Chapter One: Career Woman
Leslie Alexander is a prodigy; although she was never labeled as one. Well, then again, she was, but in an indirect sense. In other words, throughout her schooling, especially in junior and senior high, she was more advanced and more adept in her studies, grades, smarts, and work ethic that she was asked every once in a while, — by teachers and principals — “Why are you here?” Her qualifications were so admirable, that she was offered a position as a Product Manager shortly after she graduated from college. She has managed to accomplish all of this (so far) at the young age of 21.
She has a lot going for her; she’s a smart, attractive, petite Caucasian female, but there’s a whole lot more to her than just looks. She’s a workout fanatic, especially on the treadmill. Her dad, a retired Marine, rigorously trained her in the hybrid Marine martial arts and combat arms against her mom’s protests because she didn’t want her daughter involved in what she called “barbaric,” and learning something that could cause harm and do damage to others. Her dad on the other hand, wanted his daughter to learn how to defend and protect herself at all costs and learn survival skills.
In a nutshell, Leslie lives a life much larger than her petite stature. Of course, this didn’t come without any challenges from others, jealousy usually being on the forefront. This was especially true when she was first hired at Cherri Inc., one of the top technology companies in the world. It’s not every day when someone gets hired straight to Product Manager; it can be uncomfortable and can get a little testy on the job with co-workers. However, it’s not her fault that she jumped positions at the behest of Eleanor Cherri, the CEO of the corporation who loved Leslie’s resume so much that she offered her the opening for the Product Manager position.
It’s not her fault that her grandfather was classmates with the grandfather of computer guru Donavan Cherri (AKA “The Don.” His nick name derives from Don being short for Donavan, and because of his love for mafia movies), the Chairman and co-founder of the corporation. It’s not easy trying to get excellent, qualified engineers to co-operate with you, when they feel that your job was handed to you. Yes, they were a little resistant to her at first, but after a few months, she noticed they started warming up to her. They realized — it would have been a different attitude with most in her situation — she had the mindset that she was no better than anyone else. She is willing to work with them, listen to and consider their ideas. Some admire her work ethic and ingenuity so much that they began to understand why she was given the position right away.
Yet, with so much going for her, she still feels that there’s something missing and to her, that void in her life is love. She doesn’t have that male companion in her life to share with. Although she has dated, she hasn’t done it very often. For her, relationships were like a revolving door. Truth to be told, she never makes time for love. She’s always about business, enterprising, and on the go, it’s difficult fitting companionship on her schedule, but that’s all about to change. One day after a meeting, Sam Henry, Senior Vice President of Products, introduces her to the new employee Tony Williams. As everyone is filing out of the meeting, Sam, along with Tony is walking in.
“Leslie, I’d like for you to meet Tony, our new software engineer,” Sam says. “Tony, this is Leslie, our top Product Manager.”
“Hi, Ms. Alexander, how are you?” Tony asks, extending his hand.
“I’m fine. I’m pleased to meet you.”
As she shakes his hand, she looks at him from head to toe and likes what she sees, but when she looks into his eyes, she thought to herself, “Wow.”
“Come with me to my office, I can bring you up to speed on everything.”
“Sure thing, show me the way, Ms. Alexander.”
She turns, smiles, and says, “Why so formal? Just call me Leslie.”
“Okay, Leslie. I know that I have a lot to learn, with you guys being in the middle of a project and all —
“Hey, don’t worry about it, I wouldn’t want to push all of that on you right off the bat. We’re going to bring you along slowly, have you watch our guys, some hands on in between, and we’ll go from there. We’ll discuss everything in my office, it will give me a chance to sit down; it seems as if I’ve been on my feet all day.”
So, they step into her office, where she could get off her feet for a while and finish her conversation with Tony, with less interruptions.
“So, I see you’re from Illinois.” She says.
“Yes ma’am. I grew up on the north side of Chicago. I graduated from Northwestern University, with a major in Computer Engineering.”
“Wow, that’s impressive,” She replies. “If you don’t mind my asking, what was the driving standard from your parents?”
“My parents were really big on getting an education, coming up higher, and doing better than what I saw from my surroundings growing up.”
“Wow, that’s cool, it shows that you have perseverance. Anything else you want to tell me?”
“I’m 40, I’m black and single,” He says. “I’m kidding, although all of that is true.”
“Yes, I can see that you’re black.”
They both laugh.
“People think I’m serious all of the time, but I actually have a sense of humor. I can see that you have one as well.” He says.
“Yes, we’re all about business, but we’re a pretty loose group at the same time. I mean, it’s not good to be uptight.”
“I agree.”
“You know, I think we’re going to get along just great; I think you’ll get along great with the others as well,” She says. “We have an amazing group of engineers. You’re gonna love them.”
“I’m sure I will,” He says. “I can’t wait to get started.”
“It’s been a real pleasure talking to you,” She says. “Come on, let me introduce you to our staff.”
Unbeknown to Tony, Leslie is doing more than just getting to know her employee, she is checking him out, sizing him up to see if there is any compatibility. She sees more than compatibility; she sees a husband that she always wanted. Although it’s not considered practical for women to approach men, she’s an aggressive go-getter who will stop at nothing to get what she wants and she isn’t going to miss out on this chance.
But wait, he might be the old-fashioned kind, what if she approaches him and he views her as the easy, slutty type? “That wouldn’t be good,” she thinks to herself, so she’s going to approach this with subtlety, she’s going to drop hints here and there to see if he gets the message. This is one totally outside of her character and M.O., but sometimes in order to achieve something in particular, one has to make adjustments, do something that one has never done. She introduces Tony to the product designers, who give him an enthusiastic welcome. She spends most of the day getting him acquainted with the team and the utilities of the building.
“I want to welcome you to Cherri, and if you need anything, let me know or feel free to visit me in my office.”
“Yes ma’am, and thank you very much. I’m definitely looking forward to working with you.”
Whether giving him the option of visiting her office at any time is a part of her bait or not, is left to speculation, but if it is, her plan worked…perhaps?
