Hello everyone!
This chapter has mentions of obesity and diets that were popular in the 1990's. This is only the first part of the chapter though. Skip to the next line if that triggers you.
Italics = A language that is not English.
Bien sur = Means 'Off course!' in Canadian French.
The green dress Annie is referring to is what launched Google images. Look it up if you have not heard/read about it!
You got the rub of the green!
'I can't believe we got the animal testing approval so fast. Let's see. It's been almost three weeks since the mice got their first dosage. Time to see how they are doing' decided the man. He went towards the red cage first. The mice inside it looked healthy at first glance. 'No discharge from the nose or eyes. Can't see any spots of fur missing either. They look a bit slimmer though' observed Norman. He opened the door to the cage, and picked up one of the mice. The male shut the cage before he went over to the kitchen scale they used. 'The mouse weighed 1,3 ounces when we started the experiment. It weighs 1,2 ounces now. That's a weight reduction of nearly 10%. Better check it's body composition' decided the redhead.
He took the mouse over to the machine they used to check that. A pair of scarlet eyes looked at him with curiosity. "Sit still little one" muttered the man as he turned on the machine. It started to hum as it checked the rodent's body composition. The numbers appeared on the computer screen a minute later. Small animals like rodents did not take long to check. Forest green eyes checked the numbers on the paper with those on the screen. 'What the...that's interesting. The mouse has lost quite a bit of body fat. Almost a third of that weight loss was visceral fat. In addition, the muscles seems to be stronger. No wonder it's lean. Better check the other mice to see if this is red component only' thought the scientist.
The male laid the little animal back in its cage. Next, he wrote the numbers on the computer screen onto the test sheet. 'Huh. I wonder if this will have the same effect on humans. We could sell it to a drug company if it does. The diet industry certainy gets creative at times. Like the South Beach and Atkins diet' mused Norman. He considered himself lucky with having a high metabolism. Furthermore, stress tended to curb his appetite. Exercising a couple times a week only added to this. The man could imagine how things would become a problem. Almost every fifth person he saw on the street looked obese. Thankfully, his family was not a part of that statistic.
'Right. Today is November 14th. I better check the Thanksgiving event preparations once I get back to the office. It's only two days away after all' recalled the redhead. OSCORP arranged a Thanksgiving event the weekend before the holiday itself. This was a very popular event among the staff members. Another bonus for the male was that the event boosted morale in OSCORP. Hence why the CEO made sure that the party did not disappoint. Thankfully, 3 West Club was the hotel OSCORP choosed for their visitors. Said hotel contained a large room with an outdoor area for the OSCORP employees.
The scientist smiled as he approached the mice on the yellow component. 'Right. Time to check how team yellow is doing' thought the man as he approached the cage. Everything was going great so far.
The female clicked the 'save' button once she finished her spellcheck. 'There we go...the report looks good. Better print it out tomorrow morning' decided Annie. The IT department were asked to write a short report about the databases. Each member of the team were asked to write about the specific data bases they worked at. Fortunately, the young woman did quite a bit of that in college.
A knock on the door made her jump a little. "Come in!" told the brunette. Her mother opened the door. She was in New York this week for a Christmas modeling event. Today was her day off. Adele visited her sister first before meeting her daughter at OSCORP. They went to Central Park afterwards. Even though the Chinese-Canadian was an intern, she did not earn that much. Most of the money went to pay her rent, student loan plus food.
"How are you doing? I want to talk to you about something. Didn't you say that you had a Thanksgiving event this weekend?" inquired the woman. "Yes. Why?" inquired the younger female. "Do you have an outfit to wear?" asked Adele. "Not really. I thought I could use my suit" replied the intern. She looked a bit ashamed. "Well, I have brought just the right thing. I got it after a photoshoot in Bordeaux. Pretty sure it was in the early 80s. It's a gorgeous green dress" told the woman. "Wait a minute. Are we talking gorgeous green dress a la Jennifer Lopez? Because that is NOT appropriate for a work party!" exclaimed the female. Adele shook her head.
