"So, tell me about this deal." Ainsley's dad asked after the birthday greetings.

It was the second reason today was going to be exceptional. It wasn't just her birthday; it was also a good day to look forward to because she had a big deal to close today. Her company with the famous singer Kelton would be merging today. The manager would be meeting with her to finalise the deal. The merger would be raking in roughly some couple million dollars every month. It was the kind of news her father wanted to hear about. Ever since her taking over, this deal was the deal-breaker. She had never been so lucky like this. Most of the artists she had brought in had been doing well, but nothing this huge. But getting a successful artist like Kelton, who already had many followers and a solid online presence, was a great opportunity. "I'm meeting with his manager today to seal the deal. I'll call to let you know how it goes. But currently, we estimated the album to bring in millions monthly for the next one year. His followers and fans are already demanding it".

The artist had run to the biggest shot in the musical world, SMUGSHOT, because his manager had difficulty coming up with the funding to release his album. Though something tells Ainsley, her father might have played a massive part in this. He let her run the company as she deemed fit, but he still pulled some strings behind the scene when the need arises. For Kelton's manager, who had been having no problem funding the albums, this was the third. It was thereby disturbing to know he ran into some sort of that left him penniless. Not just that, there was nobody to loan him the money.

When Kelton realises this, he had contacted SMUGSHOT for help. His reputation was online. He had announced the date of his album release, and the anticipation had been built. Failure to do so could be detrimental to his career, especially if his fans lose interest. He had postponed the date twice and couldn't bring himself to doing so, not when it didn't like the manager would be able to raise the money. The manager was not happy about this merger, but for Ainsley, it was good news, and she pushed too with all she had. She wondered now, though, if her dad had somehow been the goon behind the man's failure to raise the capital

"That's good news, girl. I'm proud of you." said Mr. Jones proudly.

"Thanks, dad"  she replied just as her mother's head butt in again.

"Wow. Millions?" she smiled, "That's huge. Congrats, babe." she said just as her tube was about to fall. She quickly grabbed it.

"Why aren't you dressed, mom?" she smirked, "Please put on some clothes and cover those..." she rolled her eyes and put on her mocking face.

"Young woman" Mrs. Jones turned a full glare on her daughter, who blew kisses at her father and disconnected the call before her mom would rant thunder and brimstone over the phone. Sighing, Ainsley tossed her phone on the bed and stood up to get dressed. Smiling, she meditated on how her mother would almost blow up her phone today, trying incessantly to diss her for being coy with her on the phone. Sometimes, her mother acted like she was a friend and not her mother. Countless times, they go days without speaking, even when they were in the same house. Her mother would make sure she apologises before giving room for any communication. But generally, Maria Jones is a good mother. She had insisted on having just a child and had pampered her with all the love she could give.

As a young girl, she lacked nothing. Her mother had seen to it. She had stayed home with her all through the countless trips she could have gone with her husband. Everyone who knew Maria Jones while growing up never knew she could turn out to be a good mother. She was always so self-centred and uncaring of other people's welfare except hers. She was the queen of her class, and men flocked around her. Her friends knew how bitchy she could be when they upset her. She was a dreaded start. When she brought Toby Jones home and said she was ready to marry, nobody believed she'd stay married up to five years. What nobody understood about Maria Jones was that not only was she self-centred, she was also determined too. Whenever she committed to something, she always sees it through. It was a trait she had passed on to her only child too.

Her mother's resilience had seen Ainsley through difficult times. There were times when she just wanted to be an average teenager and live life, but her mother wouldn't let her. She had been raised as an heiress, and though she hated it, there were specs to it. She had been pushed by her mother to become a strong woman. At a young age, she was being pruned to become the sole heir of her father's musical company, SMUGSHOTS, a company that had survived series of onslaughts both offline and online yet continued to thrive amongst others. Now, she enjoys the pecks of being a successor and knowing all there is about the family's business.

Walking towards the dresser, she would contemplate on her life as the sole heir to that big shot of a company. Everyone respected her whenever they hear she was the CEO of Smugshot. It was a big company with lots of artists sighed under them and still signing. Her father had built the company from scratch as he was a musician himself. He always recalls stories of his life in the slum and tells his child that he was a slum boy who made it big in life and now sits with the big shot.

