Desserts & Dramas

Chapter 12

"Gabriel, can you hear me?" Sony repeated for the second time.

It was already Wednesday and Gabriel could not find the focus and attention that usually characterized his working hours. When he was not thinking about the results of the dreaded exams, which insisted on appearing in his nightmares as well, his mind wandered to certain green eyes and his wet shirt. He remembered the encounter at the newsstand with a mixture of irritation and amusement. He had lost two shirts in one weekend. Shopping was not his favorite activity. And yet, Tomas' future sister-in-law had the nerve to be more irritated than he was, the one who had suffered the liquid attack. At least, Sony was as patient as he was efficient.

"Partially" Gabriel answered.

"Then I'll do it again for the third time," Sony pointed out. "And I hope it will be the last, please."

Sony had certain liberties with Eric and Gabriel that were not common to any assistant. Appointed by Eric's parents, he was extremely efficient and organized. Also of Japanese descent and with a much more complicated name, the nickname became popular and everyone called him that. He had the ambition to grow in the company, and what better place to learn if not close to the creators of it all? And they were not disappointed. Loyalty was a quality that was becoming extinct and Sony had plenty of it, so he was also considered a friend to both bosses.

In fact, all hires of Infindo were very well thought out and selected, and everyone had to go through an orientation program to the company's rules. With so many reports of harassment, all employees were encouraged to adopt conduct that was beyond reproach and far from being considered inappropriate. With a majority female employee composition, the company had a zero tolerance policy and made no distinction between men and women for wages, treatment or punishment. It was the 21st century and equality should already be something habitual of everyday life, however, unfortunately not all companies seemed to adopt the same conduct as Infindo.

"Here are the reports from the marketing department. The consumer is not getting the same response over email. Research indicates that social media has overtaken the more traditional means of advertising and now they are devising a new strategy to reach the older portion of the population that is not present on the internet."

"Although our target audience is the young, the elderly are increasingly buying our classes. And how do they know our company? This is the question that marketing must answer. You can schedule a meeting with the director and whoever else he thinks is necessary for the beginning of next week."

"That's fine. We also need to define the special guests for the next launch. We have a list of five people, but we only have time available for three to speak. We have to choose between experts in the field and influencers, whichever gives the greatest feedback."

"Before defining this, you need to see with Eric how the finalization of the platform is going. If he doesn't solve the problem of unlocking the classes, there will be no launch and there is no point in booking anyone's schedule. Talk to him and if he is in the mood to choose the guests, that's fine with me. I'll accept whatever you guys decide."

"I will talk to him afterwards."

"Anything else, Sony?"

"Not for the time being. The morning is quieter. You only have a meeting at 2:00 PM with legal department and must leave early for dinner with your father."

That evening Gabriel would have a dinner with his father and Angelica, his stepmother. It seemed that she was organizing some kind of event and somehow needed his help. Which was strange, because they were not very close. He was not even close to his father.

Raul Lanvini never knew how to deal with the premature death of his first wife and the grief that followed. In his teaching career, anyone would expect some psychology in dealing with young Gabriel, but distance was what happened. With his son and with the rest. While Gabriel was excelling in college and outlining his future business venture with Eric, Raul moved to the countryside, where he met Angelica and became a winemaker. The stepmother was as angelic as her name, always calm and firm to deal with Gabriel's behavior. She did not try to force a relationship with him, she was more focused on her unsuccessful attempts to have children.

Facing frustration, the two chose to focus on the winery and Angelica was great company for his father, which he considered very good so that he would not be alone. His father never let anything out of his childhood, the best schools and colleges, but he never had the strong connection with his father that he had with his mother.

Over the years, the three of them managed to find a comfortable way to live together, without interfering in each other's lives. They met only a few times a year and maintained a relationship of healthy distance, not so far away that they were considered strangers and not so close that they shared all their secrets and worries. In the end, Raul had Angelica, but Gabriel was alone.

"All right, Sony. If the meeting runs over 4 pm, call me."

"Yes, sir."