"Sweetie, I swear this is work appropriate. This photoshoot was inspired by Greek goddesses. I was Demeter. The neckline is the same as your sweater. You'll be fine. Especially since it's a maxi dress. You'll be wearing heels too, right?" inquired her mother. "Bien sur! I'll be wearing these!" stated Annie. She pulled out a pair of black pumps with a three-inch heel. "Excellent. They will be perfect for the dress. Look at this" said the Frenchwoman. She unzipped the garment bag. The young woman felt her eyes widen upon the sight. Inside the garment bag laid an emerald green Grecian-inspired maxi dress. The dress was made out of emerald green silky material. The Chinese-Canadian felt her eyes widen when she saw the label. It was from a classic French fashion house.
"THANK YOU MUM!" squealed the female before she hugged her taller parent. "You're very welcome sweetie. I no longer use it, so I passed it on to you. I know that dresses like these cost a fortune anyways. With your job, you'll need something like this. Let's try it on" told the Frenchwoman. Her daughter removed the dress carefully from the garment bag. She unzipped it before she stepped into it. The older female helped her zip up the dress. It fit quite well considering that her daughter was a bit smaller on top.
"It looks gorgeous on you! Let's check in the mirror" told Adele. The duo walked into the bathroom. The brunette stared at herself with a slack jaw. Firstly, the dress suited her frame to a T. She did not look lumpy or too small in weird places. Secondly, the colour was gorgeous. It made her taupe brown eyes pop despite the lack of makeup. Lastly was the dress itself. It was not too modern or formal for a company party. She could even wear this to a wedding or a somewhat formal birthday party. The length was the only issue. The dress was two inches too long. However, her aunt probably knew about some good tailors here in New York.
"Whoa. This is MAGNIFICENT!" whispered Annie. She did not look like the awkward intern that walked around in sweaters and jeans. This dress made her look like a classy lady. "It is. What kind of makeup do you think you'll use?" inquired the older woman. "Uhm - not something colourful. Perhaps something gray or shimmery. I will definitely going to have a bit of lipstick" stated the younger woman. "I think that is a smart choice. Now, let's go to buy your auntie a birthday present" told the Frenchwoman.
"Now the component trial. I have the results right here" told the man. He showed the results on the next PowerPoint slide. All of the board members blinked when they read the information. "This is just what we expected, or even better. Mister Li is going to translate these data to Mandarin. These data will be sent with registered mail to the Chinese office. Now for OSCORP. We should be able to move forwards in January. For now, we need to concentrate on preparing for the next year. The IT department has already done a great job with the databases" told Norman with a smile. Jay and Nicolas looked mildly proud of the praise they got.
"Doctor Octavius is coming in today to help out the robotics department. He should be able to file together the last pieces of your project. Our accountants are probably working 24/7 right now. They will give me the numbers in a couple weeks. Lastly is the Thanksgiving party. It is going as per usual at the 3 West club tomorrow. Remember that the dress code is black tie. We are starting at 6 PM. The food will be traditional Thanksgiving food plus some salads. There won't be any fish or shellfish due to allergies. Thanks to mister Balkan, we got a good DJ who are going to play some good songs for us. Any questions?" finished the man.
Everyone shook their head or blinked. "Excellent. Meeting is over" told the CEO. Everyone left the room. The male turned off his computer before he let out a sigh of relief. It had been a few busy months. He could not wait for Thanksgiving to come around. Especially since his sister was coming to New York to visit them. Sure, she was a bit annoying like most older sisters. The redhead could not imagine not having her in his life though. He still remembered how she taught him how to clean wounds or analyze poems. Thanks to her, the man managed to improve his English grade.
