Suddenly, I Am Rich

Diana and Joel both looked at the pen. They were out of words.

The pen was cheap, made of plastic. It was the kind anyone could pick up from a box of ten for a dollar.

Joel glanced at it once, then at Gray. He couldn’t help but shake his head in secret before leaning slightly behind his chair.

’How will I do this?” he could only sigh.

Diana, on the other hand, leaned forward. She thought that it was better to start first now that she could still think properly.

”I’ll start,” she said softly.

”I’ll give you a minute to look at it.” Gray nodded and let her do her thing.

Diana reached forward. She picked up the pen with her fingers, then turned it once in her hand as if looking at it carefully. When one minute was up, she took a deep breath and returned her gaze to the people at the table.

”You may start.”

Diana gave a small nod and cleared her throat.

”Before I say anything about this pen,” she began, her tone calm but composed, ”I’d like to ask, what pen are you using right now, sir?”

Gray raised a brow slightly. The corner of his mouth ticked up.

”This one,” he said, reaching for the sleek black pen near his folder.

Diana nodded as she took a step forward, no longer hunched or unsure of what to do.

”And do you like it?”

Gray turned the pen in his hand briefly. ”It writes well enough.”

”Is there anything about it you’d improve? Maybe the grip? Ink consistency? How long it lasts?”

Gray paused for a moment, then shrugged his shoulders. ”Sometimes it smudges when I write fast. And the grip isn’t great when my hands get sweaty.”

Diana nodded again, holding up the plastic pen between two fingers.

”I know this one isn’t fancy. But it has a firm grip here,” she quickly pointed at the soft rubber section, ”so it won’t slip when you’re in a rush. The ink dries almost instantly, which helps avoid smudges.”

She held it out now, this time not as an object, but as a solution.

”It’s not just a pen, sir. It’s the answer to the part you didn’t like about the one you already have. You said it yourself, Sir. The problems that your current pen has. And this new pen, this is what I’m offering as a solution.”

She placed it down gently in front of Gray and stepped back without another word.

For a moment, the room was quiet.

Then Caesar let out a soft chuckle under his breath.

Gray glanced at him, then looked back at Diana.

”Thank you,” he said.

Diana gave a short bow and returned to her seat, her expression composed but with the faintest hint of pride in her eyes.

She knew she handled it pretty well than she had initially imagined.

The room stayed quiet for a moment after Diana sat down. Gray, Marcus, and Caesar looked at each other, nodding and sharing their opinions on it.

After a moment, they returned their gaze to the front.

”Well, Diana...” Caesar gave a soft nod. ”I thought your answer was well thought out,” he said sincerely. ”I’ve heard that question asked a dozen different ways, but you handled it clearly and with purpose.”

Marcus also nodded in agreement.

”You had a smooth delivery, too. You didn’t sell the pen, but you sold the problem it solves. Nicely done.”

Diana gave another polite nod, her voice soft. ”Thank you, sirs.”

Gray smiled faintly as he turned his head to Joel. ”Alright, Mr. Hernandez,” he said, setting the pen back in the center of the table. ”You’re up.”

Joel gave a slight nod, but his eyes flicked briefly toward Diana with a silent sigh. The pitch he had in mind... she had already done it. She nailed it before he could even open his mouth.

’Damn. That was what I was planning too...’

Now he had to improvise.

”Alright,” Joel said as he straightened up in his seat. ”I guess I’ll just go the old-fashioned route.” He muttered, just enough for him to hear himself.

He picked up the plastic pen and turned it slowly in his fingers. He was also given a minute to look at it carefully. While the time was ticking, he couldn’t help but be nervous.

But it wasn’t the right time to be nervous.

”You may start now, Mr. Hernandez.”

”Yes, Sir.” With a nod in his head, Joel stepped forward and started.

”As you all know, this is a basic pen,” Joel uttered in a monotonous voice. ”Its body was made out of plastic, it had a retractable tip and soft rubber grip. Still with its value, it writes in black ink with smooth flow.”

He flipped open the folder in front of him, pulled a piece of blank paper from the stack, and uncapped the pen.

”I’m not going to make a big pitch,” he said, ”but I’ll let it speak for itself.”

He pressed the tip of the pen down and wrote his name in clean and simple strokes.

’Joel Hernandez’

”It looks decent, right?” he said with a faint smile.

Gray nodded slowly, curious where he was going with this.

Then Joel looked at them

”May I?” he asked, gesturing toward the table, specifically toward where the interviewers were seated.

Caesar raised an eyebrow, but nodded.

”Go ahead.”

Joel walked over to their side of the table and stopped just a step away from their reach.

”I want to ask something simple,” he said, his voice casual now. ”Do any of you have a pen?”

”All of us have,” Caesar raised his brow with a knowing smirk.

”Then can I look at it, Sirs?” Joel asked them respectfully.

The three shared a look before agreeing with it. They were curious about what he would do.

Joel quickly took the three pens from the table, keeping them in his hand. He appeared to be looking at them. When a second passed, he placed the paper on the table. The one with his name on it.

”Sir, can you write your name on this?”

Gray looked down, then at Joel.

”I would, but... I don’t have a pen.”

Joel’s grin widened.

”Exactly, Sir,” he said, the smile on his face widening even more. ”Now you need one.”

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A/N:

It’s long overdue, but we reached the top 150 in the Golden Ticket Ranking!

Bonus Chapters will be out in a few hours.