“Damien Bishop, nice to meet you.”
“Dimitrios Cirillo, you as well. Let’s head up to my office before we get started, shall we?”
The trio took the elevator up and walked through the empty halls to Dimitrios' office. Dimitrios sat behind his desk, Leon in his usual seat, and Damien took the third seat, next to Leon.
“So, let’s skip past the niceties. We’ve all been doing this long enough to get down to business, I think.” Dimitrios started, leaning forward and resting his elbows on his desk, his fingertips steepling as he looked over them at Damien.
“I agree.” Damien said, meeting Dimitrios' intense gaze without flinching.
Leon gave a silent nod.
“What I’m looking for is someone to take over my duties as CEO. Leon here, as I’m sure you are aware, is our CFO and the co-owner of the company. I want to start focusing more on research and development of new products.”
“I see. Well, my experience in that regard should be more than adequate for the task.” Damien said, confidently.
“Yes, I’ve heard much about that. But I’m interested in the cause of your sudden interest in other companies? You’ve been with Ibis Tech for a few years now, why are you looking to leave?”
“Well, as you know, Ibis is run by a board of directors. They have been making it increasingly hard for me as of late to do my job. I came on board when they were in a steep decline and was able to guide them back onto the straight and narrow by cutting costs and restructuring, but now that things are out of the downturn, they think that they know what is best, and refuse to let me do what needs to be done.”
“So, you helped them avoid the cliff and now they want back in the driver’s seat, is that it?” Leon asked, legs crossed and looking completely at ease.
“Exactly that.”
“Well, if you came here, you would still have to answer to both Leon and I.” Dimitrios added.
“Yes, but you are the co-owners. You have a personal stake in the business running well. I doubt your pride would bar you from admitting that I have made good choices, as long as they are in the best interest of the company. I don’t want supreme rule, but I do want to be able to do my job without being constantly undermined.”
Dimitrios could respect that. He could only imagine how frustrating his job would be if he were constantly answering to a board of directors about all his decisions. Dimitrios shared a look with Leon that said they both were on the same page. Damien Bishop was a solid candidate, but more needed to be proven. So Dimitrios decided to throw him a hypothetical.
“So, let’s say that you were having problems with your manufacturing plant. They want to decrease the quality of your materials, but you know that is not in the best interest of the company…”
The interview went on for some time as they discussed different hypotheticals, and Damien more than proved himself to be competent. No matter what Leon and Dimitrios threw at him, he had good answers, and even when he didn’t have knowledge of the exact situation, he still had good insights and asked the right questions. Dimitrios and Leon had to admit that they were thoroughly impressed by him.
The interview lasted well over an hour, and by the time that they called it complete, Dimitrios and Leon were both set on having this man at their company. Dimitrios stood and offered his hand to Damien, who shook his first, then Leon’s.
“Well, I can say that I’m impressed. We’ll put together an offer and be in contact in a few days.” Dimitrios said.
“Sounds great. I’m looking forward to it. Honestly, the company you two have built is really something, and it will be great to be a part of it.”
Dimitrios and Leon saw him out and as soon as he walked away, Leon turned to Dimitrios with a look of relief at finally having pessimism go unrewarded.
“So, we’re in agreement right?” Leon asked.
“Oh yeah, that guy is coming to work for us, one hundred percent. I’ll get with HR tomorrow to get an offer sent over to him ASAP.”
“Looks like you might actually be getting back on track… but I have to ask. What prompted this change? I’ve been trying to get you to do this for years. Why are you suddenly open to it?” Leon asked.
Dimitrios rubbed the back of his neck. The real answer was Remi. When he’d seen how passionate the omega was about his dream, it had reminded Dimitrios of himself back in college. The alpha had been so full of hope and dreams, certain that he would make a big impact on the future of technology.
Before Dimitrios could answer, Leon let out a snort of laughter and cut in. “Oh, of course. It’s Remi.”
“Well, it might have a little bit to do with him. But the point stands that you were right. R&D is my home and I want to get back there.” Dimitrios said.
“And you wouldn’t mind some extra time away from the office, to give more attention to your little boyfriend.”
Dimitrios didn’t dignify that with a response, even if it was true. He did in fact want more time to spend between Remi’s perfect, creamy thighs. But that wasn’t really any of Leon’s business. When he didn’t respond, Leon just rolled his eyes.
“Okay, I’ll leave you alone for now. I’m tired and starving, so I’m going home. Please tell me you’re not staying here all night again.” Leon said.