After celebrating her birthday with Lucy and Peter, Selene quickly got ready and drove to her university. She had planned everything down to every last detail because she did not want to procrastinate on this day. Today was the big presentation to UniTech Corp--the day she had been working toward for the past two years...well, actually, her whole academic career since this was her dream from the beginning. She felt that she needed to do something that no one had ever done before, especially after the words Ben's mother had said to her.
As it was a Thursday, she had only one class to teach that morning from 9:40am to 11am, leaving plenty of time to get to UniTech. When Selene and her team walked up the the UniTech building that afternoon, she looked up in awe at the high rise. It was a beautiful, modern looking building that she knew had been recently built specifically for UniTech.
Once they entered the lobby, they went straight to the reception desk that was located on the right side as they had been told to do. They were met there by a beautiful woman, in her late 20s, wearing a red blazer with a black chiffon blouse, and a black pencil skirt. Her make-up was flawless, with her brows arched perfectly over lightly mascaraed lashes that were long enough not to need the mascara. Her small blue eyes sparkled and her smile was radiant, with red lipstick covering her lips. Her brown hair had blonde highlights and was currently in a bun at the nape of her neck.
Selene wished she had spent more time on her own make-up and hair. As it was, she only had on a little mascara and light mauve lipstick. She did manage to put some pressed powder on when they first got in the car at least. She was wearing a light blue business suit with pants and a white blouse. Her long, dark brown hair was tied neatly back at her nape into a pony-tail that Selena felt made her look more professional, and her bangs were slightly parted to one side. She was wearing her lucky golden locket and the bracelet her last foster mother gave her. She only had one ring on today and it was a simple gold band with a single princess-cut sapphire. She wasn't sure why she always chose to wear that ring on her birthday but it was just habit she supposed.
The beautiful woman that was standing in front of the desk was there to greet them. She said, "Hello, are you Dr. Selene Serian?"
Selene replied, "Yes, I am."
The woman said, "Welcome. My name is Elise Escobar, and I'm here to take you to the meeting." She extended her hand for a handshake.
Selene took the offered hand and said, "Thank you. Let me introduce you to some of the team. This Dr. Yakov Agapov, Dr. Dianna Archer, and Dr. Darby de Arev. The rest of the team is down in the garage with the prototype, as we were instructed ."
Elise said, "Yes, that's fine. We will bring everything up through the freight elevators. But we will all go this way." She gestured toward the elevators that were behind the security gates. Then she ushered them all through the waist-high security gates using her badge. Once everyone was inside one of elevators, Elise used her badge again and pressed the number that was the second highest in the building. Everyone on Selene's team turned their eyes to look at each other but without moving.
After they arrived at their floor, the team was led to a very large conference room that was furnished in a modern style. One side of the room was made up of floor to ceiling windows that overlook the city, and the other side had a wall of glass looking out into the rest of the office.
Selene grabbed the back of one of the chairs and took a few quick breaths. Elise put her hand around Selene's arm gently and asked, "Are you alright? You look a little pale."
Selene shook her head and said, "I'm sorry. I'll be alright. I'm just a little afraid of heights." Selene turned around to face the glass wall that looked toward the office. Elise didn't move but her eyes subtly looked up to the corner of the room where there was a small, hardly noticeable, camera. All of a sudden, both the wall and the windows transformed and were tinted an off-white color with a tinge of very light green. After a few more breaths she was fine.
Everyone took a look around in surprise. Elise looked at Selene and said, "Are you alright now?" Selene responded, "Yes, sorry about that. I'm fine now."
Elise said, "Great. Why don't you all set up on this side where the screen is. You can hook up your laptop to this port. If you have any materials, I can distribute them to the committee on the other side of the table."
Selene removed five thick folders from her bag and five thin ones. She handed them to Elise and with a smile she said, "Please put the thin ones on top of the thick ones." Elise raised her eyebrows but smiled back. She said, "Sounds good," took the folders and walked to the other end of the table.
Dr. Agapov took the laptop out of his bag and they all started setting up just as the protoype arrived. Selene looked at Dr. Agapov with a worried look as if saying, "How are we going to present if it's outside the conference room?" But, to the surprise of everyone on Selene's team, one of the panel's on the glass wall moved and the prototype was wheeled closer to them.
After Selene and her team finished setting everything up for their proposal, they stood patiently awaiting the grants committee. The glass panel facing the other end of the conference table slowly opened and the committee started walking in one by one. To her shock, she saw that the last one in, the one who sat at the head of the conference table, was none other than her ex-boyfriend, Ben.
She couldn't help but stare at him as he walked in, noting his dark navy suit, white dress shirt and a grey pin striped tie. He still looked so damn good.
As he sat down, she glared at him. He was taken aback but quickly recovered and set his face in a mask of neutrality that did not betray his feelings.
Seeing this, she too got a hold of herself. Selene raised her chin slightly and cleared her throat. She looked him straight in the eyes, while arching her left eyebrow up.
Ben said, "Welcome Dr. Serian and everyone. I look forward to hearing what you have to offer. It's been awhile since I last laid eyes on something this beautiful."
Selene looked down briefly, then she squared her shoulders. She looked up and said, "We do indeed have a lot to offer now. But it's not just beauty. I'm sure you'll find it worthy of your time." Selene emphasized the word "worthy." She continued, "But if you don't, it's not a problem. I'm certain there are plenty of other investors who will see the value of it." She made sure to also emphasize the word "value."
Ben raised one corner of his mouth in a smirk but did not respond.
After introductions were made, Selene turned her head toward Dr. Archer and nodded. Dr. Archer turned off the lights, although she was looking at the rest of the team with the same stunned look that they also had. Selene moved to the side of the table closest to the glass wall, pressed the button on the remote she was holding, started the presentation, and said, "Let's begin. This should be fun."