The meeting

The next morning I arrived to find Jodi waiting in her office with my coffee and her phone in her hand. She was dressed in a one size too small business suit that was just at the limit of being business appropriate in length. It also showed off just enough cleavage to make a guys eyes wander.

"Bob Barnes is coming today," she said at once.

"Shit, I thought he would at least give me a few weeks to get my feet wet," I mumbled.

Bob Barnes was my new immediate supervisor, and the one person who stood between me and my quest to continue up the corporate ladder to that corner office. I can't say that he was adversarial or that he would ever actually block me from advancing, but he was also climber, just a few years ahead of me on the climb. My success in the satellite office would be just as good for him as it was for me.

"Whatever you need to make sure this meeting goes well, just let me know," Jodi said. "I'm here for you."

What I really wanted was to undress her in my office, Bob Barnes be damned.

"Give me a few minutes to wrap my head around this and we'll talk," I said.

I entered my office and quickly scanned through all of the most recent production numbers, which I knew would come up. I had already identified most of mistakes the previous manager had made, and was already on the way to addressing those. All in all, I was in excellent shape for my third day on the job. Still, Bob Barnes visiting was a huge deal.

Jodi came in a few minutes later and quizzed me on the facts. I was spot on. Everything was fine, but I was still a nervous wreck. This one meeting would set the tone for my time here, and potentially either expedite my move up the ladder or lengthen the time I was stuck here.

"Permission to speak freely, sir?" Jodi asked, for the first time since I met sounding a little nervous.

"Of course."

"You're stressing over nothing," she said. "You've got this! You just need to release some tension." She looked at her watch. "Bob Barnes will be here in 90 minutes. You need to get yourself in the zone before he arrives."

"How do I do that?"