Chapter 95: ATTENTION SEEKER
TWO HOURS AGO.
Leonardo ended the phone-call with Isabella and entered the conference room, instantly, everyone promptly rose from their chairs to acknowledge his presence.
All The employees were uniformly dressed in a white long-sleeve shirts paired with black skirts and pants, as per the prescribed dress code for the meeting. The uniform made them easily identifiable for the meeting. "Good morning, sir," the employees said in unison.
However, Leonardo disregarded their greetings as he made his way to the head of the long, dark, glass-topped table, where he sat in the high-backed executive chair. His commanding presence captured the room's attention. "Get to work," he commanded brusquely, and the employees settled into the plush, cushioned chairs surrounding the table.
Every chair was occupied except the one next to Leonardo, which was reserved for Isabella, the secretary.
"Sir..." a male employee raised his hand, requesting permission to speak, and Leonardo nodded, granting him permission to do so.
"Sir, the secretary hasn't arrived yet," the employee said, gesturing to the empty chair next to Leonardo as he rose up. "Should we still proceed?" He asked.
"So now the secretary is your boss? Huh?" Leonardo retorted, his question laced with a mixture of annoyance and disdain.
The man swallowed hard without responding, clearly regretting his decision to speak up.
"Go sit on the floor by the door until the secretary arrives." Leonardo ordered, and without any objection, the man moved to the door, humiliated. He sat down on the floor, his back against the wall behind the door and his head low in embarrassment.
Sofia discreetly turned her head to look at the man, “That’s what you get for that asshole”, she mouthed to the man and smirked boldly without getting noticed. She was so angry when the man had mentioned Isabella’s name, thinking Leonardo would keep the meeting on hold because of Isabella but what Leonardo did right now to the man, made her impressed and changed her mood.
Turning his attention back to the employees, Leonardo queried, "Does anyone else have anything to say about the secretary?"
A murmur of disagreement swept through the room before everyone turned their attention back to Leonardo and shook their heads in fear. No one dared speak up and challenge him.
"Much better, now let's continue," Leonardo said, placing his phone on the desk and settling back into his chair.
"Of course, sir," said a blonde-haired woman wearing large black medicated eyeglasses. She stood up, grabbed a stack of papers, and hastily scurried to the front table. She quickly placed the papers on the chart and cleared her throat before beginning her presentation. "Good day, Sir Leonardo and everyone," she said with a nervous quaver in her voice. She was very scared of making any mistake that could persuade Leonardo to punish her like he did to the man behind the door.
“My name is Clare Valentino and I’m standing here today to give a speech”, She paused then turned her gaze to the high-definition display screen on the wall and read what was scribbled on the screen, "About the business." She introduced before returning her gaze to the audience.
As the woman began her presentation, everyone at the table opened their writing pad in front of them, ready to take notes.
"Let's discuss management," The lady declared, delving into the business discussion while the employees attentively listened.
The room is soundproof, so there were no concerns about their confidential conversation getting leaked out.
The woman began explaining the various strategies and management plans for the company while the employee wrote notes on their book-pad. They jotted down all the important words as the lady, positioned in the center of the room in front of the table, delivered her presentation with the aid of the graphs projected onto the screen.
"As you can see in the chart I created here", the woman carried on, flipping the chart beside her while explaining her points. "You’ll see that our earnings are rocketing sky-high", she explained, pointing at the graph, which displayed a visually depicted increase in earnings. "And several strategies I've mentioned can help us operate more effectively as a team to manage the hotel," Clare elaborated.
As the woman continued to speak, Leonardo's gaze wandered through the glassy walls, keeping him occupied and distracted from the meeting as he awaited Isabella's response. He took in the view of the skyline, which showcased iconic and prominent buildings he had never noticed during his childhood visits here with his father. He couldn't believe how much he loved every beautiful aspect of the scene visible from up here.
"And that is how we can maintain the hotel's position as the top-ranking luxury establishment by implementing these strategies, Sir Leonardo," Clare concluded, suddenly capturing Leonardo’s attention.
A brief round of applause emanated from the employees, whose gaze had been fixed on the woman, Clare throughout her speech.
Leonardo didn’t realized Clare was still giving her speech until this moment she was done. His mind had been absent from her speech the whole time and he couldn’t remember what she said, but whatever she said, he doesn't care to know because this CEO Job was meant for Matteo, not him. He is just here to accomplish a mission he was permitted to pursue.
Bringing his focus back to the Clare, Leonardo realized she had concluded her speech already and was waiting for him to provide his thoughts about her speech. Leonardo shifted his gaze back to the projector screen, tapping his finger on the table slowly and thoughtfully, as if calculating his words.
Tension filled the room as the entire staff turned their gaze towards him, expecting his response.
"Next," Leonardo said casually, and Clare returned to her seat, clearly disappointed that he didn't give a shit about the presentation she had worked hard on. Unbeknownst to her, Leonardo's mind had drifted during her presentation.
Sofia stood up, preparing to deliver her speech next.
As Sofia stepped up to the podium for her speech, the room erupted into applause. "Thank you," she said, and the applause ceased. She smiled at Leonardo as his gaze lingered on her. "First of all, I want to thank Sir Leon for the opportunity to be here," she began with a smile.
However, Leonardo averted his gaze from Sofia to his phone on the table. He had repeatedly warned her not to use the shortened version of his name, as it irritates him and makes people think they are having an affair. Yet she chose not to listen to him. ‘She's such an attention-seeker’.