Unexpected Romance

A man and woman followed him inside the boardroom. There was an air of formality about the attire and serious demeanor. The opulent room's occupants acknowledged his presence by getting to their feet to greet him. He looked about at the group of people in front of him before taking a seat and motioning for everyone to take a seat as well. Nobody was willing to talk. Without even opening a file, he signaled to a young guy that the presentation was about to start.

"The goal of our new store will be to sell shoes at a lower price so that our customers-," He was interrupted by a chilly comment.

"You mean to tell me you want to lower our profit margin!?" He thumbed through the file, rolling his eyes.

"Um sir, I'm not necessarily saying..."

"This company is built off of integrity and quality, my father did not build this company for it to simply be mediocre, if there is no better pitch by Tuesday at noon, you'll be fired," he said. The room immediately felt very cold.

The sad boy trailed off, "But... may I finish?" as his employer stood up and started to leave the room, not showing any emotion. His followers, who were afflicted with boredom, trailed behind him and accompanied him on his exit.

"How can he treat people in that manner? Who is this guy thinking he is? He sobbed out of frustration.

The red-haired woman said, "He's Andrew Baker, the CEO and president of these department stores, some of the top in the world you know... He owns this company."

He angrily remarked, "Yes, I know, it was a rhetorical question," grabbed his files, and raced out of the room.

***

Two men entered the building and he sat in his gleaming black office chair, staring at his timeline for the next month.