Chapter 4 A Coincidence

After returning to Strinas, Lucia slept through the day. She would not let herself remember that crazy night in the old town. However, she could not erase the image of Malcolm, the man with the blue eyes, from her mind.

It was true that she was crazy, but she felt like she should not have acted on an impulse and went with him that night. She did not even know how she ended up in the hotel that night. Everything that had happened in his room seemed beyond her wildest imagination.

******

It was during the rush hour, and the subway was crowded. The mixed scents of women's perfume, food, and sweat caused her to feel nauseous. As Lucia looked at the crowded subway, she suddenly got the urge to get off. However, it was a very important day for her. If she was late, she would be fired by her boss, Lloyd.

She followed the crowd to the nearest exit and got off the subway before she walked to the company.

Domain Media's office building was located in the central business district. They did not occupy the whole building. It was a medium-scale company, just a popular one. They had executed many plans and schemes that were well-known to the public.

Lucia worked as a planning manager in Domain Media. She was twenty-six years old. And she had been working there for five years now. She had handled a lot of important projects for the company. That day, she had to face Evans Group. Although she had worked with a lot of multinational companies before, it was the first time that she was meeting with a company like Evans Group. The company was so strict about the smallest of details.

They were very particular about every single detail being executed by a very capable person. And they were sticklers for punctuality. The advertising plan that they had requested not only needed to have an introduction to the plot, it also needed to have a very detailed story and scenes. Such things were not a part of their job, but Evans Group had said that a planner must know clearly every detail, or else the plan would be considered as flawed.

For almost two months, Lucia had been working on the plan for Evans Group. She had submitted it and modified it numerous times. She had worked hard for the past two months. And after her plan had been approved by Lloyd, she had taken a weekend off and gone to Asopool.

The vacation that she took didn't turn out to be good, though.

Although her plan had been approved by Lloyd, it was not enough. Today's meeting would decide if her plan would work. If her efforts ended in vain, then her team was most likely to be dissolved.

It was the first time that Evans Group had entered the perfume industry. They had created a new fragrance and called it "Lure." Lucia was a remarkable planner, so she did not want to be defeated by a simple perfume. She had no choice but to create a successful plan for the perfume's launch.

After entering the company, she greeted her colleagues and stuffed herself with the breakfast that she had just bought from the cafe downstairs.

"Lucia, all the documents that you asked for are on your desk. You have to be at Evans Group by 10:00 a.m. for the conference. And before that, you need to go to the conference room. Lloyd has scheduled a meeting to be held at 9:00 a.m." Lucia's assistant, Mae Collins, briefed her about the day's schedule.

"Thank you, Mae. What would I do without you?" Lucia replied in a muffled voice as she chewed on the bread.

She quickly finished her breakfast and began to browse through the documents that Mae had prepared for her. She checked twice to make sure that they had all the documents they needed for the conference. Just before 9:00 a.m., she walked into conference room.

"Everyone, you have all been outstanding planners at Domain Media. This is the best opportunity for Domain Media to step up onto the international stage. We will cooperate with Evans Group and compete with other famous planning companies in the world. You can already tell how good it will be for us once we win this, right?" Lloyd said in an excited tone.

Such meetings were a tradition at Domain Media. It was more of a strategy meeting before they executed the actual plan.

Lloyd was a middle-aged man.

He was a chubby man with a receding hairline. His eyes were not very big, but they were sharp. Although he looked quite harmless, anyone who judged him by his looks would be a fool. Lloyd had grown from a young man, who knew nothing about the planning industry, to one of the most famous planners in the world. When he founded Domain Media, he wanted to create a company that was very easy-going, laid back, and offered the best wages to its employees. He had built his empire solely relying on his own hard work.

"Sir, what would be our reward if we win this?" Meade asked with a smile.

"Well, you will get to travel to Europe for a vacation!" Lloyd said generously.

"Oh damn! That's amazing, sir! Just wait for our good news!"

There was a smile on everyone's lips. Even though such meetings often did not take a long time, it was very exciting for the employees. Money talks. They would do their best to strive for the very idea of a wealthy life.

"Lucia, if you wear some sexy makeup, we will win the project for sure!" Meade turned to the only woman there, Lucia, and joked.

"Screw you! You think I just turned 18? Quick, grab your stuff! We need to be there before 10 a.m. Hayes, you drive today, okay?" Lucia gave them orders and arranged everything else.

