Ethan paused his presentation when the phone in his pocket beeped.
"Yes sweetheart?" His voice was different from the cold and pragmatic one used in meeting.
His tone was warm and affectionate.
The staffs present had no doubt about who the caller was. It was definitely his fiancee.
"Oh yes. Yes I quite remember. How much did you say you were going to need?" Ethan mopped his brow.
"100 million?"
Those present gasped. The general manager shifted uncomfortably in his seat. Did the boss just said 100 million? Where exactly was he going to get it?
The sale had been slowly declining over the past few months and they were in a
dire situation indeed.
This specific meeting had been dedicated to increasing their sales. If boss was planning on removing a whooping sum of 100 million…but who was he to judge?
This was his family company after all and he was the CEO.
"Sure darling. Sure. You deserve the best."
So do their company, but he held his peace.
Ethan ended the call and glanced around. The quiet murmur subsided and every stared warily at their boss.
He has this nasty habit of running into anger fits and firing employees as he went.
They weren't prepared for that sort of thing today. So they watched quietly, as their boss battled with frustration.
Ever since he'd gotten engaged to the sister of his former girlfriend, he had been in such volatile state. So easy to set off in fits.
"That's settled then. Let's get back to it." He gestured to the chart on the screen. "This is the recent survey of sales chart for the last four months."
The room was plunged into cold silence.
"The decline started around.." he cleared his throat. "It started since our investment in real estate. So, today we've gathered to see what can be done."
They nodded in unison. What else were they to do? Tell him to stop the bad investment he's been diving headfirst without stopping to consider what the outcome would be?
Nobody wanted to risk their neck.
Someone raised up their hand. A smart looking man with a short goatee.
He cleared his throat and stared at the boss.
Seems like someone was willing to risk their neck after all.
"Judging from amount made and spent in these month, we came to a conclusion. The decrease in sales, although a problem on its own, isn't really what's causing decrease in funds."
He pointed to the screen that was now showing transaction that occured.
"This is the transactions that happened during those months."
Everyone gasped. They quickly schooled back their feature with one fiery glare from Ethan.
"We took quite a lot of loans and made investment with no guarantee of enough profit." He finished and took a deep breath.
Ethan nodded stiffly. A vein was throbbing madly in his forehead, and his lithe frame seemed to have swelled.
"Well..well, what Mr..?"
"Marcus."
"What Mr Marcus said is indeed right. But that's just crying over spilled milk. The investments has been made already. What do we do?"
Everyone exchanged looks between themselves. The silence was thick with tension, each one waiting for the other to talk first.
"I see you've all decided that you're done with the job. Very well. You all can hand in your resignation latter." He said coldly.
Everyone stirred nervously, flurries of hands flew up, everyone waiting to be called upon.
"I think we should reclaim our investment. Withdraw some of them and focus on advertisment." Someone supplied.
"Advertising is the key. Especially with trending models and technologies."
"I suggest we merge the companies."
Everyone stared at the man with goatee like he'd suddenly sprouted a new head. Merging company was such a big step and it sounded quite insane.
Who was he anyway? Only a few people had ever seen him before. And he was always quietly observing.
Taking notes, his pen scratching away at his paper. When he decided to open his mouth, it was this that came out?
Ethan narrowed his eyes dangerously at the man.
"Merge companies you say? Why?" He queried.
Surely, boss couldn't be considering? Seems like he was, because his eyes has got that greedy glint they have when he's about to make another one of his bad investments.
"Your fiancee's. It would be the most practical." He replied simply.
Ethan waved a dismissive finger and the man sat down.
"Well, you've certainly give me something to think about. Indeed. But that'll be our last resort if everything did not work out." He paused.
"For now, we'll recover our investment and focus o rebranding and advertising." He declared.
Everyone could finally breath again. Long at last, he was seeing reason.
Task were distributed to each department and everyone departed the meeting room to get started.
Best to not give the boss something to go into fits about.
Everyone except Mr Marcus. He sat down, his pen still scratching away at the paper.
"Mr Marcus?" Ethan called.
He looked up from the paper, his eyes glinting dangerously in the sunlight. It was have been a trick of light, but Ethan could swear he saw him smirk.
"What are you working on?" He inquired. "And why have I never seen you in meetings before?"
His question was intended to startle but Mr Marcus had the perfect answer.
"I was recently hired as the new sales director." Was his firm reply.
Ethan couldn't find anything to doubt. There was this shifty look about this Mr Marcus of a person.
And he remembered firing the previous sales director because the man was too slow.
But at least his idea was sound enough to override that.
And he could always fire him if his head grows too big.
"I'll be waiting to see what you're worth." Ethan looked directly at him.
"I'll be glad to show you what I'm worth. I won't let you down."
Mr Marcus promised.
Ethan left the meeting room, his mind filled with the money he was going to spend on the wedding preparation.
He didn't notice the red dot on the cuff of his sleeve.