They Called Her El Diablo

Chapter 8: Numbers Don't Lie

Above is how I imagine the conference room to be.

Hayden's POV

''Mr Taylor, Mr Henshaw, we have much to discuss''

''It seems we do Miss Waters seeing as how you seem to be the only one concerned with the DEPLORABLE state of affairs my company has been in'' Mr Taylor, whose first name I really must find out, said while giving the Board his stink eye.

''Well maybe if you didn't leave....'' I mumbled snarkily, going up to grab the stack of notes one of the Board members had in front of him.

From the corner of my eye I noticed Mr Sad Eyes stiffen but Mr Taylor seemed none the wiser. 

Given how I had to know every minute detail of the company's state of affairs before spinning half truths and misleading investors, I wasn't very surprised by the numbers that were reflected.

''So, Miss Waters, since you seem to be personally involved what do you think my company should do?''

I was annoyed by his tone, overwhelmed by their looks and a tiny bit flattered the CEO would want my input. Tiny bit.

 ''All due respect Mr Taylor, if you were unaware of its decline till now you can't really call it yours. Your absence has made your management complacent and weak. They are unwilling to take risks, have fallen behind in keeping up with the changing trends and less funds are going to RnD. More should be diverted to RnB rather than pumping money into advertisements. Ads work in the short run but if you look at your competitors their ads are dwarfed to ours,'' I shrugged, pulling up some stats I'd managed to wrangle from the competitors. 

'' Yet, their net profits surpass us simply because their investments in RnD is speaking for itself. Consumers no longer pay attention to loud ads. They want that edge over their friends, their colleagues.

'' Our Ads are everywhere, which might make naive investors and consumers think we're popular and they might want to invest in us for that reason alone. But! the discerning consumers, who are dominating the market, stick with me here guys, they're looking out for something unique and special. And simply put Mr Taylor, Mr Henshaw, you are a damned long way from that''

I was met with pin drop silence. The bosses' face were stony and unreadable. Then they turned to and stared at each other. Seriously is there some new language I didn't know about?

Shit did I make a mistake in my observations? I started thinking back to what I said and found that what I said made sense to me; maybe I should have just declined to comment. God, I'm not a business graduate, I only did a single module in Economics I didn't know the corporate world. Sure I could manage relations but that's it. Oh let's apologize. Shit.

I faced the duo, ignoring the nasty fossils in the room. ''Mr Taylor, Mr Henshaw, I am so sorry, my job here isn't to comment on or criticize your business, it's to manage p-''

Mr Henshaw raised his hand to silence me. ''You're right Hayden,'' By the gods his voice, ''It's not in your job scope. You're here on a temporary basis. So, can one of you fuckers explain to me why is it THAT SHE CAN DO YOUR JOBS BETTER THAN YOU?!?'' He screamed at the room. I jolted in shock at his sudden raise of voice and raised my hands slightly.

Mr Taylor raised an eyebrow at me and I pretended not to see it. ''Everyone out.'' Mr Taylor ordered. The room stared at the dark knight in shock. I was a few steps away from the door. Yes, freed-

''Not you, Hayden.''

gReAt.

The room emptied quicker than a hoe's pocket on payday. I was left in a tense silence with Blue and the dark knight.