"No problem. I'll see you guys at the parking lot." With that, Hayes left the room to prepare for the meeting.

At exactly 9:50, Lucia and three others arrived at the Evans Group building.

The other media companies from Strinas were eliminated during the first round, and now, Domain Media was the only one left. Their competition were top of the industry companies from Europe, US, and Singapore. The whole arena was a bit tense.

They were adjusting their machines and checking their final drafts for any errors. Lucia was the one who was supposed to explain their plan. Although she had memorized every little detail of the plan, her heart was racing when she saw how tense everyone was.

Once the spokesperson of Evans Group completed his introduction speech, the meeting officially began. Domain Media was to brief their plan in the third slot. There were ten companies that were competing. Lucia and her colleagues were sitting quietly, watching the other companies talk about their plans.

Each of their plans had its own advantages, and all of them were unique.

"Lucia, this is so stressful. I have not felt this nervous after the college entrance exam," Hayes said in a low voice, taking a deep breath to calm down.

"How could you be so nervous, Hayes? After all, you're the most experienced one here!" Meade joked. Everyone could tell that he was just trying to lighten the sullen mood.

"Lucia, Hayes, Meade, what are our chances of winning this competition today?" Chester, the youngest one among them, asked in a low voice.

"We need to get that Europe trip and a hefty bonus, so we have to win this. How can you be such a killjoy?" Meade gently knocked Chester on the forehead.

It was considered a taboo to root for other people to win while doubting one's own team. However, Chester did not know much because he had only been working in the industry for just over a year now. And it was definitely his first time at an intense competition like that. So it was only natural that he was nervous.

'Do I have confidence, though?' Lucia wondered in silence. Regardless of what the result might be, it was indeed a good learning opportunity for her team and the company. Since they had entered the final round, their fame had already risen to a whole new level.

So she told herself that she would be okay and that she should not stress about it. After all, she had to encourage herself to keep it together.

"Now, let us welcome the representative from Domain Media onto the stage."

After the host's introduction, Lucia cheered her team. She then straightened herself up before she walked onto the stage. She was dressed in a tailored black business suit. The skirt was just above her knees, showing her beautiful slender legs. Her high-heeled shoes made her look very elegant and tall.

Once she was on the stage, she introduced herself. Turning on the Power Point Presentation, she slowly and carefully explained their plan. The plan was very clear and simple. And her tone was laced with confidence which made people listen to her keenly. As time passed, she let go of her nervousness, and explained everything in a simple yet focused tone.

She had worked very hard for the past two months, and for that very reason, she did not want to make herself look weak in front of those people.

There was a tense situation inside the conference room, and the situation outside the room was just as serious. The weekly meeting that was held every Monday at Evans Group had just ended. All the senior executives left the conference room with nervous looks. Although they had been through a lot and were quite experienced, the weekly meetings still made them feel uncomfortable.

The CEO of Evans Group, Malcolm Evans, would always attend the weekly meeting. He was not the one presiding over the meeting. He would just listen to everything that the members of the board would have to say during the conference. And there was always a faint smile on his handsome face. However, people were actually scared when they saw him smiling. It was because the warmer his smile was, the more displeased he was with them.

Malcolm was a man who valued his privacy over everything else. The media was not allowed to have his photos. The only ones who were lucky enough to see him were the senior executives who were present at the conference. But then, they all wished that they had never seen their young and powerful CEO.

He never made a single comment during the meeting, but he would always give them commands within thirty minutes after the meeting was concluded. And usually, the ones who received such orders from him would have to deal with so much stress that they would almost be on the verge of collapsing.

After leaving the conference room, Malcolm wanted to get into his private elevator. But unexpectedly, he looked through the glass door into the conference room next door, and saw a familiar face. He did not know why he still remembered her.

"What's going on here?" Malcolm asked in a pleasant voice.

"Sir, we're selecting the most suitable planning company for our new perfume launch, and that's what these companies are competing for in this room," Bob, Malcolm's assistant, explained briefly.

"Get me information on the woman on stage within thirty minutes," Malcolm ordered. He then turned around, walked into the elevator, and went to his office.

'Did we meet each other in the bar by chance? Or was it her plan?

The game has just got interesting,' Malcolm thought to himself with a smile.