Helen and Lisa took the elevator to the forty eighth floor, while Raden took the department's stairways to reach the fifty fifth floor.
As soon as Raden got to the fifty fifth floor, he made a call at his desk which instantly connected to the department of communication. The department of communication's sole purpose in Wayne Corp, was the control of all communication devices in every office. They connected calls from one department to the other, and out of all the departments in the company, were the busiest; this was mainly due to having to also render their services to outside customers.
Raden immediately requested the use of his department's broadcasting device, which was something that was usually not in use, unless an important announcement had to be made. After paying a fine and receiving authorization to use the device, Raden cleared his throat over the phone and the sounds were clearly projected through the broadcasting speakers on all the fashion department floors.
"Alright. To my fellow members of the fashion department, I have an important announcement to make" Raden said "First of all, a new director has just been assigned to our department and for the record, we are temporarily allowed to keep our jobs"
"Like I've just said, it's only temporary. The fate of our lives here will depend indefinitely on our designs" Raden continued "We have been requested to submit both our old and new design books with our names on them. The director plans to look through them before ten o'clock"
As his words rang through the inbuilt speakers on each fashion department floor, a lot of designers began to gossip amongst themselves, and chaos ensued as drawers and desk cabinets were immediately being scattered. Cubicles were being flipped on their heads as each and every corner was being ransacked.
'There are two ways a designer usually safekeep his or her designs. The first is on their computers, however, the files could easily be erased when the computer crashes, or it can be stolen when the computer is hacked' Raden thought as he watched the floor he was on, transform into utter chaos 'The second, is on a sketchbook. The only problem is, books require high maintenance and fellow designers might try to plagiarise the designs right off the books. One of the many reasons why such books are under lock and key; they serve as a backup plan or proof of ownership, if the designs are plagiarised right off the designer's computer. Miss Helen really knows what she's doing'
"While you're all searching for your books, I have more news to deliver" Raden said, professionally "Once all design books have been submitted, every member of the fashion department is required to gather on the thirty fifth floor of the building for a quick briefing"
"Seriously? There's a meeting too?" Someone on Raden's floor yelled
"Yes. There's also a meeting" Raden said
"Oh, come on" the members complained
"To those who don't like it, you can just quit. Thing is, no recommendation letter would be written for you. So good luck surviving in New York" Raden said "To add to all that I've said, our new director is currently on a trial period for a month. It's thanks to this trial period that we're still working here and we were asked to cooperate with her during this time"
"Just to let you know, our department has been completely abandoned in these troubling times of need" Raden said "We won't be receiving any help from the other departments for the duration of the new director's trial period and are expected to survive for a month with the budget allocated to us, as well as bring a significant amount of profit far greater than what we got during the previous month"
"Is that even possible?"
"This is crazy" people murmured
"I know what you all are thinking, but measures are already being taken to ensure our survival" Raden said "If we do fail however, we will lose our jobs. This document is something personally signed by Mr Page and he's....wishing us good luck" he ended the announcement and placed the phone back before searching for his design books
******
48th floor of Wayne Corp
Helen and Lisa heard from the beginning up to the end of Raden's announcement. Helen smiled in satisfaction at a job well done.
"That announcement must have really had an effect on everyone in the department" Lisa said
"Well, that was the whole point of the announcement in the first place" Helen said, as a matter of fact "Everyone needs to know how serious I am right now and they all need to be well informed of the situation they're currently in. The current situation of the department shows even on this floor" she said as she looked around
"But the floor is empty"
"Exactly my point" Helen said "The severity of the situation this department is in, doesn't seem to have sunk into the minds of the members. If the situation had really stuck out to them, even without a director, assistant director or even the design head, the members would have gathered together and clashed minds with eachother, before settling on a way to salvage the situation" she said "I recently found out that finance had done this exact same thing I'm saying. Now, their department is fully functional"
"I honestly apologize for not thinking about any of this" Lisa said
Helen grabbed a pair of scissors from a nearby table and glanced at Lisa
"And I'm honestly sick of your apologies, Lisa" Helen said "If you had done your job properly and maybe even reported the situation with Regina to that Ice Sculpture, maybe things would have been better. With your knowledge on the ongoing in the fashion department, as soon as Regina left, a proper investigation should have been carried out. I didn't attend college but you did and it makes me think that college graduates are rather dumb" she said as she walked over to a cardboard box on the floor
"Let me help you with that"
"No need" Helen said as she squat and used the scissors to open the cardboard box. She pushed her hair away from her face before dropping the scissors beside the box. "I like to handle my dirty jobs by myself" she said with a smile as she reached into the box and took out the fabric inside.
