Leap OF Fate

The Rain International Building looked very imposing. Its 80 floors towered over Hyacinth Bay's Central Business District. Serene recalled that she looked at this same building with excitement and enthusiasm after she had graduated. On her first day of work, she felt

nothing but pride when her high-heeled feet first set on its premise.

How ironic, now here she is, craning her neck as she tries to look at the skyscraper's expanse. She no longer felt the same amount of excitement, pride and elation she felt almost three years ago. The feeling of dread now replaced those emotions. She dreaded to see those three men.

Taking a deep breath, Serene lifted her foot and entered the building. She approached the lobby receptionist, whom she no longer recognized. She informed her of her name and purpose; the receptionist gave her her ID pass.

She's scheduled to meet with the CFO in the conference room for a product introduction and data gathering. The conference room is on the top floor. She pressed 80 on the elevator and waited for it to ascend.

As the elevator moved up, Serene's heart also moved erratically in her chest. She clutched her bag tightly to help divert her attention. This is her first presentation for a large enterprise. The task is already daunting. However, knowing that she had to be on the 80th floor added to her stress. Justin's office was on the 80th floor.

I hope he's super busy today, or he's on a business trip. Serene repeated this in her head like a chant. When the elevator finally opened to the 80th floor, her heart was already beating on her neck and her hands clammy from perspiration.

She informed the floor's receptionist of her purpose. She then ushered her to the conference room. The conference room was still empty. Inwardly, Serene uttered a thanks. This gives her a small time to gather her composure and prepare her presentation.

At exactly 10:00 in the morning, the conference door opened and a man in his 40s stepped in. He was tall, his physique on the slim side, he wore black square-framed glasses. Two men accompanied him. Both seemed to be in their late 20s or early 30s. Both wore long- sleeved collared shirts and ties. Both had the same body build as the older man, but the younger men did not wear eyeglasses.

"Ms. Ellis?" The bespectacled man spoke. He smiled at her and extended his right hand. "Arthur Flynn."

"Hello Mr. Flynn. I'm Serene Ellis from Lewis Technologies. Nice to meet you," he took his offered hand and gave it a firm shake.

"These are my accounting staff. Richard Johann and Leonard Wood"

Each of them extended their hands for a handshake which Serene accepted and returned.

The young man with a blue tie was Richard, who wanted to be addressed as "Rich", while the other one who wore a black tie was Leonard, who requested to be called as "Leo".

They took their seats across from hers. The younger men sat on each of Arthur's sides. After they had taken care of the formalities, Serene opened her laptop and prepared to start her presentation. Just as she was about to open her mouth to start her product introduction, the conference room door opened.

Serene's calm heart once again beat wildly in her chest. Her eyes rounded in surprise. "I apologize for coming late." Justin spoke, clearly addressing everyone in the room. He glanced at her and sat at the head of the conference table. "Please continue, Ms. Ellis." Thankfully Serene gathered her composure quickly. She had accompanied several project managers already, and it's not unusual for CEOs to join the project meetings. Taking a deep breath, she began with her presentation.

Her small audience was silent. After going through the slides that explained their product and their timeline, Serene ended sharing her screen. She engaged her audience with questions related to their accounting structure and expense reimbursement process. While their questions centered on data integration.

Overall, the meeting went on smoothly. They finished their discussion, agreeing on their action items and scheduling their next meeting. Arthur's team left first.

Ignoring Justin deliberately, Serene busied herself in collecting her things. When she had settled everything, she turned in his direction and said, "Mr. Rain. Thank you for today. I'll go ahead. Please call me if your team needs my help."

He simply responded, "En" and gave her a quick nod.

Serene stepped out of the conference room and walked towards the elevator.

"Shen, Baby!" Serene halted and her head looked in the speaker's direction.

"Kurosawa! How are you?" She smiled at him widely and stretched her arms towards him. He walked towards her and gave her a hug.

"Wanna have lunch?" She looked at him with an expectant smile.

"Sure"

"Alright, let's go!"

"You mean now?"

"Yeah, you got something?"

"No, not really."

As the two happily settled their lunch, Justin, who left the conference room immediately after she went, and watched her walk ahead of him. He gloomily looked at Dylan when their eyes met. Receiving all of Justin's killing stares, he leaned closer to Serene and said something to her ear. She then nodded while she looked back at him.