Lasting Effects (Sequel To After Effects)

Chapter 05 ~ Lasting Diversions

A few weeks later

"...why I proposed it during the last meet... was informed... company on a short notice but... everything was clari-"

The talking in my ears continued endlessly, and there was nothing I could do about it. My eyes were half shut, a headache troubled my head, and I needed sleep so badly that my forehead had even tried to meet the table quite a few times.

I tried to pay attention, but my brain wouldn't make sense of anything being said for all I offered, and having already slept out the last three meetings Riddian and I had attended, or held, in the last few days, nothing was in favour of me getting the sleep I craved in that moment.

"Katherine, page five..."

I looked over at my dad who had offered the words of wisdom and nodded with a small yawn before turning to the page suggested. Upon such a task however, I had to move my phone off the page it was on and I also happened to catch a glimpse of myself through its mirror-like screen. My tiredness had nothing against my response of shock when I saw it.

My eyes were almost sunken and an unkempt haired monster stared back at me. My shirt was crumbled to the point of a crushed paper and I was sure I was the reason a kid screamed at Riddian and I moments earlier. The shock had me looking up and over at Riddian who sat directly across the medium sized conference table from me, dutifully participating in the presentation being done.

I had been so tired that I had overslept that morning but why didn't he tell me about my appearance? What had I done to him for him to not tell me about my appearance?

Looking back to my mirror, I tried my best to be discreet as I ran a few fingers through my hair and smoothed my clothes out a bit, but no amount of rubbing would take the bags away from underneath my eyes, and that just reminded me of all the stress Rididan and I had been going through for the past few weeks.

For the last two in particular, post Riddian and I's interrupted talk, we had been doing nothing but working tirelessly. And the reason for this? Only the biggest meeting the company held annually: the Remora Corporation's Annual Shareholders and Presidents' Meeting, which was due for occurrence in the very next month of November!

This meeting was such an elite event that it was only featured in the top two magazines of the business world, and every year it took their front pages. These magazines were the only ones Riddian had ever shown his face in and the top businessmen of the world would be watching out for news on this meeting because Rem. Corp. isn't just any company and the most important decisions were made at this assembly. Company Presidents' elections and everything relating to this was done there, including Riddian's take over as the head of the corporation, but as I said, only the wealthy people in business knew about this meeting apparently because I had never even heard of it before I started working at this company.

I wasn't all that hurt because I was used to being excluded from the fanciest parties of life, but think of all those people who thought they knew about all the meet and greets there were in the wealthy world. They would be shocked to find out the kind of stuff that went on in secret of the public's eye!

All the presidents and VPs of the corporation would be present at the meeting along with the major shareholders and anyone who had a good say in the company's runnings. This of course included Charles Remora, but if you asked me, this meeting was really just kept to see how far the heads could go before breaking their employees' backs every year, and with Riddian being the only one of them actually working, and I, the unlucky secretary, we had to get the show on the road long before them.

I groaned and turned my phone off before looking to my left and at my dad who smiled at me.

Right.