DANA
The door opened and Zyril appeared with an Hermes bag I don't recognized. I let go from the hug and collected myself. I watched as she placed it on the vacant seat across mine.
"They're here, Miss, Sir." – Zyril said and rushed out of the room
Okay, showtime.
A minute after, a woman with huge pair of shades and a huge Chanel belt came in. She was holding a snow white Pomeranian puppy and was followed by a much simpler man. One look and you'll see who's spending the money of the family. No judgments there, just plain facts.
My father and I stood up to greet them. The woman smiled. She has enviable straight and white teeth.
"Welcome to RCI, Mr. and Mrs. O'Connell, I'm Dana Russel, the COO of Russel Clothing, Inc. This is my father, Froilan Russel, the CEO. Please take a seat."
I gave them my best smile.
"Pleasure to finally meet you, Miss Dana. The magazines didn't do your beauty justice. You are indeed mesmerizing in person." – The woman sat down, her husband followed. Does she do all the talking here?
We shook hands, and I was almost blinded by her ruby ring. Dad offered his hand to the husband who shook it with a firm grip. Finally, the four of us were sitting, Zyril came back with a tray of whey donuts and a pitcher of lemonade. I waited until she was done serving us the drinks and I positioned my laptop in front of them, starting from slide 1:
HOW RUSSEL CLOTHING, INC. STARTED FROM SCRATCH
I discussed the foundations of the company. I shared how my father who majored in Business administration in college managed to use his insurance fund to buy this small space and hire some tailors and then the promotion, getting the first customers, until a generous Chinese man helped him establish the company to a greater level and to reach more markets.
"wait, is this really necessary? Can we just cut to the chase?" – the woman said. I noticed her bottom lip has some dog hairs stuck on it
"honey…"- a warning word from her husband
"no, really. I guess we can look it up from Google or somewhere. I'm already late for my spa appointment, can you hurry up?"
My father cleared his throat. I exhaled and moved the screen to the second slide. Hold it, Dana. You need this investment. Go get it.
"let's skip the first part then." – I said, skipping slides 2, 3, 4, and 5. We're now facing Slide 6:
THE YEARLY SALES
"as you can see here, ma'am, sir, for the last five years we have been the standard in every company survey on dry goods. In the next slides, you can also see our cloth designs being worn by famous celebrities like Stella Norway, Brad Fitzgerald, Jacob Grunt and Emily Starborn. Aside from that, from three small stores, our company has grown into 54 branches nationwide. We're also planning to extend our family abroad."
"hmmm, bold choice. Who's gonna lead that?"- the vile woman said
I smirked. She chuckled, and then her husband whispered something to her ear. I did not hear the entire sentence but I heard enough. Two words: Be nice. He sounded like he's just talking to his dog. It's kind of amusing, really. When they're already done whispering to each other, I said:
"me."
"just you? I don't think that's possible, dear. You're… well, I don't think charm won't make that happen." – said the woman
"I… I think what my wife meant, Miss Russel, is that we need assurance. Our company has been investing on big companies for almost a decade now, and we only want to make sure that we're investing on assets, not liabilities." – finally, the real investor spoke
"Well, if that's your concern, sir, I know and I am confident of my team. As you can see with our sales here, the numbers don't lie. We're one of the best companies there is."
Mr. O'Connell nodded. He was inspecting the statistics on the screen. I gave him a moment. Dad whispered something to my ear, "Take it easy." I smiled back. I am taking this easy. I haven't invested any effort yet.
"so… shall we continue?" – I said after Mr. O'Connell leaned back to his chair.
I clicked the mouse and the presentation jumped to the next slide. The next agendum was about the stockholders and the hierarchy in the management office. The snack left by Zyril was still untouched.
"We have 7 main stockholders in the company and they're also of great help to where we are now. They are-"
"Oh please, cut to the chase." – the woman retorted
I stopped and glanced at my father. He was slowly shaking his head, warning me to not make a big deal out of it. I wanted to, but I cannot stand the disrespect.
"pardon me, madame, but I am talking to Mr. O' Connell here as the CEO of your company. Unless he tells me to stop, I won't. These are essential information we share with our investors. I cannot just disregard its importance to cater your… spa appointment."- I said that entire line without blinking.
The woman looked offended with what I said and immediately stood up. Her husband was rubbing his temples, grabbing her left forearm. She looked like she wasn't sitting back down so I also stood up.
"you're so full of yourself, aren't you? Just because you're a Russel doesn't mean I will let you disrespect me just like this." – her lips was twitching.
Why is she that mad?
"You were the one who disrespected me first, madame. I was tolerating your nonsense attitude because I needed this deal so bad but you're kinda stepping on the boundaries of my patience. I have to speak up."
What I said provoked her more. She grabbed the nearest glass of lemonade and baam! It's empty. The liquid has now drenched my white coat and my makeup. Damn, that was intensely cold.