Free Pulse by Rhea Wilde

go over your heads. That’s as long as your resumes were accurate and you bothered to look over the information that was sent to you. Here’s the agenda…”
    Rafael worked his way back to the front of the room. I felt relieved when they finally turned their attention away from me. Rafael explained an important business meeting scheduled for tomorrow afternoon. He talked about the company they were dealing with. He explained that he planned on buying them out. Barnett Industries had more than enough money to acquire them but now it was just a matter of convincing them to take our lowest offer. I took down several notes as everybody in the room spoke their opinions. Thankfully, I studied enough last night so that I knew what he was talking about.
    As I watched Rafael stand at one end of the room and listen to everybody’s opinion, I couldn’t help but be captivated by him. Even if I didn’t know that he was a billionaire, he had enough charisma to fake it. He smiled his perfect white teeth when it was appropriate and shot down any inappropriate suggestions without being too condescending. He paced back and forth in front of the room with an enthusiasm that was infectious. I found myself paying attention to him not only because I wanted the information but because I wanted to hear everything he had to say.
    Several hours passed and Rafael raised his hands to put everybody at ease.
    “All right, everybody,” he announced. “Let’s take a break for lunch.”
    The doors opened and a number of men and women in uniforms walked into the room. Some of them began setting a table up on the side while others began working their way around the main table. They took down every man’s order for lunch.
    “So, how are you doing so far?” Wesley asked me.
    “I’m doing fine,” I sighed. “It’s a lot of information but I seem to be getting most of it.”
    “You’re doing better than I am.”
    “Don’t worry. I don’t think they’re expecting much out of us in tomorrow’s meeting.”
    One of the perks of working in the boardroom was the free lunch. It was a relief to not have to worry about working for the moment. I sat at the desk next to Wesley and Travis and the three of us enjoyed our temporary reprieve. While the other board members sat in the same place with their lunches, I noticed that Rafael sat by himself in the corner. He was eating just the same as everybody else but he was also on his computer. It looked like he was focused on his work more than he was taking a break. I wasn’t in any position to walk up and question him though.
    After lunch, the meeting continued with more discussion of the company we were trying to acquire. Rafael continued to emphasize the importance of the meeting tomorrow. We went over all of the different options. At the end of our discussion, I had taken more notes than I had after several years of sitting around in lecture halls.
    I stood up from my seat and stretched myself out. I marveled at the way the older men didn’t look any worse for wear. They shuffled out of the boardroom and headed toward their offices. As I made my way out of the room with Travis and Wesley, Rafael stopped me.
    “Alice, may I speak with you for a moment?”
    “Of course.”
    He pulled me off to the side of the boardroom. The door closed behind me and the two of us were alone. He took a seat on the table and smiled at me with his arms crossed. Even though his demeanor was relaxed, I still didn’t feel completely comfortable around him.
    A few nights ago he was fucking you up against a wall. Now he’s sitting in front of you and you can barely look at him…
    “Are you all right, Alice?”
    “Of course, Mr. Barnett. Why wouldn’t I be?”
    “I said call me Rafael. And I’m asking just to make sure that you’re not overwhelmed by anything.”
    “I’m fine, sir. And I think Wesley is more overwhelmed than I am.”
    “I wasn’t talking about the information for tomorrow’s