A strange silence fell in the room once Ethan stopped speaking. The man gritted his teeth. He was not told that he had to argue with a fool but the man standing in front of him was smart enough to fool others.
The officer noticed what was happening.
"You. I will deal with you later." she glared at Cornell with a menacing look. "Mr Ethan, come with me. We will solve this matter in my cabin now." The woman was embarrassed since she had brought Ethan to show him he was wrong. But in the end, she was proven wrong because she trusted her team.
Ethan did not point it out or make things difficult for her. He nodded and followed her silently. Many eyes were looking at them when they came out of the office. But Ethan did not care about any of them. He followed her with a calm smile and took a seat when she sat behind the desk.
She stared at Ethan. "Is it true that you used to sell meat in the vegetable market?"
Anyone would have felt embarrassed when asked directly, but Ethan only chuckled and nodded.
"Yes, that is where I have come from. But I am dreaming of reaching higher now. The lady here, would you mind helping me with the paperwork since I am short of time?" His voice was so calm and even amused that she felt embarrassed for asking him again. Since he was professional, she did not waste time in apologizing for what happened before and pressed the bell or her office.
"I will ask them to bring your form and then we can see where it needs improvement.'' It had been a long time since she had assessed a form herself but she could not let this man go to others and face the same consequences. But who would want to stop a meat seller? He could not have that kind of enemy.
She stared hard at his clothes. Now that she looked at him, he did not look poor. Though the shirt did not have a brand, it looked expensive and custom-made.
"Do you think they will still have my form?" His smooth voice brought her back from her thoughts and she blinked.
Her face flushed thinking about Cornell. He had claimed that he had returned the form. So, of course, he had not kept it in his office as proof against him. "That.." she was at a loss for words when his face softened and he shook his head.
"Do not worry, I will fill another form if you provide me." The peon opened the door and waited for her instruction. While the peon's head was lowered, he was trying to steal a glance of Ethan's face.
"Bring me a form for opening a restaurant or cafe in the suburban area." The man left at once when he felt the coldness in the voice of his boss.
"How much time would it take to approve the form this time." he asked without wasting time, "since I had it two weeks ago, I was sure that I would get it on time." he did not point at the bribery her juniors had taken or how they had cheated him. But he did point out that he was short of time with a smile offering peace.
The officer pursed her lips.
"Do not worry, Mr Ethan. Since you submitted the form two weeks ago, I will only record that date and check the information provided by you at once. If everything is fine, you can get your registration certificate by tomorrow. I'll give you my word." the man nodded, he sat there leisurely tapping the table and looking around. Yet she could feel a strong pressure coming from him. As if he had the authority when she needed help.
Relieved that the peon brought the form faster than she had expected, she passed the form to him and waited. She was sure he would ask for help and then she would show her authority. But Ethan did not. He took the pen from the stand leisurely as if it belonged to him and started filling in the details. Her face did not have a hint of confusion or worry.
Was it because he had filled it once? Usually, the form was complex, and only businessmen could fill it easily.
Things like total capital required, the amount of investments, public debt, and debt-equity ratio often trouble newly made entrepreneurs. And the businessmen who were good at it face trouble in filling the details of their kitchen. The menu, the dishes, their ingredients, quality requirements, and all.
But from the start to the end, Ethan's fingers did not pause even for a second. His elegant fingers stroked the papers with such perfection that she didn't realize when she started to stare at him.
"Here, you can tell me if there is anything I need to change or if you need more details at once so that I would not be called here again," he spoke in a casual tone. There was no fear or nervousness that a small peddler should feel in front of a ranked officer.
When she took the form, she had expected it but she was still surprised to see his perfect writing. There was no way it did not belong to a scholar.
Shaking her head from the strange thoughts, she started to review the details he had given.
Her eyes widened and her lips parted in surprise. He answered every question perfectly and gave more information than required. She had never seen such a perfectly filled form from a novice. It looked like he had done it all his life.
"You must have taken help from someone when you filled in the form for the first time and remembered the answer from there?" It was still a compliment since it was hard to remember so many answers perfectly. How many could do it?
But the man only laughed and shook his head. He did not say a word but his eyes seemed to be mocking her for that foolish question. As if saying, "I am being polite by not refusing you. So hurry up and approve my form." She bit her lips and read the rest of the form.
"I must say that the form is perfect. But I still need to check the place myself to be sure that you have filled out the right information in the form and I will check the lease and other papers too. Only then can I offer you the certificate." he nodded and stood up. Returning the pen to his place, he was ready to leave when she stood up too.
"I hope you will get time tomorrow and every formality will be completed soon." he was giving her time, but she did not need it.
"No, that would not be needed. I am coming with you right now and if everything is as you have written, I will approve the form before closing the office today."
"Everything is settled. I will issue you a certificate by tomorrow after completing other formalities." The office shook Ethan's hand after physical verification and checking the papers. She took all the documents in two copies. Once done, she was ready to leave but could not stop herself from asking this time.
"Mr. Ethan, you have told me that you used to see meals in the vegetable market. Where have you learned all this?" The man smiled but did not reply.
"One day, if we meet again, I will explain to you then." Since she could not press him, she could only nod and bid her farewell. But she could not get rid of this curiosity in her mind. When she reached the office, she took his identity card scanned it on his laptop, and started searching.
As the laptop took her time, she picked up the glass of water to have a sip. But her eyes widened and the water slipped from her mouth, splashing on her clothes but she did not dare about it. She could not take her eyes away from the screen.
"So that is why he knew everything about the business world!"
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