Feeding The CEO

Chapter 2: The Dead-End Job

Krist arrived barely on time as he rushed to swipe his card to record his attendance. He cried in joy internally when he saw that he managed to be in the office 2 mins before their work time. He proceeded to his desk and placed his bag on his chair before turning his desktop on. While waiting for his computer to boot, he went to the pantry to grab some coffee. He doesn't particularly like coffee as he didn't like the bitterness of it and didn't want himself to be overdependent on caffeine to function. Another reason is also the caffeine in it makes him want to pee too frequently and it would be a hassle for him when he has long meetings.

But today, he could barely stay awake let alone work on his computer.

He grabbed his mug from the cabinet and poured some milk into it before placing it under the coffee machine. When his coffee was done, he likes to add a little cacao powder into it to increase the richness of his drink and of course a few spoonfuls of sugar. Teaspoons to be exact but his coworkers would sometimes be flabbergasted by the amount of sugar he added to his coffee but it is how he likes his coffee. Krist knows it's bad to have that much sugar so he rarely drinks coffee and just sticks to his plain old water and sometimes tea.

"Krist." He felt a soft tap on his shoulder and he turned around just to be scared by Jane, a coworker that was employed at the same time as him.

"Gosh, Jane, you scared the shit out of me." He patted his chest as he heaved out a breath of relief as his coffee in hand did not spill.

"Coffee?" Jane asked in surprise before she grabbed her mug from the cabinet and started to make her espresso. Krist grimaced a little when he saw her taking a sip of the drink without even adding a pinch of sugar.

"Yes, and I don't even know how you drink something like that."

"I like it black so don't judge my taste when I did not shit on yours." Jane retorted and Krist rolled his eyes as he followed Jane out of the pantry. Most of his colleagues have already arrived and he greeted them on his way to his desk. He works as a market research analyst for the company 'I'm Gourmet'. It's a food company that focuses on mostly instant foods but his employer had expressed his intention of adding a new business line that produces fresh food products since people are more health conscious nowadays and foods with little to no additives are preferred. The company he works in wasn't a huge corporation but it has a few branches in the country, and Krist is working in its Bangkok branch which is the main office, so there are around 8 market research analysts working in the department. He was assigned to collect data on the fresh foods packed as meals that are liked by most consumers nowadays.

'I'm Gourmet' had the intention of creating easy-to-consume foods when people are on the go and want to avoid those typical microwave foods and salads. So, Krist did have a headache trying to do more research on that, especially when more and more meal-kits delivery services are popping out these days.

Luckily, Krist is only the one to deliver those data and not in the production team who needs to think of the new products to launch for the business line.

Krist took sips of his coffee and instantly jumped right into his tasks and when he was done with his research, it was already lunch break. He could only continue with his report and slideshow that he needed to present next week to be done later on.

"Jane, Namtarn." He called out as he stretched his stiff back, relieving the kinks and he heard a few rustling sounds and the two of them got up from their chairs with their bags in hand.

"We need to be quick." Jane was the one who swiftly picked up his wallet that was on his desk and Namtarn pulled on his wrist as the trio ran into the elevator. They rushed out of their office building and ran to the Korean cuisine restaurant down the street.

"I hope the three-for-two sale is still available." Krist could hear Jane whispering to herself.

"Krist, it'll be your fault if we couldn't get the deal. We've been waiting for your ass to get up for 15 minutes." Apparently, Krist forgot that today was the restaurant owner's birthday and he would usually do a promotion every year, and this time they get to have three sets of Bibimbap but only pay for 2 of them. Jane and Namtarn especially love their Jeonju Bibimbap which is rice served with a variety of vegetables and their favorite which is beef along with Korean chili pepper paste. But the only downside is it is a really popular meal set and gets sold out easily. Krist rarely goes to these types of restaurants since their foods are usually really expensive but he did make a promise with Jane and Namtarn a few days ago since he wasn't able to make it to Jane's birthday celebration last weekend as he was busy with his side hustle.

"I'm sorry." Krist could only apologize and he earned another glare from Namtarn.

"You're paying if we couldn't get the Jeonju Bibimbap." Krist sighed silently as he hoped the two of them got what they want for lunch. It wasn't an extensively expensive lunch but Krist is having problems financially at the moment. About 2 years ago, his mother had unfortunately been diagnosed with leukemia and things had been a mess since then. She was only in the second stage and Krist was grateful that there are still chances for her illness to be cured but that led to huge medical debts.

Krist wasn't an only child. He has an older brother and a younger sister. But his brother is married and is having his own problems while his sister was still in university. So he took it upon himself to pay for the debts since both of his parents are already retired. His parents did try to talk him into letting them go back to work but Krist convinced them that he would be fine paying for it and that he was able to take care of it. So, he started a part-time job as a dishwasher in a restaurant. His friends didn't know about it and he would like to keep it that way.

But he could start to feel the weight on his shoulders when the bills are piling up every month since his mother is still in therapy and his father wasn't in his best condition lately as well. Their retirement funds are already used up and they were surviving, paying for their groceries with the money his brother gave them every month while his sister got a part-time job to support herself.

"Krist, stop zoning out." He was snapped out of his thoughts when he felt Namtarn push his shoulders and the three of them managed to get into the restaurant after waiting in line for almost 10 minutes. And fortunately, luck is on his side when both Jane and Namtarn got to have their Jeonju Bibimbap but he still took it upon himself to pay for the lunch as compensation for not celebrating Jane's birthday together.