It was Connor’s first day on the job as the head of Public Relations at a new company, and thoughts ran through his mind as he walked up the long, relatively steep and narrow stairs, He saw the company’s name on the door, opened it, and was met by an attractive lady at reception. She looked up and correctly guessed whom he was. She stepped around her desk and greeted him warmly.
“Connor Thompson, right? Your first day today? Hi, my name’s Noraini,” she extended her hand with a smile and they shook hands.
“Hello Noraini,” Connor smiled back, looking around at the office. Everyone was mostly already there and he noticed them smiling and looking at him in fascination. They probably hadn’t had much contact with African-Americans, but that was understandable, given that this was Singapore, and after all, populated by mostly Asians. Although cosmopolitan and a melting pot of various cultures, most of the expatriates were Caucasian, with very few like himself. Even then, expatriates made up a small percentage of the population. The rest of the foreigners they came across were mostly tourists.
“You can call me Nor for short. Mr. Lee told me to expect you,” Nor smiled. “Welcome. Let me introduce you to everybody and then we’ll get you settled in your new office.”
So Nor spent the next several minutes introducing Connor to his new co-workers. They started on the floor they were on, the Editorial department, responsible for churning out newsletters, brochures, magazines and what not for their various clients. Everyone greeted him warmly. Connor noticed the door that said ‘Editor’ at the end.
Nor saw him looking and explained, “That’s the Editor’s office. She’s away on vacation right now but we’re expecting her back tomorrow. I’ll introduce you to her then.”
Next, they went upstairs, where his Public Relations department was. Again, he was warmly welcomed. Nor pointed to the closed door marked ‘Public Relations’ and on the second line, ‘Manager’, in slightly smaller lettering. “That’s your office. Mr. Lee’s is directly opposite yours,” she said, pointing to a door simply marked ‘The Boss’. Connor chuckled. It was obvious from when Mr. Lee interviewed him that he had a sense of humor, a trait he appreciated.
“Before you settle in though, let me introduce you to our team in the Graphics department,” she said and led him up yet another flight of stairs.
“Phew! That’s a lot of steps!” Connor grinned. “Good exercise with all this running up and down you guys do here though.”
Nor laughed and explained, “This used to be a shophouse in the olden days, before they converted them to offices and rented them out. As you may have noticed, the ‘shop’ portion of the shophouses now house companies like boutiques, bakeries and what have you. They were going to demolish all of these shophouses to make way for more modern complexes, but decided to restore them instead. I like the idea. It allows us to retain part of our architectural and cultural heritage.”
“Oh I love it,” Connor agreed. “They’re certainly charming.”
After all the introductions were made, Nor led him back to his office. “Lunch is at twelve, and the bathroom’s at the end of the hall. If you need help with anything or have more questions, my extension is listed, along with everyone else’s, on your phone.” She gave him a quick tutorial on how to use their phone system, smiled, and left.
Connor spent the next few minutes situating himself in his new office. After awhile, Mr. Lee popped his head in and gave him a huge grin.
“So Connor,” he greeted him. “How’s your first day so far?”
“Wonderful. Still getting my bearings but I should get settled in soon,” Connor smiled, standing up and shaking his new boss’s hand.
“Did Nor introduce you to everybody?”
“Yes she did. She did a great job,” Connor nodded.
“Good. There’s one more person you should meet tomorrow, the editor,” Mr. Lee said. “Although her department and yours are primarily independent of each other, there will be several occasions when you’ll need to work together, especially when we’re serving the same client.”
“Yes Sir, I’m looking forward to meeting her,” Connor replied.
“I also took the liberty of setting up a meeting between you and your new department, so that they can brief you on their status, our ongoing projects, and what needs to be done,” Mr. Lee said. He looked at his watch and pointed, “And the meeting starts in about five minutes as a matter of fact. I’ll sit in this time and help you where I can.”
“Goodness gracious, I’d better gather my notebook then,” Connor said, snatching up his notebook and a pen, before heading downstairs with Mr. Lee.
* * *
The next day, Connor heard a knock on his office door. “Come in,” he invited, quickly reading through what he just typed before looking up from his computer.
Nor opened the door and smiled. “Connor, I’d like to introduce you to our editor, Kelly Chen,” she said, as Kelly moved into view. “Kelly, this is Connor Thompson, the new head of Public Relations.”
Connor stood up to greet Kelly, and was stunned by her beauty. Her long, flowing black hair framed a very attractive, oval face. Her large, almond-shaped, dark brown eyes, accompanied by long, thick eyelashes, were sparkling and expressive. Her soft, kissable lips were turned up in a warm, gorgeous smile. His eyes had already taken in her figure as they swept up, before resting on her face. All in all, she was a heart-stopping vision of sexiness.
“Hi Connor,” Kelly grinned, shaking hands with him. “Pleased to meet you.”
“Same here, Kelly,” Connor grinned back, noting her firm handshake and how she looked him straight in the eye. “Everyone was telling me I should meet you. Now I know why.”
“Dang, so what have these naughty people been telling you about me? Not all good I hope,” Kelly’s soft laughter made his heart skip in a funny way.
“Nothing but good things, I’m afraid,” he replied, his mind already mentally picturing them in various stages of undress. It made his best friend twitch, and he hoped she wouldn’t notice it.
Kelly liked what she saw. Connor was tall, with rich, dark brown eyes and wide, delectable lips that were now curved up in a huge grin. He’d shaved his head, and in her opinion that made him look all the more sexy. His brown, chocolatey skin looked smooth to the touch. She could very well imagine licking his skin all over, and that thought gave her goosebumps. He was also very nicely built. Her eyes then flicked quickly to the area around his crotch.