It's probably why he did the things he did. He was one man who ruled with iron hands. He didn't go soft on any of his artists and his workers too. It was maybe one of the reasons the company excelled more than others. He did what he could for his artist, and though they may not like how hard he pushed them, they loved him. So did she. But she knew he pulled some strings behind the scene, like making some songs disappear from some enemy's computer. He also had a way of making even the most complicated criminal sing his praises. Somehow, she knew that wasn't natural. And though she hated the path, she knew she must someday walk it.

Till that day comes, she was content to avoid it and enjoy what she has now. Smiling, she cleansed her face and stood up to get ready to bathe. Her cleansing routine was mild and straightforward. Her mother had always told her she had good skin and how it was essential to always take good care of it. So, even her face cleansing was a work routine like everything else in her life.

Yes, the day indeed had started well for Ainsley Jones, even if she didn't want to accept it just yet. The weather was perfect. It wasn't too cold, and there wasn't any rainfall. But she wasn't one to rely on the weather for her happiness. Her excellent mood stemmed from her own conscious effort to stay happy. It was the joy that comes from knowing a satisfaction deep within. She loved her job. She cherished being the boss. Most importantly, she loves that today is her birthday!

Today, she had picked her dresses delicately. There was three of them. This morning, she would be wearing the yellow jumpsuit she had gotten from Chanel online with the matching accessory. She planned on wearing the long shimmering black dress with a front slit to her party later in the evening. Her friends had been invited, and the party planner had called her last night to let her know all was set. Then, she would change to her final out, a tube short that she had stumbled on at a boutique. The three outfits were laid on the bed. She ran her fingers through the accessories, lost in thought.

Though she ignored her mother's sly comment about getting a man yearly, she had come to miss having one especially. It's long she dated. As a rich and pretty lady, every man wanted a piece of her. Some wanted just her body, and some wanted her money. At 25, she knew she wasn't going to find the kind of love her parents had. Theirs was genuine and selfless. Most men out there wanted a sugar mummy. Someone to take care of them. But while her friends and some women might be okay with that, she was the type who believed in the old order of things. She believes that men were made to treasure and cherish women. If she didn't have that, perhaps, she should just give up on dating entirely.

It wasn't that the men didn't come. What Ainsley dreaded was the baggage they came with. The last man she had dated, George, had almost damaged her. He was himself a billionaire but not self-made. His parents paid for everything he owns and, as the last born, was overindulged. He had led her down a drug path that almost wrecked her. When they broke up over some petty stuff, she had run to her dad for help.  Spending three months in rehab wasn't a memory she wanted to relive again.

Tonight though, she was hoping she could forget her principles for once. Forget about the old order of things. Today is her day, and the universe could at least cut her some slack and let her enjoy the day. Luckily too, her friends had gone all out. They had somehow invited some men to the party, single or not. She intended to have a swell time.

She checked the time and hurried off into the bathroom to run a warm shower. She would be going to work a bit late. Thankfully, she was the boss, and nobody dares to question the boss why she turned up for work late? And today, with Kelton and his manager coming in, what better way to make them know they were at her mercy than making them wait?

à

As she strolled into the office, she smiled at her secretary, who collected her bag and walked with her to the meeting room. Ainsley smiled as Kelton and his manager were bent over something and were murmuring incoherently. She had no doubt they were arguing over some clause in the contract that they didn't like. Like school kids caught in a wrong corner, they quickly moved away from each other when she walked in. She looked their way and sat down at the head seat before acknowledging their presence with a nod.

"Good morning." they both said.

"I suppose you have questions." she nodded towards the contract file in their hands. Kelton smiled shakily while his manager was all flagged red. She took that to mean he had no problem with the contract. As a matter of fact, he didn't want to lose this deal. Good! But his manager, on the other hand, didn't like something. She knew exactly what, so she turned to the manager, "It appears you do, go on."

"It says here." the manager opened the file to look for the phrase, "Yes." he said a little louder, having found the place, "You get 60% of every signing profit and deals he makes in the two years' contract."

