(flash short story with business idioms)

Vadym had a terrible day in the morning, because of the damn wind, tasteless coffee, and a crowded elevator. And then he had to listen to the intern’s whims. It was a nightmare.

Igor hated his ever-happy intern, Vadym. Because he hated his job. It was exhausting to see such enthusiasm.

“Please take me to a meeting with clients! I’ve already done a lot to at least earn a seat next to you. I won’t say anything, I’ll just listen. I promise!”

Vadim took another sip of coffee and grimaced. What was he paying for, anyway? Vadim noticed his dissatisfaction with the drink.

“How about I make you some more coffee? Would you like some?”

Vadym thought it was an extremely awful form to use interns as servants. After all, they are learning how to work, not how to make coffee. But now the idea was too attractive. And we could take the guy to the meeting as well. It wasn’t that difficult.

“Okay, you talked me into it. But hurry up, because we still have a meeting to go to.”

The happy guy ran off to complete his errand.

When Vadim tasted the new coffee, he thought that the day was not so bad after all. And the meeting went well. At first.

“My client does not agree with this design. Among the options you presented, my client did not find any that would really promote the book.” Said the literary agent.

The literary agent was annoying Vadym, but he was even more annoyed with the person who had ordered them. But it was not time to rock the boat.

“Okay.” He said, trying to keep his cool. “Let’s discuss this further. Maybe we can find a compromise”.

The agent sighed. “I’m just telling you what the client wants. He wants to see brighter colors, a more modern design.”

Vadym nodded, though he was angry inside. Who gives such vague requirements anyway? He glanced at his intern, who was nervously twirling his pen. The boy seemed to realize that the atmosphere was tense.

“Okay.” Vadim said, forcing himself to sound confident. “Can you give us more specific requests over the next two days? Today I’m going to create a new list of questions that might help the designer and client to understand each other better. Don’t ignore it like the previous one. I want you to understand that every change requires additional time and resources. Delaying the printing of a book delays the time it will go to its readers.”

The agent nodded. “I’ll pass that on to the client.”

The agent nodded. “Okay, I’ll convince him to fill out the list of questions.”

After the agent left, Vadym turned to his intern. “How do you like it?” Нe said. “Sometimes this job can be very annoying.”

The intern smiled. “It’s really a great experience for me!”

Vadim smiled. For some reason, this guy’s approval felt good. Returning to his computer, Vadim began to update the list of questions with more relaxation than usual. To make it even more personalized to the work and the author.

Meanwhile, somewhere else in the office, his intern was preparing a new batch of coffee. This time, he decided to add a little more sugar than he usually orders in a café. He knew that Vadym secretly loved sugar, as well as this job.