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~Chapter 02~

As I walked toward my section, I couldn't help but notice the buzzing energy around the office. Everyone was running in all directions with urgency in their every action.

With perplexed steps, I reached my cubicle and took a seat. I noticed that Chelsea wasn't here and I was about to power on my computer when I felt a tap on my shoulder. I glanced up to see Samantha, the same woman as yesterday, who'd asked me if I was new.

"Valerie Jones?" She asked for clarification and I nodded my head. "Cool. I am Samantha Hughes, the in-charge of the creatives team. Today we're having the whole department meeting so I am here to fetch you, Jones. Come on." She jogged in some direction without waiting for my reply.

I quickly followed her, pursing my lips. I hate when anybody calls me by my last name without the "Ms." part. I just find it irksome for some reason. Not wanting to dwell on that trivial matter much, my thoughts wandered toward this impromptu meeting. It wasn't like this yesterday or maybe it must have happened after my leave. Who knows, right?

Samantha and I stopped in front of a door with a plaque on it that read, 'Fire Up Days Room'.

Is this a joke?! I thought and almost snorted when Samantha opened the door and ushered me in. She closed it behind her and took off to stand in the front alongside Ms. Maxwell and others, who I assumed were other teams' in-charge.

As I couldn't spot Chelsea in the heavily crowded room, I sat down on a random chair at the back. There must be about 70 to 80 people in this room which itself was a huge one. The walls were painted in plain white with the entire room looking mundane. The murmurs and soft laughter could be heard along with the humming of the air conditioners.

I was on the far end of the row with a guy sitting to my left. He looked a year or two older than me, giving off the "uninterested" vibes as he was playing some video game on his cellphone. He had raven black hair just like mine and a brown skin tone. He looked comical with the way he was squinting his eyes, his tongue jutting out and his shoulders jerking from left to right.

"Settle down," Ms. Maxwell finally announced after having a small discussion with the ones accompanying her on the podium. The command was crisp and no one dared to defy her order.

The room went into a silent hush almost immediately. My eyes sparkled with admiration for this woman because she has the ability to bring down the storm with just the snap of her fingers.

"Listen up, folks, because I don't like to repeat my words more than once," she started and took a pause, her hawk-like eyes cutting through everyone's souls. Ms. Maxwell exhaled as if she was satisfied with the quiet response. "Anyway, moving on, for those who are unaware about the term - 'Fire Up Days', then it's the period or era when all of us are to brainstorm for new ideas regarding the upcoming campaign. To put it simply, put your brain on fire but... not literally," she said with one of the tiniest smiles one could ever muster. It was like her whole demeanor changed.

Everyone laughed at her dry humor and I chuckled because it was quite fresh to see this new side of her.

"And yes, we're already starting on a new ad campaign. Groan or smile, depends on you. Now, as I've been informed from the upper management that the sales of Zedd cars are going down, it's been an off season for our business. I don't have the right to disclose the reason as to why but guys, it's your duty now to bring it back up with your unique and inexplicable ideas. A few of you must be happy to hustle around while some of y'all must be sagging your shoulders to have to work so much. But what I'll say is, I don't care." She passed a stern look at everyone.

So much for an inspiring pep talk but I liked it, I thought, sighing. The veins in my body were already charged with excitement to let my brain be on high alert for the exclusive ideas. Finally, I can think like an adult. Think like my dad.

"Think of something to impress me. Work in a team, individually, with a rubix cube or whatever that makes you think quicker, do it. Everything at this moment is allowed except for "no working". Gotcha?"

The choruses of 'yes' could be heard from around the whole room and everybody broke out into murmurs and whispers again. Soon after that, Ms. Maxwell excused herself, leaving all the in-charge heads, who were discussing something heatedly, on their own.

No one was asked to take their leave yet so we just waited for the next phase of information and instructions.

I turned to my left again to see the guy already immersed in his video game. "Pew Pew, gone. Pew Pew, gone..." he muttered to himself.

Smiling widely, I decided to have a small chat with him. "Hey!" I waved, tilting my head downwards to catch his attention.

