Invisible in Plain Sight

With every key stroke I felt excitement running through my fingers. All my hard work was now finally complete. All I had to do was just complete this email.

'Hi Lisa,

Please find attached my proposal for the Q1 marketing schedule. Let me know what you think.

Regards

Josh'

I finished typing and checked once again that my proposal was attached. My finger lingered over the send button for a second before hitting it. Hearing the familiar 'swoosh' as the email was sent made me smile.

This was it, my big chance to show my boss what I could do. I had been tasked with preparing the Marketing schedule for the upcoming first quarter of the new financial year. This would potentially dictate the company's activities regarding promotions, social media, catalogues, television, radio and print advertising.

I had been with the company for 3 years, starting as a Marketing Co-Ordinator and working my up to Marketing Associate. My role reported directly to Lisa North, the Marketing Vice President. This proposal was my first chance to really show I understood the business and could help drive it forward. I had been working hard on this for some time now, with in depth research and practical solutions for all scenarios included. To finally complete it and send it in ahead of time was really pleasing. I was proud of the work I did.

Rolling my chair back I stood up and stretched. Looking around, I could see all of the other people in the office hard at work in their cubicles. My little moment of triumph went unnoticed amongst the mundanities of office life. I worked in a stereotypical large company office. People all working in their cubicles, partitioned off from others. We were grouped according to the departments we worked in; Accounts, Logistics, Purchasing, Marketing, Projects, and Human Resources.

The company I worked for was a major retail consumer electronics and entertainment store chain with the head office located in Sydney, Australia. It had been one of those staid organisations trying to grow without changing its ways. That was until 2 years earlier when we were purchased by tech billionaire Steve Gooding. He set about modernising the business, spending big to improve the way we operated in both our physical stores and online. Excellent growth then followed. Many people wondered why the tech guru wanted a 'dinosaur' retail chain. However he had a soft spot for the business as he worked for the company while at University and knew the potential it had.

I headed towards the lunch room to get a coffee and a snack, when I noticed that it was just after midday. No wonder I was feeling hungry. I decided to go out to get some fresh air and to grab a bite to eat. To be out of the office, even for a little while was nice. As it was summer the weather was warm and the walk to the sandwich shop was good.

When I returned, I went to the lunch room and chatted with some my colleagues in there. I was lucky enough that I got along with most people. While I am somewhat introverted in nature, I am very good at being able to chat to people about almost anything. Letting them in and getting close to them, well that was a whole other matter.

After lunch I headed back to my desk. Standing next to my desk, showing someone into the vacant cubicle next to mine was Toby from Human Resources. When I arrived he introduced me to Amelia Peterson, the newest member of the Projects team. Hearing her name she turned around and stood up.

"Hi, Josh is it? I'm Amelia... well Amy mostly. Nice to meet you."

"Nice to meet you too." I replied, shaking her hand, trying to take her all in.

She looked to be about my age, dressed nicely in a blouse and trousers. Amy was quite short at a little over 5' tall (but I'm not overly tall at 5'8"). Her hair was red and tied back in a bun, her tortoiseshell framed glassed encircled green eyes. Her smile was warm, but somewhat nervous. Hardly surprising considering it was her first day here. Her hand held mine as we shook.

"Josh is our Marketing Associate and has been here for over 3 years. He knows this place inside and out and will be able to help with any questions you may have." Toby complimentarily interjected.

"Yes Amy, I will be happy help you out any way I can. Nice to have you on board with us."

"Thanks Josh. It's nice to be here. I will probably pester you way too much." She said with a grin.

"I will be happy to help." I replied, with my smile mirroring hers.

With that I turned back to my desk. I went to my computer and opened my emails, hearing Toby in the background going over a few things with Amy.

As the afternoon went on I did my normal work; went and discussed some things with my marketing colleagues, answered emails and prepared reports. I just finished a phone call when Amy quietly interrupted me.

"Josh I hate to bother you, but would you be able to do something for me?"

"Of course. What do you need Amy?"

"Would you be able to send me an email? I want to make sure I know my email address and see that everything works..."

"No worries. I will do that now."

"Thanks Josh."

