Celebrity Junior felt the forgotten rose on his lapel jacket. An stupid thing of his housekeeper. He pulled out the flower and a sting pricked his finger. C. Junior sucked the little drop of blood and felt the scent of the flower, so he decided to keep the rose instead of throwing it away and he asked himself about the meaning of the old houskeeper’s ritual who every morning, on the breakfast tray, put a flower that afterwards she attached to his lapel jacket. An eccentricity of the old woman....
A rose among balance sheets, projects, bar graphs... an useless thing that gave a touch of scent over all these death things. Whilst he smelled the scent of the flawer, his mood was getting calm; a sort o quietness and... gratitude? Yes, gratitude towards the old woman for taking the trouble to brighten up every morning in his grey busy life.
In the other row of seats, his secretary, through her glasses, checked the reports, contracts and she ordered the next meetings and working meals. It had been her work day by day in the last years. And Celebrity Junior realized that he had never even looked at her. As he was smelling the scent of the rose, he felt the urge of thanking her for all that silent work, so he gave her the flower with a smile and asked her to leave all that work, to rest and enjoy the trip.
Then, he went to the pilot’s place; the always-ready pilot: at any time, day and night, always ready to travel from coast to coast, as an arrow. C. Junior remembered that the same day that the pilot’s son was born, an unexpected trip had come up and the man didn’t say a word . He slaped friendly the pilot on his back and asked him –really iterested in and for the first time in his history- for his family. Then, he excused for his lack of regard and made plans to compensate the pilot for the extra work.
Celebrity Junior sat down besides the pilot and looked at the endless landscape. He thought over all his team of collaborators –for first time as persons, not as things- and he considered their lives and their feelings. He realized that he owned a very big company but it was not his only merit: everyone was contributting with his own hard work.
Celebrity Junior asked the pilot to send a message to every manager of every office and branch of his company all over the world:
“In behalf of myself, pass on to every employee –and to yourself- the following message: 'THANK YOU VERY MUCH'”
From the cabin of the pilot, the view was spectacular. The whole airplane smelled to roses. Celebrity Junior, for the first time in his life, felt himself on the top of the universe...