Tatiana, the Head of Marketing at Xcel Technologies, stood before the screen. A graph displayed various metrics related to customer acquisition and product usage. As Tatiana was explaining the upward trend in user registrations and how it correlates directly with the launch of their targeted email campaigns and industry-specific webinars, Jeffery strolled into the conference room and silenced everyone with his presence. He chewed his gum loud enough for everyone to hear, pulling his shades down slightly, and looked Tatiana up and down and winked.
Tatiana looked away, uncomfortable, and continued to present.
"Additionally, the orange bars represent customer engagement levels, which have shown a steady increase since the implementation of our customer success initiatives and personalized onboarding experiences." She explained.
Alexander tried to give her all his attention, but his eyes wavered over to his brother. He watched him as he slumped into a seat and followed along with the presentation. It was best not to say or do anything yet. Alexander knew he must have given his receptionist a hard time before he could stroll into the room like he owned the place.
Tatiana finished explaining and stood by a side. Jeffery raised his hand.
"I have a question," he said. "I'm permitted to ask even though I'm not a staff, right?"
No one answered him. The rest of the staff in the room, seven of them, shot glances to their CEO. Alexander rose from his seat and moved over to Jeffery.
"Can I have your number? I'd love to take you party…"
He didn't complete the sentence before Alexander yanked him out of the seat by his sleeve. He led him out of the boardroom, keeping himself together as he pulled his brother after him into the office.
"Woah, someone's angry," Jeffery said giving him a mischievous grin.
"What do you want?" Alexander asked.
Jeffery pocketed his hands and looked around the office, nodding with downturned lips. His eyes lingered on every item in the office. He used a hand to push a book off the table to the ground.
"It's as boring as the owner," he said. "It looks dead, liven it up with some colors."
"I'll ask you again, what do you want?" Alexander repeated himself.
"Chill, relax. Where's your hospitality? Where's a drink for your brother? Did common courtesy die with whatever lineage you're from?" Jeffery made himself comfortable on the couch and propped his shooed feet on it. He crossed his hands behind his head and looked up to Alexander.
"I was being sincere back there, I really want that hot chick's number," he said.
"Don't call her that," Alexander warned. "And she's married."
"Even better," Jeffery smiled. "The process of winning them over is the sweetest part. It gives me the thrill. You'll see, I'll get her…"
"What do you want?" Alexander asked.
"Let me see?" Jeffery pressed his lips together and tapped at the side of his head as if in thought. "I want to have a nap, eat some good Chinese food, maybe hit a few clubs tonight as well, and also, I want an update on Mr. Kim's contract thing. Why hasn't he contacted me yet?"
Alexander moved away from him and sat on his swivel chair. If he got angry at anything Jeffery did, he would be the loser at the end. So, just like always, he kept his inner armor on and communicated with him.
"He said he'd reach out to you," Alexander told him. "The ball is in his court."
"Do I look like someone he has reached out to?" Jeffery was the one who was angry now. "Look, I know you're being fishy here, but I'm smarter than you are so you can't play me around. I might have tipped someone about your unreliability as a brother. And I hear the Japanese value family over anything else."
Alexander looked up at that. "You did what?"
"You should expect a call to cancel the contract, I went pretty nasty on you," Jeffery smiled. "Anyways, I'll be on my way. I know I don't have to tell you that if I don't get that Mr. Kim's call, I might find another way to get back at you".
Jeffery swung his feet down to the ground and pushed himself into a jump. He stretched his body and headed for the door.
"Oh and, before I forget," Jeffery said at the door. "Some words of motivation for you. Quit while you can, this whole business idea is trash anyway. Just stick to something more suitable for you, like starting a hippie movement. Returning to your roots, remember?"
Jeffery whistled as he stepped out of the door. Alexander closed his eyes and allowed every word to bounce off him. He could imagine them as arrows racing to pierce him and bouncing off his armor, falling to the ground and disappearing into nothingness. After taking in a deep breath, he decided to check in with his latest clients, the Japanese businessmen, to see if there was any truth in what Jeffery was saying.
Kenji picked up on the first ring. "Mr. Sterling."
"Mr. Kenji." Alexander wanted to ease into the topic as best as he could. "How are you doing?"
"I'm good. Very good." Kenji said. There was a slight pause before he added. " Someone really hates you, you know?"
Alexander ran a hand through his hair. "I was just aware that a call must have reached you in regards to my integrity, but I assure you…"
"No need to assure me, Mr. Sterling, or any of us," Kenji said. "We know family can be tricky sometimes, and we've met you already to know enough that these things that were said were not true. So we're ignoring them."
Alexander was grateful. Jeffrey had pulled something like that before with one of the hardest clients he had gotten on board. Alexander had made many trips back and forth to appease the client based in Canada. Jeffrey had been in Canada for an official assignment around that time and decided to pay Alexander's client a "visit," which subsequently led him to lose millions of dollars.
"Oh, and I hope Miss Selena is doing well?" Kenji asked.
He had tried to bury her in the deep recesses of his mind, but even the mental image of her refused to be cast away. Yet when she came up, he always remembered how harshly he had spoken to her and made her tear up.