by Gian Bordin
Syd Twan rose and said: "One of my nominations has already been preempted. My clients have instructed me to nominate Atun Caruna, as well as myself."
This time Ko Young was more forthcoming.
"My clients further insist that the shareholders on the floor submit the name of one of their number to represent their interests. Since my clients hold 52 percent of the shares —"
A wave of murmurs traveled through the floor and a new wave of agitated minds assaulted her.
"— and are willing to vote for the person so nominated, that person is deemed elected. I propose that the current company secretary organizes this process after the close of the official part of this special meeting."
Renewed raising of eyebrows on the podium.
"Moreover, my clients instructed me to vote for all nominations made."
Syd Twan murmured to her: "What I do is not strictly by the rules, but I guess they’ll be as glad to get it over with fast as you are."
"The nominated members have been duly elected," pronounced Ko Young. "I declare this meeting closed."
"Point of order."
"What is it now, Dr. Twan?"
"The meeting cannot be closed before a new chairman of the board has been elected."
Widespread nodding greeted his remark.
"I call for nominations for chairman of the board." Ko Young immediately turned to Kim Deng. "Do you want —"
But Chen Young preempted him: "I nominate Yuen-mong Shen." He again winked at her.
He wants to get me on his side, the wily fox, she mused, but could not suppress her smile.
This time the murmurs, both verbal and mental, rose sharply and she tried to shield herself against the latter. It took Ko Young several seconds to restore order. "Any other nominations?"
"Ko, accept my nomination first," he was reminded by Chen Young.
"Nomination accepted. Any other nominations?"
He looked around the podium, appealing for help, but all remained silent. After an agonizing pause, he croaked again: "Miss Shen is elected chairman without opposition." He slumped heavily into his chair as if he had just signed his own warrant of execution.
Chen Young rose. "Yuen-mong, my hearty congratulations." He began clapping, reluctantly followed by other people on the podium and the people on the floor. "Would you like to address the meeting."
She heard Syd Twan’s whisper: "Go ahead, put your stamp on it."
She rose briefly. "Thank you, grandfather, not at this time."
Chen Young nodded approvingly and then nudged his son who looked at him with a vague expression. The old man shrugged his shoulders and then addressed the meeting again: "This meeting is closed. The new board will convene tomorrow afternoon at 15:00 hours in the company board room. And now all of you are cordially invited to stay for refreshments."
Tables loaded with delicacies and champagne were rolled into the space below the podium.
"Let’s go. I cannot face these people yet," murmured Yuen-mong to Atun and got up. Her need to escape the confused minds and the renewed hostility assailing her was suddenly overwhelming. She started walking out of the hall, Atun and Anouk at her side.
Syd Twan rushed after her. "Yuen-mong, you can’t leave yet. You must meet the other people of the new board."
"It can wait for tomorrow, Syd."
"But —"
"No but. Thanks for your help, Syd. Bye," and she continued walking.
Once outside, Anouk said: "I’m glad we left. I don’t think I could have stood those vile vibes in that room for much longer."
"That’s the bane of our gift, Anouk."
She took Atun’s hand and her lips briefly brushed his left cheek. "Another step accomplished. Thanks, Atun," she murmured and then continued more cheerfully: "Let’s go and find a nice quiet place where we can have a drink and good food."
There was no need to say that Anouk was included. They both hooked arms with Atun, who smiled at them, and they left the UniCom convention center. At the taxi stand, they took a self-guided cab. As the vehicle left the square of the convention hall, she could see the camera crew rush out from its entrance and look around searchingly. We just made it, she mused.
But if she thought they had escaped, she was mistaken. Hardly had they put their champagne glasses together for a toast when the underwater nature scene in the huge holoscreen that dominated the far corner of the bar was suddenly filled by her face, and a voice announced: "Valuable viewers, Yuen-mong has done it again. You will forgive us for interrupting the current program to bring you the most sensational news bombshell of the year. Less than two weeks ago Yuen-mong Shen shattered UniCom’s monopoly in space communications, a few minutes ago she has taken control of UniCom with over fifty percent of the shares. She has just been elected chairperson of the board, the first female top executive of UniCom ever and the only one of all Foundation controlled companies. How did she do it? Nobody knows yet. Our news crew is currently preparing to interview her. We will bring it live to you shortly."
"Not if I can help it," Yuen-mong muttered, glad that their niche table was in semi-darkness, and she had her back to the room. "They didn’t even mention that you were elected onto the board, the first non-Foundation member."
"I don’t mind. They know who’s important," Atun replied smiling.
"You’re important to me, very important." She touched his hand. "You will be my right hand." She sensed Anouk’s longing, as the girl filled her eyes with Atun. She reached over and took her hand. "And you Anouk will be part of our team. I will put you in charge of training mediums. Will you accept this task?"
"Oh, Yuen-mong, I don’t trust myself to do that."
"But I trust you, and I will help you and, obviously, your salary has to be commensurate. How about 100,000 credits a year? You think this is fair?"
Anouk opened her mouth, but no sound came out.
"I think this is fair to start with. Just nod, Anouk," chuckled Atun.
