***** Vol.1 Chap.4 Dreaded meeting with the captain *****
Kristin dreaded the upcoming meeting with Captain Jonas. Just thinking about him caused her to shudder. To her, he was one pompous, condescending, self-centered administrator who loved to throw his weight around. As captain of the research vessel Mayflower, Jonas had the privilege and prerogative to veto any projects he deemed dangerous. He enjoyed rejecting projects according to his likes and dislikes. In the past, her projects had been rejected several times for no other reason but to let her realize he was the boss. She had the feeling that he would try again to reject her project on the upcoming research trip.
Fight. Fight for your life’s work! Defend your project.
With her head held high and the research schedule in her hand, she hurried out of her building, heading to the administration building where Jonas had a corner office with a fantastic view.
Pausing briefly outside Jonas’ office door, she used her left hand to adjust her hair; then knocked. No answer. She knocked again, while still considering how to approach Jonas on her field test of the submersible in the upcoming research trip on his vessel.
Strange. No answer. She looked at her watch. It said one minute after nine in the morning. She knew Jo Ann would have confirmed the meeting with Jonas.
She waited patiently as she pondered on how to present her project to him. She paced back and forth in front of the door. Five minutes past the appointment time, yet no signs of Jonas anywhere. Ten minutes passed since her pacing because stomping. She was getting impatient and told herself to wait five more minutes before heading back to her office. What a quandary! She needed Jonas to agree to her project right now before time ran out for the upcoming research trip.
Right when she turned to leave, the distinctive voice of Jonas bellowing loudly from down the hallway reached her ears.
“… Oh yeah, that would be fine, honey. Just take care of it.”
“No problem, Captain.”
“Now, can I interest you for a cup of coffee, sweetie?”
“Thank you, Captain, but I do have these papers you just gave me to take care of.”
“Oh, that can wait. Hey, there is this little hideaway place called the Main Street Café. They served good cappuccino.”
“That sounds good, though I better take care of these papers first.”
“You are all work and no play? You will die of boredom.”
Jonas tugged at her arms.
“Thank you, Captain Jonas. I love to, but you had an appointment fifteen minutes ago.”
“Oh, really? With whom?”
Jonas turned the corner and saw Kristin standing outside his door, amusing herself with the comic strips taped on the door.
“Party pooper,” said Jonas. He mumbled with an air of displease, though loud enough to ensure Kristin heard him. Of course, she heard him. In fact, she caught the whole conversation. How could one not hear it? Jonas had the booming voice that whenever he was around, everyone sensed his presence.
He cleared his throat and walked straight to his door without acknowledging her presence. Fumbling around for his keys, he was halfway through the door when he turned to his secretary.
“Sweetie, can you bring me a cup of cappuccino from the Main Street Café? Also, remind me at 9:30. I am expecting a conference call from the Senior VP on the upcoming research trip.”
He patted his secretary on the back. Kristin noticed that his touch had stayed a little too long there. He let his hand slide down slowly.
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After his secretary left, he sat behind his oversized desk, richly decorated with many ornaments. On top of the desk sat an oversized wood carving with the words ‘Captain Jonas Tontere’ engraved on it.
Kristin stood at the door and waited. Somehow, she sensed he was deliberately ignoring her. She cleared her throat and knocked loudly.
“Kristin, don’t just stand there! Whatever you want today, the answer is no!” said Jonas. He never turned his head to acknowledge her presence.
She had dealt with him many times during the past two years, and she understood his temperament well. To her, his behavior in person far exceeded the reputation and rumors she heard about his dealing with women. Since the first time she met him, she had developed a complete disdain for the man. Though notwithstanding, she learned to work with him, accepting the situation as inevitable.
“Captain Jonas, we have an appointment this morning, fifteen minutes ago,” emphasizing the ‘fifteen minutes’ to try to get the upper hand, “to complete the research project schedule for the upcoming research trip.”
“Of course, I know. We had the schedule completed a long time ago. There is no need to talk anymore.” He replied with an air of superiority in his tone while he waved a dismissing hand at her.
“Not quite.”
“To me, the main purpose of the trip is to test the efficacy of the 3D sonar array.”
“Yes. That is one of the larger projects. We have scheduled three mornings for that purpose.”
“Yup! That is the primary aim. No distractions from that.”
“There are a few smaller projects scheduled for this research trip, including the test run of the submersible.”
She pressed him in a tone as business-like as possible, but clandestinely including her project in with the lot.
“We decided to wait on that sub thing because it was unfinished,” Jonas said pontifically. He called the submersible a thing and did not even care to mention its name to offend her.
“The last testing of the sub is this afternoon.”
Just then, Jonas’s secretary walked in with the cappuccino.
“Anything else, Captain Jonas?”
“No, sweetie, you are a jewel. Don’t forget to remind me when it is time for the conference call.”
“Of course.”
“Anything else?” Jonas said to Kristin as he sat back in his chair with his cappuccino.
“The sub is ready for the actual field test. We are conducting the last hardware test of the cameras this afternoon and also christening the sub afterwards.”
“That is what I mean. The thing is still not ready.”
“We have tested the camera system many times already. Today’s test is a simple check on installing the entire vision system.”
“If it is not ready, I don’t approve.”
Notwithstanding, she persisted.
“But the system will be completely ready by this afternoon.”
“Don’t forget, the primary goal for this outing is to test the 3D sonar.”
“I am well aware of that. My project only takes a couple of hours in the afternoon. There is nothing in the afternoons on the last two days.”
“We already have too many research projects as is. Everyone wants to have their pet project included in this outing. The schedule had already stretched my officers to the limit.”
“All I need is one of your officers to oversee launching the sub and an open channel at the control tower.”
“We don’t have enough officers to help you on the project.”
“I don’t need any of your officers. I intend to test the automatic launch sequence with a remote control.”
He played hard to eliminate her project, and she fought hard to have her project included on the agenda.
“I don’t know. I have to consider this one.”
Another stalling tactic.
A knock at the door from Jonas’ secretary as she poked her head in.
“It’s time, Captain Jonas.”
“Okay, thank you, sweetie. Put the call through.”
“Captain Jonas, my project has no real demand on your staff. Since you need to attend this conference call, if it is alright with you, we will schedule my project in the afternoon of the last two days.”
Jonas kept quiet. But Kristin was not a pushover either.
“If you have no objections, my project will be scheduled for the last two days. I will work with your XO to have the sub loaded on the vessel.” Kristin persisted.
The phone rang and Jonas’ secretary’s voice came over the intercom.
“Captain Jonas? Your conference call is here on line 3.”
“Okay, thanks, sweetie.”
Jonas leaned over to pick up the phone. Kristin persevered.
“I won’t bother you anymore. You are busy, so I will just leave with this new schedule.”
Jonas ran out of time and excuses. He waved to dismiss her.
“Get out of here.”
She was not sure if the dismissal was his approval or not.
Well, silence is consent, right? She convinced herself. He did not say no.
So, she took his silence as an approval for her project. Before he changed his mind, she left Jonas’ office in a heartbeat. As soon as she cleared the hallway from his office, she started to smile and whistle. Once outside, she jumped up and clicked her heels after making sure that no one was watching. After all, she did not always have the final say with him. Feeling super-elated, she clicked her heels again.
Kaboom! She shuddered. A distant thunder boomed and a small rain began to sprinkle. She shuddered again. Her elation was short-lived. Somehow, she could not shake the feeling that something sinister might be coming. Was that a premonition? She kept her fingers crossed the whole time, walking back to her office puzzled and unsettled.