Chapter 3: Numbers

The temperature in the room suddenly dropped by a few degrees, and the employees exchanged nervous glances among themselves. Ezekiel entered the room with his head held high, and nervous whispering ensued between the staff. There could only be one person whose presence exuded so much coldness that it affected the whole meeting room. "So, according to a recent survey, teenagers and middle-aged people are more inclined to try out our new products." A man with a bald head was speaking at the podium. He looked confident and comfortable as he navigated through the material on the screen. The other employees were already squirming in their various seats, each one ducking their head and averting their gaze from the CEO's. "What's this?" Ezekiel's cold voice boomed and plunged the room into further coldness. The man stuttered and blushed furiously. His tongue was tied at the back of his throat when he caught the flat, icy-cold glare of his boss. "You're fired!" Ezekiel announced. He tapped the screen of his watch and nodded his head. The meeting was due to end in thirty minutes. And if they couldn't achieve their desired results, why else should he keep them? "Is that all?" He asked. His blue eyes were staring directly at him and but his voice was enough to instill more fear into the already trembling employees. Working in Wang corporation, especially under the inspection of the extremely cold CEO, was more like walking on thin ice. You just never know when it will snap. "No, there's the merger with StanleTechch for the sales of our new automobile." A lady announced with a wobbly smile. She kept rubbing her palms together to stop the nervous sweat dripping from them. She gritted her teeth and moved to stand in front. "Numbers," Ezekiel demanded As long as he was concerned, numbers, mathematics, and analysis were the only important things in the world of business. Everything else would fall right into their place as long g the numbers are all right. When the lady was finally done with her presentation, she took a deep breath to stop herself from bursting into tears. Her heart was pounding loudly in her ears, and she was expecting to be sacked any minute. "I want everything readied and sent to the company forum before the end of the day. Arrangements should be made for advertisement before the week runs out. Today's meeting is nothing short of disappointing. And I'd like to remind you that this is the second time, you all know what happens on the third occurrence, right? You're all dismissed". He glanced at the corner where James was seated, hurriedly scribbling notes and murmuring under his breath. He wiped his forehead repeatedly with a handkerchief, but he wasn't aware that the whole room was vacant now. Except for his boss, anyway. "Get the car ready. We're going back to the hospital," Ezekiel announced, scaring him. Ess. James scrambled off his seat, knocked the files away, and sent everything spiraling onto the floor. He closed his eyes and pinched his nose. He was stressed out, and his eyes were all red and puffy. He barely got two hours of sleep before hurrying to work this morning. He was a secretary for God's sake, why was he saddled with the chore of driving his boss around?? The hair on his neck stood up, and his skin prickled. His body was suddenly cold, and he wondered if the air conditioning was malfunctioning. He snapped his head back, coming face to face with his boss. "Are you done reminiscing?" Ezekiel asked in annoyance. He made a mental note to change his secretary very soon. VeVeryvery soon. Most of his secretary were either fired before the end of their first day, or quit the job barely a month into it. "I'll be down in a minute, sir," he muttered without heart. Ezekiel moved stealthily and dialed a number. The receiver picked up immediately. "Zeke," a little boy answered. A rare smile touched Ezekiel's lips as he heard the soft voice from the other end. "Aren't you supposed to be in class?" Ezekiel asked sternly. Though his voice was hard and flat but his mouth curled into a smirk. "Why'd you call if you know I'll be in class? I'm on a break," The little boy replied. "Is that Daddyy? Let me talk to him," another small voice said underneath. "He called me" Yeah, but let me talk to him!" Ezekiel ended the call with a chuckle. His kids had never agreed on anything. James paused, nd almost rammed his head into the glass wall. The sight in front of him was enough to make the headline of a news story! Ezekiel Wang, the CEO of Wang corporation, colder than Antarctica, he was clutching his phone and smiling! He was smiling! James fumbled for his phone, wanting to document this rare moment, one of the seven wonders of Earth! Was his boss calling his wife? Or perhaps his girlfriends? It wasn't rare for rich people like this to have a separate girlfriend apart from their wives. Though he frowns at cheating so much. Was his boss even married? He thought not. No one would be able to cope with a man who's so cold he radiates ice around him. The expression cleared from his face within a second, and the ice wall was back up. James palmed his face for the missed opportunity. "We're heading somewhere first. The shareholdermeetingg" Ezekiel snapped his phone inside his pocket and made a move to enter the car. James stared at his boss incredulously. Didn't he say they were going to the hospital now? The shareholder meeting! He hadn't had the time to prepare the necessary files. The shareholder meeting isn't due for three hours. "I'm afraid you've got it wrong, sir. The shareholder meeting is still three hours from now," James said in a breathy voice, the board on the verge of panicking. He had thought he'd be able to get the necessary documents done before the appointed time, but now it doesn't look like it. Well, well, looks like he was done for. "I rescheduled just now," Ezekiel wrinkled his nose, nd got inside the car. James, in his peripheral vision, could see a few staff, running around like glitter beads. He knew the reason why. It was this cruel boss of theirs.