Chapter 10 Credit Score Of A Door

• My phone buzzes and I check it to make sure it’s Jonas.
• Almighty Jonas: ‘Waiting outside.’
• I smile and grab my bag to walk outside.
• “Bye!” I tell Ira and Natalie.
• “Enjoy!” Natalie says without taking her eyes off Ira’s laptop. I shake my head.
• I am sure they are off their online research on Mikolaj and Jonas right now. Whenever a topic starts, they love to dig for every information available online. By information, I mean genuine things. Not just gossip, but achievements, scandals, lawsuits. Odd choice of entertainment. Natalie has a nag for snooping too. A hacker trait? And she is being a bad influence on Ira.
• …
• I walk out of the Dorm building and look around to spot Jonas. My eyes fall at a Porsche Carrera GT. He roars the engine loudly and all heads turn at the car.
• I open the car door and whisper shout at him, “I have friends here Jonas and they talk!”
• He laughs.
• “Oh Riley… They already think you are dating me. Let me show you off a little.”
• My cheeks turn red with embarrassment. Once we started working on our project, the usual chatter started and not a single day passed when someone didn’t ask me if I was dating him.
• I tell them it's all about the project.
• “Why are you in this car? Did Your uncle finally donate it to you?” I ask, and he chuckles.
• He has told me many times that he wants to own a Porsche, but apparently his family thinks he should earn it himself. This car belongs to Mikolaj Josef. I saw it parked in front of the office a few days ago.
• “He will donate his both kidneys to me, but not this car Riley.” I snicker. Possibly he is right.
• It takes us an hour to reach the main headquarters. It’s in Downtown Detroit. The architectural design of the headquarter’s high rise is marvelous. Of Course it’s a construction company. I won’t expect any less from it. It’s a glass building with a tint of blue. It’s hard to tell if it’s the sky or really the color itself. I gasp when I see the Lobby Interior. White brick walls with wooden steps in the middle. I frown at the realization. It looks like a train station.
• “Is this designed inspired by-”
• “Grand Central Terminal In New York City,” Jonas provides helpfully.
• “It’s beautiful,” I whisper.
• “Odd choice for the lobby of a construction company, but I love it.” I tell him.
• “This place is not limited to Josef designs and constructions anymore. We have many head offices over here.”
• Once I am done gaping at the lobby, I look around and see men in uptight suits and women in elegant suit skirts. It makes me feel odd and out of place. I glance at my clothes warily. I am wearing a skirt and a blouse. I thought it looked perfect. Ira approved. But I am not sure anymore. Good thing everyone is leaving office. Office hours are over, after all.
• “What happened?” Jonas asks as we enter the lift.
• I open my mouth but shut when a man enters the lift. Oh God, why are men in suits so hot? He glances at my outfit and snorts. My shoulder slump and my self-confidence shatters. I want to melt into a puddle right here.
• “I feel out of place,” I whisper at him.
• He wraps his arm around my shoulder and pulls me closer.
• “I am in casuals all the time.. you are okay,” he says and I nod. He is wearing jeans and Tshirt too. Two of us are out of place. I tell myself.
• But there is a difference when you wear a $500 worth causal versus a barely $50 casual outfit. Also, he is the future owner, not me.
• I wish my head would stop swarming around. I don’t want to be a nervous mess when I meet the man I admire. He took over this business after his father’s death when he was barely my age. I glance at Jonas. He is taking care of this business . After his uncle’s footsteps, which is equally amazing.
• We grab a coffee, and Jonas takes me to a conference room where we meet a business analyst. Jonas arranged some training sessions for both of us, which helped us with the project immensely. It is our last day working together. Rest of the report can be managed on our own. We can meet for an hour a few times at campus if needed.
• I glance at the clock. It’s past six.
• ”We completed this assignment in record time.”
• He smiles. ”And do you agree I shared the load?”
• I sip my coffee to hide my smile. “You sure did. Good job!”
• He laughs. I tap my foot in anxiousness and ask hesitantly, “I thought we came here to meet him.”
• I don’t want to bother him too much, but I also don’t want to miss once in a lifetime chance.
• He rubs the back of his neck. “Let’s see if he is in his office right now,” he says while getting up.
• “Oh,” I say, clumsily picking up my stuff to follow him.
• “Would he be free right now?”
• Jonas laughs. ”He is never free. We gotta steal his time.”
• ….
• “Emma, is he in there?“ Jonas peeks into a cabin and asks a redhead woman in a skirt suit.
• She glances up from her desk and smiles. “Oh Hey Jonas.. yes, he is inside.“
• Then she looks at my phone in my hand and says, ”I am sorry. Visitors cannot take their phone inside.”
• “Oh. No problem.” I give her a sheepish smile and put my phone into a tray on her desk. Jonas swipes his card to open Mr. Josef’s personal office door.
• “This door alone has a credit score of 780.” I mutter, and Jonas laughs.
• “You are funny when you want to be…” he says and I force a smile.
• Truth is, I am a nervous wreck. My heart is thumping hard in anticipation. This is why stupid jokes are slipping out of my mouth.