Helen stared quietly at the fabric with her smile already long gone. Her brows were furrowed as she got to her feet while holding the fabric. She then turned to face Lisa while holding the fabric.
"How do I look, Lisa?" Helen asked, in an almost mocking tone, "I'm sure any man or woman will love to have clothes made from this"
The color drained from Lisa's face the moment she saw the fabric in Helen's grasp. Coupled with the tone of Helen's voice and the expression Helen had on her face, Lisa knew she had really messed up.
"Your previous boss was a real bitch. You'd think she'd at least by medium grade fabric, but this, I don't even know what to call this trash" Helen said, as she let go of the fabric and it dropped to the floor.
The fabric Helen once held, was meant to be of high quality silk; when considering the amount of money Regina had put into the sewing materials in the department. However, the material Helen had just dropped, was stained beyond measure and it seemed like the material was rotting; holes could be found on different areas of the fabric.
"I apologize for my negligence" Lisa said as she lowered her head and her hands crumpled her skirt. "I know my apologies won't be able to lessen the burden of your current circumstances, but I will still apologize"
Although Helen's actions would have seemed cruel to others, she was most certainly working within the boundaries of the authority assigned to her.
She picked up the pair of scissors from beside the cardboard box and set it on a table before taking out another cardboard box from the shelf and setting it on the table. Repeating the same process she did with the previous box. She continued doing this for thirty minutes until there were piles of cardboard boxes on the floor, and sewing materials scattered everywhere in the room; all the while, while Lisa stood rooted to one spot watching.
When Helen was finally satisfied, she tossed the scissors aside and stared at Lisa silently. The whole storage room was a total mess, especially when taking into account that it consisted of the whole forty eight floor of Wayne Corp.
"Do you have anything to say, Lisa?" Helen asked
"I'm so-"
"Oh, shut up. I'm tired of hearing your apologies" Helen groaned in a frustrated tone and Lisa kept her mouth shut. "I have other things to tend to. So, you'll handle this matter"
"Handle it?" Lisa repeated in surprise
"Yes, Lisa. You'll handle it" Helen said with a sigh "Cancel all business dealings with the suppliers of all the trash stored in here. Oh and do make sure to clear up this trash before the end of today....and by clear up, I mean you should have some people burn everything" she said nonchalantly and Lisa regained her senses at that moment, as the woman suddenly raised her head
"But Miss Helen, these are people that have been supplying materials for us, for over five years" Lisa said "They are trusted suppliers and other than them, nobody wants to do business with us, due to the plagiarism incidents"
"It's also because of those incidents that they've forgotten their place. They probably believe that they can't be replaced and without them we can't do anything" Helen said as she approached the elevators on the fourth corner of the building "I have already contacted a trusted supplier that we'll be using from now on. So, on the matter of these arrogant people, get rid of them"
Lisa quickly followed after Helen and was on time when the elevator doors opened, "I understand" she said
"Oh, and that plagiarizer. As soon as they're caught, sue them and their associates to court" Helen said as they both got into the elevator "Have Raden handle the court proceedings since it's a member of his team that's responsible for this. I won't be able to attend due to my identity"
"Your identity?" Lisa repeated as the doors shut
"Yes. I don't have one and I can't disclose the reason why" Helen said
"O-okay" Lisa said as she pushed the button for the fifty seventh floor
"Lastly, inform the director of transportation that I need a jet headed for Germany by tonight" Helen said
"Our....budget" Lisa said worriedly
"I'm not buying it. I just need to be transported to Germany this night" Helen said "That way I can meet up with the new supplier"
"I understand" Lisa said