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acknowledgement, then started toward the elevators.
    Once inside the elevator, Jerrica felt the tension building in her muscles.
    “You need to relax, Jerrica. You’re going to make yourself sick.”
    “How did you know I was tensing?”
    “I’ve known you long enough to know when you get tense,” Lauren commented.
    Jerrica tried relaxing her shoulders a little, knowing she wasn’t doing this alone. As the elevator reached the thirtieth floor, Jerrica straightened her back, squared her shoulders, and readied herself.
    Lauren’s eyes widened as the doors slid open. The soft recessed lighting gave this department a luxurious atmosphere with its wooden floors and beige colored walls . It was a huge contrast to any other department in the company. She had to hustle to keep up with Jerrica. They were the first ones to arrive in the boardroom.
    Jerrica set her folders on the oval mahogany table. “I would like you to sit in one of the chairs against the wall closest to the door,” she said, turning to Lauren. “Those seats have a better vantage point.”
    Lauren nodded in agreement.
    “I’ll take care of the presentation,” Jerrica continued, “I want you to keep an eye on everyone to catch his or her reactions, ones that I might miss during the presentation. I want to be able to have some kind of interpretation on how they felt or if they liked the information I present.”

     
    Jerrica is always her worst critic . With notepad and water bottle in hand, she made herself comfortable. Lauren knew Jerrica was insecure about her public speaking abilities. Later they would discuss what Lauren had observed and Jerrica would formulate a plan to build on her weak points.
    Jerrica was busying herself with her financial paperwork when people started to file into the room.
    Mr. Bisset rushed to talk to Jerrica the moment he spotted her.
    Lauren couldn’t hear what they were talking about, figuring he didn’t want her to. She observed him pull out the chair right next to Jerrica, never acknowledging that Lauren was even in the room.
    “Such an ass,” Lauren whispered under her breath.
    Minutes later more people appeared, filling the space to standing room only. The expressions on their faces showed that everyone would rather be somewhere else. When the door finally closed, everyone turned to Mr. Bisset.
    Bisset stood to speak.
    “Good afternoon, ladies and gentleman. I want to thank you all for attending this meeting on such short notice. Everyone received an e-mail this morning outlining the intent of today’s meeting. I would like to start with the topic that’s on everyone’s mind, the added expense of this new position.”
    John turned toward Jerrica.
    “For those of you who don’t know her, this is Jerrica Kerrison,” he said, placing a hand on her shoulder. “She is our top business manager and accountant and she has prepared a presentation for us. She is going to show us the financials for the past couple years to support the undertaking that I will present later.”
    Lauren thought it was strange that he would start with how to pay for his plan instead of explaining the project first. She watched as Mr. Bisset plopped back into his seat.
    Jerrica rose from her chair. Lightly clearing her throat, she started her presentation.
    Lauren glanced around the table, intrigued by how captivated everyone became as Jerrica spoke. Jerrica addressed the room with confidence, directing everyone in the room through the pamphlets containing her graphs that she had passed out earlier, and explaining in detail the current cash flow. Lauren felt a moment of pride watching Jerrica control the room.
    When the presentation was over, Jerrica fielded questions. She was very pleased that everyone seemed satisfied with the information she had supplied.
    Mr. Bisset stood and put a hand on Jerrica’s back, “That was a very informative presentation. Thank you so much for your help. Ms. Kerrison will now be exiting the meeting and we