"I don't know why I'm here either," Eliza whispered to Vasquez as she noticed his baffled gaze at her. They were seated at the left corner of the meeting room while Jalil and other people, who were also dressed formally, were discussing something she couldn't understand.
Vasquez was there in case Jalil needed help with legal information or anything else related during the meeting. But Eliza's presence was kind of questionable. Not to mention her zero experience in business matters. As her long-time best friend, who knew her enough, it was natural for Vasquez to wonder.
Vasquez moved closer to Eliza and leaned on her right ear. "Was it Jalil?"
Eliza shook her head as a response. "It was his grandma."
Vasquez nodded in response to her, with a still confused expression on his face.
Now that he thought about it, Emily never joined Jalil's meetings, even though she was interested in business matters. As far as he could remember, Emily kept asking Jalil to bring her with him every time he had appointments or important meetings. But she was always failing to get Jalil's grandma's approval. His grandma was too strict when it came to their company.
Vasquez glanced at Eliza in great befuddlement. "Did you use black magic? What incantation did you perform today?"
Eliza just flicked his forehead. "Why are you talking to me? Listen to the meeting. Do your work." She rolled her eyes.
She paused as her gaze landed on Jalil, who was now intently staring at her. She couldn't read his expression, but she was sure he was damn serious. She mouthed, 'What? 'to him, but he just diverted his attention to the PowerPoint he was presenting.
"What are they talking about?" Eliza asked Vasquez after she listened to some information being discussed.
Vasquez turned his attention to her. "There was a sudden drop in sales this month, and they suspected the new marketing company opened this year was the reason. At least 5% of Aversin's clients didn't renew their contract; instead, they signed a contract with that new company."
"What company?"
"I'm not sure. Vicci? Vasi? Varki? I forgot. But it starts with the letter V," Vasquez replied to Eliza's question, which made her look at him mischievously.
"Vasquez Marketing? Whoa. You traitor!" Eliza chuckled, which shut him up in disbelief.
"I'm a lawyer, Liz. Not a businessman," Vasquez sighed. They stopped as they noticed the room had become quiet.
Everyone's eyes were looking at them. They were distracted by their voices, which were loud enough to be heard by them. He glanced at Eliza, who was also in a still position.
He looked at Jalil and saw his serious expression, emanating a strong aura, while his arms were crossed in front of his chest. His stare shifted to Eliza, and then he let out a faint sigh.
"Sit here beside me," Jalil said with his usual deep voice. He took the swivel chair from the corner and dragged it closer to where he was standing.
Eliza glanced at Vasquez, then back to Jalil, then pointed her index finger to her face. "Me?"
"Who else do you think?" Jalil was slightly annoyed, but it wasn't obvious in his tone. Only Eliza sensed that irritation just by looking into his eyes.
Eliza felt a little embarrassed as she stood up and walked past the people in formal suits, seated at the long center table. Her head was slightly bowed while she was walking in Jalil's direction.
After a short moment of silence, Jalil continued the discussion with Eliza sitting beside him, facing the eleven individuals with serious faces. Some were in their mid-60s, and some were in the age range of 29–40.
Eliza was a bit uncomfortable looking at the people in front of her, so she slowly rotated the swivel chair and faced Jalil, who was now seriously talking in front. She focused her eyes on the white screen where the PowerPoint was displayed through a projector.
She couldn't understand the line graphs and everything shown on the screen, but she was trying to analyze Jalil's words while explaining them. She was mesmerized by the calculations that Jalil was presenting and the huge amount of money they were talking about.
Jalil stopped talking after he noticed Eliza's focused face. Her brows were knitted, showing an expression of interest in what she was reading. Her lips moved as if she was understanding every word and number she was seeing by whispering them to herself. Her fingers were tapping the swivel chair while her head was slightly tilted to the left.
Jalil couldn't stop himself from faintly chuckling in amusement, causing the people inside the meeting room to look at him in confusion.
"I apologize," he muttered, clearing his throat. He glanced at Eliza once more before starting to discuss it again.
The meeting ended in exactly 3 hours. Now, both of them were inside the car, ready to go home.
"What have you learned?" Jalil asked Eliza with a hint of teasing intonation in his voice. It was so faint that Eliza didn't even notice it.
Eliza tilted her head again as she sorted her thoughts and asked, "Does it really affect your company? That 5% of clients who left?"
Jalil was quite surprised. He didn't expect Eliza to be this engrossed and really pay attention to the meeting. Was this what his grandmother saw in her?
"Of course," Jalil replied, then he started the engine. "We lost approximately millions in just a month."
Eliza's eyes widened. "That huge?!"
"Yes," Jalil said, starting to drive. He glanced at Eliza as she suddenly fell silent. He stared at her thinking face, then back to the road. "Stop doing math in your head."
"I'm not." Eliza leaned toward the window and let out a faint sigh. "I think I now have an answer to Mamu's question."
Jalil's brows furrowed in confusion. "What question?"
"She asked me earlier if I was interested in business," Eliza replied. "That meeting helped me a lot to realize some things."
"What did you realize?" Jalil curiously asked.
"I realize that." Eliza let out another sigh. "I don't have patience in this kind of field. Imagine? losing that huge amount in just a month?! Goodness! I will definitely burn down that company that was stealing my clients, or I'll just curse out those clients who betrayed me."
Jalil just sighed out of frustration, as he expected something more serious from her. He had his hopes up after seeing her interested expression.
"You can't do that," Jalil said in a low tone.
"Exactly! That's why I said this field is not for me. So, my answer to Mamu is a firm no! I'm not interested in business!"
Jalil didn't respond anymore and just let her complain. Her voice was echoing inside the car, creating irritating noises in Jalil's ears. If only he could cover his ears with something or just remove his eardrums.