The office atmosphere at Bloom was bustling with activities. The anniversary was in a few days and all hands had to be on deck. Interns went from cubicle to cubicle, running errands. "How's the preparation?" Ray asked the Administration Head, Fred, as he walked down to his office through the general office.
"We're almost there sir."
Ray stopped walking and everyone around froze, expecting the worst. Ray turned to face him. "The anniversary is in a few days and we're almost there? At this time? Make me understand?"
Whispers rose in the office and Fred took a deep breath before responding. "I mean we are prepared sir, we just need to tie some loose ends."
"And who loosened them?" Ray asked, raising an eyebrow. He was known for his plain questions in the office.
"I have to be sure every department is ready a hundred percent sir. That's it. All preparations are already on ground."
Ray nodded and continued walking. "I'll join you to make sure they're all ready," Ray said as they stepped into his office. He turned to see Fred nodding. "You know, just to be sure. I wouldn't want anyone slacking and slowing us down. This anniversary means a lot to me because it means so much to my father."
"I understand sir," Fred said firmly. "Preparations have been underway."
"I always admired his dependability." Ray mused as he took his seat. "Alright, let's get it done. Are you ready?"
"Yes sir."
Ray reached for his phone on his desk. He had missed a call from Tim. He called him back, signaling for Fred to take his seat.
"Hello, what's up?" Ray asked as Tim answered the phone.
"I called to confirm if you'd rather work from home today."
"I'm already at the office, Tim. Are you done with the assignment?"
"I'm almost done sir. I'll be right there."
"Okay bye." Ray ended the call and looked up at Fred. "Where do we go first? You lead the way." He urged Fred.
Fred buttoned his suit and walked ahead of Ray. "Sales, sir."
Going down the elevator, Rat kept a straight face. Tim was yet to arrive from his assignment. "It's going to be a really long day." Ray thought aloud and Fred nodded in understanding. "It's funny how I always end up hiring quiet men." Ray thought to himself, smiling briefly.
At the Sales Department, Fred assembled all Task Heads and they each gave their reports. Ray wasn't satisfied. "That lady seemed really unserious," Ray noted, referring to a lady that just presented.
"She's a newbie sir."
"Which means she should be more passionate than every other person, right?"
"She's actually one of our best sir. She must have just been really shy."
Ray nodded and signaled for more task heads to come in and give their reports. "They're impressive." He complimented them as they made their way to the next department.
"I agree sir. I especially love the fact that they handle negotiations so tactfully."
"Me too," Ray replied, giving his first smile of the day to Fred. "I'm finally out of the red zone." Fred thought.
They went across every other department and the more reports they got, the more Ray missed his dad even more. If Dad was here, I hope he'd be happy about our progress. He thought.
"The creative department is impressive sir, isn't it?"
"You're only so amazed because your wife is one of them." Ray teased.
"I'm serious sir," Fred said, laughing through his words. "They've shown just the creativity we need in the last weeks. All ads have been fresh ideas."
"I hear you," Ray said. "Gather the HR team heads." He informed Fred as they stepped into the HR department floor.
"Yes sir," Fred responded. They were done in no time. Ray remembered his dad always bragging about how excellent his employees were. "Trust my employees to always deliver." He always used to say that even when he was a young high schooler. To date, that was still unquestioned.
Going through every department reminded Ray that he had many lives tied to his name and to the success of Bloom. "A lot of people have built their lives around Bloom, really." He said to Fred who responded with a firm smile.
"Many times, I remind myself of that sir, on especially really terrible days," Fred said.
"Really terrible days like?" Ray asked, suddenly interested in hearing what Fred had to share.
"When I lost my dad, I constantly reminded myself that work had to continue simply because my life wasn't all that mattered. That's all that kept me going."
Ray was nodding to himself and suddenly stopped. "Did you say you lost your dad?" Ray asked.
"Yes sir. Late last year."
"And you didn't bother to tell me about it?"
"I didn't want to have to bother you sir. Besides, you have so much on your plate already."
Ray paused and thought for a while. "This isn't the time to pass down blame." He thought. "I'm sorry for your loss Fred."
"Thank you sir."
Almost suddenly, Ray snapped back to his cold self. "Why should his secrecy be my fault anyway?" He asked himself as he headed back to his office. "Call together a meeting of General Heads, we need to finalize everything," Ray said and he shut his office door behind him. Fred went on to call for the meeting.
Ray sank into his office chair immediately, shaking off every sad feeling as he knew best. "Now's not the time to drift into negativity, Ray." He reminded himself.
Fifteen minutes later, Tim returned from his assignment. "Hello sir. I successfully arranged a physical meeting with Mr Santos." Santos was a renowned Reporter. "It'll be after the anniversary," Tim added.
"Thank you Tim," Ray replied without looking up.
Tim gets a call and goes aside to receive it. "The Heads are already seated sir. They're waiting for you." Tim informed Ray as he pocketed his phone.
Ray nodded and got up to go join them. "After the anniversary auction, remind me to take a never-ending holiday, Tim," Ray said.