When the waitress came to ask for their food order, Yuen-mong saw that she had been recognized. For an instant, she was afraid that the girl was going to flee, so she waved her closer and whispered in her ear: "If you want to keep your job, you tell absolutely nobody that I’m here, and you won’t regret it. You understand?"
She smiled at the waitress. The flustered girl nodded. She got an extravagant tip when they left.
* * *
"By the grace of the gods, why did you nominate her as chairman of the board?" yelled Ko Young at his father when they were alone for the first time after the meeting.
"Control yourself… That is what she wanted; that is what she would have gotten with her 52 percent; so why not give it to her gracefully? Or did you want the humiliation of having the news-broadcast blare out that you lost the ballot. Son, hasn’t it sunk in yet that she licked us at our own game … a twenty-year-old girl who six months ago lived in the stone age? … She licked us. Do you hear? And don’t blame her. You got the ball rolling with your greed, buying her shares. That’s what made it possible for her to buy the shares, your blind greed."
"Syd Twan let us down. He should have warned us; he is Foundation."
"Syd Twan is simply another pawn in her game. He is taken by her, as he was by her mother. Don’t you have eyes? But all is not lost. At least she is inside now, and with her is instantcom."
"You think she will bring it into UniCom?" Ko Young’s eyes lit up.
"What else can she do? She used all her funds to gain control over UniCom."
"But having her as the chairman of the board? A female. This is unheard of. We can’t even call her chairman."
"Let her decide what she wants to be called."
"But she has no commercial experience. She will ruin the company."
"Tell me, son, if you had finessed one of our competitors the way she finessed us, would you call yourself a genius? Would you? Yes, you would. That is what she is." He had no fear that she would not be one of the best leaders UniCom would ever ha
ve. She only needed the right kind of guidance, and she would learn quickly. She had what it took, courage, determination, a nose to recognize an opportunity and grab it, ability to judge risks and willingness to take them, and last but not least a good measure of ruthlessness when it came to dealing with opponents. In fact, she will make a better chairman than you. But he did not want to say that and humiliate his son even deeper.
"We will have to neutralize her, manipulate her. That will not be easy, she is so bloody-minded."
"You leave that to me, son, and if you want to do her a favor, I urge you petition the Foundation that they take her lover in as a member. Don’t shake your head. If you don’t, somebody else will. It will look much better if it comes from one of us and without delay."
His son looked dubious, but then shrugged and left.
Chen Young marveled at how he had stared at certain ruin yesterday and today was looking at even brighter prospects than ever. UniCom’s leading position in space communications was assured once and for all. And now the Young dynasty even controlled the company outright. With the same stroke of hand she also had rid them of the cumbersome equal share agreement with the Dengs. He was looking forward to her visit.
22
"Rise, my granddaughter."
Yuen-mong raised her head, responding to her grandfather’s smile, and then rose slowly. She kissed his cheek.
"Sit, Chairman." He winked at her, pointing to the chair next to his.
"How would chief director sound, grandfather?" she replied, sitting.
He chuckled. "I told my son that you would find a suitable title." His face turned serious. "It is good to see you again… I believe that I have finally begun to understand you. You blame UniCom for the death of your parents. In your eyes, all those who were in charge at that time are guilty and that includes me. Am I right?"
It felt as if he were trying to read her mind. She met his gaze firmly. She was not going to waver. "All of them, grandfather? … I hope not. In time, I will know."
"And if you know, what will you do?"
"It’s not a question of if, but of when, and to answer your question: I don’t know. I have given it no thought yet, nor is it important for me now."
"Revenge could be fatal to you. I’m sure you are aware of this."
A faint smile played around her eyes, but she did not answer.
"Have you ever been afraid, Yuen-mong?"
"Yes… It is a useful emotion if it leads to positive action."
"You know that I love you."
"Yes, grandfather, I can feel it."
"It is me who is afraid for you. Do you promise that you will not take any rash action, neither before nor after you know, but will ask me for advice?"
"I do and I will… and right now I need your guidance and advice for my first board meeting. Will you tell me how you conducted these meetings when you were chairman?"
"I will, but before that, I want you to have this present that was destined for your mother."
He took a small velvet-covered box from his coat pocket and gave it her. She opened it. A platinum brooch in the form of a bouquet of flowers, held together by a large, exceptionally brilliant diamond, each flower a small diamond, sparkled at her.
"It’s beautiful. Thank you, grandfather." She kissed his cheek. "I will treasure it. In fact, I will wear it right now." She pinned it above the rise of her left breast.
"You are a beautiful young woman, Yuen-mong."
She responded with a smile.
During the next half-hour, she listened to her grandfather. He first described the personality of each of the people on the board. She learned that without exception each board member also held an executive or managing position in the firm. Her uncle was currently the CEO, Kim Deng, board co-chairman and vice-president of finance, Xi Deng vice-president of research and development, a position he had held for the last 22 years — so he was my father’s direct boss, she concluded — Cor Deng served as his right hand. The older of Kim Deng’s sons, Hak was in charge of the HST division, the younger one, Ron, of all manufacturing plants; Pat headed UniCom’s commercial space fleet, and Dan, Bee’s husband, had exploration and mining, although neither was on the board any longer. In the past, the board co-chairman automatically was allocated to the other controlling family. Deng and Young male descendants were always groomed to take over the top executive and managing positions, while a number of middle management positions were occupied by men related through marriage, all rising in rank with age and experience. What about performance and ability? she wondered.
