Mr. Chen's secretary watched her boss read the usual weekly reports before signing them. She served him a fresh mug of hot coffee. She cleared her throat.
"Mr. Chen, the receptionist called again. I told her that you're still busy in a meeting. The Alarm Girls and their manager have been waiting downstairs for more than three hours already. Will you not see them?"
"Hmph! Don't concern yourself with those insignificant people. Hand me the reports from the last week of the previous month, will you? I need to make some comparisons."
"Understood. Uhm, sir…excuse my ignorance, but aren't you supposed to sign the contract today with the Alarm Girls for our latest endorsement deal?"
"Hai. Didn't you hear what I just said? I told you not to concern yourself with them."
"But you had me schedule this meeting with them a month in advance. So I thought that it's supposed to be important…"
Mr. Chen finally put down the report in his hand and sighed. "To tell you the truth, I was also looking forward to signing them up. I liked their perseverance in trying to survive for years in the cruel world of showbiz. They're not the most popular but they're still holding on. I felt that our company has a similarity to them in that both of us aren't the best or the most popular, but we're succeeding slowly but surely. Earlier this morning, however, I discovered that it's a big mistake to even think about signing them up as our endorsers."
"Why is that, Mr. Chen?"
"Hai! Did you know that our company CEO called me first thing in the morning and scolded me for getting involved with the Alarm Girls?"
The secretary frowned, confused. "Why would our CEO scold you, sir? I thought that he was already informed and aware of your plan to sign the Alarm Girls as endorsers? Didn't he approve it, too?"
/p>"Exactly! However, the CEO suddenly changed his tune." Then he lowered his voice and looked around, making sure that nobody else was listening. "Don't tell anyone this. It seems like those girls offended someone from Jin Corporation. Hai! They can offend anyone but why do they have to offend someone from the number one company in the country? Are they stupid or what?"
The secretary gasped. "Jin Corporation? They're crazy. What did those girls do?"
Mr. Chen clicked his tongue. "Who knows? That's why our CEO backtracked from this endorsement deal. Our company can't afford to get involved with the Alarm Girls or else we'll offend Jin Corporation. One word from Jin Corporation and our company is finished. Do you understand?"
The secretary nodded. "Uh, so sir…what do you plan to do with the Alarm Girls now? They're still waiting downstairs. Isn't it better to just tell them that the deal is off so that they can leave?"
"Hmph! Let them wait! I got scolded harshly by the CEO this morning. Do you think I enjoyed that? My mood is ruined for the entire day because of them! Let them wait until lunch time."
"Er…alright, sir. Understood."
###
Downstairs at the lobby waiting area.
Mimi splayed over the arm of the couch. "I'm so hungry! We've been waiting for over four hours already. I'm so tired of waiting. My butt hurts from sitting for too long! Is he not done with that meeting yet? How long do we still have to wait?"
"I think they're doing this on purpose!" Wanwan's expression was ugly. She rolled a magazine and was twisting it out of shape in frustration.
/p>Feifei turned to their manager. Her earlier impatience and anger already transformed into anxiousness. She felt that something was not right. "Didn't you say that this deal is a sure thing? They're not going to back out, right?"
The manager was also feeling quite panicked, but he gave them a reassuring smile. "I already talked with Mr. Chen a few times both on the phone and in person. I can confidently say that he's very enthusiastic and excited about working with you, girls. So don't worry too much. We'll get this endorsement deal. I'm sure that Mr. Chen is just really busy with that emergency meeting. We just need to wait until he's ready to see us."
"But we've already waited for so long!" Wanwan threw the crumpled magazine hard on the table. Since there was no Mr. Chen to direct her anger at, she lashed out at their manager instead. "This is all your fault! You're so incompetent! You can only connect us with this kind of unprofessional and small-time company! We deserve better! We deserve endorsement deals with the big companies!"
"Leader, not so loud!" Feifei warned her, looking around.
There were already quite a few people, most of them employees of the company, who were looking at them after hearing Wanwan's outburst. Their expressions showed obvious displeasure that their company was described as unprofessional and small-time.
"Hmph!" Wanwan crossed her arms and lifted her chin.
Mimi agreed with the leader 100%, but she also understood why Feifei was being so cautious.
The manager clenched his hands into tight fists, his fingers digging painfully on his palms, trying to rein in his anger at Wanwan's insult. "I…let me inquire at the reception desk again."
"Hmph! Incompetent!" Wanwan spat, watching their manager stand and walk for the nth time to talk to that b*tch of a receptionist.
"Leader, I'm really getting worried. What if we don't get this endorsement deal?" Mimi finally voiced out.
"Hmph! So what?! This is just a small-time company anyway. I don't even like their nail polish products. So cheap!"
Feifei: "Leader, please. Not so loud."
The employees nearby were already glaring at them. If these employees informed Mr. Chen, they would probably really lose this endorsement deal.
Wanwan: "Tsk. Fine!"
It was already lunch time and many of the employees were heading outside to eat. However, there was still no word from Mr. Chen.