Chapter- 06

"Did I say something…wrong?"

Ryan nervously shuffles the weight from his feet to feet. Right now he feels like crawling into a hole and disappearing completely without a trace— when will he learn to check his phrases before babbling them?

Ethan holds his cigarette over the ashtray, gently tapping the ashes into it, "Mr. Miller, it is indeed not going to be easy working with you," he lets a toned down chuckle follow, "But don't worry, I am not the kind to be offended over anything and everything."

"Is that so?" Ryan's fluttering eyes shift away, with the indistinct chatter attending his lips, "Did not seem like, although."

"Did you say something?" Ethan asks, walking over to his desk.

"No, no," Ryan immediately shakes his head a 'no', denying breathing a word, "I was just talking to myself about some very insignificant things. Don't worry about it."

"Okay. So, shall we get back to work now?" As the ravenette finishes smoking, he checks if the cigarette ember is completely out and disposes it carefully, to avoid any potential fire hazard.

"Are not we already working?" Ryan poses ineptly.

The ravenette raises an eyebrow, "Is this what you call work? No wonder you are so terribly unprofessional, Mr. Miller," with meticulous care, he draws out a slim leather bound folder, its edges worn from years of use, "We have been only talking about drivel matters till now. You have not even realised why you are exactly here, have you?"

"That is kinda true," the brunette bloke says without any hesitation, "I am really not sure why I am here at such an odd time of the day," he shrugs nonchalantly.

"You talk too much. And too unnecessarily," the overseer hurls his leather bound folder formed of documentations towards Ryan, "Here. This is a copy of LOVESICK'S services and graphs over the past few years. Take it home with you, if you would like to analyse."

Ryan nods, "Sure. Anything else that I may help you with?"

Ethan considers the aforementioned words from his Personal Assistant with a contemptuous disdain— quite a satirical one, "What have you even helped me with so far, Mr. Miller? Other than creating more problems for the both of us?" He scoffs, "I would like not to use the word 'help', since that is what you are definitely not doing here. You will be just following orders, and abide by what I ask you to do. You will be fulfilling your responsibilities and duties, not be 'helping' me."

Thoughtlessly Ryan again interjects, "Now you are wasting time," summoning his own affliction upon him.

The odds are in Ryan's favour on this day— the devil is unusually calm; God forbid, that does not turn out to be the calm before the storm.

"Mr. Miller, can I ask you a question?" He occupies a seat across from his younger, perusing through documents that were present on the table, "What do you really think about what I told you earlier about LOVESICK? Here your unprofessional opinions count, I will give you that."

Ryan shakes his head, "Unprofessional or not, my thoughts will not change. Even if it is something that I should not be saying, even if it puts my job, my position as your PA at risk, I apologise but I am not willing to change my mind, unless there is any unyielding justification," such a demeanour has always been Ryan's biggest setback, "I am sorry, Sir," he casts his gaze down, looking slightly away, "But I don't think I will ever let anyone influence my beliefs or thoughts."

Ethan's expression succumbs into a scarce, smugness, barely visible by the naked eyes, "As much as I hate to admit it, you do have a strong individuality, Mr. Miller, which is quite…impressive."

An unsought warmth creeps up along Ryan's neck— unsure if his boss was indeed complimenting him, or making a fool out of him.

"Anyway, now as you can see the drastic differences between LOVESICK'S statistics, I will just cut to the chase," Ethan directs at his laptop sitting between them, "I want you to to develop strategies to restore the dating app's profits to how it used to be. That is your first task as Ethan Smith's PA."

"You mean you want me to develop ideas about how to improve LOVESICK?"

"You can say that," Ethan continues to forage through the documents, his brows knit in concentration, towering an inch above him, Ryan can tell he is searching for something specific, somewhere within the dense, something maybe typed out in a bureaucratic mannerism, "Although I don't believe LOVESICK has been bumming or anything. The users are just unreliable. Their interests are very short-lived and they move onto the next best thing with time."

