A Christian Romance II

Chapter 3 - Business Failure

(The picture on top is Ferdinand)

Michael had a luxurious apartment in a prestigious building not far from Double Bay. It was spacious, and well-decorated, with tall ceiling and window panes. There was also a mezzanine that served as an office, this was where Ferdinand attentively did the boring job of searching for a new event management company after the dreadful failure of the first pitch in Melbourne. There were many event management companies, although not so many specialized in organizing events of such a gigantic magnitude. Even still, he had contacted more than ten companies in Melbourne, and their replies were strangely similar. It had been two days since the pitch, could it be that Mr. McNamara had already put their name on blast?If that was the case, the man sure was ruthless.

"Unbelievable!" Ferdinand sighed as he put down his phone after talking to the last company he had in his list.

It seemed wise to consider another location for their project, but when Ferdinand looked at Australia's map, he felt discouraged. A wiser idea would be to call Michael and learn how open he was to a change in plans. The first call went straight to voicemail. Ferdinand gave it another try and the same happened again. It was very strange because Michael was always available for him.

Ferdinand walked down the mezzanine into the living room where his date, the beautiful and sophisticated Corinne awaited him. She was sitting on the couch, watching TV, dressed in an ordinary pair of jeans and chemise. Even in the simplest of the outfits, she looked glamorous.

"Anything interesting?" He asked, realizing that she was watching the daily news.

"Uh... a guy was left in critical condition after being attacked by two dogs."

"Nearby?!" Ferdinand had had his share of bad experiences with dogs.

"No, in Melbourne." She replied.

"Ooh! Thank goodness it's not here!" he almost sighed in relief and coldly dropped the subject. "Are you ready for lunch?" he looked at his wristwatch realizing that time had flown. "We're gonna be late!"

"I still need my makeup." She complained while turning the TV off.

"You don't have makeup on?" Ferdinand forced the look of skepticism on his face.

"Come on!" Corinne exclaimed in her low high-pitched voice. "It's obvious. You can see all the imperfections and spots..."

As she put her hands to her face, Ferdinand walked closer to her and held her arms gently. Looking into her eyes, he pronounced meaningfully: "You are the most beautiful woman I've ever met."

"Really?" She shied away, acting like a child, even though she had heard that a thousand times from many people.

"Yes, Corinne." He confirmed without a shadow of a doubt, stressing out her name. "But if you must put your makeup on, I say you better go get ready."

She smiled and rushed out of the living room. He rolled his eyes the moment she was out of sight. What a boring woman! Ferdinand was content that they didn't live together, but their relationship status couldn't stay like that forever, especially because Corinne kept reminding him of how things should move forward. On that same day, at lunch, she demanded an explanation.

"How far do you think a relationship has to be for you to consider moving forward?" Corinne blurted the question out of the blue, anxious to hear what he was going to say.

All that came to Ferdinand's mind after listening to that question was that they were in one of the best - if not the best - restaurants in the area, which belonged to his mate Michael. They had the privilege to eat lunch at the sound of a sublime live piano performance, and great ambiance, and Corinne couldn't save that repetitive topic to another occasion. That ruined his appetite.