The pancakes tasted just as good as or even better than they looked.
"Mmmmmh" I unknowingly moaned as I ate some more.
Mrs. Johnson poured me a glass of orange juice because I didn't like coffee. Weird, I've been told.
I scrolled on my phone to check for any new texts and "unexpectedly" saw one from the creative director, Ms. Joan Walter, of my company, Mi En Dish Limited.
....
Mi En Dish Limited was a Fashion-based company which was linked with investments and other ventures. Which meant we didn't just do clothes. We did clothes, shoes, accessories, whatever that could be added to an outfit to elevate it.
Mi En Dish Limited lost majority of its funds from a scam, hence the present problem of the company going bankrupt.
Damien was under a lot of pressure from work to find a solution and after weeks of searching, the best he could do was a video conference call.
It sounded pathetic, but the personalities that were to be on the call could change his business' current situation with as little as a word.
Opening the message from his creative director, Damien's eyes scanned through the text and he replied quickly.
Ms. Walter was alerting him that the meeting was about to start.
Damien drank his orange juice and headed to his study quickly.
The meeting began as soon as he sat in his chair.
The individuals present for the meeting were from different companies.
There was Mr John Howard, the COO of Kaz textiles.
Mrs. Florence Avdol, the CEO of BENCHMARKERS, the brand.
Mr. Aoi Tanaka, the Chairman of the Blue group, an industry.
Ms. Belle Rossi, the Vice Chairwoman of the Kween x King Company.
Mr. Jean Laurent, the founder of the Lumière collection.
And Mrs. Sohee Jung, the owner of Cheon-cheon modelling agency, the biggest in the country.
Damien was aware that he was on a conference call with greatness and absolutely needed their help.
The meeting began with the individuals looking bored and tired of the topic.
Damien tried convincing them but a particular man, Mr Aoi, didn't look convinced at all..... He looked like he was ready to leave the call at any moment.
Ugh this was annoying and beyond frustrating, Damien thought.
As Mr. Ali's attitude was starting to rub off on the others.
"Why don't we organize a physical meeting, I can assure you, you will not be disappointed" Damien tried to persuade them.
There was a long silence...
"Why not"
"Sure"
"You better not disappoint"
"Okay"
"Very well then"
"....." Mr Aoi was silent.
With every other person agreeing, he couldn't possibly disagree, so he simply nodded and left the call first.
The other five followed suit, leaving Damien to stare at himself.
He sighed deeply.
He knew they weren't convinced to help him out and he knew that a physical meeting would only highlight how flawed his proposal was, but he couldn't give up now.
His phone rang almost immediately, and he could already guess who it was....
"Hello"
"Sir, how did it go?" The lady on the other line asked.
"They didn't seem convinced"
The lady gasped, "Oh no"
"But we've agreed to organize a physical meeting"
"What's the difference?" She asked
"We'll have more time to figure out what would convince them"
"I understand now, Sir"
"I'll see you when I come to the office today"
"Yes, sir, goodbye"
And the line went dead.
Damien was exhausted, if only he hadn't invested in a scam for stocks.
About a year ago, Damien's business took a decline.
He had a friend that opened a new company that dealt with stocks.
The friend was able to convince Damien to invest in his business.
After a few weeks of investing, the value of the stocks began to rise.
Damien was elated to know that majority of his company's income was yielding amazing profit.
Three months after investing, Damien was unable to access his stocks any longer.
He tried contacting his friend, but was unable to.
He had heard that his so-called friend had run away with the investments made by his company and many others.
Other companies weren't affected as much as Mi En Dish Limited because unlike others, Mi En Dish Limited or rather it's owner invested majority of it's income in the scam.
Most victim companies lost not more than 25% of their total income, but Mi En Dish Limited lost 65%.
Damien had laid of so many workers to cut down cost, but the severance pay that was given had drained the company's non-existent pocket.
At that point, the only workers in the company were people who wanted to work there and didn't mind how bad the present conditions were.
Damien had heard from his secretary that there were applicants to work in the company.
He told her to inform the aspiring workers about the company's financial situation, as he wasn't ready to be disturbed by protesting workers at that time.
His secretary got back to him three days later with a list of persistent aspirants.
They were six ladies and two guys.
Normally, the interview and appointment processes were done by someone else, but due to the cut in salaries, the official in charge had quit his job.
So for now, the CEO, Damien, was to handpick his employees and interview them.
Damien lazily Flipped through the applications and read the company form the applicants were asked to fill.
Apart from the columns asking about personal information, a question stood out.
"Why do you want to work at Mi En Dish Limited despite it's ongoing issues"
Damien cleared his throat and sat up, even though he was alone.
He wondered why that was a question before the interview.
He read each answer carefully.
Most of them were filled with overzealous individuals who believed that they had what it took to save the company.
He could literally hear the arrogance from how the answers were written.
He sighed, rolled his eyes, shook his head and relaxed on the chair.
Raising the hand that held the papers up to his face, his eyes scanned the next paper.
The person was talking about their lifelong dream and how this company could be a great step to achieve their goals.
"I love what I do. I love fashion. I know this company is passionate and loves it's customers from their works. I want to be a part of that passion, in any way I can".
Damien placed the remaining papers on the table before him and read the text from the one he held over and over.
Who? He thought.
He flipped the application back to the front to see who had written it.
His face expressed disappointment when he realized that there was no passport or attached photograph.
All he knew was that the person was female.
A female that wanted to experience the passion of his company..... In any was she could.