It was always the money. "And?" she urged him to go on, not ready to meet him in the middle. She had handled every day. Knew when they wanted some cut. It happened almost all the time. Her father had taught her this simple lesson; men always want more for less. In business, you can't let them have that. And to do that, one had to have the upper hand. Kelton and his manager will soon realise this game. She played it well. Without her money, they couldn't release the album. With her money, they rake in millions. What would it be?

"60%? That's too much. Can't we do 50-50?" he asked, trying not to look at Kelton, who was stamping him under the table.

The scuffle beneath the table made her smile inwardly. She could tell they would take the deal. Instead of rubbing it in, she decided to take the sweet path of soothing their bruises. "It's all a win-win for everyone eventually" she smiled at the artist and ignored the manager completely. "You get your album released as announced, and we make cool cash" then, leaning back in her chair, she asked, "Isn't that what you wanted?"

"Yes, it's fine." Kelton said

"Then shall we?" she picked her pen and opened her folder to start signing her part. Kelton did the same much to his manager's chagrin. He didn't look pleased. After signing hers, she exchanged folders with Kelton and then the manager. Done, she smiled at them. "It's good to have you on board."

"Thank you." they both said, but Kelton was happier. He stretched out his hand to shake hers firmly.

"Remember how you feel now." she said and left the room. It was good to see he was happy about this. But a few months down, when the money would be coming in, he had wanted to back out of the deal. It's how it was in the music world, or maybe generally. The vast money makes them want more, and when they realise the company was getting the more significant share, they turned round to want to stain the company for cheating them. Everyone seems to forget the company had stepped in to help them when their career was going down the drain.

Walking away, she called her party planner to update the venue, food and the arrangements made so far. She was about to call when Jessica Gilbert, her closest friend, called to wish her a happy birthday. But from the sad look on her friend's face, she could tell her friend wasn't having a good day.

"Let me guess, McCarthy is there again."

"No"  she replied

"All of you where?" Ainsley asked, teasing her friend, "Thank you." she asked, then tried to adjust her camera, "Wait a minute, why are you wishing me happy birthday in the toilet?"

"Mr. McCarthy isn't here yet. The team are waiting in my office. I only excused myself to call you."

Jessie had told her countless times the kind of pep talks the man gave. She knew Jessie would be happy that he wasn't around to do that today. "Well, thank goodness he isn't there. No draining pet talks today?"

"It can't be missed, and I'm sure he's already here" Someone knocked on the door, and Jessica sighed, "Speak of the devil. It looks like he's here."

"Well, I was going to say you should take care of the team yourself." Ainsley said, looking excited

"What?" asked Jessica

"Give them a better motivational speech, you know. Nothing about failures and dooms." she laughed, as did Jessie. "On a serious note, though, you should talk to them. I believe you'll do a better job."

"Okay, you might have a point there"  she paused to hear some shuffle behind her, "Looks like I've got to go now." she said, turning back to her friend.

"Okay, see you at the party?"

"Sure, I won't miss it for anything."

"And don't come look so forlorn"  she warned.

"Yes, boss"

Once the call ended, she sent her secretary to get the planner to meet her at the venue. It wasn't just going to be a phone thing. She had to see the venue herself and see how far gone she was. They had barely gotten there when the planner walked in.

"Hey Boma"  she greeted the young lady

"Hi"  she replied, "Come in." she said as they walked into a big hall with all the lights and decoration sparkling. The hall was big and brightly decorated. She especially liked the wall paintings. They gleamed with the light, adding some special effects to the room. The seats were arranged in some circles of six guests. But a vast space was left at the centre for the cake and the celebrant dance. It was decorated as the stage. In the centre of the place was a small rectangular construction. White flowers were curled around the rectangle. Inside the space was a seat for the celebrant, also beautifully adorned. "It feels good to be thirty" she smiled at her secretary. "You know you have to be here, right."

The secretary nodded and smiled. "I'll be here."

Ainsley walked out of place and turned to a corner. The DJ's stand was set up there. "I don't want this here." she told the planner. "The noise would damage my ears overnight."

"I'll have it moved"

"That corner would be better" she pointed at a place farther from where she stood.

"Alright"  replied the planner, who immediately signalled some men standing at the entrance. "Move the DJ stand there"  she instructed.

