A deafening silence blanketed the entire meeting hall. As quick as Julien had lost his cool, rationality came back to him like a slap across his face. He was glad that due to the dim lighting, his reddened and embarrassed face wasn't noticeable.
He prayed for the ground to open up and devour him. What did he say? Unfair?
"Why is it unfair, Mr. Alderean?" A cold voice spoke and cut through the thick silence and awkwardness enveloping the hall. Julien stood rigidly on the spot, despairing and unable to meet Knox's inquiring gaze. His thoughts turn more chaotic in his mind that he felt dizzy.
Why did he have to run his mouth like that?
Julien glanced at the still blank projected screen and felt another wave of despair. But regretting his spur of the moment action will do him no good now. He cleared his throat and worked his brain as he opened his mouth to speak the first thing that came to mind.
"We must care for the privacy of employees. I get that the overall ranking will spur some to work harder and in a way, it's also to recognize their hard work but what about the minority who are lagging behind? It's true that they might not be as hardworking as others but not all of them meant for it to be so. They might be facing grave problems at home and this can influence their work. They might be sick and is physically weak. It is unfair to discredit the work they put through just because they can't meet the standards. Also, what about the consequences of this ranking? There's a huge possibility that the lower ranks will feel oppression from others."
Julien stopped rambling then and realized with dread that the hall became more silent he was afraid they could hear his ragged breathing.
What have I done? I'm finished! He was screaming internally. Tears pricked his eyes but he held it in and waited for Knox's response.
Just then a strange sound broke the silence, followed by another and another like a wave. It was a second later that Julien realized they were clapping!
Stunned, he looked around wide-eyed and saw a myriad of expressions from his co-workers. Some were beaming at him with pride, others with envy, others with nonchalance and others with mocking expressions. Julien finally had the courage to look up at Knox and saw his cold and stoic facade unperturbed.
"Very well. I will take your words into consideration Mr. Alderean."
Julien stammered his gratitude and sat down rigidly. His heartbeat was still in overdrive that he was almost out of breath. He kept his head bowed down.
"For now, we will only show the top 10 performing employees this quarter." Knox continued. "Congratulations! Thank you for your hard work!"
Murmurs filled the crowd and Julien felt sharp gazes directed at him. He shivered and glanced around. The gazes of the ones who were closest to him can only be described as vicious.
Curious as to why he was receiving these kinds of gaze, he glanced at the screen. His eyes widened in a mixture of disbelief and incredulity.
TOP 10 PERFORMING EMPLOYEES
1. JULIEN ALDEREAN - 94.8%
2. RILEY GREEN -94.2%
3. ......
4. .....
"No wonder he could speak so carelessly like that!"
"How hateful, to think I thought he's like us."
"Why is it him? I've been working overtime non-stop!"
Julien could suddenly clearly hear the angry comments around him and he slid lower on his seat. He cried silently in his heart. Is this what you call karma?
The Townhouse assembly proceeded smoothly after that and he remained silent the whole time, robotically reacting with the majority of the crowd.
As soon as it ended, he stood up from his seat, relief washed over him. He made up his mind to slack on the next quarter to get the spotlight off of him.
Just as he was about to head for the door, Daemon tap his shoulder with an ear-splitting grin.
"That was marvelous! Congratulations!"
"T-thanks."
"Tonight will be fun!" Daemon exclaimed. His gray eyes danced mischievously, it looked like a bad omen.
"Tonight?" Julien was truly confused and he racked his memory for any event that he might have forgotten. But he came up with nothing.
Daemon laughed out loud. "Tonight, since you're one of the top-performing employees, I'll bring you to the Round table dinner meeting!"
Julien's face blanched with fear and anxiety. The round table dinner meeting is exclusively for the top executives of the company and the employees recognized by these executives through their hard work and stellar performance. He waved his hands before him and shook his head several times. "That's not necessary!"
"Oh but it is. I'm sure Knox would like it for you to attend. You've given him an impression tonight!"
Julien felt the little relief he felt before crumbled and turned to ashes. A month before he'd wanted to join the dinner meeting, just to be a little closer to Knox.
Julien lamented with the phrase "Be careful what you wish for!"