He lifted up his face slowly to look at me weirdly. Scrunching his nose, his eyes roved over me like he was looking at an alien. I was about to purse my smiling lips when he finally greeted me. "Hi?" It was more like a question but I wasn't complaining. "You a rookie?" His accent was really thick and his words very perceptible.

"Yes, I just joined yesterday. Oh, and I'm Valerie. Valerie Jones, by the way," I told him, extending my hand for him to shake.

He looked at my hand as if analyzing something. I was getting a feeling that he was intentionally trying to embarrass me. After a few seconds of contemplation, he finally shook my hand and I internally sighed in relief. "Oh, so it was you then." He might be referring to when Ms. Maxwell was showing me around yesterday.

That would have totally crushed my self-esteem, if he wouldn't have shook my hand, I thought teasingly.

"Okay, Valerie Valerie Jones. Hello, Valerie Valerie Jones. I am Shivaay, Valerie Valerie Jones. And if you're wondering about my accent then I'm an Indian but moved to America a few years back, Valerie Valerie Jones."

I just stared at him in bewilderment and blinked my eyes. "Um..." I trailed off, chuckling nervously but he was still sporting a serious face.

"Did I stutter?" He asked as if it was the most intelligent question.

"I don't know." After a long pause, I decided to speak. "That's cool. I mean, India is cool. I am half Welsh, half American but both my parents have been the citizens of America ever since," I blabbered.

"So what exactly are you working as, Valerie Valerie Jones?" He asked me curiously, resting his chin over his palm.

"Copywriter," I answered him with a smile and for some reason, he seemed to be the funny type to me. "You?"

"Same."

"Really? Finally met a fellow copywriter, Shivaay," I chirped happily.

"Eh." He gagged mockingly. "You can't even pronounce my name right. It's pronounced as "she-why"."

I gave him a dumbfounded look and I was kind of getting a feeling that he didn't like me already. "Oh, uh... sorry. Shivaay." Passing him an apologetic smile, I pretended to look for my cell phone in my satchel bag but in actuality it happened to be in my pocket. Though he didn't need to know that.

Shivaay tapped my shoulder as if sensing my cloddish behavior and I turned to him confusedly. "I was just messing around, Valerie Valerie Jones. Why you being so serious?" He beamed at me for an added effect.

My face brightened up and he held out his hand for a fist bump. "For a second, I actually thought that you hated me." I chortled and he raised an eyebrow at me as if offended.

"Nah, I just have a rare sense of humor," he said complacently, dusting the imaginary dust off his shoulders.

"Never heard of that before," I retorted, rolling my eyes good naturedly.

"How would you?" He replied to me in a 'duh' tone. "Because I just invented that one, Valerie Valerie Jones. God, you have such a mouthy name, Valer-"

"Shut up." I laughed and he smirked in amusement. "You're doing it purposely, aren't you?

"Then you shouldn't have introduced yourself in a weird James Bond way, sweetie. But anywho, I'll call you VVJ. Sounds pretty savage to me."

"Sure, at least it's better than being called Valerie Valerie Jones," I mumbled with a snort and he joined me as well.

"So... you just wanna be a copywriter your whole life?" He questioned, his eyes glued back to his video game.

I shrugged and narrowed my eyes thoughtfully. "Not really. I mean, I've always wanted to be a senior content editor. Like, get my name out there in the advertising world. Become prominent and stuff, you know," I stated awkwardly because unlike other people, my aspirations might sound bland and too "mainstream" but that never stopped me from dreaming about it any less. He nodded, not seeming even the tiniest bit judgemental and I was instantly relieved. "What about you?"

"Well, I dream about leaving this job one day," he confessed earnestly, putting his phone aside.

I gasped in surprise because that was the last thing I was expecting. "What? Why? People die to work here."

"Common first reaction but I come from a really strict and reserved family. My parents practically forced me into doing engineering. Then I failed, my parents got disappointed and challenged me. Like they said, verbatim - I'm a useless piece of shit. So I promised them that I'd win a Pulitzer award and shut their mouths." His face turned darker and was marred with an angry scowl. "Not wanting to live with them anymore, I moved here to the States. I've always had the knack to work with the left side of my brain. Was an intern as a journalist for two years. Later, I was suggested by my friend to work here as they had a vacancy. They took me in and ta-da, here I am." He bowed a little and I sat there stumped.

