She was obnoxious when she drank. Obnoxious, loud, and tactless. It wasn't as if she needed to be the center of attention as a general rule, but when the alcohol started flowing so did her mouth.
It's not clear why she didn't check herself, especially since she was on the clock. It was a conference, after all, and it was
her
duty as the lead contractor to make sure that it went off without a hitch. She was pretty good at her job, though, so she felt like she should be able to relax and let loose a little after the sessions concluded. She needed it. They all did.
The organization was
huge
. Major companies. Big name companies in the industry. A lot of money invested. It had over fifty
thousand
members, and pulled in millions in membership dues and fees. They had hired her small firm to do much of the coordination of the sessions, including the website updates. It was a good gig.
No one liked the fourteen hour days, to be sure. It had become tradition to relax afterwards with a drink or seven, away from the public and scrutiny of the press and members so that the Board of Directors and staff could decompress. They'd invited her as well as the other contractors, since she had been integral to the organization of the event. It was a courtesy as much as a thank-you.
Four days. Three nights. Long Days. Short Nights. The need to unwind was practically a matter of life and death.
"What are you drinking, Brie?" she was asked. Wine. White? Red? Doesn't matter. Wine.
Brie held the glass of red loosely in her hand as she bounced on the suite's large chair. She looked like Lily Tomlin's "Edith Ann" character, a tiny girl sitting atop a comically large seat. A middle-aged woman looking like a tiny girl in her surroundings.
She couldn't sit still. She bounced back and forth between different people trying to get their attention. It was fun. It was time to let her hair down.
"Ooh! Can you dance?" she asked Leon, one of the Board members.
"Not really," Leon replied good-naturedly.
"Come on, let's dance!" Brie jumped up eagerly and put her wine glass down on the coffee table. Someone caught it before it fell over as she grabbed Leon's hand and pulled him onto a tiny bare space on the carpet.
Leon hadn't been lying. Even if he had more than a space the size of a postage stamp, he wouldn't have been very impressive. "Wow," Brie said. "You really suck!"
He took it in stride. "Told you. I'm usually the DJ," he said.
Brie clapped her hands together. "Oh! Play some music!"
Leon looked over to the suite's entertainment center. Music was already playing. Brie raised her hands over her head and closed her eyes and started swaying. She was already deep into her own internal soundtrack. Leon looked around the people in the room as if to say,
I'm not missing something, am I?
He moved to sit down, but Brie pulled him back up again. It was quite amusing to everyone else as Leon topped the scales at over three hundred pounds, while Brie didn't even make a third of that. Nevertheless, she managed to keep him standing up.
It was all in good humor, of course. No harm, no foul.
"Where are you from, Leon?" Brie asked. Before he had a chance to say anything, she answered her own question. "
I
am from Chicago. Have you ever been to Chicago?"
"Oh yeah," Leon answered. Nothing ever riled him. "I've been to Chicago all the time. As a matter of fact, one time I was -"
"You have?" Brie asked, surprised. She seemed to be on a bit of a time delay. "Have you ever been to a Cubs game?"
Leon smiled, giving up on having any chance to finish a story. "No, I haven't. Is it fun?"
Brie's eyes widened as if he'd told her that he was from Mars. "
Whaaat?
" she drawled. "Oh my god! You have
got
to go see the Cubbies! Where's my wine? There it is!"
She reached for the glass and downed the remainder. "I need more wine!" she announced to the room in general.
As it happened, one of the staff had gotten up to refill her own glass. "I'm on it!" Leslie called.
"Love you, girl!" Brie called across the room, carrying over at least half a dozen other conversations.
The door opened and
he
walked in. The Chairman. If you didn't know that was his role, you would never have figured him for the job. Average height, slightly overweight, but dressed sharp and stylish. He looked about twenty years younger than his nearly fifty years. He still had a baby face, though some slight greying in the temples gave him away. It was a true distinguishing look for him.
Brie had never met Jerome Martin for any extended length of time. A few emails back and forth, a quick conversation on the show floor, but nothing for more than what it took to cover brief discussions about conference issues. She'd probably only really spent less than five minutes chatting with him about anything. She didn't report to him; she reported to a guy who reported to a guy who reported to him. She thought he knew who she was, but she couldn't be sure.
He went over to the bar to pour himself a drink. Brie watched with curiosity, but with his back to her it was impossible to see what he was going to choose. It didn't look like he was thrilled with any of the options, but quietly made a selection and poured something into a glass.
When he turned around, she waved to him. "Jerome!" she called. "Over here!"
He scanned the room to see where he was being hailed from, and caught Brie's eye. The room had gotten crowded and there wasn't much space for maneuvering, but he managed to make it close enough to where Brie, Leon, and others were chatting.
"Hey there," he said cheerfully. "Having fun?"
Leon grinned a big smile. He and Jerome were good friends. "Come on, buddy," Leon said. "You can sit on my lap."
He patted his knee. In reality, there wasn't much room on Leon's "lap" for another person - his girth didn't provide much in the way of seating space. Jerome played along, though, and bent over as if he was going to accept the offer anyway.
Leon pushed him away. "Get outta here!" Leon laughed.
"Oh my god!" Brie squealed. "You were going to do it!"
Jerome grinned, but was looking at Leon. "You didn't seem to mind the last time," he teased.
"The last time you were a bit smaller," Leon teased right back.
Jerome made a face that conceded the point. "Fair," he said. "Then again, so were you!" He was still grinning. Leon made the same face. It was true. Jerome settled against a wall.
Brie saw an opportunity. "You can sit by me!" she said, scooting to the edge of the seat. It was almost as much of a joke. Brie took up almost
no
space on the chair, and it was practically empty as a result.
Jerome looked at her and then the seat, contemplating. He was affectionate with people with whom he knew and was close, but he didn't know Brie at all. She reinforced her offer with a pat on the cushion.
"Well, I've been on my feet all day and could definitely take a load off," Jerome admitted. He stepped around Leon and sat down on the other side of Brie, sharing the chair.
"What are you drinking?" Brie asked, indicating his glass.
"Not sure," Jerome confessed. "It was wine. It was red. Now it's in my glass. Soon it will be in mah belly." He sad the last in his best Mike Meyers "Fat Bastard" voice, which was surprisingly accurate.
Brie laughed a little too hard. She didn't see him raise an eyebrow at the force of her laughter at his little joke. It might have been amusing, but it probably wasn't
that
funny.
Someone else got Jerome's attention. "How has the conference been going so far, Jerome?"
