"Did you inform them about the meeting, as I've asked of you yesterday?" He asked her, searching through his drawer frantically.
"I do, sir..."Miriam's reply was short and plain, nodding her head positively but at a slow pace. "I wrote them a group text, and they all replied to it, but still, I'll send a brief reminder when it's almost the time."
"Thank you, Miriam," he said with a sigh of relief, finally locating the document he had been searching for. "It's important that everyone is aware and prepared for the meeting." He smiled warmly at her, appreciating her diligence and attention to detail.
He did not tell her anything about what's needed to be at the meeting, but Miriam was sure it was because of the previous day incident-the anonymous company that was interested in becoming a shareholder with them and their tempting offer.
Her boss rarely calls meetings and even if he does call one, he never showed up; always leaving them to decide the fate of the meeting and expecting feedback. Since he just called one out of the blues, she was sure about what was needed to be discussed and even if he had his other reasons for the meeting -he will surely throw some light on the shareholding issue at hand.
Miriam knew that their company was at a crucial crossroad, and decisions that would be made in the upcoming meeting could determine the future of the company. She silently wished for the best outcome and hoped that their team could navigate this challenge successfully.
"I need you to help with sorting these files while I prepare the summary for the meeting." Ryan told her, handing over the paperwork that was lying on his desk to her. "I want this to be done before the meeting, I need it before the day runs out."
Miriam collected the files from him and stared at it, a small frown settled on her face. "Is it the..."
Ryan cut her short abruptly, giving her no chance to complete her words. "Yes, it is." He replied hastily. "Please, help with it before today runs out -I'll be busy for the rest of the day."
Miriam nodded curtly. "Sure, I'll be done with it as soon as possible, sir." With that, she stood up from her seat, preparing to take her leave.
Ryan checked his wristwatch. "You have two hours until the meeting starts, Miriam." He uttered, his voice stopping her on her track and turned towards his direction.
"I got this, sir-"
******
The atmosphere in the boardroom was that of tension, and it seemed like each person available in the boardroom was holding their breath. The silence was so thick and awkward that anyone would hear a pin drop.
Ryan walked in the boardroom gracefully, carefully taking his steps with his left hand in his pant pocket and holding a tabloid in the other hand. The expression on his face was stoic, and he appeared like he hadn't been smiling for years -if not a decade.
"Good afternoon, directors..."He greeted in his usual bossy and cold tone with no emotion laced in his, his eyes clothed with icy glaciers. His greeting was responded to, and he nodded his head slowly at a few times before taking his seat at the other end of the long desk, a seat reserved for the company's CEO.
"It was supposed to be an emergency meeting given to the present state of the company, but I had to reschedule the time to allow you all enough time to prepare yourselves." He began, his voice almost echoing in the enclosed room. "It'll be a brief meeting, and we won't be needing any gadgets for analysis and sort -just your opinions are needed."
Even with his speech and formal sentences, this did not ease the tension in the air. It's clear that each member available are in one way or the other scared of him -but just a bit as their boss and the CEO.
Miriam walked in hastily, an apologetic expression on her face. "I'm sorry I came in late, I lost track of time." She uttered, her voice was laced with remorse as she bowed slightly. "I'm deeply sorry."
Ryan did not bother to give a reply, snubbing her like she was never in the room, and the rest of the room occupants did not even raise their eyebrows -no one acknowledged her presence.
Miriam sighed under her breath as she walked to take her seat, a few feet beside him. Miriam wasn't bothered by his actions though, in fact, she had grown used to it-he has always been that way; acting strict and cold during meetings.
But once they are out of the boardroom, he's the nice boss that she's free with; sharing related issues with him as his personal assistant-and the other members, this is mostly expected too. No one acknowledges your presence when you come late to meetings, especially in the middle of it.
Ryan cleared his throat to resume his speech. "We are all aware of the challenge the company is facing at the moment and in one way or the other, it must have had an effect on each and every one of us in this company." He addressed and paused for a moment. None did say nothing, but most of them nodded in acknowledgement of what he had said.
"So, I came up with the idea of needing shareholders or investors to ease the financial status of the company that has drastically gone down." He muttered with a small sigh. "-which has made us lose so much in the past few weeks."
Murmuring was heard, while some dreaded it to be a bad idea as Miriam's, others were in total support of his idea.
"Well, I won't be doing this if it offers no benefit in it." He said loudly, immediately the murmuring died down, gaining their attention to himself once again. "I thought thoroughly about it and this is the only way to revive our company. We can stand back on our feet if we use this opportunity well enough -and maybe in the nearest future, we can as well buy the share back..."
-the meeting went on for several minutes, and he also discussed with them about the shareholder and the two other investors and the fate surrounding each of them. He told them about his decision and how he had planned to seize the opportunity to raise his company back to its feet.
Seeing his reasons and ideas for going with the anonymous company, the board of directors were totally supporting his idea -and Miriam, who was against it, couldn't help but change her mind. She was mistaken from the start, the man before him is still the same boss she has known all along...