Yana
I jotted down his instructions, all the while wondering why he needed a separate office with a shower. For romantic escapades? I couldn’t think of any other reason. But bringing dates to the office seemed pretty ridiculous. I hinted at this by mentioning the thin walls, but he just said he’d play music. I’m sure the accounting team will be thrilled with his little concerts!
Still, he’s the boss, so it’s his call on what to do and how to do it. My job is to follow his orders, no matter how absurd they might seem…
“What are your plans for the second half of the day?” I asked.
“I want to go over the company’s expenses. That’s not a one-day job, though.”
“Should I send the head of the finance department to you?”
“I don’t even fully understand how all this works yet,” he said, frowning slightly. “When’s the next project? I want to go see it for myself.”
“This Saturday, we’re organizing entertainment for guests at the birthday party of Camilla, a well-known singer,” I replied. “It starts at ten.”
“In the morning?” he asked, surprised. “Who celebrates that early?”
“It’s an all-day event structured as a quest, with a banquet and concert at the end,” I explained.
“Does our company only handle the entertainment? We don’t arrange the food or anything like that? How does this all work?”
“We organize everything,” I clarified. “The client usually picks the venue from a list we provide. We partner with various restaurants and banquet halls. They take care of the catering, while our team handles the decorations. Our animators are also part of the package…”
“Is this event themed as well?” Rostislav pressed. “What’s the theme?”
“It’s a quest styled after the early twentieth century,” I explained. “Think ‘The Great Gatsby’ and that era. Guests will dress in period costumes, and the food, cake, and decorations will match the theme.”
“Got it,” he nodded. “And we handle the decorations, right?”
“Yes,” I confirmed. “We have a department for design and decor, as well as a team of animators.”
“So, we have workshops? I’d be interested in seeing that. Will you take me along when they’re setting up the venue? You’ll be there, right?”
“No problem,” I said. “I’ll take you. If you’d like, we can watch some video highlights from past events we’ve organized right now. It’ll give you a sense of how things are done…”
“Alright, let’s take a look…”
***
The next morning, chaos reigned in the new boss’s office. Workers were clearing out furniture from the rest room, and then they brought in large boxes and started unpacking them. He wasn’t around at the time, and curiosity got the better of me, so I peeked inside. At first, I thought it might be some kind of kinky equipment, but then I realized it was just gym gear. Seriously? Was he turning the office into a fitness center? Next thing you know, he’ll have us all doing morning calisthenics like we did in elementary school.
He showed up in the reception area once everything was set up and the workers had left.
“You mentioned yesterday that you wanted to hold a staff meeting at noon,” I reminded him.
“Right, did you notify everyone? I’ve got an important announcement to make.”
“Yes, they’re all waiting in the conference room,” I said, silently adding to myself, “And grumbling about having to skip their lunch break to hear your so-called ‘important announcement.’ And by the way, the proper term is ‘announcement,’ not whatever you called it!”
“Good,” he nodded. “Let’s go, then.”
We entered the room, and the chatter immediately died down. Everyone looked at the new boss with curiosity, trying to guess what news he was about to drop.
“Alright, I won’t beat around the bush… hmm,” he cut himself off. “I wanted to let you all know that starting next month, I’ll be cutting the staff by about a third. We’re not turning a profit, and this can’t go on any longer…”
I was just as shocked as everyone else in the room. His father had always looked out for his employees, sometimes even to his own detriment. That’s why people loved him. But this guy? He’d just turned everyone against him in one fell swoop.
Before my colleagues could recover, I stood up and said:
“This is the wrong decision! You’re going to sink the company with this!”
Rostislav
More than anything, I wanted to lock myself in my shiny new gym and be left alone. I knew I wasn’t cut out to run a company, especially one as frivolous as this. But at the same time, I understood I could make it more stable and then sell it off. To do that, though, I first needed to let go of all the dead weight.
When Yana stood up and accused me of “sinking the company,” I just smirked:
“The ones sinking the company right now are those who collect a paycheck while doing nothing. There are too many people here. I’m going to streamline everything. Only those who actually contribute will stay. That’s the end of this meeting. Let the departments know that the next month will be make-or-break for everyone’s career here. About two-thirds of you will remain. For now, you can all go to lunch,” I said, my eyes fixed on Yana.
People got up from their seats and started filing out of the room, murmuring to each other.
“Your father wouldn’t approve of this decision,” Yana said, glaring at me angrily.
“My father is old and sick,” I sighed. “I’m not going to bother him with trivial issues. Dreams and business are two different things, kid. You should’ve figured that out by now.”
Truth be told, I wasn’t just talking about her—I was talking about myself too. That damn gym room was a desperate attempt to cling to a dream I could no longer reach. The injury hadn’t healed, and the doctors weren’t giving me any hope. Sure, it didn’t affect everyday life much, but in racing, I needed to move my hands fast, twisting the steering wheel. With my wrist in this condition, that was nearly impossible…
***
I spent two hours in the gym after that meeting. Time flew by unnoticed, though I was still cautious about overworking my wrist. I could see that my left arm was even slightly thinner. I was going easy on it.
Training helped me escape. It gave me the illusion that things could still turn around, that I could be myself again and get back to the sport. Back to doing what made me feel alive.
My first day on the job didn’t exactly fill me with confidence that this was a good idea, but I wasn’t one to back down. By the time I got home, I was in an almost decent mood.
Mika was sitting at the table, waiting for me.
“Hey,” I said, walking over and giving her a quick kiss on the lips. “How’ve you been here on your own?”
“A bit bored,” she said, frowning. “I’m used to you always being home…”
“Well, you’ll have to hang in there for a bit,” I said, sitting across from her and taking her hand, looking into her eyes. “Guess what? I set up gym equipment at the office today. Can you believe there was a whole empty room just sitting there for no reason?” I grinned.
“Why do you need gym stuff at work?” Mika raised her eyebrows in surprise. “You’ve got tons of it at home!”
“You don’t like it when I work out at home,” I sighed. “Though I don’t really get why.”
“I just don’t understand why you train so much. You’ve quit sports. An hour a day is plenty for health…”
“When did I say I’ve quit? I just have an injury,” I said, pressing my lips together.
“Well, you mentioned having new goals in life, so I thought you’d focus on business and keep sports as just a hobby,” she sighed. “Then we could start a family… You’d have more time for us…”