Flashback - #1 Part I

"Marisa?  Can you please come in here?"

Oh, shit.  Shit.  Did I do something wrong?  Oh god. 

I wasn't quite half way through my 23rd year of being and this being my first job out of college, well, it was sometimes stressful.  Mainly, because I still wasn't quite sure how the fax machines worked and drafting an email that would be sent to the executives' assistants still made my palms sweat. 

I was an assistant to a Vice President and had only been there, at this "blue" company, for about 5 months. 

"Hi!  I need you to call the Venetian in Vegas and look into booking a suite.  A suite that will have a big enough dining table for six people for these dates."  He handed me a sheet of note paper than had the logo, his name and title along the top.  "Also, can you look into booking rooms for our team?  Thank you!" he said.

"Sure!  I will let you know when it's booked," I said.  Calls were made and reservations were secured. 

3 hours later.

He walks past with a cup in hand.  "Hi, can you come in here for a second?"

I walked into the corner office with the back of an enormous computer monitor (this was pre-flat screen monitors) greeting me "hello." 

"How would you feel about going to Vegas?"  He continued tapping out an email. Tap, tap, tap, tap, tap.  Then looked at me, expectantly. 

"Do you mean, the, um, city of Las Vegas?  The one in Nevada?" Oh. My. God.  What did I just say?!?!

He laughed.  "Yes!  The off-site team meeting.  Would you like to go and support us?" 

"YES!  I've never been!  I would love to!"  At this point, I was not quite jaded by corporations and the bloated expense accounts handed to various teams to (a-hem) have "off-site team meetings." 

(next installment of this adventure Monday morning!  I have to run off.  Stay tuned!)