Blazing Crimson

4. Time for Business

Emily sat at her desk, tapping her blue ballpoint pen impatiently against its surface. This was more than ridiculous. How could the deal slip out of her hands so easily? The offer she made them was more than generous. Anyone willing to go beyond that was no less than insane. It just made it obvious that someone was either trying to shut her down permanently or take over the little she had left.

Frustrated, she turned on her computer monitor,d bound to get some insight. There were other things to tend to in the meantime and she wouldn't let something like this ruin her day.

A moment later, her screen flickered blue. A faint smile made its way on to her face as her eyes landed on the image set as her lock screen, reminiscing the day Agard Industries first opened. Randy had helped her build the company up from scratch. It was difficult at first since she didn't have a single penny in her hands. But he lent her a fair amount of money to start up her own business. 

It was a small shop at the time, but once her name got out, that alongside the benefits of running a second job at The Cafe really helped. Randy's yearly parties were the cherry on top. All the city's top-notch businessmen and women gathered on those days and out of pure kindness, he would encourage Emily to set up her own miniature fashion show for display. She'd even overheard him praising her work to some of the guests. 

Not only had he provided her with the means to get up on her feet, but he also propelled her forward and up the ranks in the retail industry. He was a blessing in disguise, nothing she could do would ever repay the gratitude she felt toward him.

A knock at the door jarred her from her thoughts. 

"Ms. Agard," the voice said before the door slowly inched open. Kristen Blake stood at the door, a red folder held between her pale hands. She was the company's newest hire, young and brave. With unwavering confidence, her head held high, Kristen stepped into the office approaching Emily. But Emily saw right through her facade, right through that straight face she held in order to mask the fear she felt toward her boss. It was this exact trait that Emily admired when she decided to hire Blake. 

Kristen set the file on the desk, her fingers visibly trembling. Said, "Mr. Young just stopped by and dropped this USB off. He said Oliver is unavailable to make it this afternoon but still managed to complete the new batch of designs. She sent her sincerest apologies and hopes to get in touch with you soon."

Emily silently processed the gravity behind her words, then mumbled a string of curses under her breath. 

"Thank you, Ms. Blake." 

She lifted the folder into her hands and flipped through the few pages bound within its confines. It was an apology letter dated to today. She laughed. No five thousand worded letter would make amends for Oliver's disobedience. 

When Emily looked up, her eyes met Kristen's. She hissed, raising her eyebrow at the woman.

"Anything else you would like to add?" she asked.

Kristen's eyes widened. "N-no," she fumbled.

"If not, the door is over there," Emily accused, jabbing her finger in the same direction.

Quickly nodding, Kristen jerked her body to the right before shuffling out. When the door finally shut with a click, Emily looked down at her desk, eyeing the USB drive resting atop the file. She picked it up and rolled it between her fingers a few times, then plugged it into her USB port. She ran her hand through her jet black hair and sighed.

The day had barely even started yet, and she had already been met with a load of disasters.

Opening the file her designer sent her, she skimmed through the various designs. She would settle for no less than perfect. There were over two hundred designs, men and women modeled in different outfits. The photos were categorized as male to female. Then, further separated into dresses, both long and short, blazers with dress shirts and suitable pants, casual wear, and so forth.

Emily flipped through the various images only to be filled with utter disappointment. Not a single design was worthy enough to lift Agard Industries back to its feet. Again, she thought back to the old days. Where had things gone wrong? Perhaps it was time she got back into the game. For real this time.

She reached for the telephone on her left, lifting it to her ear before punching in a series of numbers. After a few rings, the person on the other end answered.

"It's time," she said, before cutting the line.