A step of faith

He stepped into the boardroom very pleasing to look at with finely chiseled features. He was handsome, not perhaps in the conventional sense, but he had that appearance which could make him stand out in the crowd. He was fair, almost pale white. His unfathomable, golden brown eyes contrasted exceptionally with his light toned face. He was magnetic having a clear unblemished skin,enigmatic, Poised and Zealous with his hair dead flat on his head.

He smelled of spice and the musky, masculine scent that was uniquely his.

The formal wear mixed with the serious attitude created an official feeling. the people who wear already in the luxurious room stood up in greeting as a sign of acknowledging his presence. After taking a look at the bunch of people before him, everyone follow suit. No one deared to make a sound. He opened a file right away, without looking up, he gave a clue to a young man for the presentation to begin.

"The new aim of our store will be to sell shoes and jewelries at a lower price so our customers..

He was cut short by a cold remark.

"You mean to tell me you want to lower our profit margins? He rolled his eyes and went through the file.

"You mean to tell me you want to lower our profit margin!?" He rolled his eyes as he went through the file.

"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 not a better pitch by Tuesday at noon, you'll be fired," he boomed, the room suddenly feeling ice cold.

"But... may I finish?" the unfortunate boy trailed off as his boss got up and had already begun to leave the room, without a bit of emotion across his face. His assistants who had followed him, walked out with him as well, boredom plaguing their faces.

"Who is he to treat people that way?! Who does he think he is!?" "Who is he to treat people that way?! Who does he think he is!?" He cried in exasperation.

The woman in red piped up, "He's Andrew klien, the CEO and president of these department stores, some of the top in the world you know... He owns this company."

"Yes I know, it was a rhetorical question," he irritably commented, picked up his files, and stormed out of the room.

########

He sat in his shiny black office chair, his timeline for the upcoming month a man walked through the entrance.

"They're posing as a threat? Since when has this company grown big enough to possibly get close to hurting us?" Andrew questioned them with ferocity.

Sharing a look, the man responded, "We've tried to schedule a meeting with one of their representatives to create some sort of co-operation, but it has fallen through.

"So you are telling me this whole time you have found this predicament entirely unimportant to report to me? Yet according to our charts, our sales have decreased by a whopping 30%. He said showing it to him on the office flow chart.

The man was caught off guard, not expecting to be asked all of the questions at once. Silence filled the room and darkness covered it like cloud.

"Well sir, that's not really the source of the problem. Actually, when your father was active CEO and president, of this company, he loaned about fifty million dollars to mr. Parker of the Parker stores about ten years ago after their project failed. It was originally twenty million, but they continually asked for more after asking for more and eventually, your father passed away and That money has been restricting out advertising and growth budget. As the story unfolded, it caused Andrew to think how come he had never been aware of this?

"Parker owes us fifty million dollars? And they haven't paid any yet? And I'm just getting to know about it?

Mr. John, start a brief overview on this case, written and get it to me as soon as possible." I'll need some time to think on where to start with this case," he requested. Mr. John responded with a curt nod. Although Mr. John was older than Andrew, Andrew being in his late twenties and he was in his early forties, Mr. John had grown to respect his boss on many levels. Him, moderate in height. He had grey streaks in his brown hair which match his eyes perfectly, the wrinkles around his eyes showed signs of stress and hard work. Together, the man got ready to take on a new task.

"You've been working at this company for the last ten years, you probably know more about what happened with my father and parker than anyone, I'd like you to give your input and ideas on how to handle this."

"Yes sir, of course," Mr. John responded. Can you give me sometime to get it ready?

"Sure you can go and get it ready, take your time and bring out the best you can. Andrew said as he begins to go through the office flow chart over and over again.

*********

Few hours had passed since John had left to write the case.

Mr Andrew was standing staring outside through his office window with different thoughts running through his mind when James walked in interrupting his train of thoughts.

"I assumed you have gotten everything sorted out. Andrew questioned.

"Yes. Mr Andrew, john assured handling the paper over.

He flipped through the pages. " good to know you are taking work seriously, and finding ideas on solutions.

"Well sir, I don't think the Parker family can pay us back anytime soon, with their sales versus their spending, I don't believe that we can get even a reasonable fraction of our money back anytime in the near or even the distant future.

"What exactly do you mean? That we have just lost fifty million dollars to our highest, advancing competitors? It is not going to be possible, they have to pay up their debt i will contact my lawyer as soon as possible.He said furrowing his eyebrows as he picked his briefcase and walked out of the office heading straight to his car.

The chauffeur opened the door for him as he settled in. He maneuverd the car out of the building while Andrew sat quietly lost in his thoughts. His train of thoughts was cut short when his phone began to ring.

It was his cousin:

"Hello Andrew, she said with her cheerful voice, but his cold response made her wonder.

"What's wrong? Are you okay? She asked concerned.

"Well, a company owe us a huge sum of fifty million dollars,that has made our profit flow drop by about thirty percent. I don't know what to do now and John believes they can't pay now but I don't care, John has drafted a case out for me I will meet them in court" Andrew said.

"Oh that is so unfortunate, Which company if I may ask?

"Parker stores, he responded.

"oh Parker stores, I see ehm, I have an idea. Since money isn't available at the moment, we will have to go with a no price factor. Well you see mr parker has two daughters.

The youngest is still in high school but his eldest is a beacon for the press. Not only will the company be shown in a more positive light than ever but also, when her father passes, you will be in part ownership of the inheritance.The youngest is still in high school but his eldest is a beacon for the press. Not only will our company be shown in a more positive light than ever but This can include a partial ownership of their business and more than the money they owe.The youngest is still in high school but his eldest is a beacon for the press. Not only will our company be shown in a more positive light than ever but also, when her father passes, you will be in part ownership of the inheritance. This can include a partial ownership of their business and more than the money they owe. Thereafter, you can do whatever suits you with the company plus you get to avoid having to pass through the strenuous court process of claiming back your money." His cousin ended with an intake of breath. It was a last minute idea and there were no other options.

When a kingdom has financial troubles, there will be a kind of agreement to join hands and strengthen their bonds. marriage to be precise, prosperity would reign and the problem would be fixed.

"Is this really a beneficial fix? Is it even a viable solution?"

So you're saying that a marriage should amend his debt therefore furthering us by part ownership and inheritance? How are we sure they will agree to such an offer?" Andrew enquired.

"Well if we bring in the facts, this is Mr. Parker's best option. I have other stuffs to do now, talk to you some other time."

The phone beeps alarming that his cousin hung up the call. Andrew sighed heavily.

After about five minutes drive, he pulled over at the front of his mansion. The chauffeur opened the door and he went in. He called his Mr. John his personal assistant ordering him to set up an appointment.