Still in the centre, a circular red carpet was also there with sparkling lights adorning the wallpaper hammered to the corner for pictures. She smiled, satisfied at everything. The planner had been attentive to her demand. "I think everything else is good. Good job, Boma."

"Thank you"  she replied, bending slightly.

The lights went off, and blue shades came up. "What's that?"

"It's a special effect I added. The light goes off every twenty minutes, and this romantic blue  comes up."

"Nice"  commented Ainsley as she inspected everywhere. She asked for a tour of the place, intending to check out the rooms. For parties like this, people would want some privacy, especially since it would be till dawn. Some of her guests would wish for a sleepover. She had decided on the hotel as cleaning after the party would be on the hotel. More so, she didn't want them making a mess of her place. She liked her sheets kept clean and hygienic.

After inspecting the place, she had rushed home for a quick shower. Her makeup and stylist were already waiting for her. They spent hours doling her up. Finally done, she looked at herself in the mirror and smiled. Perfect. Some of her friends were around to ride with her to the venue. But Jessie wasn't there. "Where's Jessie?" she asked.

"Not here yet"  replied Mabel

"Maybe she went to get the stripper. Do you have your MC speech all set?"

"Yes"  she replied, "Let's get going now. We're late."

And they all stood up, all primed up for the occasion. The drive to the place was fun as they snapped pictures and made fun all the way. Everyone were there waiting for them. Ainsley walked in to receive kisses and birthday greetings. Her friends collected the gifts. Mabel quickly got to work. "Welcome, everyone".

The event proceeded fast from there. An artist from her company had been called on. The lady came out to sing her a birthday song with a duet. Everyone listened, enthralled. The applaud was thunderous when she was done. Ainsley beaconed on her secretary and whispered that she should remind her later that she wanted the artist to do a duet with Kelson. It would be a hit. She could picture it.

When the MC called for a dance with the celebrant and Jessie still hadn't shown, she got her phone and called her. "Be here fast?" she said, hoping she heard amidst the loud music. She danced awhile before stepping back and allowed her guests to have the floor to themselves. The place was already crowded, and no one noticed her gone.

After the dance, she had gone in to change to her final outfit, which was just a simple tube jumpsuit. But it fitted well with her curves. As she stepped back into the hall, she saw Jessica walked in. and who do we have here? That was her thought when she sighted the man she had with her. That couldn't be the stripper, she mused. That was Damian Gregory. What was he doing here?

As her friend moved towards her with the man in tow, she missed her step.

"Easy." said Damian as he caught her quickly, so she didn't fall. Then he had looked at her amused. He knew that face. They had met at several events but never bothered with each other. They were okay to admire each other from afar. He let his eyes take in her sumptuous body. "Lovely." he said and held her hand.

Jessie looked at them both. Her friend was smiling like a fool at the man. Wait, is she drunk! The Ainsley she knew would never trip over a man. But then again, Damian was no man. He's a god! Looking at him now, she felt like hitting him. He was literally undressing her friend. The ease with which he quickly jumped in to save her friend made her raise her brow. Thinking of what to do to break this stupid lustful gaze on their faces, she moved towards them. And before she could introduce them, he smiled and did that himself.

"Don't I know you?" he said

She acknowledged it. They have indeed met many times. "I know you"  she replied

"You're the celebrant." he said, looking at her like she was a fairy princess

Ainsley smiled and replied that she was, "Welcome to the party."

But he had kept on holding her friend's hand, and she looked from the hand to their faces as the two seemed lost in a locked battle of some sort. She had coughed and stylishly separated them by stepping in firmly between them. "Ainsley, meet..." and the lights went off before she could make a formal introduction. When the lights came back on, he had moved to a corner in the room to sip wine. She let him be as the MC called to cut the second cake now that Jessie was here.

Afterwards, it was time for the lap dance. She watched as her friends whispered something to each other. Did they forget? She had been waiting for this. It was the highlight of today's event. She leaned back and let them handle it while she posted some pictures on her Instagram page. She was engrossed in what she was doing and didn't hear when the MC announced a change of plan. All she knew was she heard some noise and looked up to see Damian walk upstage, shirtless. Well, this is getting interesting.

