Page 5 of Big Bad Wolf: B.B.W

Days Earlier . . . Meeting with Sherrie . . .

Yep, I didn’t like this bitch. I wondered how she landed the position of branch manager. I wasn’t directly hands-on when it came to hiring branch employees. I had an agency in the states that I trusted with that. Sherrie had been the manager for a little over three years.

When I met her at the conference in Greece last year, I had questions.

The conference was intended for all the managers of a branch, but she was the only one from her branch to attend.

Each branch had four managers. There was branch, marketing, digital, and print marketing managers.

Four people from her branch should have attended, but she claimed they all had declined the trip.

At the time, I didn’t think anything about it, but other branch managers had a lot to whisper about.

Who really turned down an all-expenses paid trip to Greece?

I had been in the states now for almost six months.

This would be the first time that I showed my face in the Raleigh branch.

The news that I’d moved to America was not widely known, which was intentional.

I wanted to pop out and show fuckas that you never knew where I’d be.

In the past six months, I had popped my ass up in Texas, California, and New York.

When I sent the email to Sherrie to let her know that I would be in the office for a visit, I knew she would do too much.

She embarrassed herself when she was in Greece, or should I say her unseasoned pussy embarrassed her?

I was not against adults doing adult shit, but there should be some discretion.

Her ass ran around Greece with different associates, male and female, serving that unseasoned pussy like it was on last call discount.

I didn’t fuck with her, but the talk was loud.

It was so loud that I thought about implementing a no fraternizing policy.

My father was the marble that tipped the scale in the decision to not implement the policy.

His stance was what would happen if my mate was an associate of the company.

In order to be with her, I would have to fire her, quit myself, or break my own policy.

I agreed with his stance, but I did stipulate within a policy that if any internal romantic relationships impeded on the job duties or success of a person that both individuals would be terminated.

When I showed up to the office, Sherrie was there with bells and pussy whistles on.

The lunch was a nice touch, but I noticed that the associates seemed surprised by the lunch as if it wasn’t a monthly occurrence.

All of my branches had company lunches once a month.

There was a level of annoyance that I felt when I saw that it was Greek food that was ordered.

I let that shit slide, but her attempts to tell me how to conduct my business wouldn’t cut it for me.

“Sherrie, the work of this branch has been amazing,” I told her once we were behind the privacy of her office doors. I sat in the chair in front of her desk. “You have a very strong team.”

She blushed as she leaned forward on her desk with her forearms. “Well, thank you so much. I’m really proud of the leadership that they have.”

“Yes, Elodie is an excellent leader.”

She could play that stupid shit all she wanted, but I wasn’t a fool. Eyes had been on the Raleigh branch for some time now, which was why I chose to move here. Sherrie’s competency had come into question.

“You had been trying to get that account that Elodie landed for almost two years now. What do you think was the factor that made them close with her?”

The smile that rested on Sherrie’s face a moment ago died quickly. “Oh, well, I’m not really sure. I guess I softened them up for her. I honestly wasn’t aware that she was pursuing their account. I’m ecstatic that it worked out in the firm’s favor.”

“Oh, okay. Interesting. As the branch manager, you should know that a report is submitted monthly to headquarters that indicates all account statuses. Elodie had the account listed for the last nine months. How did you miss that? Did you review the reports, Sherrie?” I asked her.

What she didn’t know was that I’d personally spoken to the multi-billion-dollar company of the account that Elodie landed.

When I mentioned Sherrie’s name, they had no idea who she was.

She had never reached out to the company.

Elodie was the only communication that they had from Leventis International Marketing Firm.

Sherrie sat there as if she could take any part of Elodie’s success.

“Ye-yes! I look at the reports. I must have overlooked it,” she retorted.

“The bottom line is that she was able to land the account. Elodie is very persistent as you will find out the longer you are here.” She let out an ingenuine giggle.

“There have been times that I had to sit her down because she can get a little overzealous. That’s why I review her marketing strategies. ”

I gave her a wordless nod. “Well, that won’t be a thing anymore. I will review all of her strategies going forward.”

I stood from my seat to walk around the massive office.

When we opened our branches, we made sure that the branch manager’s office was one that they could damn near live in.

There could be times that they spent more time in the office than they did at home.

The offices had a full bathroom and lounge area.

The lounge area had an oversized couch, a recliner, a wall-mounted television, and a fully stocked bar.

All that was missing was the kitchen and bedroom.

“Sherrie, like I said, I’m in the Raleigh area permanently at least from what I can see for now.

Where I am is where the home office is. Therefore, this office is now that.

” I turned to face her to make sure she understood what I said before I continued.

“Can you have your things moved into the office next door by the end of the week?”

That office was large and nice. It didn’t have a bathroom or lounge area, but it did have a very nice, comfortable recliner.

I knew the office was vacant because Elodie was not in it.

While Sherrie was the manager over all of the managers, Elodie was the manager of the digital and print managers.

The office next door was for the marketing manager as it was in all branches.

In this branch, Elodie was in a marketing agent’s office.

“Oh, you want this office? I just thought you would take the office next door.” She was out of her seat now.

My head slanted toward my ear. “You mean the office that is for the marketing manager, that one?” I smirked when her face flushed over. “Yeah, please have your things moved out by the end of the week. Monday will be my first day in the office.”

Before I left the office, I reiterated that I would email the details for the weekend.

Back to the Party . . .

The thing that I learned about myself was that I liked what I liked.

I loved women, more specifically, I loved black women.

While the majority of women that surrounded me growing up were Greek, my mother’s direct black influence in my household was everything to me.

My parents met in Greece when my mother was on vacation with some college friends.

She was from Florida, where she made sure I spent summers with my cousins to get close to my black roots.

I was just as much black as I was Greek or a centaur.

“Orion, I love that you’re here now. It gives me a chance to really get to know you on a more personal level.” Sherrie’s body leaned into mine. The heat from her vodka-smelling breath hit my ear. “If you want, we can start tonight.”

Everyone in the room disappeared when my eyes fell on Miss Elodie.

When she walked into the conference room earlier this week, I wanted to tell everyone to get out so I could bend her thick ass over.

I only knew her by name and performance.

She was the rock star of the Raleigh branch, and it showed.

Not only did she land major accounts, but she helped those under her come up.

Sherrie was what I called a professional vulture.

She wanted to feed off of others’ work that she deemed dead.

Sometimes, the work wasn’t dead, but she deemed it so; therefore, it was.

That was why she wouldn’t put her hands on another strategy that Elodie worked on.

Something told me that those tweaks she claimed to do were taking things out that she planned to use for her own strategies.

Once she told the person that whatever she tweaked out was not good, that person tended to let it go.

Elodie lifted her hand and twinkled her fingers at me. This bitch just put a spell on me. When Sherrie said my name, I came out of my daze.

I glanced at her with a turned-up lip. I took my hand and patted her on the head.

“Calm that pussy cat down. I only like brown sugar, not white.” The shock from my words had her bottom lip on the table.

I slid out of the booth to let my feet take me to where I really wanted to be.

“Miss Elodie, I’m happy that you decided to come. I’ve been waiting for you.”

There was no need for me to beat around the bush when I wanted to beat around the pussy. Her mischievous grin told me that she was the fuck around and get fucked type of woman.

“Were you now? Tell me more about that.” Her request was simple and complex all in the same breath.

“I want to get to know you a little better outside of the office. I figured this would be the best and safest way to do that shit. When I come into the office on Monday, it will be about money and the business,” I told her.