The Space Between

Chapter 39; Twice as hard

Xavier arranged his new room keeping his clothes in the cupboard. It kind of felt weird to him to that. Almost normal. For the past few years he had been so caught up in a hectic schedule that he had barely any time for himself let alone the time for doing things on his own. When he had taken over the company, high expectations were placed on him and he didn't even get a time to breath before he was pushed into the hight demanding world of exclusive contracts and business beneficiaries. He had to make sure every step he took was well calculated. Knowing full well that he was to fill shoes of his big brother which wasn't easy in the slightest. A knock sounded at the open door and Ahmet came in to make sure his guest was unpacked. "You done with the setting. Need some help?" Ahmet said, seeing Xavier put his suit on the hanger. "I think so. I think I did pretty well. No?" Xavier said smiling like a proud man but Ahmet had to hold in his laughter.  The way he had folded his clothes was all wrong and so was the way he placed them in his cupboard.  It was so disorganised and messy. "You did a terrible job dude. Just leave these. I'll tell the helper to take care of this" Ahmet said shaking his head and Xavier shrugged his shoulders.  Atleast he tried.

Sarah watched with wide eyes the number of views on her video of closing speech at the conference. It had over a million comments and likes. People were really talking about her. When she had come to work, she was confused at the curious looks she got from everyone and she was just recovering from that when she got to know that Xavier had resigned from the position of CEO and in place of him, Francis was appointed. She remembered Francis from the TV interview and even she could tell that this was more about family politics than credibility. At the moment, she was sat at the cafe near her workplace with her colleague Rana who was sipping her drink oblivious to anything else. It seemed she was in her own trance. Sarah put the phone down and Rana's eyes shifted to her on the slight clank sound of phone making contact with the table. "This just feels too much right now" Sarah said feeling a bit overwhelmed. She liked to stay in her own bubble and now it seemed her bubble had exploded. "What does? The prospect of Xavier leaving or your sudden rush to popularity. Be honest" Rana asked. She knew her friend wanted to say both but then she would be lying. Hence the reason why she concluded with 'be honest ' . Sarah got the intention behind her words. She didn't want to lie "Knowing myself the viral video think feels like a burden but more than that the prospect of Xavier leaving. I have so many questions. I want to see him again" Sarah said holding her face in her hands not meeting her friend's eyes. "Then why don't you tell him already how you feel?" Rana said. "You know why" Sarah said finally looking up and giving a knowing look. Rana did. But she also felt as though they were meant to be together. She didn't believe firmly in the concept of soul mates but when it came to her and their story, she felt as though they would eventually end up together .  Rana decided to shift the topic to something else and relax her mind a bit before their break ended.

Xavier could not believe what he was seeing. Everything to the employee management to the project and contract designing was wrong. Francis was right perhaps to not care. The company was a mess. Nothing was organised and Xavier felt as though he had been given a broken toy to assemble. But he also knew that was what he was good at. So instead of focusing on the parts that were damaged he stared looking for the parts That were still in good condition. He jotted down everything from the people who were working their part to the department that kept this company alive to the department that had smooth running systems. So he decided to call his new secretary and set up a meeting tomorrow for the said departments. He closed the work sheet and opened Google to see Sarah's face on the trending news. His eyebrow rose slightly. Why was her name here? Fear gripped him slightly as he thought that maybe the pictures were out. He was ready to kill Francis when he opened the video and it was just her speaking on the closing note of the New York Business Conference their company conducted. She was confident and firm in her speech. It didn't scare her that there were cameras or that she stood in front of major business names. She spoke. "Due to some urgent matter our honorary representative and CEO of Smith's Raise, Mr Xavier Smith would not be giving the closing speech and instead of him I would be performing this duty." She paused taking in the room to look around and move slightly away from the podium as the mic was attached to her face. She continued

"When I was doing my professional Studies in architecture and most importantly interior designing, I took it upon my own interest to introspect the durability of Smith's Raise Furniture. I took one of its wooden table and experimented on it with various techniques.  Staining it, hitting it, scatching it, you name it. Each time the attempt was dodged by the table to deepen the damage and the only victim would be my fragile hand" A few chuckles could be heard from the audience at her last remark. Smiling, her next words carried the idea

"I just gave up one day accepting defeat and then was when I really understood the reason. I would be lying if I said I knew close to anything concrete about business or its fancy terms but I do know as a part of the most influential companies and as the past consumer of it's products. Smith's Raise is more than just a name, it is a face of absolute class, grace, honesty, humility and trust. It strives not because it has to but because it needs to for you and me. For us as the admirers of it's fine craft. You are just as much part of this as I am. Everytime you see one of our projects,  contribute to it or even counter it from one of your own. You are valuing us more than a name. You are respecting us enough to do all the above and I whole heartedly on the behalf of my company assure you that we at Smith's Raise rise till sky for us is the only limit. Hope your journey with us continues. Thank you " The video ended with the the people clapping as she got off the stage.  Xavier smiled at the way she designed and delivered her speech. Xavier knew that was impromto but she handled it like a pro. He looked at the side, towards his mobile and thought of messaging her and telling her he had seen the video. His hand gripped the phone