FROM NO SALT TO THE CORNER OFFICE

PART 1: MY ISLAND LIFE

Trinidad and Tobago

These twin islands boast a variety of beautiful beaches with blue or light green crystal-clear water and an array of unique foods. There are fresh, tasty mangos, guavas, pommecytheres, governor’s plums and many other delicious fruits, along with some of the hottest peppers in the world. In addition, some of the highest quality coca beans and its fine chocolate with its unique flavor can be found on these islands.

PART 3: LEARNING CURVES – ASSILIMATED AMERICAN

My First Paycheck

The joy of receiving my first paycheck was quickly squashed after I opened the envelope. To my horror, the weekly salary that we had agreed upon when I accepted the job was reduced by twenty percent. I thought that my employer had made a mistake or intentionally cheated me out of some of my hard-earned money. Additionally, the missing dollars were assigned to various initials that I thought represented different people on my paycheck. Who were these people and why were they getting money out of my paycheck?

I speed walked myself into the payroll office and asked who these eight people were: FICA, NYS, NYC, SSA, STD, LTD, MED-INS and MED? And why are they sharing my paycheck? They explained to me that these deductions were government taxes and told me what each initials represented: FICA-Federal Insurance Contribution Act; NYS-New York State; NYC-New York City; SSA-Social Security Administration; STD-Short Term Disability; LTD-Long Term Disability; and MED-INS my health care insurance and MED-Medicare. I wanted to cry as they reminded me that I signed a tax deduction form when I filled out the company’s paperwork. I asked to have these rules reversed but no one in the payroll or human resources took me seriously. There was nothing I could do about it. I walked away devastated.

PART 4: CORPORATE STAIRWAYS

Corporate Suite and the Cleaner – Dallas

My new employer maintained a suite in a high rent area. They housed their managers and executives there to avoid paying much higher hotel rates. I arrived back in Dallas and pulled up to the building where I planned to quickly offload my belongings in the suite and then go to the Health Club

I started to insert the key in the apartment’s lock, but to my surprise, the door was partially open. I double checked the unit’s number with the information that the rental management company had sent me. I peeked inside the suite and saw a hallway. I slowly walked in, and to my greater surprise, there was a man sitting in a laid-back position sleeping on the couch in the living room. I stood in silence and stared at him as confusion engulfed my mind and body. Nowhere in my agreement with my new employers did they tell me that I had a roommate, and I most certainly would not have consented to such an arrangement.

PART 5: CONFIDENCE PASSION AND DETERMINATION

CEO Meetings

One Wednesday morning around 10:30 a.m., five months after I started my new job, I was sitting in my office working when my phone rang. It was Gloria L, the CEO’s assistant. She said, “He wants to see you in his office now”. There was nothing unusual about that request because I was working on several projects, and the CEO and I communicated several times daily via phone or in person. I hung up the phone, grabbed a writing pad and a pen, and told my assistant where I was going in case the clients or my boss needed me. I took the elevator down to the eighth floor from the fourteenth.

I got to Gloria L’s desk, which was right outside Dave P’s, the CEO’s office, whose door was closed. As I said hello to Gloria L, she picked up the phone and buzzed him. “Nicole is here”. I heard him say, “Send her in”. She hung up the phone and told me to go in. I opened the door and Dave P was sitting at his desk as I expected, but much to my great surprise, in the sitting room portion of his office, the Human Resources Director, Seamus M, was seated on the left side and my boss, Sandi C, Executive Vice President, was sitting on the right side of the room.

My thoughts immediately kicked into overtime. This is how they fire people around here? This scenario was playing so loudly in my head that I heard my voice ask out loud. “Is this how many people it takes to fire me?” Wow!! No one responded or laughed. Dave P said, “Nicole, please sit down.” He looked at Sandi C, and stared at Seamus M, and at me. Meanwhile I saw Sandi C and Seamus M look at each other without saying a word.

My thoughts: This is going to be career-shattering. I could see and feel that all three of them were very aware of the subject matter that was about to be discussed and were also in agreement on what was about to happen. They also seemed very pleased with themselves and their reasons for calling me into Dave P’s office. But why didn’t they give me a heads-up? I had a great relationship with each one of them. Dave P began speaking.

PART 7: TRAVEL LIFE AND LIFESTYLE

Eighty Miles to Love

Nine months later, one Sunday in November 2004, I got into my car and drove eighty miles to Riverside to meet him. A few weeks before, I had seen a picture of him and knew that he was the one. I named him Teddy because he looked like a little teddy bear. He was three months old, almost two pounds, and had a beautiful face, shiny black eyes, white hair, and was ever ready to play. He and his sister were a litter of two.

The Maltese breeder handed him to me and we immediately bonded. He seemed relieved, as if he had someone to help him wrestle off his sister who was two and a half pounds and had won all their wrestling matches. As we glided up the freeway, he acted like he was happy to be with me and wanted to snuggle, but I had many more miles to drive. Over the next few days, Teddy knew that he was home. When we played, he would pin me down in the bed with his tiny paws, grab my nose, and attempt to twitch it from side to side like his sister did to his nose.