KATIKA-Treason is never far away (Part.1)

Chapter 2 | Leader or human.

As they walked down the corridor, John couldn't stop thinking about Rebecca.

This young woman had something special that he had never perceived in all the women he used to seduce whenever the desire arose. She seemed so secretive, passionate, and eager to explore the joys and depths of the common treasure of Humanity, the essence of earthly existence called love.

A drink... It didn't seem very romantic as a first approach, especially for a man who happened to be the new COO of Katika. Had he momentarily forgotten his usual extravagance when it came to seduction, which he commonly referred to, in a rather chauvinistic manner with Mikhail, as "chick hunting"?

And why did she have to mention paying for the drink? Was she trying to convey that she would have preferred to be invited to a more refined place than a drink for a more in-depth conversation? Worse, had she accepted out of mere politeness or intimidation in front of her new boss, wanting to make it clear that it would never go any further?

So many questions without clear answers crowded John's mind, barely making him aware that they had arrived at the door of the human resources department director's office.

Mikhail knocked on the door, and a sound of magnetic opening was heard. A man appeared at the threshold, dressed in a brown suit and a yellow shirt matched with a red tie with white dots. He didn't look much more intimidating than an ordinary person.

The only impressive element about him was his very voluminous belly, indicating years of neglect that clashed with the shabby aspect of his appearance. To top it all off, a partial baldness on the top of his head gave him the look of a pot-bellied monk.

The man looked at them, holding the door open with his left hand and asked, "Hello! How can I help you?"

Brought back to reality, John replied, "Hello, I am Mr. John Katika, the new COO, and this is my friend, Mr. Mikhail Goyevs, the new Sales Director. We have been sent to you by Mr. Woodford, who assured us that you would take care of introducing us to our respective teams."

The man blinked slightly and extended his chubby hand, saying, "Ah yes, Mr. Woodford did indeed inform me of your arrival. Given the importance of your positions, it seemed only natural that I take charge of this mandatory introduction. Please follow me."

He let go of the door and nodded for them to follow. They walked to the elevator and first went to the 145th floor, the location of the commercial department, which was now Mikhail's full-time workplace. Richard Raymond explained that the tour would start with this department so that John could also attend, considering he was also involved as the COO.

When the elevator stopped, John was struck by the stark contrast that the 145th floor offered compared to all the places they had visited before.

A series of coworking space-style offices in flamboyant pearly white stretched as far as the eye could see, a surface that could easily accommodate the equivalent of a university amphitheater. Some private offices were scattered on the sides, and through their opaque windows, one could guess the usual hustle and bustle of a commercial environment.

No matter where John looked, he saw cutting-edge technology everywhere: state-of-the-art computers, television screens projecting various statistics, charts, and digital tablets...

Human presence seemed to be present only through this unusual choice of coworking space-style offices, a choice that, according to Raymond, directly originated from the company's policy aiming to create a family-like atmosphere of mutual support among employees.

"Everyone works in pairs, and each pair is assigned at the beginning of the year until the following year to foster diversified and multiple relationships desired by Katika, with the goal of optimizing each employee's performance," he explained.