I quickly went onto the email system, found her name on there and sent her a quick message.

'Hi Amy,

Really great to meet you today and hope you enjoy working here. I'm sure you will. As I said, anything you need I will try and help you out.

Josh'

I heard her computer 'bing' as my message arrived and then the click of her mouse as she opened it. I was pretty sure I heard her quietly go "awww" as she read my email. Then I could hear her typing.

My computer then binged with a reply.

'Thanks Josh.

I'm sure I will be pestering you a lot. I appreciate it very much.

Amy'

Just then I received another email that completely changed my focus. It was from my boss Lisa. She was replying to the Marketing proposal I had sent to her earlier. Even though she was away interstate she still replied to my email. She was visiting some of our suppliers with the buying team, working on our corporate relationships and joint promotional activities.

'Hi Josh,

Thanks for getting this in ahead of time. I've just had a quick look at it and it's really good. I'm back in the office next Wednesday and I will catch up with you about this then.

You've done a great job.

Lisa.'

I sat back with a very satisfied smile on my face. Lisa liked my work.

Lisa was an amazing boss to work for. She had started at the company 2 1/2 years ago, not long after I started and just before Steve Gooding bought the whole business. She was a little older than me at 33 years old and truly knew her role inside and out. She seemed to like me, always encouraging me, talking to me, chatting about anything and everything, as well as our work. Lisa was always there for me. Even at work social functions she chatted with me. She was tall at 5'10", long dark hair, slim but still curvaceous figure, captivating hazel eyes that seemed to look right into my soul, a smile that made me melt. Honestly I had crush on her.

I knew deep down in my heart that nothing would probably happen between us, but I still held out a little hope that it might. As far as I knew Lisa was single. She had never mentioned to me a boyfriend or significant other. Who knows- she might have a thing for quiet guys.

My own love life was definitely not noteworthy. I was 28 and had been single for quite a while. Meeting girls had never been a problem. Opening myself up and asking them out- well that was hugely difficult. I couldn't seem to make the leap from friend to potential boyfriend. While I previously had a couple of girlfriends, I had basically stumbled into those relationships. My last relationship had ended a couple of years ago and had been struggling ever since to even ask girls out.

My daydreaming about Lisa was interrupted by a hand on my shoulder.

"Josh... Oh sorry if I startled you. I'm just going to get a drink. Would you like anything?" Amy asked with a smile.

"Uhh... No. No thanks Amy. I'm ok for the moment. Thank you." I replied back, once my brain kicked back into gear.

"No worries." She said as headed out towards the lunchroom.

I took a moment and reread the email from Lisa. Smiling to myself, I continued on with my work.

*********

The rest of the work week could be described as uneventful, just the regular activities that my work week entailed. I chatted with Amy many times, mostly about work things. She seemed to be integrating into the Projects team relatively smoothly. She lunched with them most days and they all appeared to be getting along. She was definitely the youngest member of the Projects team. I lunched at the same time as them and I could see them all getting along. Occasionally I would glance across as they were all chatting in the lunchroom, catching Amy's eye. I could hear they were talking about the schools some of their children were going to. She smiled when she saw me looking her way, rolling her eyes a little as the team were discussing things that most certainly didn't interest her.

On Friday afternoon as we packed up finishing the day, Amy asked what I was doing that weekend. I was helping a friend move house and told her this. She was going away with some girlfriends for a weekend away up the coast, to celebrate one of her friend's upcoming wedding. We caught the lift down together to the carpark before wishing each other a good weekend.

Monday morning I arrived into the office and Amy was already there. She wasn't in her usual smart work clothes. Today she was in work boots, jeans and a company polo shirt. Oh her desk was a hi-vis vest and construction hard hat.

"Are you knocking down our partition wall so we can extend our little space here Amy?" I quipped as I arrived at our cubicle.

Amy laughed at my joke.

"Oh yes. We are going to have a luxury cubicle when I'm finished." She laughed. "No I'm off with Malcolm to visit all of the sites we have under construction and refurbishment. I won't be in the office most of the week."

"Well it sounds like you do have a busy week ahead of you. I'm sure you will enjoy getting your teeth into some real work rather than being cooped up in here."

