Chapter 2 MR. PLAYER

“Sir, the St. Pierre investors are here ” Adrien’s secretary said.

Adrien sat up straight in his chair, adjusted his suit and put some files together.

“Okay. Grab those files and follow me” Adrien responded, pointing to the files on the left side of his desk.

He was feeling more energetic since he had already had his morning coffee. He left the office with his secretary following behind him.

The meeting with the St. Pierre Interiors Company investors was a success and they agreed to invest in his company, not only because of the massive benefits it would fetch them, but also because of Adrien’s work ethics and prominence in the business world. Another win for Adrien.

Now all he had to do was ensure that his staff worked on the contract immediately and his supervisor reported to him on the updates of other contracts, while he prepared his speech for a business seminar coming up. Adrien relaxed in his chair and jotted down little ideas he got for his speech.

“Hey Hun!” A lady flung his office door open.

Adrien stood up immediately, surprised.

“Elise, what are you doing here?” he whispered, shutting the door.

“Well I missed you. Didn’t you miss me boo?” She responded casually.

“I am not your boo first of all. Secondly, don’t ever come to my workplace again!” Adrien replied.

Elise made a sad pout with her face and moved closer to Adrien, until there was no room between them. She arranged his collar, dusted off imaginary dirt and drew Adrien’s lips into a kiss. Adrien couldn’t resist especially since most of his ex girlfriends had just refused to move on from him.

He smashed his lips against hers and let his hands wander around her body, lifting her up and placing her on his desk table. Elise kept breathing heavily as she threw her purse across the desk and took off Adrien’s suit, reaching for his shirt buttons and almost ripping them off.

When his shirt was off, she threw her hands around his neck and pulled him in for a steamy kiss, as his hands wandered around her body.

After a few minutes, Adrien released himself from her grasp and laid back on the wall, breathing heavily. He then straightened his shirt, putting on his suit after. He was suddenly disgusted with himself for entertaining her at his workplace, especially since they were not together any longer. She at least deserved the chance to move on from him without any distractions.

“Get up” he instructed Elise, who sat in his chair.

She used her hands to straighten the crease in her dress, before walking into the bathroom in Adrien's office to straighten her hair and fix her makeup.

A few minutes later, she appeared as though nothing had happened between them.

“So…when will I see you again?” She asked, twirling a hair strand.

“Never. Now get out, I have work to do” Adrien replied harshly.

“Jeez…okay. I had an amazing time though” she replied, smiling politely.

Adrien remained silent, not bothering to look up from his jotter.

“Okay, bye” Elise murmured and shut the door.

Adrien picked up the work telephone beside him, punching a few of the number squares on it.

"Set up a meeting with all the heads of department by noon" he said to his secretary.

An hour later, he was sitting in the boardroom with every head of a department in LeBlanc Multinational Companies. Adrien cleared his throat.

"I have received news that my company is too uptight. No room for young minds or something like that. It's making waves on social media and we have to fix my company's image before this news causes further damage. Now tell me, how do we appeal to the younger demographic?" Adrien spoke, void of emotion.

The atmosphere was tense and none of the heads could afford to offer anything short of brilliant suggestions as they already knew their fate if they did.

"Last time I checked, I was communicating with human beings, right?! No one should remain silent. I need suggestions, stat!" He broke the silence, picking up his pen.

"Company social media! Sir, I personally feel it's time for a change in the creative department. Replace the old with the new, fresh young minds who know everything about the media these days" one of them suggested, earning disgusted side glances from the head of the creative department.

"That is…unnecessary. We don't need any more exposure than we already have because we are the best at what we do. Plus, I'm sure you would not love the creative department to suggest your unemployment, would you? Everyone here has an equal part to play. Now what have I told you about unnecessary ass-kissing, Darren?" Adrien spoke, choosing his words carefully while fixing his gaze at Darren.

He could see the fear in his eyes, just like he wanted. He knew what came next.

"It will get me nowhere near you, sir" Darren answered, surrendering his willpower.

"Good. Now, any other suggestions? USEFUL suggestions?" Adrien answered, looking around the room.

"Sir, how would you feel about a fresh recruit?" Another head pitched.

Everyone knew how he felt about recruiting new employees, a task which he considered too crucial.

"And before you say anything sir, I have another thing to add…" he continued, watching Adrien's facial expression.

"A charity. Perhaps, your foundation, THE ADRIEN LEBLANC FOUNDATION. Recruiting new employees from the beneficiaries of the foundation who are up to age and have some employment experience. It would appeal to every demographic. This way, everyone sees the company as anything but uptight and the creative department could work on making the whole process go viral" he added, demonstrating with his fingers.

