Chapter 11:Kate’s Idea
1090 Words
Kate trailed beside her father confidently as they walked into the board room which is filled up with seasoned business men mostly old men.
The room was hushed for a moment at her entrance, then filled with murmurs. Some do not recognize her at first and had to be reminded by their peers.
“Who is she? I have never seen her before,” A man asked, sizing Kate up.
“Mr Smith, you don’t know?” Another chuckled. “That is Miss Kate Obisidian, the Chairman’s only daughter.”
“What is she doing here? I thought she had rejected her father’s offer of working in the company a year ago?”
“Maybe she’s here to play dress up,” Another commented under his breath, drawing laughter from his collegues.
Kate caught every word. Instead of feeling intimated by these men, she held her head up high and let her heel click with authority as she walked beside her father.
Harry reached the end of the table and sat down, eyeing the men seated before him. His calm but commanding voice silenced the whispers immediately.
“Good day gentlemen,” he greeted, scanning their faces. “Before we begin today’s agenda, allow me to introduce someone you all know by name but very few of you have met, my daughter, Kate Obisidian.”
Kate let out a smile as she stared at the men who barely looked at her.
Harry sensing the tension in the air added as he leaned back on his chair, his hands folded. “I will be frank and brief with my speech. For years, you all have watched me carrying the burden of pushing the company to greater heights alongside with your combined efforts as well,” he smiled. “But no man carries favors. A true legacy isn’t built on numbers alone but on the people you entrust it to.”
“Kate here is my blood, which is why she is present but most importantly, because I believe she has the mind and the courage to one day lead. Whether she you choose to believe it or not is your decision. But I can assure you that she will prove herself to us all if given the chance.”
“So with that said, I expect the same respect that you all have shown to me to be given to her as well if not for her sake but for mine,” Harry added, his voice hardening slightly.
The shareholders exchanged glances amongst themselves, whispering silently.
“With all due respect, Chairman, isn’t this new development a little bit sudden?” Mr Smith asked, his brows raised slightly. “I mean we all feel that the little miss is inexperienced to manage the company and this is a business not a family game or a training session.”
The shareholders all murmured in agreement with Smith, giving approving nods.
“Indeed, what Smith here is very much valid. We can’t risk our shares for this. She is inexperienced!” Another added.
“Yes! Perhaps, Chairman, if she is well trained and equipped she can come back and then maybe we will be able to accept her.”
Kate listened to them all, her body shook with rage as she watched them underestimate her. She couldn’t help but smile and give a light nod as her father glanced a worried look her way to signify that she was okay. She had expected this already.
“I know you are having deep doubts about me. But I have spent two years studying market voliatility and foreign investment models. I may be new to this table but I can quote the clause that would bury this company in litigation if you proceed with that deal. Should I?” Kate asked, with a smirk on her face.
“We do not need arrogance in this table,” One of them sneered.
Kate shaked her head slowly. “I am not trying to portray arrogance at all. I am trying to show that even if I may look inexperienced to you all, every great leader had a first day and this is mine.”
With that, she leaned back confidently on her seat watching the men gnashed their teeth. Harry stared at his daughter with new found light, his pride surged high.
Harry clears his throat and steers the meeting back to business. “Let’s move on. Our first agenda today is the Darling Habour project.”
One of the older men presented the reports. “Chairman, the costs for this project is extremely very high and we have gotten no returns despite putting in high sums into it. The investors are getting restless already at this point.”
“I think the reason could be the poor location strategy,” Another chimed in.
“That doesn’t mean we should stop,” Another countered. “Let’s keep putting more funds into it. Business is all about taking risks and some risks might involve high rate investments. Many successful business today didn’t stop just because they didn’t get profits early.”
“I suggest we pull out instead. Since the investors are complaining already because of lack of results there is no need to keep wasting time and resources.”
Others still argued on putting more funds into the project while the rest were against and soon, the table was divided and the arguments grew louder.
Kate sits quietly, watching the situation tense up. She remembered in her past life, her father had worked diligently on this project and had followed the words of his shareholders to put in more funds but the company began to run very low on funds that Nathan had used this as leverage into making her father give out the company to him with his promise of going to bring back the company to its original place and this made them completely dependent on the Blackwoods.
Now armed with this knowledge she wouldn’t dare let history repeat itself again!
A calm steady voice soon cuts through the chaos. “Excuse me. Everyone seems to forget that a dead and cut off plants doesn’t grow back just because you continue to water it. Darling Harbour will never yield what we are hoping for. The smart move is to restructure. Cut our losses and reinvest into something with actual demand like renewable energy, or the healthcare sector.”
The room went silent for a minute as the shareholders took in Kate’s advice.
Then, scoffs.
- Writer