Amy laughed before mentioning that the majority of her work would probably be here in the office, answering emails and phone calls. We discussed a few things before she mentioned an email she had received.

"I saw an email this morning that looked like it was sent to all of us from Steve Gooding. It was regarding a social gathering this Saturday night. What's this all about?"

"Oh yes he does this for us every couple of months. He puts on a night out for us all to keep the morale of the team up and to thank us for our efforts. They are usually really good nights, food, drinks, and music. I haven't seen the email yet, where is this one at?"

"The Watsons Bay Hotel." Amy replied.

"That will be good. Especially if it's a warm night. Are you going to go?"

"I guess so. Do most people go?"

"Well yes. They are good fun... and good for the career too if you know what I mean."

Amy smiled as I said this. Just then the lift doors opened and Amy's boss Malcolm strode over to join us and take Amy for their week of site visits. Amy gathered her things and was about to go.

"Oh Amy, how was your weekend away?" I asked.

Amy smiled what appeared to be an ironic smile at me and shook her head.

"Well that is a long story. I will tell you all about it another time.... But thanks for asking... See you later in the week?"

"Absolutely. I'll be here."

**********

My work days were productive on the Monday and Tuesday. Lisa was returning to the office on Wednesday and there was going to be a meeting with the Marketing team up in the board room. I had plenty of work to do before this meeting.

When the time came on Wednesday my 4 colleagues in the marketing team and I all went up in the lift one floor to the executive level. We made our way to the Board room, where Lisa was already waiting for us. Taking our seats around the table Lisa congratulated us on the work we did while she was away. She then went through a number of upcoming joint promotions she had negotiated with some of our suppliers. We discussed what our varying roles would be during these promotions, the preparations we needed to do, amendments to our marketing plans, advertising etc.

The meeting went for many hours. Lunch was sent in for us as we all worked on these new promotions. By about 3pm we had all the plans sorted and roles allocated to get the work done. As the meeting was breaking up, Lisa asked me to stay back and meet her in her office for a few minutes.

My closet colleague in the Marketing team, Advertising Associate Greg, whispered to me as he walked past "OOOH you're in trouble." like we were back in school. He and I both laughed.

As everyone else left to go back down in the lift, I gathered my things and helped carry some of Lisa's things across to her office. Once in the office she closed the door, took her things from me and asked me to sit down. I took a seat in front of her desk as Lisa came around and sat on the edge of her desk right in front of me.

"Josh I have finished going through your proposal for Q1 and I have to say.... It is perfect. You captured everything we are trying to do with the company. Your ideas are progressive, totally in keeping with the new image we are creating for the business. I am so pleased you captured all of this in your plan. I've already shown it to some of the executive team and they are enthusiastic about your plans. The detail you went into to show how these plans can be practically accomplished really sold it. It proves everything Steve wants to do to update this business will work. Congratulations Josh."

She moved around and put her hand on my shoulder.

"This is going to be very big for your career Josh. You've done so well."

I was completely blown away by how much she liked my work.

"Thank you Lisa. I'm glad it met the brief."

"Met the brief!! You blew the brief out of the water. This is game changing for the business... It will promote us the way we want it. It will lift our profile in all of our target demographics and shows we have fully transitioned the business to the 21

st

century powerhouse we knew it could be... Thank you so much Josh. The executive team know this is your work. Their enthusiasm for this will make sure it happens."

Lisa stood up in front of me and I instinctively did the same. She opened her arms and gave me a hug. It wasn't long, but being in her arms was incredible. For that brief instance feeling her in my arms, somehow I wanted to hold this moment in my memory forever. I could sense her perfume as I took a deep breath. Lisa let go of me and took a small step back, with a big smile on her face. She was smiling at me. Her full smile! At me! Me!

"Thanks Lisa." I said, still somewhat dumbfounded at both her excitement at my proposal and the hug we shared.

"Ok... You should be going back down and start work on those joint promotions."

"Ok. Thanks again."

"No thank you for your hard work. This will not be forgotten." She said with a smile.

I knew I wouldn't forget it.