He was selected as the male dancer for her. She didn't mind, just watched as the ladies circled him and teased him.

"I want him." she said out loud. Her words were swallowed out by the loud music playing. She hissed at the sound even though it made her want to scream it louder. "Yes! I want that hunk." she repeated, this time a little louder. Nobody heard her. Anyone watching would just assume she was excited and was singing along with the song. Although, from her gaze, one would know she wasn't miming the music. She was looking lustfully at the man sitting on the chair in the centre of the hall.

He had stripped to the brief and sat down, waiting on the ladies to take it further. Every lady, of course, had rushed out to have a touch and, if lucky, a taste of him. Some kissed him, and some groped him while some flat out sat down on him, trying to get him to flip. He was flipped down there, but he remained calm. He must have been an expert at this. Ainsley held her glass up and stood in front of him. She was, by every way, most men's spec. As a thirty years old woman, she had good curves. Her body was one man covet after. It was one of her greatest assets, and she took good care of it. The tube short she had on luckily had all her butt and boobs rightly perched.

"What are you doing?" asked the MC

Having seen enough of his display, the birthday girl knew what to do to get him. The idea was to make him lose his cool. If anyone can do it, it would be her. She moved closer to him and slowly poured the cold drink on his briefs. "Getting my prize." she replied with a wicked smile.

"You realise Jessica brought him here"  cautioned the MC

"Well, we all know who her boyfriend is"  she smiled at the man as she let hand hands run through his chest, deliberately slowing down around his left nipple, "I think this is why she brought him here." she bent down and ran her tongue over the right nipple. "For me"

"Don't do this"  she warned again when she sat down on his lap.

Ainsley stood up angrily. "Please"  she pushed back.

From across the room, the MC caught Jessie throwing daggers with her eyes at them. She sighed heavily, "Jessie doesn't look happy about it. He's with her".

She refused to listen but went on teasing the man relentlessly. She had wanted this man for a long time. But they both had different paths. Now, he was in her lair. She wasn't letting him go till she was done with him. Soon as the lights went off, she pulled the man into the room opposite the hall. They undressed hastily amidst hot kisses. And as he plunged deep inside her, she knew she had finally gotten the man for the occasion just like her mother wanted.

Yes, the day started well for Ainsley Jones. It was her special day, and she had recruited Kelton. A deal that would be raking in millions monthly. And now she had Damian in bed to round it off. It should have ended on a good note. But why did it have to end with a stingy slap from her friend?

Unlike Ainsley Jones, Jessica Gilbert woke up that day dreading it. It was October 24th, and she had a feeling today was the day. The weather was perfect; it wasn't too cloudy or too damp. It was just perfect. But lately, she stopped paying attention to the perfect weather to determine how her day went. These days, her boss determined her day. It was a defeating thing to accept, but she had no choice. It doesn't matter how well she prepped herself up. The moment he opened his big mouth, he ruined everything.

"Babe, don't listen to him"  Mark would say to her every time she complained to him, "Just tune him out, don't listen"  he'd advise.

It wasn't always easy to do, though. Tuning Mr. McCarthy out was asking for a death wish. He had eagle eyes and would easily fish out whoever wasn't listening to him. He would then go on to ask what he had just said. Her boss repeated his talks every day. For a smart person, you can easily just repeat his usual line. But sometimes, he spices his talks up with some gibberish stuff he probably digs up on the net.

Sighing, she got out of bed tiredly. Today was the day she was going to quit her job. She could swear it. It wasn't every time one had a boss like Mr. McCarthy whose only living dream was to frustrate her life. Her post as the general sales manager meant nothing to him. As far as he was concerned, not meeting the target was the same as being irrelevant. Every morning, he would call them to his office for his pep talks. Talks that ended up decapitating her team rather than uplifting them.

His speech usually begins with that irritating line: If you fail to meet your target, you have failed. And that, my dears, makes you a failure. Like hell! Who does that? Then he would go on to shout, "Are you a failure?

To this, he expected the team to screaming their reply; No sir.

"Do we breed failures here?

And they'd shout, No sir.

