Three o’clock, Friday afternoon. Seven figures sat within the Board Room, each speaking in turn with any updates regarding the past week. One among them, Eva, made a show of listening with interest. Though in all sincerity she cared little about anything Peter had to offer; or whatever incremental market share updates Alan was rambling on about. Her eyes raked over the balding man in his ill-fitting suit as he spoke, visibly present but mentally very checked out. 

“...Ever since branching out into the East Coast our profits in the region have been steadily rising within the margins of our estimates and…”

Tuning back in for even half a second was a dreadful mistake. The raven-haired woman discreetly tucked a number of short strands of hair over her ear, eyes scanning those around her. It appeared she wasn’t the only one bored beyond belief; although, she very well may have been the one best at hiding it. It never seemed to matter how many times they went through this, the man speaking never did seem to grasp that the purpose of a weekly meeting was to briefly summarize his team’s progress. Not only pointless, but inefficient to boot. Honestly, were it not such a bad look, Eva wouldn’t have bothered with these meetings anyway. 

Utterly oblivious, Alan continued to drone on with his unnecessarily lengthy report. Nearby, Eva spied Peter discreetly checking his phone. Dana, on her immediate right, put on a good show of taking notes and nodding along - A show and nothing more, though her doodles were admittedly getting better. Others were in similar states of bored apathy. If Alan lifted his eyes from his notes for even a fraction of a second he’d have seen that. Alas, they were all doomed to listen to the irrelevant until the miracle finally happened.

Silence.

Sweet, blissful silence. 

Everyone blinked as if in shock, like a spell had been broken and they were all free at last. 

“Thank you for that, Alan.” The man at the head of the table cleared his throat. “Well, for all of your sakes I’ll keep it brief. If that’s quite alright. ” There were a couple courteous chuckles, including one from Eva herself. The older man, Dan Broderick, went on with a smile that seemed to put the room at ease. “There isn’t much left to be said that hasn’t already, but on my end I have been making some...preparations let’s say.” He said, his soft gaze sweeping across the room knowingly. “As I’m sure you are all aware, there’ve been some whispers floating around lately that I’ve been considering retiring.”

Ears perked and a few choice figures subtly leaned in with their attention ensnared. Eva chief among them, her heart pounding far more than her countenance would’ve suggested. Dan took a deep breath and angled his chair to the side, staring into space. 

“It was fifteen years ago that I founded R.E.I. with a modest goal. Well…‘Modest’. I just wanted to try and improve how industries across the world could handle their businesses; and I’d like to think we’re getting close to that. Not just thanks to me, but all of you. You, your teams, and your teams’ teams.” He let out a wry chuckle. “Some of you started this company with me, others came later, but I have to say this because I don’t say it enough: I’m proud to consider you all colleagues, and I’d like to think we’re all friends too.” The man said at length.

Great, he was getting sentimental again. More aged folks tended to do that, she noticed. It was quite alright, though. Eva was a maestro who hid her irritation well, modeling her expression after the others. Yet another for the pile of nostalgic smiles laced with quiet anticipation. Everyone was much too busy focusing on their longtime boss to notice that one of their number was bobbing her foot against the floor in ravish excitement. He was rambling somewhat, but Eva remained focused, waiting for the magic words to leave his fuzzy lips.

After more musings, Dan paused to gather his breath, letting it out in a heavy sigh. “That said though, I think it’s about time I stepped aside to let someone else take the reins for a bit.” He looked across them all with a wan smile. “At the end of next week I’ll be formally announcing my retirement and submitting my recommendation for who I think should lead the company after me. Pending Board Approval of course.” 

And there it was! Eva could feel a smile tempting its way across her lips and fought to keep it at bay. Giddy as she may have been, she couldn’t reveal how positively thrilled this news made her. Dan was a fine enough CEO, make no mistake. He was smart, a visionary, and a kindly older gentleman; but, the simple fact was he was also someone in the way of this company’s inherent potential. He was a voice of naive morals in a world that rewarded the cutthroat. Someone who was absolutely needed once, but his time had passed. Now was the opportunity for someone else to take charge. Needless to say, Eva had the perfect idea who. 

