Page 3 of Sold to the Highest Bidder
"We'll back in a week to see how far you've progressed."
Joshua nodded and led them out of his office with a polite smile. Being his oldest clients, he always preferred to show them out himself.
The reception was completely filled. Some smiled when they spotted Joshua, hoping Joshua would give them preferential treatment, but he never did. It was first come first served; he always tried his best to put himself in other people's shoes. Joshua closed the door, massaging the sides of his head with his forefingers. He quickly stopped when he spotted curious eyes staring at him.
Joshua was already getting a headache. He strolled over to his seat, projecting the aura of confidence. He asked for the minutes while poring over the file that the Georges dropped off for him.
Joshua took a look at his schedule for the day; he had no time to himself. The construction of another office branch would begin soon, he had to go and look at viable building sites today. Joshua could hear the impatient grumblings of the people waiting in the reception. He hired other consultants, but most of them insisted on meeting with him because he was the best at his job. They all sat around the large conference table, brainstorming ideas and asking for his input. Like his other companies, his clients preferred to confer with him. At first, it pissed the other consultants off, but they learned to live with it and learn from him.
Joshua owned five investment firms and three advertising firms. He had achieved all this success through hard work and smart investments. He had always pushed himself to the limit and did whatever he needed to do to get to where he was today.
"Mr. Newman?" Shane called. He was standing beside him. When did Shane get there? He needed to have a talk with Shane about boundaries. He also needed a cup of coffee, badly. Maybe it would help with his crappy mood.
"Yes?" He answered, looking up at Shane.
"I was wondering if you needed anything, sir. You looked stressed out when you opened the door. Would you like some tea? Juice? Crackers? "
Joshua sighed, running his hands through his hair. Shane had always been an overzealous worker; that was him using a euphemism. Joshua wondered if he knew that the rest of the staff called him an 'ass-kisser' behind his back. He was always at Joshua's beck and call, even at night. Joshua didn't hate it, but most times, it seemed like Shane had a crush on him. The other assistants hated him because he made them look lazy. Even if Joshua called Shane at night, he was sure that he would rush over to where he was. Even now, all the employees were glaring at him from the corner of their eyes.
"Sir?" Shane called, looming over him with a smile so wide it looked creepy. Joshua found himself inching backward in his chair. "Would you need anything before the next client comes in?"
"Get me a cup of coffee. Black with two sugars from the Starbucks™ across the street. And a chocolate chip croissant." If he was going to get through today, he needed coffee and sugar, lots of it.
"Yes sir, right away, sir," Shane amenably replied, doing a mock salute. It took all of Joshua's resolve not to roll his eyes. He watched Shane as he rushed off to perform the given task.
Over the past few months, Shane had tailored his style to perfectly match Joshua's. He never wore suspenders or crisply ironed pants before. Shane even styled his hair like his: Joshua's black hair was always sleeked back from his face to showcase his high cheekbones, sharp jawline, and piercing green eyes. Joshua knew that Shane looked up to him, but he felt a bit perturbed by his makeover. Joshua silently wondered if he was a brown-noser like Shane when he first started in the corporate world.
He decided that he wasn't. He got to the top not based on brown-nosing but merit and skill.
Two
Nazalie
The following week, Nazalie resumed at the bakery no later than six-thirty. It was a Monday morning, so she knew that it was going to be a busy day. She was supposed to show up to work by nine, but she came early because she thought that Michael would need some help with baking and cleaning since his kitchen assistant called in sick with the flu. When she got to the bakery, it was already open. As the baker, Michael always came before her.
Expecting to see him in the kitchen, Nazalie headed there only to find it empty. Confused, she looked around the store. Why was it open if Michael was not around? Have they been robbed?
"I'm here, Nazalie." A familiar voice called. Nazalie rushed out of the kitchen. He was sitting beside the counter all along. How did she not notice him? Was she getting old?
"Michael, I didn't see you there. What are you doing sitting here? You should be in the kitchen."
"I know, I'm going through these documents."
"Documents?" Nazalie asked, leaning in closer. Michael closed the file he had been looking at and stood up abruptly.
"I should get to work. Today is always one of our busiest days. Why are you here early, anyway?"
"I came to help. I thought that with Cindy down with flu and all, it must be stressful for you since it’s just you here."
"Thank you, Nazalie. You're always so thoughtful."
Michael smiled warmly at her, the crow's feet at the edge of his eyes seemed to deepen every time he smiled. "Well…" he said, clapping loudly. "Let's get to work!"
They spent the next hour kneading, mixing, and baking. Nazalie already knew what to do, so Michael didn't need to instruct her. Apart from her accounting degree, she learnt most of her baking skills from her mum, before things changed for the worse. Nazalie had always loved baking with her mother. With her accounting skills, Nazalie felt that she would do well in running a bakery.
The bakery ended up being busier than she expected. They seemed to be getting a lot of new customers recently; that made Nazalie happy. After all, it would soon be hers. She attended to the customers politely even though she was tired. She didn't want the bakery getting any bad reviews. In no time, the sun had set, and it was closing time.
Nazalie stood up from the stool she had been sitting on.The sound of her bones popping could be heard all around the empty shop. Nazalie stretched her hands over her head to straighten out her stiff back.
