The sun rose in the sky, and Christoph and Evelyn drove to the company. Ambrosia had told the young man that he would get his bike in the evening today, so he still had to share the cabin with the lady.
Evelyn looked at his visage and smiled slightly. She commented, "You are a vampire scared of riding a car?"
Christoph replied blandly, "Probably when I am as old as you are, I might get over it."
Evelyn glared at him from the corner of her eye but kept driving the car. They took half an hour to reach the office building and found the people working on their tasks.
They were all dedicated to the situation. The young man did not say much and entered the table when the receptionist said, "Madam, a group of students have come to see you. They said that Mister Secretary called them."
Christoph stopped and asked, "Where are they, and when did they come?"
The young lady said, "They arrived half an hour ago. I had them sit in the waiting lounge."
Christoph nodded and said, "Call the housekeeping and have them prepare the conference room on the ninth floor."
The lady nodded and made a quick call. Christoph turned his head and said, "You go into your office. I will attend them."
Evelyn replied, "This is not in line with the company policy."
Christoph sighed and said, "Policies do not make money. Humans do. I will deal with humans, and you can take care of the policies."
The young man walked ahead, and Evelyn mumbled, "I wonder who is the boss among the two of us."
That said, she still went to her office on the tenth floor. Evelyn inspired the staff. She denounced elevators and took the stairs.
…
Christoph walked inside the lounge and spotted five people. Their expressions told him they were anxious; some were biting nails or shaking their legs. While one of them was meditating, the flickering eyelids were enough to give him away.
The young man smiled and said, "Good morning everyone. I am Lawrence C Silvermoon, secretary to the CEO of Nector Investments. I came to welcome you all."
The five people returned to reality and stood up in a reflex action. Chichi turned to face Christoph and said, "Good Morning, Sir."
She was fiddling to find the right words when Christoph shook his head with a faint smile and said, "Do not think too much. Just treat me as if you would treat your friend."
Chichi put effort into her smile, and Christoph said, "Take your time. Now come along. We have a conference room ready for you guys. Let us see what you have been working on."
The group picked up their bags, and they moved behind Christoph. The young man took them to the conference room in the elevator. Soon, they came to the ninth floor, and Christoph walked to the conference room.
Evelyn had asked a public relations staff member to be present. Christoph nodded to the lady inside the conference room and said, "Chichi, I will go and check if CEO Evelyn is available to watch this presentation. If not, I will watch it and decide, so do not worry. In the meantime, Miss Claire will help you set up what you need for this presentation. My team of experts will be here too."
Chichi nodded, and the people began to work accordingly. The young man went to the tenth floor and visited Evelyn's office. He sat on the couch and asked, "Can you call for a latte?"
Surprised, Evelyn asked, "Shouldn't you be in a hurry?"
Christoph shook his head and leaned back on the couch. Evelyn asked, "What are you doing?"
The young man said, "They are young; by now, they are aware of our attention. However, they will think too much of themselves if we appear too eager. So chillax."
Evelyn nodded, and after fifteen minutes, Christoph left the place alone; he said, "You should come six minutes later and said "You wanted to come early, but something came up, and so you stayed behind to deal with it."
The lady nodded and waited behind him. When Christoph arrived at the conference room, he went inside and said, "Well, the boss might not make it, come let us begin."
Chichi stood up, and she had been talking to the PR staff lady, who made these guys feel calmer. After a few minutes, the lady finished introducing the team, she was about to continue the project when the door was pushed open, and Evelyn walked in.
The males inside the room could not help but ogle at her. Chichi saw her teammates doing it and stomped their feet. They all woke up, and Christoph introduced Evelyn to the group.
She said, "I apologize. I had something going on, so I could not help but hold back. Please continue with your presentation."
The group nodded and described the project's various aspects to Christoph and Evelyn. While the lady was more interested in Chichi, Christoph was making up for his lack of detail on the ground.
After the presentation ended, Christoph and the technical advisor on his team asked the people a few questions. The group answered all these things but ultimately lacked the data to prove their theories.
Chichi and the rest of the group looked at Evelyn, who said, "I think what you guys have come up with is a good project that can revolutionize the market. However, this project will be watched over by my secretary. He will make all the decisions."
The group gazed at Christoph, who said, "I do not know whether this project will succeed or fail."
He paused and watched how the five-person group almost broke into tears. Christoph smiled and said, "I would fund you to gather the preliminary data and prove that this thing can work the same on a track as on your ground. If you need to alter or refine it, tell me about that too. Let us take small steps together. What do you think?"
The five students cried, but they all had big smile. They hugged each other, and when the employees began clapping too. Christoph said, "Mister Wicker, prepare a contract. We will fund them with one million for the initial phase. In return for exclusive patent management."
Chichi and the rest turned back and thanked Christoph. Evelyn said, "Miss Chichi would like to come along with me. I see that you are the leader of this group. Why not accompany me for tea? I want to know about this city where a bright person like you lives."
Chichi was surprised, and Evelyn said, "I am new to the city and do not have many friends."
Chichi nodded and said, "It would be my pleasure, Ma'am."
Evelyn shook her head and said, "I am Evelyn. We are partners starting today."
The girl smiled, and Christoph said, "Well, go on; I will look for you when the contract is ready."
The two ladies left the conference room, and Christoph mingled with the people from the team. He was going to dig out more information about Chichi. It was not the project he invested in but the person.