Business & Pleasure

Watching Liam’s fingers dance effortlessly across the keyboard, Benjamin stared in awe, mesmerized by how fast his co-worker was completing the spreadsheet. Page after page, Liam breezed through, filling out each cell with intricate formulas as the numbers magically fell into place.

“So…how long have you been working here?” Benjamin asked.

“Two months,” Liam smiled, taking a sip of his coffee.

“Two months?! You are way too damn good to be a two-month employee,” Ben laughed. “Everyone I’ve sat with today was slow and showed no enthusiasm. You are the complete opposite!”

“Thanks. Probably because they all had their souls ripped out by this place.”

“What do you mean?”

“I’ve worked at major corporations before,” Liam answered. “Those other employees were probably once highly motivated interns just like you. After a few months, their workload more than likely increased and they became miserable. Eventually, they learned that if they want to make it, they just need to do the bare minimum to get by.”

“Isn’t that quiet quitting?” Ben asked.

“Yup, which probably explains why there is a high turnover rate here.” Liam nodded. “That’s why I left my last job.”

“Then why are you working hard if this place is just like your old job?”

“Rumor has it that the high turnover rate here includes the CEO’s position,” Liam answered. “I hear they deal with a lot more work but the pay is insane. Wouldn’t mind having a gig like that.”

“How much are we talking?” Ben inquired.

“At least six figures if the rumors are true.”

Ben’s jaw dropped, astounded by the amount of the CEO’s salary. He silently mouthed the word “fuck” as he raised his eyebrows, envisioning a position that paid so well.

“Well…not to be a Debbie-downer, but you might have a few people ahead of ya,” Ben said softly.

“What do you mean?”

“Like you said, you are fairly new here,” Ben responded. “There are a lot more people who have been here much longer. Unfortunately, they have more seniority than you and I.”

After hitting a few keys to save his document, Liam turned around and leaned back in his office chair. Folding his arms, he began to smile while shaking his head.

“This is your first major gig at a corporation…isn’t it?”

“Huh? I mean…yeah. How’d you know?” Ben mumbled.

“I can tell,” Liam smiled. “Let me give you one piece of advice. Hard work alone won’t cut it. In the corporate world, it’s all about politics. Loyalty and hard work aren’t enough, it’s how much value you actually bring and the connections that you have.”

“Interesting...” Ben nodded.

After giving Ben the low-down about the company, a loud shuffle was heard at the other end of the building. As a few other employees cautiously lifted their heads above their desks, everyone directed their attention toward the conference room.

A tall, bald man whose face was a dark shade of red was shouting at the top of his lungs. The other men in the room remained calm as an elderly gentleman in the middle of the table had a stoic look on his face.

Seconds later, two security guards hurried down the main halls of the building and quickly entered the conference room. There was another shuffle inside that was soon blocked out by one of the blinds being closed.

The entire building was silent as they heard the muffled sounds of an argument being made inside the room. After a minute of eavesdropping, the door swung open and the security guards forcefully escorted the tall gentleman through the main building.

“LET GO OF ME!” he screamed. “AFTER EVERYTHING THAT I’VE DONE FOR THIS PLACE! I SAID LET GO!!!!”

“Hey…isn’t that…?”

“Yup. That’s the CEO.” Liam whispered, trying to suppress his surprised look.

As they got closer to the front of the building, both Liam and Ben soon noticed a beautiful blonde woman in a business-appropriate dress holding a leather folder in her arms. She was following the two guards escorting the CEO out of the building. Upon exiting through the front doors, the woman closed the doors behind them and turned around.

“Shows over everyone!” she announced. “You all can return to work.”

“Who’s that?” Ben said quietly, gawking at the gorgeous blonde.

“That my good man…is Candace,” Liam said with a cocky grin.

“Girlfriend?” Ben quietly asked.

“Nah…she’s the company’s managing director,” Liam smiled. “But she sure is fine. Even though she’s only in her early 30s, Candace has actually been with the company longer than most of the people here.”

“Then why don’t they make her the CEO?”

“Like I said Benny-boy…it’s all about politics.”

As the employees lowered their heads and returned to work, the group of men with briefcases calmly walked out of the conference room. All appeared to be in their mid to late 50s with the oldest-looking member leading in the front. Slowly walking towards them, Candace stopped in the middle of the room and nodded.

“I apologize for his behavior,” she whispered. “I wasn’t expecting him to act this way.”

“Not your fault, Candace,” said the eldest gentleman. “It’s no surprise that this company can’t keep a decent CEO. I guess that proves once again that money does change a person.”

“Not trying to rush things, but I do have a potential candidate that might be a good fit…going by the reports of course.” Candace smiled. “Do you want me to schedule a meeting or do-.”

“No thanks,” the man interjected. “No sense in meeting someone if they can’t last more than a couple of months here.”

“Understood,” Candace meekly responded.

“If their report is good, then you have my go-ahead. If anything, we at least have a warm body filling in until we can find time to hire a better replacement.”

“Thank you, sir.”

Peeking around the corner of his desk, Liam and Ben pretended to work as they tried to listen in on their conversation. They couldn’t make out most of what was said as the sounds of other employees tapping on keyboards echoed throughout the building. After seeing Candace shaking hands with the group of men, she immediately opened up her leather portfolio and began scribbling some notes.

After watching the group leave the building, Liam and Ben shifted their eyes back to the computer and pretended as if nothing happened. As Liam was pointing a few things out on the spreadsheet, the sound of heels tapping against the marble floor echoed louder and louder.

Turning their heads, a piece of paper was slid onto Liam’s desk. Upon lifting her fingers off of the document, Liam and Ben looked up at Candace who had a smile on her face.

“Liam…isn’t it?” she asked.

“Yes, ma’am,” Liam smiled as he stood up to shake her hand.

“I must say, I am quite impressed by your work recently. You’ve certainly stood out when I was going over the reports.”

“Why thank you,” Liam blushed.

“Listen…I know it’s last minute, especially with it being nearly 5 o’clock on a Friday, but mind paying me a visit in my office on the top floor?” Candace politely asked. “I would like to discuss your report as I feel like your skills and work ethic should be properly recognized.”

Raising both eyebrows, Liam had a wide grin on his face. The new intern, Ben, started to blush as well as he was amazed and happy for Liam.

“Of course! Let me finish this spreadsheet and I will be right over!”

“Great, I will see you then,” Candace smiled before turning around and began walking toward the elevators.

“Dude…” Ben softly chuckled. “Talk about perfect timing.”

“I know, right?” Liam whispered with excitement.

“What do you think will happen? Do you think you will get a promotion?” Asked Ben.

“Not sure, but I do know this.” Liam confidently responded, “If Candace is impressed with my work now…this time next year, I am going to be the CEO of this place. You’ll see.”