Page 55 of Remember That Time

"It's a personal matter."

"Very good, sir." Lester handed me a tablet. "These are your appointments for the next week. Is there anything I need to change?"

I slowly looked over each day, making sure I was meeting with people I actually wanted to meet with. It didn't make sense to meet with people that couldn't help me get ahead in business, although some people tried.

I was a real estate developer to make money and create a better world for everyone. I was not here to line other people's pockets. If it so happened that cooperation between companies made us all money, great. If not, I was paying for someone's services. I didn't owe them a damn thing except a paycheck.

"Is that a ring on your finger, sir?" Lester asked. "I don't think I've ever seen you wear any jewelry before besides your watch and a set of cufflinks."

I smiled once again as I glanced down at my ring. "It is."

"Is it a family heirloom, sir?"

"No, my fiancé and I bought it a couple of days ago."

Lester's mouth dropped open. "You're engaged?"

"I am."

"When are you getting married?"

"We haven't decided yet. We just got engaged. We have time. Besides, I don't want to rush. I want to enjoy the process."

Lester's voice sounded a little stilted as he said, "Congratulations, sir."

"Thank you."

I glanced up a few minutes later when Lester received a phone call. He answered it, nodding several times before saying, "Thank you. I'll take care of it right away."

"Problems?" I asked when he hung up.

"No, sir. The copy machine usually used for printing out material for the conference meetings jammed up. I just need to arrange for maintenance to come up and fix it."

I glanced at the clock. "Better hurry. The meeting starts in an hour."

"I'll get right on it, sir."

I watched as Lester hurried out of the room as if his shoes were on fire. While it was important to have all the pertinent documents on hand when having a meeting, I didn't think the building would fall down if we didn't.

Lester needed a raise or a vacation. He was good at his job, but that man was a little high strung.

I finished up the paperwork I was working on just as my alarm went off to let me know it was time to go to my meeting. Lester hadn't come back yet so I sent him a quick text asking him where he was. I wasn't surprised in the least when he returned my text within seconds, letting me know he was still working on the problem and would have it fixed as quickly as possible.

The man was very efficient.

Grabbing what I needed, I headed for the conference room. I refused to let this meeting take any longer than necessary. I wanted to be done and out the door by four o'clock at the latest.

When I reached the conference room, only a couple of people were there. After greeting them, I sat down in my designated chair at the head of the table and pulled out my cell phone and sent Gianni a quick text.

"Getting ready for a meeting. Are you getting ready to tell Tony the news?"

A few moments later, Gianni texted me back."Yes."

"Good luck. If you need anything, just call or text. And I do mean anything. This meeting is going to be a snooze fest."

"I shouldn't need anything, but I'll keep that in mind."

I smiled and set my phone down on the table where I could easily see it. When I looked up, more people had entered the room. Everyone was staring at me.

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