Page 74 of My Ruthless Neighbor

I am worked up. Actually, no. I am furious. I just lost an important deal to my competitor. And when I am furious, I like to throw darts at the board until the frustration leaves my body.

“Give me the darts right now and leave my office. Both of you.” I speak sternly.

They just stand there, giving me a bored look.

“You think deepening your voice is going to scare us?” Hannah asks.

Raleigh regards me with a worried look. “You know we are not going to leave you alone while you are all worked up. We are a family, remember?”

I breathe a sigh and sit down in my chair. “I don’t understand how the hell you two are so cool about all this.”

Hannah plops down in one of the guest chairs. “Do you seriously believe I am cool about losing to Genesis Media again?” Then, “I am so not cool, Archer. I just have a great poker face. I am fuming inside.”

Raleigh drops his easy-going grin and takes a seat in a vacant chair next to Hannah’s. “Great!” He glares at Hannah. “What happened to “let’s not bring our rival’s name in front of Archer”?”

“I’m sorry, okay!” She bursts out. “I’m only human.” She runs her fingers through her hair in agitation.

I lean forward in my chair, sobering. “Hey.” I stare into Hannah’s eyes. “As a leader, I should be the one looking after my team. Not the other way around.” I glance at Raleigh. “Don’t blame her.”

Rising from my chair, I study them. They look haggard. “You both have worked hard on the pitch. It’s not our fault they are the best.”

“Bullshit.” Raleigh grinds out.

Hannah nods. “Exactly.Weare the best. After snagging Mr. Smith’s contract we are now one of the top advertising agencies in the world.”

Yes. We are. A thrill goes through my bloodstream.

The only thing that makes me feel alive is my work. I am passionate about what I do. I get a kick every time I land a deal. Adrenaline soars through me when I witness KIM Advertising reaching a new milestone on the road to success.

It pleases me a great deal when I see my people—who do hours of hard work without batting an eye—smile after every victory.

Obviously, KIM Advertising is the best. It’s not my arrogance talking, it’s merely a fact.

It’s only a matter of time. KIM Advertising would acquire the title of the number one advertising agency in the world one day.

I didn’t get to where I am today by being scared of competition. Instead, I crave a fair battle. It makes success all the more sweeter.

But there’s something about Genesis Media that seems off.

We lost three deals to them. Three. Consecutively. It was like they were purposefully pitching the clients we were already in talks with.

When we lost for the first time, I was impressed by them. It’s not every day you see an up-and-coming advertising firm grow so fast and begin competing with giant companies like ours.

Genesis Media was only a year old and it managed to make a strong presence in the market.

They reminded me of the time when KIM Advertising was in its initial stage.

Genesis Media is run by a small group of individuals I have yet to meet. They hardly attend any seminars or events. Not much information is available about the people working behind the scenes.

In truth, I was happy for them. It pleased me to see them progress. Until… well until my star employees began noticing a pattern.

Unlike me, they weren’t so happy about gaining a new competitor. They are ruthless like that.

They began keeping an eye on them. Like they usually do with others.

To be on track in cutting-edge competition in the marketing industry, you need to learn everything there is to know about your rival.

That’s what they did.

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