He shut his laptop before he went back to his office. Some sunlight peeked through the windows of the OSCORP tower. 'Huh. We got nice weather for once' observed Norman. When he reached the staircase, he saw two people from the IT department. Both of them were carrying a couple of folders. They were labeled 'computer reports'. "Good morning mister Osborne!" greeted the woman. Her British accent paired with the polite smile made him smile back. "Good morning" told the young brunette man behind her. The male gave him a nod. Suddenly, he noticed a pinkish shine on the younger guys lips. 'Hm? What is that? Are my eyes playing a trick?' thought the redhead.
The man shook his head as he climbed the last steps. He walked into his office with the computer in his hands. For once, his office was illuminated with sunlight. A small 'bip' could be heard when the CEO started charging his computer. 'Now for the mail' decided Norman. He flipped through the envelopes. 'Letter from the tax office...cell phone bill...those are going to the economy department. Advert for...Lancôme juicy tubes?'. It was an A5 advertising with a gorgeous brunette girl. She was apparently kissing a giant ice cube with a rose. The image made him think of the young man he saw in the staircase. 'I did not think men could wear lipgloss. Hm...maybe it's the new thing to do. I'll throw this in the trash. Too bad this is an advert. The girl on it does not look too bad' observed the male.
He picked up his coffee cup before heading down to the cafeteria. It was nearly 10 AM, meaning that his caffeine levels were dropping. The redhead walked down the staircase as fast as possible. There would not be much traffic in the cafeteria at this hour. He smiled when he entered the near empty cafeteria. The only people there were Cheng and Li who were checking the reports. A smell of fresh coffee made the man smile in happiness. This could not get much better.
Suddenly, the scientist felt a strong pat on his back. He spun around with wide eyes while his heart beat like a drum. "Norman! It has been a while" greeted the taller man. "Otto. I swear, you nearly made my heart stop" muttered the leaner male. "Don't worry. I know CPR. Do you have a few minutes?" inquired Otto. His curious brown eyes made the CEO smile in return. It had been a while since he spoke with his friend. "Sure Otto. Do you want some coffee?" asked the man. "Yes please. I'll get us a seat" told the brunette.
Norman found another coffee mugs before he went for the coffee pot. He poured the hot coffee into the two mugs. Next, his forest green eyes looked for his friend. He spotted his fellow scientist sitting near a window. The male walked over to his friend with the coffee. "Here you go Otto. Freshly brewed coffee" told the redhead. "Thank you. To science" told the other male while lifting his mug. "To science. Cheers" replied the man. This was a small ritual they had since they were in college.
"So...thanks for the party invitation. Rose and I are looking forward to it. I even ironed my tie" started the scientist. There was a spark of humour in his eyes. "Glad to hear you're looking forward to it. Even if you have to iron your tie. Did you submit your songs?" inquired the CEO. "Yes. We decided at 'Take me home, country roads' for the Thanksgiving one. 'Let it snow' was our Christmas song. We're going to her younger brother's house for Thanksgiving. Can't wait to see my niece and nephew again. What about you? Going to Canuck country?" joked the male. His friend let out a chuckle. "Nope. She's coming down to the big apple this year actually. It'll be nice to see her again Harry is looking forward to it as well" told the shorter man.
The duo glanced at each other in silence for a few moments. Both of them came from families that did not have good parents. Otto lost his father during his first year of college. His mother passed away shortly after his thirthieth birthday. Norman lost his mother eleven years ago while his father died fifteen years ago. Thankfully, both of them had either siblings or in-laws. "How is Harry by the way?" inquired the man after taking a sip of coffee. "He is doing well. His grades are a bit better. Then again, I got a good tutor for his English class. Literature student" explained the male. "Glad to hear that. I hope he keeps going the right way. That reminds me - Rosie got a position at NYU. She's going to help out some of the literature professors with their research" informed the brunette.
His friend gave him a genuine smile that looked anything but creepy. "I am very happy on Rosie's behalf. She deserves to get that kind of job" told the man. The other male gave him a nod in appreciation. "She does. I cross my fingers that she will like it there" told Otto. The duo looked out of the window. Rays of sun were peeking through the lead gray skies.
I hoped you enjoyed reading this chapter! Reviews are always appreciated.