Perhaps the gods were jealous of his good life too, so they had to make certain arrangements to disrupt his hard-earned peace. The phone vibrated nonstop on his bedside table. Larry reached for it and peeked at the caller ID. Next thing he knew, his weariness disappeared without a trace. He sat up abruptly, removed the covers, and rushed out of the room.
What’s wrong? Larry’s sudden rise from the bed woke Joan up. She rubbed her eyes, still drowsy. Did Leslie wet the bed again? When Larry re-entered the room, he did not look so good. His wife noticed that his face was wet. Instincts told her something was awry. Joan sat up, pulled the blanket over Leslie, and cautiously climbed out of bed.
She was getting increasingly distraught with each passing day as surprises kept popping up. The familiar and overwhelming anxiety was eating her.
A while later she heard Larry speak. He said, as calmly as he could, “Alpire Group has acquired the fifth branch.”
“Alpire Group”, “acquisition”, “branch”… These terms got thrown about frequently these days. She was becoming sensitive to each of those words and would feel nauseous for no reason.
The next moment, Larry put on his suit. He stood in front of the mirror fixing his tie. He only needed to get the knot right. He seemed to have lost the leisurely mood he had once upon a time, when he would eagerly make sure his attire was spick and span.
“I’ll have to convene a board meeting. We have to come up with countermeasures quickly. Up till now, we’ve been too passive.”
In the directors’ conference hall, Larry sat in the main seat, dressed in formal work attire. His face appeared gloomy, as though a large raincloud was hanging over his head. On both sides of the long council table, there were ashen-faced junior executives, calculative shareholders with grayish beards who kept their heads low, as well as assistants who could not stop themselves from sweating profusely as they surveyed the room.
“I’m sure you all have picked up on the news lately. The ones about Alpire Group acquiring our branches. As we all know, Alpire Group is a company which has never collaborated with us before. So, for it to suddenly be capable of acquiring five of our branches in one go, I’m sure you all want to know how they did it. That is the reason why I call for this board meeting today.”
“Ah, wasn’t it four branches just yesterday? How did it get to five?”
The attendees began to whisper and discuss among themselves.
Larry cleared his throat and, at the same time, tapped on the bronze tabletop. Silence fell on the room once more. He always had a knack for authority and the kind of aura that demanded attention.
A potbellied senior director voiced out his disdain, “Are you doubting our loyalty, Mr. Norton?” He had been working for Norton Corporation throughout most of his life and had little respect for the young president.
“I’m not doubting anyone here. You can see for yourself the company’s offer on wage offer and remuneration, how the management has been doing over the years. You can even compare them to other companies in the industry. I won’t be suspicious of anyone for no reason. After all, we live in a society enforced by law. For everything we say and do, there must be evidence to match…”
Then, Larry’s speech took a turn. “But each of us knows what we did, and each of us knows where we stand. The truth will speak for itself.”
“Hmph,” the senior director scowled. “A gigantic company like Norton Corporation should be more than capable. Even its branches should be able to stand out among the rest. Everyone in the entire corporation is a hard worker. You don’t need to tell me that. Do you want to know what I think? I think Mr. Norton needs to take a closer look at himself!” He put forward a plausible defense.
Larry snickered under his breath. “Mr. Harley, you’ve dedicated much of your life to the company and I respect that. However, I hope you can be mindful of one fact. Seniority and experience no longer take precedence, and age no longer translates to ability. “
Larry turned his gaze away from the older man and raised his voice, “Of course, I have absolute confidence in the financial prowess of our company, but even an ant hole could wreck a mammoth bridge. This time, five of our branches have been acquired. We have to find out which part of the company’s operation is being taken advantage of!”
