Chapter 23 - Set The Record Straight

"As a true advocate for keeping the lines and boundaries clear and a strong believer that any misconceptions will only ever come back to bite the people involved in the situation in the ass. It is inevitable and I can vouch for that fact, both from personal and second-hand experience. The truth, no matter how well hidden always has a pesky way of coming out of whichever grave you tried to bury it in, and for legal reasons let's say that this is all figuratively speaking of course. Now, of course, I don't recommend hiding the truth, in fact, I do think that honesty and integrity are the best policy. However, with all that being said, in the short time, it took for me to say, I have indeed thought of at least ten different scenarios where the truth, may after all now be the best policy. Then there is the matter of timing.

Over the years I have learnt that time can very often be the most fickle thing you will ever encounter in your entire life, and I am including the court of public opinion under the bracket of 'thing'. It has the funny and mostly, downright annoying habit if being slow when you desperately need it to speed up just a little and gone in the blink of an eye when you just want to save the moment. I know strictly speaking that technically, it is the human perception that means that time is this super-turbocharged phenomenon and the next, like a car with no fuel: absolutely stagnant. We could go into the whole argument or rather fascinating rabbit hole that is the wonders of how humans perceive the world and neuroscience but that is neither here nor there and by far out of my scope of knowledge. Either way, I have always found that it is so much harder to be got and tell the complete truth and nothing but the truth after a certain time has passed. After all, what is the point in reopening a healed wound?

However, in order to avoid the whole brain ache of the 'whether it is morally and ethically correct to lie?' debate, I believe that to progress without the shadow of a doubt that something is waiting in the wings, just itching for someone to use the ambiguity against me, I might as well dispel the matter once and for all. By setting the record straight."

Selena Yingyue Zhao, who had made the decision, on her way to work that morning, that having everyone call her Selena instead of mangling with the intricacies of the Chinese pronunciation of her name, was fairly sure that the board who sat in front of her would agree. And they did.

"Ladies and gentlemen, members of the board, I'd like to apologise profusely for arriving late this morning and hope that your time was used productively by reviewing the liquidity reports and figures from Lee Corporations. I would like to formally introduce myself to you all as Selena Yingyue Zhao. You will all have known my father, possibly to a degree more than I myself have known him, after all, they did say that he was married to his work. I realise that for the most part, especially given this year, as I am not acting CEO, my provisional guardian is, however, there will be more than one fundamental change in the way that Zhao Hai Industries conducts its business. My father gained the respect of all of his employees out of their fear of losing their job at the click of a finger, which may have worked for him, however, he was an intimidating man. I am quite the opposite, both in the literal and figurative sense. With that being said, I will also not be heading this company in the same dictatorship style of leadership that my father once did."

There was a small muttering from the members of the board, Elise looked up at Selena with a degree of concern which Selena ignored and ploughed on anyway. "I am not my father and therefore I do not wish for business to be conducted in such a way. There have already been several speculative tabloids which have burdened me with the title of 'Dragon Lady', I will have PR shut those down immediately after this meeting."

"Selena, I will stop you there," the man who had reprimanded her earlier for her tardiness stood up and instantly, although Selena did not know who he was, felt an uncontrollable shiver run up her spine. She fought her natural instinct to lower her gaze away from his calculating eyes and stared defiantly back at the man. "How exactly then," his tone was measured and only a little short of threatening, "do you propose we keep this company afloat and turning over revenue if you do not keep your employees in check? It is a tried method, it is effective and we all know that, so why on earth are you doing a complete 180?"

"Moving away from my father's preferred method of fear will not mean my employees will be out of line, I will be strict but also fair."

"Without the element of fear, they will run amuck. Young woman, you may have gone to business school but I'm telling you now, empathy and sympathy will get you nowhere in this world. It is cutthroat, it is ruthless and you will sink if you carry on with that kind of mentality."

"With all due respect sir, as much as I value your expertise and how your years of experience will hopefully be helpful guidance in the future, however, this is the one thing I will never compromise on, I will not become my father."

"You are filling the shoes of a legacy, your father will remain a legacy and his name will go down in history. Are you really going to risk all that he has created for some hippie feelings and being nice to everyone nonsense?"

"I am filling my father's shoes but not in the literal sense, and I refuse to accept his tyrannical reign for the sake of it, purely based on the fact that you are too set in your dinosaur ways to change it."

"I am only concerned about the future or lack thereof of this company. It's time to stop dreaming Selena. This is not some case study in a cushy, heated classroom in the city. This is the very future of the company, people's livelihoods are at stake, hell the whole economic landscape could well be changed by this one rash decision that you seem to be adamant on making."

"For the better," Selena interrupted and the old man looked a little shocked at being cut off so abruptly. "The social landscape is changing, so are the laws. You've never been on the socialite scene, you don't understand. Words can kill, and a tarnished reputation will get you absolutely nowhere. I get that you're concerned, if it's the profitability, I will do everything in my power to at least break even this year. However, management here is completely out of the question. It had been barely two weeks since my father's passing and the employees are shirking their responsibilities; managers are not doing their jobs; no one is in control. It's like the aftermath of oppression. The more you suppress them and make them work under fear, the tighter the spring is coiled, and the more likely there will be some kind of strike in the best-case scenario."

Selena took a deep breath and a sip of her water. Before she could plough on with her speech the girl dressed in all black who looked only a little older than her, stood up. She swept her long ruler-straight hair back off of her face and fixed a piercing gaze onto Selena. Then she quirked a smile at her and nodded. "I like her, she's quite something. Count my vote for whatever she decides; if we are voting that is. " She picked up her shoulder bag, a delicate small purse hanging from a thick silver chain. "I'll be off. Sigmund," she addressed the old man who had been arguing with Selena moments before, "you're old, as much as you want to pause the world and live in the 'good old days', it keeps moving. Keep up, or you won't be on the ride for much longer." With that, she marched out of the room with her head held high.

Selena couldn't help but admire the woman's confidence but quickly pulled her attention back to the audience at hand. "I hope I have set the record straight, and if you have no further objections to my plans, I will have an objectives list and minutes sent out to you for this meeting by tomorrow morning."

There was a general murmuring but no one asked a direct question at which Selena was relieved for and she quickly called out "meeting adjourned, please help yourself to refreshments on the way out."

As soon as the last of the board who were not familiar to her already, mainly all bar Elise and Adrian Lee, she collapsed onto the chair behind her and let out a deep breath. At least she had set the record straight once and for all. But also pissed off at least three members of the board. Oops.