I hadn't expected him to open up but from the looks of it, I could tell that he didn't care about people judging him for his background and I think it might be the same reason why he didn't make any snide remarks toward my ambitions. He's one of those chill people who cares about enjoying their lives to the fullest without thinking about the aftermath. I love such people. Shivaay's personality is like that of a kid who's honest and open-hearted. "Whoa, it must be - it must be sad, right? To be... alone?" I asked him reluctantly.

"What? No. Quite on the contrary actually. I love this life. In fact, once I'm done with this shit which includes a Pulitzer prize, I'm gonna be on my way to a lifelong hiatus, marrying my video games or who knows, maybe even one of the superficial anime chicks." He winked and I laughed at his antics.

I instantly liked him and his enthusiasm toward living life with no regrets. A feeling of exaltation hit me because I could safely say that we're friends. "Just don't forget me, okay?"

"Pfft, please. Why would I remember you anyway?" He asked me lazily and blew out a breath to push away the hair falling in his eyes.

I blanched at his words almost immediately and I was sure about the hurt clearly evident on my face.

"God, are you so obtuse! I was just kidding. Stop taking things seriously. Remember?" He smiled and held out his fist for another bump.

Snickering, I bumped my fist with his. "And honestly, I hate your sarcasm."

"Get used to it, VVJ. That's how this Flynn Ryder rolls." He gestured toward himself.

Before I could say anything else, someone from the podium spoke up. A man in his late thirties with an amiable smile addressed the crowd. The room fell into complete silence once again. "Alright guys, I am Sebestian Evans, if you don't already know me."

I noticed a few girls swooning at his charming demeanor and I just snorted in amusement.

"And he's happily married," Shivaay whispered from beside me, looking ready to throw up. "Honestly, these girls just don't get the signal."

I chuckled softly and put my attention back to Sebestian. "I handle the content team. So as we're already running on a tight schedule, let's follow Ms. Maxwell's orders. Whoever's big idea is good enough, it will be presented amongst the upper management. The CEO, Mr. Williams, will be present there too. I'm sure you all know the drill, so! Shoot me with your best innovations, people. I'd suggest that you watch the previous ad campaigns and try to do something that the former ones didn't. Oh, and the content team, form a group around here."

And just like that, everyone dispersed and started scuffing toward where they were appointed. Shivaay and I made our way toward the content team. It was then that I spotted Chelsea with the creatives' people as she waved at me, grinning. I did the same and turned my attention back to my team members. They all seemed older, almost in their thirties.

Sebestian quickly jogged toward us and sighed, clapping his hands once and looking everyone in the eyes. He was carrying a stack of papers in his hands and I understood what it was. "If you guys get any idea and I mean any idea about this, you come and approach me, got it?" All of us nodded and he seemed satisfied. "Good. Here," he said, handing us each a booklet. It contained all the necessary details of the model we're supposed to brainstorm on for the advertising campaign. "We're releasing a new model and our target audience is upper middle class people. That's all you need to know for now."

With that, he dismissed us and I parted ways with Shivaay as I made my way toward my station. A few minutes later, Chelsea joined me at the cubicle but she was too concentrated in her booklet to even notice me.

I took that as my cue to fully submerge myself in the details and started looking over everything with deep concentration. My heart was pumping and my brain was churning with plans already.

To make things easier for me, I even checked the notes I'd prepared yesterday after watching and reading about the already happened campaigns.

Before I knew it, I had laid out an entire idea inside my book. It took me hours and I didn't indulge into any talks with Chelsea nor did she. Guess, everyone takes this too seriously because the air was charged with a gritting competition to be better than the next person. The thing was, I didn't mind about somebody else's idea making it to the top and being executed. What mattered to me the most was that at least I was conceiving something that I felt was unique.

I hope they like it, I thought with a beating anticipation.

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