"Welcome to Business Studies." The professor is an overenthusiastic middle-aged man with a growing bald patch and greying hair. "My name is Mr Jay." He says. "But you can call me Mr J."
He smirks at his own joke. No one else does.
Mr J sighs. "Right. For our first class, we are being visited by a guest speaker. This is the CEO of Alpha Buildings Ltd, Xzander Bianchi."
Then he walks in.
I feel my heart tremble in my chest. His eyes comb the room, like stormy grey orbs, and his jet black is slightly ruffled. He strides forward confidently, the broadness of his shoulders captured beautifully by his crisp suit.
"Hello," He says simply, and I feel my heart jolt at his lilting Italian accent.
"Oh my God he sounds like a sexy Mario." Maisie whispers to me and I choke down a laugh.
Xzander hears me and catches my eye. His gaze lingers on me disapprovingly, and he looks away. I release a breath I didn't even know I was holding.
"Welcome." He continues, ignoring me. "Now, the first thing you must learn about business is that, no matter what else happens, you must always bring it back to whether you are making money. Forget you social, environmental, moral obligations. Everything, in the end, boils down to your profit."
I frown. Surely that isn't the only way to run a business?
Xzander smiles at the questionable mutters there are around the room. I like it even more than his frown.
"Let me present you all with a situation." He says. "You must make 100 truffles, which must be sold at the price of 30 cents in packs of 4. More people will buy your products if they are Fairtrade. However, Fairtrade chocolate costs $2. You need two of these bars. When you add the double cream - $2 in total - you're not making profit at all. Non-Fairtrade chocolate costs 50 cents a bar. What do you do?"
He pauses, but no one volunteers an answer.
"The answer is you get one bar of Fairtrade chocolate, and one bar of non-Fairtrade, and melt them together." He says simply. "So you make $3 profit per batch of truffles, and keep them - technically - Fairtrade."
"That doesn't seem fair." Maisie whispers, and I agree. Then, I get an idea.
I put my hand up tentatively, and Xzander looks taken aback.
"Yes?" He says, his grey eyes filled with surprise.
"What if you bought cocoa powder and dusted the truffles with it?" My voice sounds tiny in the echoing room.
Xzander looks at me. "I don't follow."
I take a breath in. "You could rebrand slightly. You could buy the non-Fairtrade chocolate, but dust the truffles in Fairtrade cocoa powder, and say you used Fairtrade cocoa, not chocolate. Cocoa powder is cheaper, and you need less."
There is a silence. Xzander looks at me, impressed.
"What's your name?" He says eventually.
"Dyllon Taylor, Mr Bianchi."
We stare at each other for a few moments. Then he looks away.
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Hey,
It's ya gal, Stella. This is the end of the first three chapters, from now on we'll be publishing about one chapter a week on Wednesdays, depending on how well this does.
We hope you're liking it so far, don't forget to vote and comment!!
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RomanceDyllon Taylor has a busy life. Her siblings are rapidly growing up, her university workload is rapidly increasing, and her dad is rapidly becoming an alcoholic. When she takes a job working for young millionaire Xzander Bianchi, she doesn't expect t...
