Ariana's Dream

Ariana's eyes opened quickly.  "What is that noise?  Oh, it's the alarm clock!” she mutters.  As she climbed out of bed and grabbed her robe, she thought to herself, "Oh, boy... another Monday.  Yippee." 

She made her way into the kitchen and grabbed a coffee cup out of the cupboard.  She poured herself a cup and shuffled to the front door to grab the paper from the front porch.  She settles down at the kitchen table to peruse the want ads and have her coffee when the phone rings.

"Hello?" 
"Ariana?"  the voice asks.
"Oh, hi, Renee.  What are you up to so early this morning?"  Ariana greets her best friend.
"Just sitting here drinking my coffee and thinking about getting dressed.  Are you coming in to work today?"  Renee demands
"Yes, I'll be there.  Why, is something special happening today that I need to know about?" 
"Well, there's a rumor going around that the boss is coming in this morning.  I wonder who will be next on the chopping block!"  Renee quickly explains.  "When he comes in, someone always seems to get their pink slip!"

Ariana's heart jumps into her throat, but manages to say, "Renee, you know your job is secure at TL Technologies.  Stop worrying!  You always think things are worse than they are."

Renee calms down a little and says, "You're right, Ari.  It's just a rumor anyway.  Maybe nothing will happen for a while.  I'm just a little stressed.  I guess I should go and get dressed now.  See you in a while!"

Ariana hangs up and puts her coffee cup into the sink.  Oh, no... not another layoff.  The technology market was so up-and-down that you never knew what would happen next.  As it was, she had already had her hours cut down, so she could set her own hours as she needed to.  As the office manager, she knew what was coming up so she was able to make sure she was in the office when important things arose.

She shuffled into her bathroom and set out to take a quick shower.  After her shower, she pulled on some tan khaki pants and a sleeveless coral sweater.  After a quick brush through her hair, and a hint of lip gloss, she was ready to go.

She grabbed her purse and headed out the door of her apartment.  She walked out to her assigned parking space, and hopped into her old SUV.  It wasn’t much, but it was paid for… finally, so it was all hers.  Since her apartment complex was only about 5 miles from her job, and since she didn’t have to be in the office for another half hour, she took her time driving. 

When Ariana arrived at her office, she noticed a couple of cars she didn’t recognize in the parking lot.  “Hmmm… I wonder who else is here besides the boss?” she thought to herself.

She walked in the front door and made her way down the hall to her office.  It wasn’t a large and fancy office, but she made it homey with pictures and knick-knacks.  She had even brought in a picture that her grandmother had painted to hang on her wall.  Hopefully she wouldn’t be packing any of her things anytime soon.  Because of her already-reduced workweek, she was a bit nervous as to what might happen today.

“There she is – our Office Manager, Ariana White!”  she heard a voice say.
Ariana looked up to see “the boss”, Randall Meyers, at her doorway.
“Hello, Mr. Meyers,” Ariana said to him.  Mr. Meyers was a distinguished looking man, roughly 6’ 1” tall and about 180 pounds.  He had a head full of white hair and was probably in his late 50’s or early 60’s, if she had to guess. 
“How are you this morning?” Mr. Meyers asked.
“I’m just fine, and you?” replied Ariana politely.
“Oh, great, and the day will just get better and better!” Mr. Meyers exclaimed.  “I’d like to see you in the conference room in a few minutes.  Just get yourself settled in and meet me down there in 10 or so, okay?”  He turned and left the room.

“Oh, no… already?” Ariana thought dismally.  Was she really going to lose her job first thing in the morning?  She turned on her computer, and while she waited for it to boot up, she walked down to the kitchen to grab a cup of coffee for her meeting with Mr. Meyers.  Upon entering the kitchen, she spotted Renee putting her lunch into the refrigerator.  Renee was their payroll processor, and she had been with the company for about 2 years so far.  She did a great job, and was proud of her work.

“Hey, Renee,” Ariana greeted her friend.  “I’m on my way to a meeting with Mr. Meyers in just a sec.  I wanted to grab a cup of coffee first.”  Ariana helped herself to a coffee cup out of the cupboard and poured herself a cup.  “Wish me luck!”
“Oh, Ari… I do wish you luck.  You are a good Office Manager; surely he won’t lay you off!”  Renee groaned.
“Thanks,” Ariana said.  “You’re the best.  I better run now.  See you later!” Ariana walked out of the kitchen and back to her office to grab a pad of paper and a pen, just in case.  She made her way to the conference room, where she noticed a woman sitting in one of the plush chairs.  The woman was had a dark complexion, and had her dark hair pulled back in a smart-looking ponytail.  She wore little makeup but still looked gorgeous in the coral blouse she wore.

Ariana pushed open the door and the woman looked up and smiled brightly.  “Ariana?” she asked. 
”Yes, I’m Ariana White,” Ariana replied.
“Oh, it is so nice to finally meet you,” the woman said.  “Randy has been telling me all about your efforts here at TL Technologies.”  The woman gestured towards Mr. Meyers, sitting at the table. 
“Ariana White, this is Calista Connors,” Mr. Meyer jumped up to make the introductions.
“Hello, Ms. Connors,” Ariana greeted the woman. “It’s nice to meet you.”
Ms. Connors stood up and walked around to shake Ariana’s hand.  Not only was she gorgeous, she was very tiny and petite.  Even though she couldn’t have been more than 5’ tall, she carried herself in a very strong manner.
“Please call me Callie; everyone does,” Callie instructed.  “Ms. Connors is too formal, don’t you think?  Please, have a seat and chat with us.”

Ariana sat down in the chair next to Mr. Meyers, across from Callie.  She put her paper and pen on the table and folded her hands in her lap. 

Callie started the conversation.  “Ariana, before we get started with the meeting, I’d like to tell you a little about myself and why I’m here.”  Callie paused and took a drink of her coffee.  “I just started with the company about a week ago.  I will be working out of your office next week, after I finish my training and visit a couple of our other branch offices.  TL Technologies is going to be going through some major changes in the coming weeks, and they have hired me to handle some things.  Randy will be moving into another position, so he will no longer be your manager.

“With that said, please understand that the changes we are making are for the benefit of the company; while we would love to keep all of the wonderful employees we currently have, we just are not going to be able to do so.  We were involved in some strategy sessions last week, and have come up with several ideas.”

Ariana’s face fell.  She was so sure Mr. Meyers would overlook her when it came time to “clean house”, so to speak, and now he was gone and she had a new boss.  Was this new boss about to fire her?  Ariana swallowed hard and waited for Callie to continue.