CHAPTER FIFTEEN
Jocelyn awoke the next morning to the sound of Ramon getting out of the shower. When he entered the room, he saw that she was awake. He said, “Good morning beautiful.”
Jocelyn said, “Good morning yourself, handsome. Are you feeling better this morning?
“Yes, I am. Being with you cleared my head and gave me some time to think. But I don’t have time for breakfast this morning; I’ll see you at the meeting at nine.”
Jocelyn whined, “I have to be at the meeting at 9:00 a.m.?” She pulled the covers over her head and muttered, “There are no perks being the owner’s girlfriend.”
Ramon leered at her and said, “You didn’t say that last night.”
Jocelyn removed the blanket from her head and tossed her pillow at him. He laughed and caught it before it reached the floor.
He walked over and kissed her cheek.
“I’m going to talk about something important today. Make sure to be there.”
“What’s so important you can’t tell me now?” she asked.
“Get up sleepy head; you’ll find out at the meeting.”
“Okay,” she said grouched.”
Before Jocelyn could get dressed, she heard the phone ring. Caller I.D. said it was Reese. She wondered what Reese could be calling about so early in the morning.
“Hi Reese, what’s up?”
“I just got a call from Tiffany.”
“Are you kidding? She’s on vacation out of the state. Why is she calling you?”
“She said she heard from one of the employees that Ramon is considering selling his company. She said she had asked one of the production people to check on her house. She talked to him last night. He told her he heard from someone close to Mr. Holliday that he had an offer for his company. Jocelyn did he mention anything to you?”
“No, he didn’t say anything like that last night?”
“Do you think someone is spreading rumors? Do you have any idea what the meeting is about this morning? Could Ramon be selling the company? I would hate to lose the only cleaning contract I have.”
Jocelyn tried to calm her sister’s fears. “I don’t think Ramon would consider selling the company without mentioning something to me. Let’s wait until we see how the meeting unfolds. Let’s not borrow trouble before it happens.”
After she got off the phone, Jocelyn shook her head. She had to give it to Tiffany; the woman had a great network. She hadn’t been in the office in days; yet she had managed to find out the latest gossip about the paint company. Now, thanks to Tiffany, she suspected the reason Ramon had been so upset the night before.
Ramon knew he had to reassure his employees they all still had jobs and he was not going to abandon them just because a few scary things had occurred at the company.
He decided to bolster his energy for the morning meeting. He decided to go to the coffee shop nearby. He started back and when he was ten feet from the company’s door when he saw Jocelyn. She screamed hysterically and started waving her arms frantically. He began to rush toward her. He reached her and was just missed by a speeding car driving up on the sidewalk.
Ramon held Jocelyn as her body trembled. She cried, “Ramon that car barely missed you. Someone’s trying to hurt you!”
He tried to sooth her, “Calm down, Jocelyn. Somebody probably just lost control of their car for a few seconds. Someone was just texting or something. Nobody in their right mind wants to hurt me. Come inside.”
Jocelyn couldn’t believe how naive Ramon was being. Somebody wanted to hurt him and destroy his company. She hoped he wasn’t just downplaying the seriousness of the on-going incidents just to keep her from worrying.
At 9 a.m. sharp Ramon entered the meeting room. He began the meeting by thanking everyone for continuing with the company even though some unexplained incidents had occurred. He further stated, “So far no one has been hurt, but I can’t take chances with anyone’s safety, even my own. So after discussing the situation with someone I trust, I have decided to hire a private security firm to be here twenty four hours a day to ensure the safety of each employee.
He further added, however, because we are a small company, in order to afford the added security, there will be some cuts, but your jobs are secure. Are there any questions?”
One brave employee shouted out, “Is it true that you’re selling the company?”
He shook his head, “I don’t know where that rumor started, but I have no intention of selling. We are about to roll out a new product that could make this company known nationwide.”
He paused for a moment to make sure he had everyone’s attention. “Once Brilliance is success, I promise, that everyone here will see a substantial difference in their paychecks. I’m very excited about the path the company is taking. Therefore, I will expect everyone to continue to work as well as they have in the past.”
When Ramon had mentioned budget cuts, Reese had shot a questioning look at Jocelyn.
Jocelyn returned her sister’s look with a silent, “I don’t know look,” and gritted her teeth. As soon as she was alone with Ramon, she would ask him if Reese’s company’s contract would be affected.
After the meeting, Reese and Jocelyn walked to the closet where the cleaning supplies were kept. Reese asked Jocelyn, “What am I going to do? I really can’t afford to have Ramon cut back on any of the hours he has us here cleaning. If he can’t afford the cleaning contract, Tiffany and I will both be out of a job.”
Jocelyn said, “Wait until you talk to him, Reese. Maybe he doesn’t need to cut back on your contract.” Even as Jocelyn said the words she didn’t have much hope that Reese’s cleaning company wouldn’t be affected.
She knew that Ramon needed to stop the dangerous incidents that kept occurring. But when she’d talked to Ramon about security for the company, she hadn’t realized that he would have to make cuts somewhere else in order to afford the additional cost of security.
Jocelyn and Reese went about their cleaning duties as usual. The entire building was percolating with rumors about the reductions. Jocelyn tried to figure out what to do to help both Ramon and her sister.
By lunch time she had come up with a plan, even if it was a little far-fetched. She and Reese would do their own investigating just like the detectives did on the crime shows. Who better to go undercover than the cleaning people? Most of the employees acted as though they were invisible anyway.
The Exquisite Cleaning people were the ones who had access to every office. They cleaned desks, dusted and emptied trash cans full of trash. Like on the crime shows, they just needed a lucky break.
Reese sat down at one of the lunch table with Reese after they finished work. They were alone in the break room. At first, Reese resisted Jocelyn’s idea. She questioned, “What do we know about detective work?”
Jocelyn said, “Shh... What choice do you have? Have you heard from the furniture rental company?”
Reese replied solemnly, “No.”
“Do you have any other contracts coming in?”
Reese replied, a little sheepishly, “No.”
“Then what harm can it do to do a little investigating work on our own?”
Reese said slowly, “I guess it won’t hurt.”
Jocelyn said, “Good, we’ll start tomorrow.”