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She went to the office kitchen for a bottle of water, took a gulp, and then took a few deep breaths.
“Are you alright?” Dee asked. She was so lost in thought that she didn’t even realize someone else was in the room. “Your face is so red! Do you have a fever?”
“I’m fine,” Jenni stammered. “You know me. I’ve been really doing some intense planning, and I guess I must have gotten into it more than I realized. But I want to be ready for my call.”
“Oh, right,” said Dee. “Well, don’t get that wound up. You look like you’re ready to pass out. I’ll need you at one hundred percent from now until the gala.”
“Absolutely,” nodded Jenni. “Off I go. I’ll let you know how it goes.” And with that, she took the water bottle with her and headed back to her office.
She looked at her phone for several moments and then called the bank. The voice at the other end of the line no doubt belonged to the classy receptionist she had met on Monday.
Jenni explained who she was and the reason for her call. She felt her stomach lurch as she was transferred to Caleb’s office.
“Caleb Prescott’s office,” the voice answered.
“Hi this is Jenni Kirk with Raleigh Wins,” she began. “I’m calling for Mr. Prescott.”
“Oh, Miss Kirk. Hi, this is Tory Lee, Mr. Prescott’s assistant,” said the voice that now had a name. “He told me you’d probably be calling. I’m sorry, but he’s out of town for the rest of the week at a conference in Atlanta. But he told me to let you know you’d be working with me on our gala sponsorship. Feel free to call me Tory.”
“Ah, well, that’s…that’s great,” Jenni stuttered. “I mean, that’s fine. Of course.”
“Well,” said Tory. “Between his traveling and his teaching, you were really lucky to catch him on Monday. But you know how it is, I really do all the work anyway.” Tory laughed.
Jenni was having trouble sorting through her emotions. She wasn’t sure if she was immensely relieved or disappointed.
She convinced herself she was definitely relieved. She had no reason to want to be involved with Caleb Prescott any more than she had to be.
She and Tory chatted for a few more moments. Tory agreed to come to Jenni’s office on Friday and they’d spend the afternoon working on details. That would give them both time to think.
Jenni ended the call with a “Thank you” and put her head on her desk.
Of course, she’d be working with his assistant. What had she been thinking? As the Vice President of Corporate Relations, he had more important things to tend to. And teaching a class? What was that all about?
She pulled up Google on her computer and typed in his name.
There were several hits, and it didn’t take Jenni long to realize Caleb Prescott was on the fast track at Second Bank, and that he was definitely an up-and-comer in Raleigh. A quick scan of his bio showed graduation from a fine prep school, undergrad at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, and an MBA from the Darden School at the University of Virginia. He definitely had credentials.
He’d been named as one of the “Forty Under Forty” making a difference in Raleigh, and she noted that based on the various dates mentioned, they were about the same age. She found no mention of any spouse, past or current, which jived with the fact that she’d been sure to check back in Hatteras if he wore a ring.
She also saw that indeed he taught some undergrad classes in basic business at community colleges in the area.
Jenni clicked out of the search engine and closed the lid of her computer.
Chapter Twelve
He was absolutely out of her league, no doubt about that. Her teaching a class was in no way comparable to what he did.
She thought for a brief moment about Compy, and how he’d convinced her not to go on to grad school. She felt as though she had wasted so many years playing socialite in South Carolina. But then, she’d made that choice. She probably could have insisted on going to school, but at first, she enjoyed the life shehad with Compy. It was nice being the wife of an attorney and basking in all the perks that came with that lifestyle.
But it also meant that she lost those years. She wondered if she’d ever regain what she felt she’d lost.
There was not much sense in dwelling on that now.
The gala was about six weeks away, at the end of May. Between now and then, she and Tory would be spending a lot of time together but thankfully, after this initial meeting, nearly everything could be done by email.
It certainly wouldn’t come from Jenni that she and “Mr. Prescott” had met in the not-so-distant past. It would be better to keep that under wraps from the staff at Second Southern, and Dee too.
Deep down, she was disappointed at not working with him directly, but it would never show.