Betraying nothing, she offered an empathetic performance mirrored by her peers. Everyone chimed in with minor platitudes and gestures of good faith, Eva herself managing a lovely “It will never be the same without you.” with a beautifully artificial smile. Some of them perhaps even meant what they said; for reasons beyond her. 

“Now now...” Dan assuaged with a fatherly laugh and a placating hand. “It’s not like I’m going to vanish or anything. We’ll need a transition period of course, and retirement doesn’t mean I don’t plan on keeping my company shares. Someone has to make sure you guys don’t change course too much without me!” He said with another laugh, accompanied by half a dozen courtesy chuckles. 

“Well, that’s probably dramatic enough to end on right?” The man asked. He offered a chance for followup comments or questions, and when none presented themselves he clapped his hands firmly together. “That’ll be all then. Meeting dismissed!”

Eva’s peers, socialites that they were, meandered about instead of running for freedom. Dan was ambushed by pleasantries from Peter and Dana while Eva entertained discussion from Rob. Something about promising data from one of his R&I teams and the development of a new type of- Yeah, Eva couldn’t have cared less if she tried. Even so, the woman made a marvelous display of remaining behind just long enough to disguise her eagerness to escape. The man eventually moved on and Eva gathered her things from the table, noting a message icon on her phone.

“Back with your drink.” It read. 

About damn time. Eva ordered that over an hour ago, the memory enough to bring an inane irritation. A feeling that was brushed aside and hidden beneath the veil of a professional smile as she left the Board Room. It was absolutely an annoyance, but one counterbalanced by this lovely new development.

Every step she took sounded off with a muffled clack of heels against the carpet. Just about the only sound one could hear wherever Eva passed, as a matter of fact. If there was one honest to god blessing of being in her position, aside from the rather generous paycheck, it was the power one felt walking through the halls. Workers in their little cubicles stiffened in her presence and made a show of appearing busy. All that greeted her were busy bodies, respectful nods, and eyes that didn’t dare meet her gaze. Not that Eva paid any of them the time of day anyway. 

Her reputation preceded her; this much she was well aware of. It was no secret that the lower rungs didn’t care for her methods; which worked out since she didn’t care for them either. Eva’s job was to make that bottom dollar grow, and if she had to break a few eggs to make a high-profit omelette then she wasn’t exactly going to lose sleep over it. Friends don’t drive business. Success was for those with the will to reach out and take what they wanted. Anyone who couldn’t do that much deserved to flounder in obscurity. 

Which, speaking of, brought her to the poster child of mediocrity herself. Her oh so lovely assistant Tina. 

Her work was often remarkable, but the young woman behind the secretary’s desk was anything but. A slim figure with a petite face framed with short, thick brown hair. Her clothing, while falling well under business casual requirements, consisted of an oversized sweater and slacks. Most laughable were her hilariously oversized round-rimmed glasses. In essence, Tina was about one pizza face shy of fitting checking every box of the archetypical nerd. One couldn’t appear more insecure and weak if they tried - Part of the reason Eva hired her, truth be told. She was everything her boss wasn’t and served as a perfect point of comparison to make Eva shine all the more. 

In complete contrast, Eva was tall bordering on statuesque, meticulously groomed and dressed, and oozed a level of confidence the likes of Tina could only ever dream of. As she approached Eva, perhaps a bit pettily, puffed her chest and schooled her visage into something stern, bringing her steps down heavier than before.

Her mousy assistant was initially too busy typing at her workstation to notice her, but it was nothing Eva’s stomps didn’t amend. She noticed her boss and what commenced was a familiar routine of jumping within her seat and scrambling to her feet. It didn’t make much of a difference frankly. Eva towered a full head higher even without her heels, but admittedly it was always nice to see her secretary fumble like a frightened animal. 

“W...Welcome back Ms. Rhodes!” Tina exclaimed. Even her voice had a nervous edge to it that tempted punishment, Eva noted. Toying with her was always a source of amusement for the taller woman. It often brought to mind images as herself as a cat toying with a mouse in the wild. A rather apt metaphor she would say. 

No, not a cat. A lioness. 