Ryan feels his shoulders slump and he heaves a sigh before continuing to speak, "If you continue with that attitude, LOVESICK will be in ruins and forgotten within the span of maybe just say two years at best."

Poking against the roof of his mouth, with tongue, Ethan picks his head up, "What?"

Ryan shrinks a little bit, debating within whether he should pronounce the words which are in a whirlpool around his head— and ends up deciding.

"I meant to say that…if you worry so much that the users would move to the 'next best' whatever," he quotes with the two front fingers of both his palms, "Then why don't we make LOVESICK the next best thing?"

Ethan had half listened to anyone in his office up until now, knowing that he would always have the final say regarding every single thing which occurs in his office, out in fact, for that matter— until Ryan's words.

It takes Ethan a good while to completely intake the intensity— why had he never thought like that? Least, why had he never known it was possible to think in such a way?

"What did you say?" Despite Ethan's newfound stupefaction, he kept his thoughts to himself. After all he can't let his PA get too big for his boots, "You weighed the risks of what you just said?"

Ryan answers, affirmative, "Yes, I have. As the CEO, you know better than me that no risk, no gains."

In defiance of Ethan's tenacious attempts to spurn his assistant's words, he found himself nodding along— after all he can't deny that indeed those words appeared to be striking, "I appreciate your way of thinking, Mr. Miller. But, you should also know that everything is easier said than done. Are you certain that you can bring your words to life?"

"I will try my best. I will give it my all," Ryan looks at the laptop, then at his boss, "But I can't do it alone. You will have to help me. The entire company, all the employees will have to help me to make our dreams come true. To make my words come true!"

Ethan almost smiles at the proposal, content, "Sure. We will help you. So, what would you be suggesting to begin with?"

"Uh- before I can suggest anything at all, I really need to get a draft of what users are not satisfied with. Have you gone through their feedback? The reviews?" Ryan asks, "There must be a portion which is dominating the unsatisfactory ratings. Or else it makes no sense that from being a five star dating app, it was demoted to a three star one."

"Give me a second. I have been searching for that file," Ethan rummages through the piles of leather bounds and lignin smelling papers, "I can't remember where I put it! Ugh! Why is it always times like these that I can't find anything??"

Gasping, "I'm sorry to interrupt, but I think I am sitting on it," Ryan gulps, his palm instinctively reaching beneath where he is being seated.

Ethan furrows his eyebrows, standing from his own place, staring at the young person with confusion, "If you know that, then why are you still sitting on it?"

"Ah, right. Sorry," Ryan awkwardly smiles, convening the papers, picking them up altogether and holding them out for the CEO. "Here."

"Keep them with you. You need to study them thoroughly. They include all the critical reviews from clients all over the world," Ethan sways his arm as a gesture for Ryan to begin his work, "And…if you don’t mind, can I sit beside you? Just to read through the reviews together, nothing serious."

Ryan's mind drifts, he is not sure about how he should respond, "Well, it's your mansion. Do whatever you want. Why are you asking me?" He comes up with an answer without lifting his eyes.

Ethan walks over to sit beside the brunette, "Just because it is my mansion doesn't mean I don't know what personal boundaries are," he dusts the velvet sheet before garnering his comfort there, "Anyway, let's begin reading them. Shall we?"

"Wow, this is a hefty report," Ryan folds his lips in dismay, he had already been flipping through a few of the pages, catching glimpses here and there, when Ethan had been only talking— "It seems like you have compiled this folder with extra care. Don't tell me this is something which keeps reminding you of your bet with whoever sort of thing."

"You're quick," Ethan now appears to be evidently stirred, "You're absolutely right. It keeps the fire alive in me. It keeps reminding me of my purpose!"

"Initially, I have been very satisfied with LOVESICK. But as it advanced towards earning more profit, now it is all about money and money only. There are too many fake profiles those are not taken care of. Every good feature has been converted to premium. In the past few months, with all the new updates, honestly the dating app has instead turned into a money-making app, without any consideration for its users," turning a deaf ear to Ethan's preceding words, the brunette reads out aloud, "...A user has given such a feedback, from Philadelphia."

