Chapter 18: Fired! Contract Signed
873 Words
As the words fell, both Lerato's father and Lerato froze in disbelief. "What? Mr Dlamini, this..."
But Kagiso didn't spare them another glance. Instead, he turned his attention to Naledi.
Remembering the boss had said not to expose his identity, he spoke courteously but politely. "You're Miss Molefe, correct? Hello, I've already heard about your partnership proposal. Please follow me to my office for a detailed discussion."
"Me?"
Never mind everyone else's shock—Naledi herself was stunned.
If they weren't all calling him Group CEO Kagiso Dlamini, she'd almost suspect she'd run into a fake executive.
"Mr Dlamini, are you certain... you want to discuss a partnership with me?"
She'd only come to try her luck. She'd never imagined it would go this smoothly.
"Of course. I've long heard that Miss Molefe is intelligent, resourceful, brave, and kind, with a strong work ethic. To be honest, when you were still at university, I heard employees recommend you. It's just that after graduation you joined the Molefe family business, so I had no chance to recruit you."
Kagiso spoke eloquently, making Naledi blush.
Kagiso led Naledi towards the executive lift. Only then did Lerato's father and Lerato react, rushing after them in panic.
"Mr Dlamini, I've only just started. How can you fire me? That was a misunderstanding earlier. Naledi and I are university classmates. We were even roommates—we have such a good relationship." Lerato hastily tried to salvage the situation, not forgetting to show off what she thought was her most alluring S-curve. Though she didn't know why Kagiso was treating Naledi so specially, she couldn't lose this Sizwe Holdings job.
Kagiso found her posturing revolting. "You caused a scene in the lobby and tried to hit someone. If our business partners saw that, you'd ruin the company's image completely. If I don't fire you, who should I fire? Oh, and you got in through your father's backdoor connections, didn't you? Do you think the Group is your family's property?"
Lerato's father's legs went weak. He stammered, "Mr Dlamini, Mr Dlamini, please have mercy. My daughter was just playing around with Naledi. She... she graduated from a top university. HR recruited her for talent development."
"Find out who in HR approved this and start a disciplinary review. Remove them from Sizwe's internal hiring pool and circulate the reason to our affiliates' HR and compliance teams." Kagiso coldly interrupted.
You offended the boss's wife and still want to play innocent? Go home and eat yourself.
Finished speaking, Kagiso once again politely invited Naledi. "Miss Molefe, shall we go?"
Naledi's heart beat slightly faster. This was the decisive weight of a major corporate executive.
Fire someone on the spot.
Dare to cause trouble in the lobby? Then the incident went into the record, through HR, compliance and every affiliated company's inbox.
Behind them, Lerato's father had already collapsed to the floor, trembling uncontrollably.
How many companies in Johannesburg now dared to ignore Sizwe Holdings' compliance notices? If Sizwe removed him from its hiring pool and every affiliate heard why, what decent corporate job could he possibly find for a while?
"Dad... has Mr Dlamini lost his mind, or has he been bewitched by that b***h Naledi Molefe? Why fire us. I'm going to find Lindiwe and tell her."
Lerato shouted indignantly. Seeing this, her father's fury exploded. He crawled up from the floor and viciously slapped her across the face.
"You still don't understand what you've done. How did I raise such an i***t? Mr Dlamini has put this on record with HR and compliance—we're finished at Sizwe, and every affiliate will know. Rather than be dragged down by you later, I might as well beat you to death now, you useless girl."
The scene descended into chaos. Security threw them out directly.
...
Naturally, Naledi had no idea what happened afterwards. She followed Kagiso to the private conference room on the top floor.
The top floor was reserved for the CEO. Senior executives occasionally came up to report on work, so it seemed quite empty. But at a glance, the black, white, and grey three-tone business style was strong and extremely efficient.
"Miss Molefe, please sit." Kagiso smiled. "What would you like to drink?"
"A fruit tea would be fine." Naledi returned a polite smile. No matter how nervous she felt inside, she had to appear confident.
She took out the partnership proposal she'd prepared. "Mr Dlamini, this is our Molefe Group's supplier proposal. Please have a look."
Kagiso accepted the proposal and flipped through a few pages casually, pretending to read.
Naledi nervously began, "I know the Molefe Group isn't Sizwe Holdings' first choice, and our scale can't compare to those major corporations. But precisely because of this, if Sizwe Holdings awards us even a supplier package, the significance to us would be extraordinary. Compared to major corporations, we'll attach twelve times the importance. Whether it's materials or production, we'll follow your compliance and quality standards and even exceed them."
"Good, then let's sign the conditional supplier agreement."
"No problem, I'll definitely meet your requirements... Wait, sign? You've agreed to award us a package just like that?"
The long speech Naledi had prepared came to an abrupt halt.
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