Chapter 21: Psychological Warfare
It has been two months since the accident. Mei has completely recovered and was back to work. It seemed like everything had gone back to where it was before. Jesse was all business again around office, he never mentioned the night of his surprise visit so Mei kept her mouth shut as well. They pretended nothing ever happened. If it wasn’t because the caution and discipline they caught in each other’s eyes from time to time, Mei would have thought it was all just a dream.
Work had been really busy for her as well. With the ARS proposal already out for customer review, now Jesse’s team was focusing purely on the CMCS project. Since D&W had built similar systems before, the proposal was comparably easier to put together. However, Mr. Carson had somehow promised the company board of directors that he would personally make sure D&W wins both contracts, which had put tremendous stress over Jesse and Mei’s shoulders.
On the personal note, Dan was very tentative now ever since the accident. He called everyday and surprised Mei several times with flowers delivered to her work. People in the office all told her she had found her Prince Charming. Mei just smiled whenever she heard that. Dan was trying very hard, and so was she. But somehow her heart was not leaping for joy as it should be; somehow she secretly hoped to hear Jesse say something about the night or the flowers. Whether it was sarcasm or sincere praise, it does not matter. What kills Mei most is Jesse never even looked at the flowers, nor commented on them. He pretended they were never there. That alone made Mei wanted to scream and tell him to be a man, and tell her how he really feels. Of course in reality all she did was to say “Yes Mr. B, I will have that done right away.”
Aside from all the drama, Mei kept telling herself that Dan was a good man and the right one for her; and if she messed this up even God wouldn’t give her another chance. Her birthday was coming up in a couple of weeks and she would turn 36. Having a late birthday in the year always made her feel older than she really was. Maybe this was finally the time for her to get married, to someone stable, reliable, and treat her nice; someone like Dan.
Jesse tried to bury himself in work ever since the day he walked out of Mei’s apartment. He had no idea why he went there; it was not like him at all to act purely upon emotions. He didn’t expect anything and was shocked at the fact that he almost kissed her. Her reaction in front of Dan was like pouring icy water over his head, he told himself it was all a mistake, something he as her direct supervisor should never do again.
The two weeks Mei teleworked was actually helpful. Jesse used that time to find his old rhythm back, or so as he thought. The day Mei came back in office, he knew he still had feelings for her, and Dan’s flowers only made the situation worse. The only thing he could do was try to keep his distance.
Troy has been up against his back lately as well. Jesse didn’t blame him for wanting to use these two contracts as his golden ticket to get into the company board. Actually winning them would guarantee everyone on the team a pretty substantial bonus, not to mention a nice polish on all their resumes.
Ring… Jesse’s phone rang at almost 6:30 at night and the caller ID indicated it was Troy. He was asked to go to Troy’s office right away, and that was never a good sign.
“Troy, I didn’t know you stay this late.” Jesse walked in and saw Troy standing next to his desk looking at a stack of papers in hand.
“Look at this!” Troy slapped the paper hard on the table and waved Jesse in, “ARS was just awarded, and it did NOT come to us.” It was obvious Troy was annoyed and angry even thought he tried to keep his voice calm.
“Really? How? Who did it go to?” Jesse was surprised to hear that. His team worked really hard on the proposal and he knew it was a solid product.
“The RTI group.” Troy walked over to the cabinet next to the wall and pulled out a yellow folder, “Jesse, you understand how this will look in front of the director board right?” for the first time Jesse heard nervousness in Troy’s voice, “I guess we could swing it as a misstep if we made sure CMCS is securely in our pocket. How is that one going? What is your confident level on winning it?”
“Conservatively speaking, I’d say 70%. Our price is competitive and time frame is a month shorter than the budget deadline. Every requirement in the RFP is satisfied with a few extra capabilities.” Jesse knew that was not a good enough answer for Troy since they were pretty optimistic about the ARS proposal as well.
“Jesse, I hope you understand the importance of getting this contract.” Troy now is sitting back in his chair, with the folder still in hand, “You know the company hired a few college grads to fill the positions that were left open from the people that went to your new team. If we were to lose both contracts, everything will then come down to a numbers game. In this industry fresh blood is always cheaper and better. I’d hate to see anyone go but you as well as I know we are paying your people double of what we are paying the newbies. To be honest with you, it is not a situation anyone wants to be in...” Troy handed Jesse the folder, inside was the D&W’s budget plans. Jesse saw his group was listed in red with a side note saying “pending contracts.”
“You are a smart guy Jesse; I hired you because I believe you have great potential.” Troy walked over from behind the desk and laid his hand on Jesse’s shoulder, “If we were to win CMCS, and I get on the board, I’d hate to see my current job goes to anyone else but you. You understand what a huge opportunity this is for all of us, and I want to make sure we are doing everything we can to secure the contract...”
There was a second page in the folder, and it was Jesse’s group’s organization chart. Jesse’s eye glanced through the names and finally stopped at one – Mei Li. He knew Troy was not done and somehow he also knew what he was really after.
“Jesse, I apologize if I had invaded your privacy.” Troy paused for a few second before went on carefully, “I believe James Steele is your father in-law correct? Now if there is any information that we can get to help with the contract, I think...”
Jesse suddenly felt defeated and furious at the same time. He realized despite his success with CNR project and being 250 miles from DC, he never was able to walk out of James’ shadow. He wondered whether that was the real reason he was hired. “My FUTURE father in-law.” He correct Tory with a voice still and cold, “Mr. Carson, I am quite surprised at your investment on your employee’s personal affairs. To say that I am impressed of being the center of your investigation is an understatement.” With that Jesse stood up and handed the folder back to Troy. Looking directly into his eyes, he said firmly: “Let’s agree that James Steele’s name is never mentioned again or you are more than welcome to hand my job to anyone else at any second.”
“Jesse, come on, I, I am really sorry… Look, let’s just forget what I said, OK? You are doing a great job and please, keep up the good work.” Troy sounded deflated and full of guilt; he went back to his seat and sat down like an old man, his body building physique suddenly looked small and fragile which made Jesse feel sorry and empathetic. He understood that Troy was not bluffing about everyone’s jobs being put on the chopping block if they lost this contract, and that everyone includes Troy and himself as well.
Jesse stood there in silence, after what seemed like a century, he slowly reached into his wallet and pulled out a name card. He pressed it on the table and pushed toward Troy: “Betty Joyce. You might want to have a talk with her.”
