Her Stolen Memories

4- The Meeting

Two Weeks Later

"Ms. Reed," Michael peaked out from the doorway of her office, "They are ready."

Aana's eyes shot up at Michael's call. Her head was buried in the files. She had been learning all about Reed Cementations. Before her accident, they had a Ninety Billion dollar business, spread nationally and internationally. 

But after the accident when the investors got to know that she had slipped into coma, most of them had pulled out their payments, leaving Reed Cementations vulnerable and at the brink of collapse. As she stared at the computer screen, showing the datasheet of the past year's finances, her hand slipped up to her forehead, trying to push back the tension and headache that tried to overtake.

The number had dropped like a b***h. Their shares had gone down, the company had lost its market value to less than a quarter of its original price and the business was barely gaining any profit, making it a clear target for the business sharks to attack.

If she did not do something, a disaster was just a blink away from dooming her business to hell.

"Give me a minute." Aana said, quickly grabbing the pen drive for the presentation she had prepared and her iPhone, "I will see you in the meeting room, Michael. Please take care of them till then."

"Good luck, Ms. Reed." Michael smiled in encouragement before rushing back in the direction he had come from.

She had called an investors' meeting to negotiate with them. This was the first step towards getting back to where they were before. Two weeks ago when she had picked up the first file, she had thought that she would have to bang her head on the wall for years to understand the things that helped a business run. But as she continued to read, understanding them with Michael's help, she was astonished to see that understanding the business was a piece of cake to her. It was like she had the basic knowledge of everything. All she needed to do after that was to go over every important file that needed her attention and memorize the details.

*****

Aana's legs trembled as she entered the meeting room. Thirty people, all wearing suits, expensive watches and a very grim expression on their faces were sitting around the grand table in the middle of the hall.

She quickly recited all the things she had learned in her mind, checking out the faces of the people and remembering their names one by one through the pictures that Michael had presented her with along with the details about them.

Patrick Smith, 46, Hotels chain owner. Settled in New York.

Vicky Evans, 32, Property dealer. Seattle.

Von Waghera, 67, Builder. South Carolina.

While walking towards the head chair, Aana instantly recognized most of them. Her heart was pounding hard in her chest, her legs shaking, nervousness gripping her like a shadow of her own being.

She was ready. In her heart she knew that she was ready. She had a plan. A solid plan, a reasonable deal, a good offer. But for some reason, as she came to stand next to the head chair, staring at all the faces who had their attention fixated on her, her mind spiralled in all the random, scary directions that it could go in the span of a few seconds.

Aana took a deep breath, put up a trembling smile on her face and faced them,

"Let's get started." she said, her voice came out as an ugly squeak as the projector turned on.

Her hands were trembling as she tried to handle the papers in her hands but dropped them on the floor twice before finally managing to place them on the table safely.

Her eyes shot up as she heard a snicker. Some of the people sitting around the table were shaking their head in disappointment while some were suppressing their laugh with pursed lips. Her heart sank further, fear and anxiety wrapping itself around her throat, rendering her speechless. 

"Are we going to start today, Ms. Reed?" Mr. Lee asked.

"Y... yes, of course." Aana stammered, dropping the papers once again while trying to pick up a pen from the table.

Mortification filled her instantly, her cheeks getting covered with a pink tint that the darkened room fortunately hid.

Aana could not believe she was getting stage fright now. She had thought that she was prepared!

The projector had lit up the room with the first slide. Her mouth opened and closed like a fish as she stared at the stern, irritated, impatient faces of people in the room. From the corner of her eyes she saw Michael staring at her with worry in his eyes and that scared her even more. She had let him down.

"We have not got the whole day, Ms. Reed." Mrs. Vicky Evans shook her head while scoffing at Aana's state.

The room had started to feel like a box, a tightly shut box wrapped completely with tape, leaving her unable to breathe.

"So.. so this is... this is the...", Aana's breath hitched, her throat closing. 

What was she about to say? There was a thing. A plan? What plan did she have?

Her mind went totally blank as she stared at the screen, and the abnormal shapes, trying to understand what they meant.

"Ms. Reed, you alright?" Aana heard Michael's voice from far away even when he was standing in the same room as her.

Aana's head started spinning, her breath shortening. As blackness covered her vision, her hand fell upon the edge of the table to grip the marble brim.

"I do not think this is a good idea to venture with them." Aana heard her own voice say, panicked, "That is such a grand company, a whole new level of competition."

Aana could not see anything. Darkness was covering her vision but she could hear the voices from far away.

"But you have proved yourself, haven't you?" A new voice, sweet, calm, and encouraging, completely opposite than hers said, "And they would not have given the offer to you if they did not think you are worthy."

"You are just saying these things to get a kiss from me." Aana teased.

"How do you always figure out my plans?!" The sweet voice giggled.