Free Lost and Found (A Novel) by Kathy Adams Page B

what she needed, Caelie set down her notes and stood relaxed waiting for her cue. Without even looking at Caelie, Wynne seemed to have guessed that she was ready and smoothly directed their attention back to her. Caelie took them through the rest of the proposal with ease this time, smiling with relief as she reached the end of her presentation.
     
    “Well then, I think that is a great proposal. You have quite a talent here, young lady. I’m sure Mirage must have been proud to have you with them.” Caelie beamed shyly at the oldest of the clients who smiled approvingly at her. Turning towards Wynne, the man extended his hand in a gesture for a handshake. “It’s a deal Mr. Grant. We are honored to be working with you.”
     
    “Likewise, Mr. Henderson.” Wynne said, taking the man’s hand in a firm grasp.
     
    Standing by Wynne’s side, Caelie was grinning herself silly at the first deal that she had helped to clinch for the company. She was barely able to contain the excitement that bubbled within her as she waited for Wynne to walk the clients out. Just as the last of them stepped out of the room, Caelie couldn’t help but jumped for joy and broke out into a victory dance around the conference table, feeling uninhibited, knowing that she was alone in the room.
     
    Wynne leaned against the open doorframe of the boardroom. He had returned after seeing the clients out to walk in on a hyper Caelie. He watched on with amusement, seeing this personality of her that he would never have guessed existed. She jumped and twirled, a wide grin on her face, her hair flowing around her, oblivious to her lone spectator.
     
    Wynne had to acknowledge that Caelie had done pretty good for herself. She had shown a remarkable improvement within just five days. Probably because she was the youngest on the team, the others had pampered and fussed over her, which had irked him a bit. One thing he had to admit, he was impressed by Caelie’s determination and resilience in the face of a challenging task. No doubt initially he was banking on Caelie’s failure just to get her off his team but after observing the hard work she had put in and how seriously she took the task entrusted upon herself, Wynne did not have the heart to see her disappointed. Only once did she tripped up, but even then, she was able to stay calm and masked her turmoil well. Wynne had to say that she had handled it professionally. So, it was only right that she got to experience what she truly deserved, the satisfaction of achieving a successful pitch. And now that he had the chance to see this side to her, it was totally worth it.
     
    As if suddenly sensing a presence watching her, Caelie stopped abruptly and looked up at the door. She gasped and turned a bright red when she saw Wynne staring at her with a smirk on his face. Caelie scolded herself mentally for not being more careful. Flustering, she straightened her messy hair, pulled down her skirt that had hiked up an inch and hurried out of the room, shivering slightly as she passed Wynne by the door.
     
     
    “SURPRISE!!!” Caelie blinked at the group of people standing around the staff lounge and grinning at her. They were made up of the rest of Wynne’s team, Alex and Chanell. As she walked in, each of them came over to shake her hand or pat her on the back. Words of congratulations floated around her. After the crowd had dispersed from around her, Caelie noticed then that a variety of food and drinks had been laid out on the table as if ready for a party. It did not look like they had waited till the deal was clinched before grabbing all these food.
     
    “Um, did you guys prepare this even before we get the deal?” Caelie asked incredulously. She wondered what would happen to the food had she lost the deal.
     
    “Of course.” Someone shouted.
     
    “But-” Caelie tried to explain before being cut off by Marine.
     
    “We know you can do it Caelie. Stop doubting yourself. The fact that we got the