"Nonsense!" Ethan scoffs, with an antagonistic air, "What would you like to comment on, Mr. Miller?"

Ryan thinks for a while before producing any set of words, "Sir, as much as it may offend you, I will have to agree with the user."

"What do you even mean?" Ethan's nose flares.

"What I mean is that, I understand why you would prefer to lock so and so features. Afterall you have to collect revenue, and you have to ensure it gets collected in a huge amount by the end of the year. You also have to worry about the GDP, I get it–"

"Mr. Miller, will you stop beating around the bush?" Ethan sounds menacing, but it is hard to budge the brunette.

"What I am trying to say is that no matter how much profit you want to make, it should not come at the cost of someone's love," at the meagre mention of the word Ethan has been abhorred of, he puts his arm up, bringing an interval.

"I think that is enough, Mr. Miller. Can you move on to the next feedback?"

"No. I am not finished yet, Sir," Ryan masters the courage, "Unless you can acknowledge the truth, LOVESICK can't be restored to its original ranks. You have to come to terms with what users want, they should be our priority. If we make money or our needs the priority then I can't guarantee anything."

Ethan scrambles his vision angrily, grumbling angrily under his bated breath, "What do you suggest I do, then?"

"Keep in mind the feelings, the emotions of the users. Keep in mind what they want," Ryan dampens his lips, leaning his body more towards the folder, away from the ravenette— he had been talking too much, "I am not saying this because I am heavily driven by emotions. I don't even understand who gave rise to these conventional beliefs that anyone who is a person of emotions, can never be reasonable? But Sir, if we do not think about our users first, if we put ourselves before them, will LOVESICK ever be able to thrive again? I don't think so."

"And why not?" Ethan contracts his jaws inwards.

"Practically speaking, who is this app for? Those who are in search of love, right? If they come to a conclusion that LOVESICK is nothing about love, but money and technicalities, a mechanical operation run by someone who does not believe in love, do you really think they would continue to use it or recommend the app to their peers?" Ryan holds the ravenette's palm, giving it a gentle, reassuring squeeze, "Now, they are our only clients, in your words, our only assets. If LOVESICK is truly only heals 'sick' people, name it a therapy programme not dating application, please. We can't respect our users' sentiments now? We are not going to make any profit at all."

Ethan remains silent, completely silent— observing the brunette from a close proximity, the closest in fact; it had been too long that Ethan had observed someone so closely.

"Sir?" Ethan breaks the eerie silence, turning towards his overseer, "What do you think?"

"I don't want to believe or admit it. But, this time, you are lucky," Ethan narrows his eyes with a smirk, "I think you are right. But don't think I am allowing myself to be swayed by all those melodramatic components. Because you showed it to me from a perspective of profits, I will be again making most of the features free," he declares, barely above a whisper.

"Thank you for listening to me," ear-to-ear Ryan beams, "Let's move onto the next feedback."

"LOVESICK these days is all about money," Ryan pauses, "What? Isn't it the same thing? Why have you printed it if you knew it was the same?"

"I didn't know a thing. Alec, who is usually in charge of printing documents and creating folders did," Ethan shrugs, "When he gave it to me, he said he had categorised them, so that I can get an idea about which issues shall be my priority."

"Ah! I see," Ryan thumbs against the laminated pages, "Too much work. But clever indeed. And quite empathetic towards the customers."

"Um- hm."

"From what I gathered from the first few pages, our targets are left unsatisfied with not LOVESICK'S services, but the premium interruptions. The first few pages are dominated by comments of the same," Ryan places the leather bound down on Ethan's desk, "Even though I still need to figure out the other causes. And I will improve suggestions accordingly. Till then you should work on restoring the features that did not used to be premium."

Ethan's unresponsiveness left Ryan boringly drumming through the papers, again catching glimpses of the yellow coloured stars and critical reviews— weirdly enough, the brunette feels a pair of eyes on him.

