Despite the breathtaking view, he was not calm. He was angry.
Despite all his power, he was stuck, while the common workers of the company, ironically, were free to go home and feel the soft sunset breeze on their face.
That was why he was angry, he thought.
But, that wasn't it. He knew that the real, actual reason of his anger was, of couse, himeslf. Or better yet, his frustrating inability to progress.
Hollywood has always been a very competitive place. It's either grow or die, a place which is, almost by definition, vivid, dynamic, alive; and the New California Broadcastings was a perfect sample of this. Yet, in such an environment Enrico Sarnon thrived: he managed to outcompete his peers, be promoted, and outcompete them again. He was young and full of good ideas, which made the company millions, which in turn put in his hands more and more power and money. And yet, his growth was now stunted. Months had passed since his last, real pitch.
The waters around him, apparently calm, lurked with the shadows of hungry monsters. After all, you don't even need to deal a killing blow to actually kill a shark; you make it spill blood, and let the others do the rest.
From predator, to prey.
For the last time, he scrolled his newsfeed. Politics, nothing useful. Economy, nothing relevant. He was about to close his laptop when his eyes were catched by the sports section first page:
THE REPUBLIC OF SIAM WILL HOST THE FIRST WORLD CUP
His heart skipped a beat. The world swirled, while he grabbed his phone. Could that possibly be it? Could something so simple, yet so powerful, save his career? After some quick phonecalls later, which confirmed his suspicions, he started laughing, almost maniacally.
Nobody had yet tried to do what he was about to.
He grabbed his phone again, searching the employee database for the best translators the damned company could offer. He called her.
<<Tina Dunson?>>
<<Yes? Who is this?>>
<<This is Enrico Sarnon. And, from now on, your boss.>>
The woman paused. <<Sir, there must be a mistake, I was actually working to project for Mrs- >>
<<Not anymore. From now on, until this little project of mine is done, you will answer to me and me only. Pack your things, and meet me at the airport in two hours.>>
<<Umh, Sir, where are we going? And why?>>
<<We are going to Siam. And we are going there do to something bold, and ambitious.>> He paused, grinning. <<We are going to buy the global broadcasting rights for the World Cup. And we are going to make a big, big, show about it.>>
[as you may have guessed, if there's interest I'd like this to be the story of how this young executive of this private company manages/fails to score the deal of a lifetime. If you have any comments or advice, please feel free to share them! Right now @Republic of Siam the ball is in your court: who and what does mr. Sarnon finds in Siam? Does a state owned or private company own the rights (also considering there isn't a sort of FIFA yet)? You can give me the answers and I'll write the next post, or you can write something yourself. You decide ;P]