Liam woke up the next day with a hot blonde curling up to his side in a hotel bed.
Lighting up a cigarette, Liam felt that life was good for him. Running a company in the morning, partying with girls in the evening, who wouldn't want such a life? He didn't have many worries to be honest. Even his company's woes looked so inane at this moment.
Looking at the girl sleeping next to him, Liam wondered if she had any worries in life. But, he knew that it was all an illusion, no one was truly without worries. Even he would start worrying and crunching numbers the moment he set foot in his office.
That's how life was.
Problems and worries are all relative. As long as a person had goals, ambitions, responsibilities, and other such things, worry will become a constant companion as well. That's the beauty of life.
Liam shook his head and took another deep drag of his cigarette. Look at him, being so philosophical early in the morning. If those less fortunate than him saw him posturing like this, they would come after him with a baseball bat. Letting out a self depreciating smile, Liam moved from the bed to get dressed.
As he finished dressing, he saw the girl stir on the bed. Looking at his watch, he saw that he was already running late. He needed to return home, refresh himself, have breakfast and rush to the office. There were several things he needed to do today.
Seeing that the girl wasn't still awake, Liam wondered for a moment whether she was a late riser or she was truly tired. If it was the first one, he didn't have any sympathy. But if it was the second reason, he felt partially responsible for it.
Last night, he was a bit too enthusiastic. The wildcat on the bed had cooperated well. So, he didn't want her to wake up to an empty bed after doing so well last night.
Letting out a sigh, Liam gently shook the girl awake. As the girl stirred awake, she saw Liam standing beside her fully dressed. She didn't comprehend her state for a moment, but last night's memories seemed to rush into her head at that moment and she began to flush very brightly.
"Babydoll, last night was wild. We should meet up some other time. Unfortunately, I gotta dash. Do you need anything?"
"Hmmm, can you order food? I don't think I can get back to my apartment and then return to work in time. I'm too tired to move for now."
"Ha, no worries. I will order the food and ask the hotel to keep the room booked till noon. You can leave whenever you want. Take this. Take a cab to your workplace. Also, I can't let a beautiful girl like you go to work with the same clothes she wore yesterday. That would be a crime. If you ever see me again, buy me a drink. We will call it even," Liam chuckled and pulled out a wad of cash.
Placing the cash on the bedside table, he quickly put on his shoes and left the room. Reaching the car park, he jumped into his muscle car and let it rip. Soon, he was cruising in the early morning sun and was on the way home.
Reaching home, he was received with a stinkeye from his mother. He chuckled sheepishly and dashed to his room to refresh himself. After half an hour, he came down to have breakfast.
His father was already having his breakfast. His mother sat beside him and was chatting with him. Liam siddled into a chair and started piling up food on his plate. Soon, he too was eating.
During a lull in his conversation with his mother, his father turned to him and spoke.
"I saw last month's report. You have done well. You have pulled up the ratings and viewership. That music event you broadcasted did good numbers as well. Pity, it didn't have a big name attached to it."
"Heh, if a big name was attached to the event, will it be my turn to snag the broadcast agreement? There will always be gains and losses. I am content entering the event broadcasting scene for now," Liam replied while washing down the food with juice.
"True," his father swallowed his food and spoke. "What you say is right. For now, this is a good beginning for MusixZ. I also noticed that you managed to break even last month. Impressive. You only took over for two months, but you achieved the target I set for you in three years."
"That's luck," Liam chuckled. "I got lucky with the event. The ad sales for that event was good. It brought in a lot of money. I broke even only because of that. It will be hard to do it this month."
"What seems to be the major issue?" his father asked after thinking for a while.
"If you asked me two months ago, I would tell you that it was the lack of clear positioning and execution. But, we have taken care of it in these two months. We now understand the needs of our target audience and are striving to meet them. Currently, the biggest issue we have is variety. We need to start new programs. But, our current budget is tied up with the revamp," Liam said after thinking for a while.
"You already spent the operation budget for the whole year?" his father asked in shock.
"Hardly, we still have amount left in our accounts. But, the money is tied up in future payments. Without it, the channel can't be revamped completely. However the need for new programs is also true. So, it's a bit difficult to break open the scenario."
"What's your plan?"
"Start new programs," Liam said decisively, causing his father's eyes to narrow. "It is essential that we maintain the momentum and keep growing. I hope by introducing new programs, the ad revenue from them will be able to pay for the revamp in the future. It's a bit of a gamble, but the channel needs to take it."
"It is a bold path to take. Still, if you can break open the situation, I think the channel has good potential. I had high hopes for this channel. Unfortunately…"
"I too have high hopes," Liam smiled. "I think this channel can grow to the level it becomes one of our flagship channel."
"Flagship channel? Are you sure about that? You must understand how much revenue it should bring and how much market share it must occupy to even be qualified to be in the talks for that title. Having a dream is good, but don't dream too big."
"Ha, we are just getting started, old man. I have confidence in the future of this channel. We will see whether it is qualified or not in five years," Liam replied back with confidence.
"Ha, I like your boldness. It is like seeing me in my youth," his father chuckled.
"Please, I'm more handsome than you," Liam retorted immediately. "And I am more capable as well."
"Is that so? We will see about that," his father replied smugly. Liam didn't like that tone much. "By the way, since you have become an adult, it is time you start living on your own. The salary you earn must be enough for your monthly expenses. Moreover, you also have the trust fund dividends. So, I think it is high time you learned to take care of yourself."
Liam blinked, unable to see how the conversation took such a turn. His old man wasn't usually this vindictive. Did the old man got pummeled by mom early in the morning? Is he taking out his frustrations on him?
Well, the joke's on him. He has a trump card in his hands. So, Liam immediately turned to his ace weapon and shamelessly complained.
"Mom, the old man is planning to kick me out. Do something!"
"Hmmph, in the last two months, you stayed out all night more than ten times. Even last night you didn't return home. Before going to college, you came home late. But now, you simply stay the night in hotels. The hotel bill from your list of expenditures is simply too big for me to tolerate. I have already prepared the beach house in Sharp Point Beach. You can stay there from now on," his mother suddenly turned sideways.
Liam blinked not knowing what to say.
Before college he was in high school. Most hotels didn't allow him to stay the night. Also, he conducted most of his business in the back of his car. But, how can he still act that cheaply?
Backseat romance is fine for high school kids. If he did that at this age, he would be looked down on by most girls. And it is not as if he can bring them home. His parents still lived here. They would never allow such a thing.
So, he could only go to hotels. But, it seemed that his mom was going through the list of expenditures and noticed the rising hotel bills.
This was an unwarranted disaster that came from nowhere.