“Here’s your drink ma’am!” Ever desperate to please, Tina reached behind her desk and offered a familiar cup. Eva wordlessly accepted and brought the drink to her lips, fully aware of Tina’s watchful gaze. A couple light sips and Eva lowered her cup, smacking her lips to create an unpleasant sound. She savored the flavor for a moment before regarding the shorter woman.

“Tina, remind me. What did I order?” She asked pleasantly enough.

Brown eyes blinked at her from behind a pair of absurd glasses. “Same as always ma’am, a Decaf Soy Latte with two extra shots and three creams.”

“Right.” Eva nodded. “So would you mind explaining why the hell this isn’t decaf?” Her gaze narrowed into pure ice aimed right at her assistant. The grip on her cup tightened until the foam bent dangerously inward.

She could see that the comment caught the other woman unawares. Tina held herself together as best she could, but visibly squirmed. It rarely took much to break her; an intense glare was often more than enough for someone content with a lower place in the world. As such, Tina buckled under the weight of Eva’s almighty gaze almost instantly. She inclined her head, glasses sliding along the bridge of her nose. 

“S-Sorry ma’am. The shop was really backed up today- Some kind of accident with their coffee maker and in the rush I guess they-”

“I didn’t ask for excuses Tina, I asked for coffee.” Eva snapped. “Coffee I ordered over an hour ago incidentally. Do I need to remind you how time works?”

“No ma’am…”

Eva’s nostrils flared and she laid a hand over her hip. “You’re lucky I happen to be in a good mood today, so I’ll leave it at that; next time when I say decaf on my desk at two I mean Decaf. At my desk. At. Two. Is that clear?”

Tina adjusted her glasses with a slight sigh. “Yes Ma’am.”

“Good.” Sometimes it paid to have an assistant who knew her place - It made getting these lessons across so much simpler. Eva sipped from the drink again, the taste growing on her. “By the way, how is my project coming along?”

Tina slumped back into her desk with apparent relief. “I’ve been working on it as much as I can between my regular duties. I’m currently waiting on a message from Mr. Wilke, but he’s pretty optimistic we can get some kind of deal on your desk by the end of the month.”

Now that wasn’t going to do at all. “You have by the end of next week.” She stated flatly. Tina froze where she sat and looked up like a deer caught in headlights.

“This...Week? I...I can’t-”

“-You will.” Eva cut her off. “I don’t care how you do it. Just do it. The situation’s changed and I’m going to need something nice to present to Dan before next Friday.” She brought her hand over the desk and leaned forward, mauve eyes fixed on her assistant. Her secretary was an alarmed animal caught in her shadow; and Eva all but dared her to speak up.

“Unless that will be a problem?”

Doubt wracked Tina’s cutesy visage. The girl looked to her computer monitor and furrowed her brow. There was a realistic answer and a correct one; and they both knew which one Eva wanted to hear. “...No ma’am.”

“That’s what I thought.” Eva smirked. She had such a well trained aide. “I’ll leave you to it then. As for me, I need to head out.” Tina blinked and looked to her screen, most likely noting the time. 

“An important appointment with Dana.” Eva explained. She stepped into her office a few feet away, emerging moments later with a designer bag tucked under her arm. “Do enjoy the rest of your day, and remember. Decaf-”

“-At two.” Tina finished. 

“Good girl.” 

Nothing else needed to be said. Eva made her departure under the disquieted gaze of her assistant. Was it disrespectful to force an unreasonable deadline on Tina and then immediately leave for the day? Perhaps, but that was the price one paid when they couldn’t succeed. For all her harsh criticisms, Eva had every faith that Tina would see the task done in time. If nothing else, her work ethic made up for her other inabilities. It would be done, and once it was...Sayonara Vice President Rhodes and Hello CEO Eva. God that sounded amazing. 

She deserved it of course. For no other reason than she was simply better than them. All of them. Her role in this company was greater than all of their pitiful jobs combined, and soon enough that gap would widen into infinity. Oh she had plans. So very many plans. Pleasant thoughts for now, at the very least. 

Eva made her way through the halls and towards the elevator, pressing a button to go down. On the way out she passed the familiar halls that led to R&D, noting with vague disinterest a number of figures talking shop as they walked. They went ignored as she stepped outside and located her car. As it powered on and moved out, she passed by the ever-familiar company sign. 

Reduction Enterprises Inc.