Page 3 of Trapped with My Rival Billionaire Grump

“You have about twenty-five minutes to do this, Daniel and do it right,” I said quite firmly, my expression as stoic as ever.

The bubbling anxiety from the rest of the marketing team expelled from their pores and made me expectant of what they had in store, even though I could already anticipate I wasn’t going to be convinced. Daniel's nervousness confirmed this, and if there’s anything I’ve noticed it’s that my marketing lead didn’t perform his duties well when he's nervous.

I watched Daniel fumble with the files in his hand before I said, “You have twenty-three minutes left. You might want to get started.”

Daniel hurriedly signaled to the person running the projector and he started his presentation.

“For years now, Beckett Technologies has been in the number two spot in the country and several parts of the world,” Daniel said as a picture of the building exterior popped up on the screen. “And just last year, we launched the healthcare platform,Healthverse, which took us to number one, but there’s always been one question on everyone's mind. Who is Ethan Beckett?”

“I don’t think it matters who I am personally if they’re getting what they paid for,” I interrupted, enjoying the look of frustration that filled Daniel's eyes.

“Yes, we might think it doesn't matter, but last year the marketing department conducted research including a survey, and what we found was it does matter.”

A video of an interview played with three men, their identities concealed, who stated they would never use a platform created by a man who they didn’t know anything about. These men sounded like old codgers to me, who probably thought they needed to know everyone’s business.

“This is the first reason we believe this interview is necessary. People need to know you're a real person,” Daniel said.

“Three men out of the other 7 billion people in the world doesn't seem like much of a reason to me,” I said, folding my arms across my chest.

“Another reason is the fact that out of all the multi-billon companies in the world, we have the least business collaborations,” Daniel stated flatly. “And that all boils down to the fact that no one wants to do business with someone who might not exist.”

“Really? No one wants to do business with someone who might not exist, but we have about thirty business affiliations,” I countered, my tone devoid of any emotion. I didn’t understand the concept that you had to know the person behind the business if the business was good.

“That's still not a good number, sir,” Daniel said, his voice a little bit timid before he spoke more boldly. “Most companies our size have about a hundred.”

“Why should I be concerned about that? We're still the number one tech company,” I said, enjoying the frustrated looks on all of their faces. I glanced at my wristwatch, already counting this as a lost cause. “I'm not getting convinced.”

“It could be good for our future business,” Daniel retorted, frustration now evident in his voice. “It’s just an article to get to know the brains behind this great company.”

“What if thebraindoesn’t want to be known?” I countered quite effectively.

There was pin-drop silence after that and it looked like everyone was thinking of what to say. I quickly glanced at my wristwatch, giving out a subtle warning to the marketing team that I only had so much time to spare. I knew what sortof reaction this would bring and wondered what Daniel Burly would do this time around.

“And the last and final reason,” Daniel said, his voice coming out in desperate angst. It was this desperation to prove his point that made me hire Daniel in the first place and it had always worked wonders because he managed to come up with something great every time. And always at the last minute. I hoped today wouldn’t be an exception. “You also believe this interview is beneficial and worth your time, Mr. Beckett.”

Okay, he caught me off guard with that comment and the murmurings in the background told me he hadn’t planned to say this in the first place. I squinted my eyes at him. “And you know this how?”

“I know this because you never make time for anything you consider worthless, sir,” Daniel explained, catching my attention.

“If you know this already then you should not waste my time this much.” Another glance at my wristwatch told me I had three minutes left for this meeting.

Daniel smiled. “Not only did you set up the interview, sir, you also set aside twenty minutes of your precious time to hold this meeting. It’s obvious how you really feel. You just wanted to make sure we're all on the same page.”

I chuckled slightly. I wasn’t surprised when my reaction was met with slacked jaws from everyone in the room. I don’t blame them. It’s not every day you see Ethan Beckett laughing.

“Very well, Daniel.” I stood up, buttoning my suit. “Looks like you convinced me and I’m going to do my best to make it a success.”

As I walked out of the conference room, I could hear the excited chatter of the other members of the marketing team as they complimented Daniel. Even though I still considered the interview a crazy idea and believed it was still a waste ofmy precious time, I planned to see it through. It was the least I could do.

Although I’m not quite sure I’ll like the interview process. I’ve always found reporters to be quite annoying and wondered how I would survive face-to-face with one for an hour.

I walked through the halls, heading for my office with only one thing on my mind, coming up with a strategy to handle the interview process with a mind free from bias. I hoped, for the reporter’s sake more than mine, that he didn’t ask questions I considered too personal because that would be the end of the interview. I’m not about to have some nosy blabbermouth prying into my private affairs. This was to be strictly about the business.

I prepared myself for the fact that after this interview, my life might not be as private as I wanted since a lot of people who weren’t in the tech business would be able to recognize me. If only I could turn back the hands of time and reject the idea as blatantly as I have all these years. Well, there was no way around it now.

I arrived back just in time for the stipulated meeting with the reporter and walked directly into my office, my mind focusing on what the interview would entail. I hadn’t even sat down when the telephone on my desk rang. I picked it up.

“Sir, the reporter fromThe Daily Chronicleis here for your interview," number 44 said rapidly.

---