After this, he would face her as the sales manager and say, "Your teams are ready; well and spirited. Their success depends on you. In her mind, she always responds with; Please, boss, don't put this on me. How the hell was their capacity resting on her when all she did was let the CEO jeer them up with his failure talks every morning? She stood up and dragged herself to the bathroom. She thought of delaying herself at home a little to get to the workplace late. Before taking her bath, she called her boyfriend, anything to just delay her.

"Hey babe"  she greeted gaily. He was on the system with his glasses looking swollen, "Did you sleep well at all?"

"Morning, babe. Yes. I did sleep."

"But your eyes are swollen? Sure you slept at all?" she asked. He adjusted his glasses and cleaned her eyes.

"I was up late, had some files to back up and some other stuff to do."

"And you are up early too" she rolled her eyes at him, showing him the table clock.

He smiled at that, "Not my fault."

She watched as he quickly typed in something on the system. She would swear he forgot about her soon. For a few minutes, he punched in some numbers. "Hey." she said, calling back his attention.

"I'm with you"  he replied without looking up. Then he looked up, finally done with whatever he had been doing, "It's 24th"  he said, "Ainsley's birthday."

Jessie covered her mouth with her free hand, "I totally forgot". Ainsley would stew her if she knew about this. She quickly sent her the text she had composed last night. Satisfied, she smiled back at her boyfriend. "Done." she told him, "I'll call later."

"What about the party? Still holding?'

"Yes"

"My car's faulty. Will you pick me up?"

"Sure. No probs" she said as she grabbed her toothpaste from the drawer and waved him goodbye. With the call disconnected, she started to prepare for work. She didn't try to be done early. There was no rush.

à

But luck wasn't on her side even though she was exceptionally late. Her boss wasn't around too. Her boss was late too, and the lecture she hoped to miss out on was delayed. She hit her head on her desk while all of them waited gloomily for him to make his entrance.

While they waited, her phone alarm vibrated, and she quickly silenced it. Then she saw with a bright face that it was Ainsley's birthday alarm. Thankfully, she had texted her friend earlier and was in the clear. Now was the perfect time to call. She brought out her ear pod and connected its Bluetooth to her phone while she video called her friend. Ainsley picked up on the first ring, and she quickly excused herself to call her.

"Hey, baby.... Happy birthday to you." she said before lapsing into her singsong voice to sing for the celebrant. "For she's a jolly good fellow. For she's a jolly good fellow. For she's a jolly good fellow....and so says all of us."

"All of you where?" Ainsley asked, teasing her friend, "Thank you." she asked, then tried to adjust her camera, "Wait a minute, why are you wishing me happy birthday in the toilet?"

"Mr. McCarthy isn't here yet. The team are waiting in my office. I only excused myself to call you."

"Well, thank goodness he isn't there. No draining pet talks today?"

"It can't be missed. I'm sure he's already here" Someone knocked on the door, and Jessica sighed, "Speak of the devil. It looks like he's here."

"Well, I was going to say you should take care of the team yourself."  Ainsley said, looking excited

"What?" knowing her friend, that dreamy look was up to something

"Give them a better motivational speech, you know. Nothing about failures and dooms." she laughed, as did Jessie. "On a serious note, though, you should talk to them. I believe you'll do a better job."

She smiled, "Okay, you might have a point there" she paused to hear some scuffle behind her, "Looks like I've got to go now." she said, turning back to her friend

"Okay, see you at the party?"

"Sure, I won't miss it for anything."

"And don't come looking so forlorn"  she warned

"Yes, boss"

As she walked to the room, she dragged her feet, hoping Mr. McCarthy was halfway done with his speech. The room was awfully silent, though. Not even the boss could be heard shouting his speech. She opened the door and walked in. Everyone was busy doing their thing. Most were on their phone, either calling or chatting. There was no sign of the boss. Okay, so maybe she would do what her friend had suggested. She got to the table, breathing in and out and called everyone over.

"So, it looks like the boss is running late today." she said as they all looked at her expectantly. Her team was a group of ten members, herself included. Four men and six women. They were all dressed in the company's orange shirt on trousers. Most had their blazers or sweatshirt on, partly due to the cold weather and some as simply a fashion sense. She was the manager and had Mondays free to herself. Her official dress day was Thursday and Friday, which was while today, she put on a gown that clung to her slim figure.

