Fallen To The Knees

Need To Catch Up

Benedict

Benedict crossed his arms, considering the idea that Jacob had just nervously shared with the room , his expression unreadable. The rest of the room sat in stunned silence. Slowly, he nodded. "That’s what I looking to hear," he said, his voice unexpectedly approving. "It’s a solid idea. Get with the marketing team and start developing it."

A wave of relief washed over Jacob, though it was mixed with anxiety. He had spoken up, despite his seniors’ judgment, and now the responsibility for that idea was his.

But Benedict wasn’t done. He turned to the senior sales team, his eyes hard as steel. "Why did it take an intern to bring this to my attention? Why wasn't this already implemented?" His voice cut through the air, heavy with accusation. "I should not have had to call this meeting to get a solution. You all saw the same numbers. So, what were you guys waiting for? why am I only hearing this now? Why wasn’t this in action weeks ago?"

The senior team shifted uncomfortably in their seats. No one wanted to answer.

"And more importantly," Benedict’s voice was ice, "why is an intern thinking faster and more strategically than the people I'm paying top salaries to?"

Jacob hesitated for a moment, but then the frustration of the last few weeks bubbled up, emboldening him. "Sir, if I may" he said quietly, Benedict’s gaze still on the senior sales team glaring down at them, waved his hand at Jacob, allowing him to speak. "I’ve brought this up before. Several times. But it was dismissed by the team." Blurted out Jacob out frustration and anger.

A stunned silence filled the room again. The senior members stiffened, shooting Jacob warning looks, but the damage was done.

Benedict’s eyes darkened, his jaw tightening. "Dismissed?" His gaze that had drifted to Jacob as he spoke, now had snapped back to the seniors. "So not only are we underperforming, but we’re also ignoring potential solutions that could have had our numbers spiking up weeks ago?"

The seniors said nothing, their faces turning red under the weight of Benedict’s scrutiny.

"Unbelievable," Benedict muttered, his voice a lethal calm. "This is exactly the complacency that lets competitors take the lead. If you don't start operating with urgency, I will make some changes that will."

The tension in the room was thick as Benedict turned back to Jacob. "You’ll work directly with the marketing team. I want updates on progress everyday at the end of the day."

Jacob nodded quickly, still shocked at how the situation had turned. "Yes, sir."

"Dismissed," Benedict said coldly, signaling the end of the meeting.

As the team filed out, heads hung low, the sales director glanced at Benedict, attempting to salvage some dignity. "We'll make sure this doesn’t happen again sir."

"It better not," Benedict replied, his voice a final warning.

Once the room cleared, Benedict stood alone, staring at the scattered sales reports. This wasn't just a mistake—it was a wake-up call. He had built his company from the ground up, but if his leadership team didn’t step up, the empire he had built could crumble in the long run, and Benedict for one was not going to let that slide.

By the end of the morning, Benedict had made swift decisions with his leadership team and called for back-to-back meetings with marketing and HR. It wasn’t just about the digital campaign; it was about rooting out complacency at every level.

His first meeting with the marketing team went smoothly, thanks to Jacob’s idea. But the real challenge would come later, when he would have to make some tough decisions about the future of his senior staff. The stakes were high.

Later that afternoon, as Benedict prepared for a series of high-profile client meetings, he had distracted himself from the weight of everything happening inside the company to focus on these meetings. He was ruthless when it came to business, but that ruthlessness came at a cost. He needed to make big decisions from is head not his heart which at times was challenging for him, Yet he always did what had to be done for his business. No matter how hard it was or what cost it came with.

And then came the last meeting of the day.

As Benedict entered the yet another conference room at his office, his eyes landed on the man across the table, and for the first time in years, Benedict felt something unfamiliar: surprise. The man smiled, a grin Benedict hadn’t seen in years.

"Andrew?" Benedict said, the disbelief clear in his voice.

"Benedict Windsor," Andrew Callahan replied, standing to shake his hand. "It’s been too long."

The flood of memories from their childhood washed over him. They’d grown up together—inseparable until life pulled them apart. Andrew, now the head of Callahan Biotech, had clearly made something of himself.

The meeting, initially professional, quickly turned personal. They reminisced, laughed about old times, and, for a moment, Benedict felt the weight of the day lift.

The initially shock of seeing a long lost friend again was slowly turning into something new, something that Benedict hadn’t felt for the last decade; Warmth from someone who felt like Family, which reminded him about how lonely he truly had been.

"You look like you’ve had quite the day," Andrew said, noticing the exhaustion in Benedict’s eyes.

"You have no idea," Benedict replied, running a hand through his hair.

"How about we grab a drink?" Andrew suggested. "It’s been years, and it looks like you could use the break."

Benedict glanced at his phone, the endless list of tasks waiting for him. But for once, he set it down. "Yeah," he said with a smile. "I could use a drink."

They left the office together, heading to a bar nearby called Gina’s. For the first time in a long while, Benedict allowed himself to relax, catching up with an old friend as the pressures of the day slowly faded into the background.