Adrien nodded satisfactorily.

"Interesting…" Adrien commented.

"Also, you could make an announcement at your upcoming birthday where the press would be lodged. They would have a field day with this information, trying to repair your image" he added, spotting a smug smile.

"Brilliant! Now, that is a suggestion. Everyone, give him a round of applause!" Adrien smiled wide.

The others followed promptly, clapping for him.

"Sam, right? You will be in charge of this project. At the end of it, I have a surprise for you" Adrien pointed, walking out of the boardroom before it was drowned with cheers for Sam.

It was unusual for him to applaud any of their suggestions and whenever any of them managed to intrigue him, they celebrated amongst themselves.

A WEEK LATER

“Next! I have a Miss Camille Vincent!” The recruiter called.

It was the day that the unemployed beneficiaries were going to be granted interviews and if they passed, a chance to work in the reputable LeBlanc Multinational Companies. Camille exhaled nervously. All her life boiled down to this moment and if she didn’t make it, she might as well just watch her mother die slowly.

“Breath Camille, you’ll be fine. I believe in you” Camille’s best friend Simone said, taking her hand to reassure her.

Camille smiled warmly at her, inhaled and exhaled and moved forward from the line.

The line to the recruiting table felt longer all of a sudden than the same one she had been looking at for the past five minutes. Her old shoes felt wobbly and she prayed silently that today was not going to be the day they finally gave out.

She had to appear confident, just like her mother had instructed her, if she wanted to look capable of working. She straightened her hair, fastened the buttons on her maroon blazer, clutched her file case and walked faster.

“Good Morning” Camille said politely.

The recruiter looked up from the desk. “Took you long enough… ” he joked sweetly.

“Good morning Miss Vincent, can I have your credentials?” he continued.

Camille presented the file to him and he went through every piece of paper inside, nodding in an impressed manner. He proceeded to ask her a number of work related questions.

This was Camille’s second job interview. She had worked only once before now and it was at a small firm, so she had very little experience and hoped that her confidence would speak for her. A few minutes later, he was done.

“Thank you for your time Miss Vincent. We’ll get back to you”.

Camille nodded and left the desk, spotting a polite smile.

“Next! I have a Miss Simone Jarvis” Camille heard behind her.

She rushed down to her friend and held her hand as they spoke quickly.

“How was it?”.

“Good, I have a good feeling about it Simone, I’m so happy”.

“I’m so happy for you too. Wish me good luck”.

“Good luck babe. I’ll be waiting for you”.

Simone walked down to the desk while Camille took a seat at the back.

She pulled out her phone from her purse and dialed her mother’s number.

“Hello Cam. How did it go?” Helene began, speaking slowly because of her illness.

“I don’t know what the outcome is going to be, mum, but I have a good feeling. How are you feeling mum? Have you had anything to eat? I left some…”.

“No Cam, I don’t have the appetite for those things”.

“But mum, the doctor said you have to eat something before taking your medicine. I can’t afford to take you back to that hospital mum so please take your medicine and eat well for now. Promise me you’ll do that” Camille replied.

“Fine, I will. I really hope you get this job so I can be less of a burden to you” Helene responded, sniffling over the phone.

“Mum it’s my responsibility to care for you whether you’re ill or not. I have to go now mum, Simone is done with her interview and I promised to go somewhere with her”.

“Okay, Bye Cam. Stay safe” Helene responded and ended the call.

Simone was already walking down to Camille’s seat with a sweet smile.

“The odds are in our favor, Cam! ” Simone said, squealing silently.

“I really hope so, Simone” Camille responded excitedly.

“Next stop, my place. Let’s go babe” Simone announced and Camille stood up, following her out of the building.

“Ah!” Camille exclaimed as her file case flew out of her hands, her files littering the floor.

“Watch where you’re going for God’s sake! Bumbling fools!” Adrien yelled.

“I…I’m so sorry sir, I didn’t see you coming” Camille pleaded, bending down to pick up the papers on the floor.

Simone joined her, pleading. Adrien said nothing and moved forward, stepping on some of the papers.

“No! Please, I begged you already. Those papers are my life!” Camille cried out. Adrien continued moving, obviously ignoring her.

“Hey Mr.! How callous could you be! She begged you already. Who do you think you are even?!” Simone yelled, backing her friend up.

Adrien turned around slowly.

“Adrien LeBlanc, CEO of LeBlanc Multinational Companies. And I can assure you both that you will definitely not be getting employment in my company any time soon. Bumbling fools!” Adrien replied and stepped into the building, leaving their jaws dropped.