Watching them as they adjusted their seats and became comfortable while waiting for her to continue, she tried to pick her words wisely. Her team was the sales team for the digital company. They go out every morning to get clients to sign up for their digital products with special offers. Everything had been okay until the digital affiliation programs started online. With the online marketing available, marketers offline like herself and her team were constantly losing clients to them. Most of their offers and programs were being offered at a faster rate. Users only need to go online and get what they wanted.

If only her company would go online and do something rather than threatening them to makes sales the old way, things would be better. "Lately, we have been missing out on our customers, and a few of us haven't been meeting our targets." she said, and some sighed visibly. "While I'd love to say it's okay and that we will keep striving hard, I know it's not what we want to hear right now. No amount of it's okay; you can do it next time will remedy this. We need to stand up and continue the struggle. Now isn't the time to give up"

"Yes, boss"  hailed a man, and all the members applauded.

As she talked, Jessie knew she was partly addressing herself as well as her teammates. Lately, like them, she had been losing points due to her inability to meet up with targets, as did everyone. Something Mr. McCarthy wouldn't let her forget every day. Her team had quietened by now. She urged them not to give up.

"We can do it. We've been hitting our targets before. We can do it again. We've been meeting up before. We can do it again. This isn't the time to hung our heads and feel bad because of the numbers. This is the time we seat up and look for solutions." She smiled at them all. "Who's with me?" she screamed

Everyone shouted, "Me."

Mr. McCarthy stood at the door, wondering what the noise was about. As he entered the room, the team kept quiet, "What's going on here?" he asked.

"Nothing." said one of the teammates

"Nothing?" he asked, dropping his suitcase on the table before turning to the people, "I walk in here half an hour after my usual resumption time to meet a hell of a noisy place, and you tell me it's nothing?" he said staring at them all. Finally, his cold gaze landed on the team leader, who stood hands crossed meekly behind her back. She was dressed in a flowery gown that clung to her body sweetly. He ogled her quickly while mentally checking that his expression wasn't showing how he felt about her. She was svelte, always looking gorgeous. "You want to tell me what is going on here?" he watched her move away from him, hating the look on her face. He didn't understand while she couldn't stand him.

"I, well..." she stuttered.

"Jessie here just gave us a pep talk since you were running late"  shouted a member from the back seat. Whoever said it quickly hid his face from the boss.

He wasn't in the bit interested in who said what. He was only interested in the woman right here, standing few inches away from him. His cold eyes were never leaving her body. But she was looking down and couldn't see how he gazed at her. Which was good for him, "You did what?" he asked

"I just wanted to do what you do best" she smiled, finally looking at him. Whenever she smiled, his heart gave a quick start. He simply shook his head and stepped back, "I suppose I don't need to say anything then"  he said

"No, sir. She did a good job." replied someone yet again. This only infuriated the man

"Will you stop talking, your son of a ..." he let the word hang, "I suppose she told you to relax and hope that you can do better" he gave them all a cold stare, "Well, sorry to burst the bubble, but you failing to meet up with your target, makes you a...."

"Failure"  mumbled everyone sadly. Whatever lively spirit they were in was dampened as the man went on to repeat his usual annoying talks. When he was done, everyone walked out grumbling while Jessie stayed behind as he had requested.

"You wanted to see me." she said to him as he was stepping out.

"Yes, in my office." he said, and she went with him meekly, knowing what was to follow. His office was just a block away, but he chose the longer route to greet everyone. Finally, she stepped into his office with him and waited while he settled down. Then he turned to her and told her point-blank, "We will have to let you go if you and your team refused to meet this month's target. You, of all people, know how this company runs. Without those numbers, we are running at a loss". He stopped to let her respond to what he had just said.

"Yes, I do"  Jessie replied, looking drained. She was really tired of hearing this same thing every day. It wasn't like the man had nothing to do with his precious time.

"So, whatever it is you said to your team to make them all charged up early today, I hope it makes them well-bolstered up for good numbers" he smiled coldly. "You may leave"  he dismissed.