"Sure sir," Tim replied. "Should I include a long boat ride with your wife sir?" He teased Ray.
"If you weren't so close to me, you would have lost your job already by now." Ray retorted, making Tim laugh.
Heads raised towards Ray's direction as he walked into the board room. He kept a straight face as he took his seat. "Alright, let's hear it. How's it looking?"
Fred spoke first, "It's all looking better than expected sir. At this rate, we should be fully ready by tomorrow."
Ray nodded and another manager spoke, "Yes sir. We've made so much progress. Things are looking up."
"And the auction? How's it going to be?"
The Head of Operations responded, "Our emphasis is freedom and fairness. We already have our best picks. It'll be up to the audience to get it at their price."
"We'd get twenty percent on every artwork sold. And so far, we expect to sell fifteen artworks of different kinds." This time, the financial manager spoke.
Tim whispered into Ray's ears. "True," Ray said. "I accept the fact that every artist should get to introduce their artwork before it's auctioned. It can tilt people's emotions towards them."
"Yes sir." All present chorused in response.
"Every report regarding logistics and timing should be sent to Tim. He'll tell me what I need to hear." Ray said. "We can say we're good to go, right?" He asked.
"Yes sir," The Head of Operations responded.
"Alright, you can all get back to work. Great work everyone. I look forward to an amazing anniversary with you all." Ray said, ending the meeting. They all gave a round of applause.
Ray and Tim left first. Then the others exchanged mini pleasantries and left one after the other. Courtesy of the Stevensons, the Bloom office environment had always fostered camaraderie over many years. However, the same could not be said about the Stevensons themselves.
"The day's getting even longer than I expected," Ray said as soon as he stepped back into his office. "One more task and I'm done for today. You too can take the rest of the day off," He added.
Tim places Ray's tab before him as he takes his seat. "Thank you, sir. Here, I have organized every artist's profile in your tab."
"Thank you." Ray went through the list, reading about each artist one after the other. "Have emails been sent to them?" Ray asked.
"Yes sir."
Ray mumbled their names to himself as he looked at each artist's profile. "Penelope. Gary." He pauses for a while before adding, "These two women seem to live together." Ray pointed out. "How's that for fate?" He added, smirking.
Tim drew closer and compared the two profiles. "Yes sir, that's correct. You have a good eye, sir."
"It's not hard to miss Tim, but I do have a good eye."
Tim sat opposite him, "thanks for the seat."
"I never asked you to stand, did I?" Many times, Tim's composure made Ray forget that they have history. Tim laughed, stretching himself and yawning a bit.
"Lenae Grims. Janette Cruz. Same college too. Inspiring." Ray said plainly, scrolling through the file.
"Did women just impress you?" Tim asked, his surprise evident in his tone.
"Not necessarily. I'm just saying." Ray said, rolling his eyes. The idea of women as inspirations is far-fetched. Ray thought, placing his tab away.
Meanwhile, Lenae and Janette had just successfully framed their paintings. "Can you believe that we just spent half our week's allowance on this?" Janette asked as they left the store.
"I don't even want to think about it." Lenae said. "When I get too hungry, I might just microwave any cute dress I've got." She added,
"To address the hunger." They both chorused and laughed. "College jokes still sound so good," Lenae thought.
"We had better stay focused on the money we'd be making in a few days," Lenae said, tucking her phone away in her purse. Janette nodded in agreement.
"The man at the store admired your painting as he framed it." Janette said calmly, even if she felt like screaming her heart out.
"Just the same way I admired yours as he framed it too. The beauty of art is in the heart of the beholder Janey," Lenae said, genuinely encouraging her.
Janette stared across the busy street as they walked down. You don't have to spew rubbish just to make me feel better. She thought.
Just as they crossed to the other side with other pedestrians, Janette had an idea. "Now is the perfect time to even our fates out," She thought. She bumped into Lenae on purpose in the midst of the crowd and Lenae almost lost her balance.
"Thank you," Lenae said as a stranger held her up from falling. She had held her painting tightly against herself. "I appreciate it." She said.
"Thank you," Janette added grudgingly. "Luck was on her side." She thought to herself, biting the insides of her lips.
"That was so close, Janey," Lenae said just as they reached the other side of the road.
"I know right? People don't mind how they walk these days, it's so crazy." Janette responded, totally disappointed in her heart. "I intended to look around for who pushed me against you, but I got so focused on the cute stranger who saved you." She said, winking at Lenae.
"Stop it silly," Lenae said, laughing.
"Don't tell me you didn't notice he was cute," Janette said.
"I didn't, but you did," Lenae replied, tugging at Janette's shirt and they laughed. "I'm getting us some Ice cream, let's celebrate our journey so far," Lenae announced.
"That's so nice, thank you." Janette cooed.
"You know, there's hope for our dreams now, Janey. Who would've thought? And we're here together, and for each other."
Janette smiled, "we are." She said, boiling from anger, on her inside even more.