"Are you maybe staring at me?" Ryan flattens his back, sitting straight, not daring enough to face his boss to whom he had yet again blurted some ill considered words.

Ryan hears lucid enough for him to comprehend— Ethan is chuckling.

"And if I am?"

The nape of Ryan's suddenly begins to feel too warm for his liking, "It's not time for such jokes," he sees Ethan from the peripherals— Ethan is actually staring, he is not only staring although, he is also leaning his physique more towards where Ryan is.

Closer

and closer

and more close,

"Stop!! What are you even doing??" Ryan snaps, "Huh?"

"Oh!" Parallely, the ravenette returns his snap, "Let me see your face. Look at me!"

"What!? Why?" Ryan's impulses seep into the veins when he defensively prepares his arm for any predation, "What's wrong with my face?"

Ethan doesn't find it necessary to justify, "Maybe everything," he squeezes the cheeks of his assistant's and veers it towards to be faced with his own, "Stay still. Close your eyes."

"Sir-"

"I said close your eyes!" As per Ethan's dictation, Ryan trembles and closes his eyes, trying to forgo any more trouble.

Closing his eyes, Ryan can still feel the elder, menacing Mr. Haughty towering above him, their faces were again too close— Ryan's breath hitches at the uncertainty of that moment. The earlobes of the brunette were shaded into a bright red, "Wh- what are you…"

"Here, Mr. Miller," Ethan plucks the eyelash that fell out from Ryan's eyes without any notice, "You must be the kind of person who blows it away to make beliefs come true, aren't you?" He then pulls back, "I'm going to throw it away, it might have been a distraction otherwise."

"You're talking nonsense now," Ryan protests, "I didn't even know about it. How would it have become a distraction? Were you staring at my face??"

Getting rid of the eyelash, Ethan turns to his PA, "I should be thankful that I noticed before you. If you would have, Heaven knows how long would I have to put up with these sorta things," Ethan continues to prattle, unaware of Ryan's frustrations, "Come on, they are just superstitions! Nothing has been proven!"

"Yes they are!! They may be superstitions!!" Ryan voices his preferences, very unforgiving, "They may be superstitions, but that is what I love to believe in!! Santa Clauses, Tooth fairies, angels, devils…they all might just be myths!! But kids do believe in them, you know why?"

"Mr. Miller–"

"...Because they provide us with warmth, a stream of happiness, even if imaginary," Ryan stands from his seat, preparing to leave, "I have not eaten anything since this morning, and it is almost dinner time. I think it is time I should leave. Please grant me the permission."

"Fine. Go home if you're so eager, then. But don't forget to be punctual tomorrow, at the office," Ethan extends the folder towards his PA, "Don't forget this too, I'll be emailing you the contents. Come with some ideas and suggestions tomorrow."

Ryan runs his fingers through the brunette barnets, his eyes still speaking volumes about the wish he did not get to make— but the youth reminds himself about why he is actually putting up with Mr. Haughty, thus transitioning his avatar, "Er…I don't have a laptop yet, and my phone model is really, really old. So…would you mind if I take this folder with me, I promise I'll return it safely to you."

"Just don't," Ethan tosses the folder, Ryan catches it, "Burn it once you are done with it."

Ryan puckers his lips, contemplating for a minute, "Sure. I shall leave then. Have a good night ahead."

Nevertheless, as soon as Ryan turns to leave— "Mr. Miller?"

Ryan halts at his conduct and returns, "Yes?"

"Here. I believe in give and take. So, for all that you have been doing throughout the day, take it as your reward," he takes Ryan's hand and places a medium white box on it, "Take a look at it after you reach home. Oh yes, and don't forget to check your emails before going to bed!!"

"What is this?" Ryan nervously asks

"Just see it yourself, but after you're home. . .please."

***

"Ryan, we need to talk!" His booming holler echoes in the tranquil ambience, heedless about the souls slumping in peaceful slumbers.

"We have talked a lot about it. I am very sleepy. Please can it wait, uncle?"