important. Finding just the right place for her dinner tonight with Hugo.