I left Lisa's office almost floating. While waiting for the lift and on the ride down, I took a couple of deep breaths in an attempt to temper my excitement somewhat. On the ride down I tried to sort the jumble of emotions out in my mind. She really liked my proposal and it was going to be implemented. Then she hugged me. Wow. I managed to calm myself down a little by the time I was back on my floor.

Returning to my desk my colleagues Greg and Aaron asked what Lisa wanted. I told them that we had discussed the proposal for Q1 I had done and she was pleased with it. They seemed satisfied with the answer and pleased that the proposal was a success.

Work then took over and I knuckled down into the new tasks I had been given. The team and I were making good progress with the tasks Lisa had given us. It was getting towards the end of the day and I was getting my 'To Do' list organised for the following day when my email pinged. I was expecting something from Greg regarding copy for an updated advertisement so I went and checked. Instead I had a pleasant surprise seeing who it was from. It was from Amy.

'Hey Cubicle Buddy.

I hope you are keeping our area tidy? Ha Ha.

The new sites are so good and I'm going to be busy when I get back. I won't be back in the office till Monday morning. Will I see you on Saturday night?

Have you missed my pestering questions yet? Lol

Amy'

I laughed when I read it and I just had to reply.

'Hello,

Who is this again? Lol

Yes I am keeping our area tidy, but it has been very quiet in here without all the questions. (Not that I mind the questions btw). We will both be busy when you get back.

Yes I will be there on Saturday night and I hope we can catch up.

Josh'

***********

The weather was spectacularly warm on the Saturday night. Following the dress code outlined in the invitational email from Steve Gooding I was wearing casual summer clothes. My boat shoes, chino shorts, lightweight linen shirt suited the occasion. While I am not the fittest man around, not fat but definitely could be fitter, I felt good dressed like this. My dark hair was casually messy and I was genuinely looking forward to the night ahead. In brief moments like this I tried to convince myself I was a good looking guy that the ladies would like to date. In reality however I just was an average looking man more likely to blend into a crowd.

Just then my phone pinged notifying me my Uber was downstairs waiting for me. I quickly grabbed my keys, wallet and phone and headed out the door. Even in these comfortable clothes it was still warm in the Uber from my apartment to the venue. Where I lived in Gladesville was a little over 20 km from Watsons Bay, but it still took nearly an hour to get there in the Saturday night traffic. I arrived a little after 7 and the party had just started. Plenty of my co-workers had already arrived.

After being checked in at the door I walked through the gates to the outside area of the Watsons Bay Hotel. This area of the Hotel was exclusively for our party and was nicely decorated. Music was playing, there was a stage set up for a band, waiters were taking drinks and food around, and lights were strung up decorating the place. It was a really friendly, relaxed vibe. I grabbed a drink from a waiter and was soon chatting with some of my colleagues. The view out over Sydney Harbour was spectacular. My colleagues all said that Steve really knew how to throw a party and I whole heartedly agreed.

After about an hour the venue was crowded with colleagues, executives, suppliers, branch managers and team members. I was chatting away with Greg and Aaron from our Marketing team, scanning the area to see who was here. As I looked around I saw her. There she was. Lisa. My mind completely stopped. Oh wow. She looked stunning. Her hair was out, her dark tresses flowing down past her shoulders, her dress while casual and summery was still form fitting and it showed off her gorgeous figure. She was laughing, drinking champagne and talking with people I didn't recognise.

At that moment she turned and saw me. Our eyes met and a big smile came over her face. She waved to me and signalled me to come over. I excused myself from my conversation and went over to where she was. Lisa appeared to excuse herself from her conversation and turned her attention to me.

"Here is my genius. How are you Josh?" She said loudly before putting her arm around my shoulders.

"I'm doing great Lisa. What a good party. How are you?"

"I'm really good... Josh, come with me. There is someone I really want you to meet."

Lisa took my hand and led me through the party. We stopped and chatted with various members of the executive team, all of whom were extremely complementary to me regarding my work. Lisa obviously had been talking up my efforts in creating the new marketing plan and everyone she introduced me to all knew of my work. She was talking excitedly and I struggled to get a word in.