When he began giving her advice on how she should conduct the meetings, she interrupted him promptly: "Tell me first, how you did it and then I will listen to your advice."
He smiled and told her. She had little doubt that he had been a strong, autocratic leader who had kept a very tight reign on all things, using delegation only for the details of operational matters — not a style that would suit her.
"Kao Deng, my successor had a very similar approach. Unfortunately he died rather suddenly."
"And what style did my uncle use?"
"He was still developing his and often sought my advice."
"What do you advise should be his function now?"
"You leave him in his position as CEO."
She did not like that option, but her face betrayed nothing.
"I think that until you gain experience, you do not get involved in the day-to-day business and rely on the current people."
"I will think about that."
"The commercial development of instantcom can be neatly slotted into the current HST division."
It took him a long time to come to that, she mused.
"I see you smile. Isn’t it obvious that instantcom will be UniCom’s next triumph? That has been your plan from the beginning."
"Grandfather, you seem to know more than I do. But rest assured, my father’s invention will be developed within UniCom."
"Yuen-mong — complete the dream, you live up to your name. But now it is time to be chief director."
* * *
They were driven to UniCom’s skyscraper in the upper BD, close to the Sanctum. Atun and Syd Twan were waiting in the entrance lobby that occupied the entire ground floor. Its three-storey high ceiling, its glass-covered exterior and the abundance of luscious greens and bushes imparted the impression of being in the open. She felt Syd’s admiring gaze on her. She had taken extra care to look her best and knew that the conservative but stylish long black dress and her high heels — the right one adjusted to compensate for her limp — made her seem even taller. She had used no make-up, only a bit of rouge on her lips. Syd’s face paint was heavier. Except for the diamond brooch, she wore no other jewelry.
Her entry was planned when everybody else was already seated. She had thought hard and long about how to approach these people. It had kept her awake half the night. They had to believe that she was in complete control. Conveying that image had become second nature when confronting the savages on Aros, but these people would immediately spot any chinks in her armor and exploit it.
At the exact appointed time, she took a deep breath, let an aura of calm take hold in her mind, and entered the room ahead of Atun and Syd. She felt reassured about the impression she had just made on these people. Three seats at the top of the oval table had been left empty. She took the one at the head, Atun to her left, Syd Twan to her right. Deliberately, she let her gaze roam from face to face, briefly probing the minds. She sensed admiring curiosity in Kim Deng’s sons, cautious reserve from himself, animosity by Xi and his other son, the usual confusion in her uncle, pride and a feeling of possessiveness in Syd Twan, anxiety in Atun.
Chen Young took charge of introducing her and Atun to those directors she did not know. He did it, she felt, both out of pride and to spare his son the embarrassment.
The introductions over, she knew her moment of truth had come. She fought the flutter of doubt that gathering to invade her mind and ad
dressed her audience while remaining seated, both hands firmly on the table. "Gentlemen, I have no experience in giving speeches and I do not intend to give one now. I will be brief." She paused, suppressing the tremor that threatened to creep into her voice and would give her away. "As my first duty, I welcome the two new outside directors, Mr. Philip Vashny, the small shareholder’s representative, and Dr. Syd Twan, my personal choice." She nodded to both.
"I guess most of you feel as uncomfortable about my presence and my role as I do myself. I have no illusions that it will be easy to gain your trust and acceptance. Why should you trust a twenty-year-old, and a female in addition, to lead one of the most powerful companies in the galaxy? You would be foolish to do so. So, I do not expect your trust or acceptance, but I expect that you will give me the opportunity to prove to you that I may indeed be worthy of such trust and acceptance.
"To set your mind at ease, I hasten to say that initially I do not intend to get involved in the day-to-day running of the company. I am a complete novice in this business and I am willing to trust you, unless your actions prove to me that such trust is not merited. Let me also assure you that I welcome clearly argued advice, even unsolicited one, and I hope I will get plenty of it. However, the final decision will always be mine. This also means that the final responsibility for the consequences rests with me.
"My grandfather gave me a rundown on the functions each of you performs. He also told me that the first order of business of a new chief director is to appoint a co-chairperson. In the past, when UniCom was jointly controlled by the Deng and Young families, this has been a simple matter of protocol. Things have changed. The Deng and Young families have become the two major minority shareholders —"
There was a sharp intake of breaths by several people.
"— yes, gentlemen, Atun Caruna and I form a third block, and we will remain independent. Therefore, a new arrangement is called for. I will re-appoint Mr. Kim Deng as co-chairman and he will be joined by Mr. Ko Young as the second co-chairman. I will keep for myself the role of chief executive officer." Without even looking, she felt her grandfather’s stern disapproving face on her. "I will be assisted in this role for day-to-day matters by Ko Young, in his new role as vice-president of operations." This had been Syd Twan’s advice.