LOVE AMONG THE THORNS

Chapter 1 It was the Harrison Steel General Meeting. The hall was packed and filled to the brim. Shareholders sat side by side. Rear by rear. They occupied every empty seat. Some people's faces were pale. Some were neutral. Some whispered to each other. Andy Harrinson— the company's board chairman entered the room in his charcoaled suit. His expression was calm and calculated. He walked over to the head of the table where twelve other board members were already seated. Julian Harrison followed— the current CEO of Harrison Steel. His face was mean and bold. He sat two seats from Andy. The moderator stepped forward. “Alright ladies and gentlemen, with a standing ovation, let's welcome our notable board members of Harrison Steel industry. Men of impact who had been behind the wheel of this notable industry for up to three decade” A round of applause echoed through the room. The moderator summoned Andy Harrison for a call to order Andy stood and straightened his jacket. His voice was calm and polished “Alright, I want to say a big thank you to everyone present here today. You are highly welcome to the thirtieth annual general meeting of the Harrison Steel industry. I really appreciate you for being part of this journey decades ago.” He paused and stared at the cold faces. “ As the current board chairman of this notable company. I thereby declare the meeting open, and likewise confirmed that the required quorum is presented and the meeting well organized. Thank you.” Applause rippled through the room again The moderator step forward “Alright, that was a powerful opening.” He turned to the board members seated “ We move forward in the program. Join me in welcoming the Chief Financial Officer in person of Mr Robert as he step forward to present the annual account for the year” The hall collapsed in total silence like a one minute prayer for a deceased worker Robert stood from his seat and cleared his throat. “Alright, I welcome everyone seated in the hall. I encourage us to follow me with undivided attention as I present the audited financial statements for the year ended.” Robert scrolled through the annual report, his voice falling and rising like a bad sermon, Revenue here. Cost there. “The operating profit was down by 13% primarily due to some negative circumstances that happened during the year.” “Excuse me?” A cold female voice interrupted from the midseat. The room turned their heads It was Mrs Cath Anderson— Harrison steel's most notable shareholder since two decades ago. She took ownership of the shares after her husband's death five years ago and had been attending every meeting as though it were church meetings. “Yeah, go on Mrs Cath Anderson” Robert's voice adjusted. “How on earth did the company incur a 13% loss on the operating profit? Can you provide a solid reason for that?” “Sure,” Robert nodded. “We will definitely talk about that” He turned sharply to Andy whose heart had left his chest as all eyes turned to him for answers His father's advice echoed in his ear Shareholders are wolves, don't let them smell blood. If they do, they turn back and tear you apart. “Can someone provide an answer? Why are you all muted?” Mrs Anderson voice became tense The room rippled into a murmuring. “Mrs Cath Anderson, I will answer your question” Andy found his voice. He stood up calmly. His expression was calm. The aura he had maintained for decades. He began “As the board chairman of this great company, I'm not going to sugarcoat the two fatal hits we had this year. I'm fully aware how this has raised a concern and cause you all to be confused” He paused and scanned at the worried faces of his shareholder He continued: “The first hit came from Auxery autocomponent, our major client who went bankrupt following a two hundred million debt for steel already delivered. Unfortunately, we didn't hedge against it on time" He paused and cleared his throat. Then continued “Likewise, I personally approve deferred maintenance on one of our plant blast furnaces to cut down cost. But things went wrong against our plan. The furnace broke down, and we needed to shut it down for like four months. This alone brought about a 20% reduction in our production capacity.” The room murmured under their breath “I hereby claim full responsibility for every bit of this” Andy concluded “I knew you can't do this” Abdeesi voice raised again “ This is just your second year as the board chairman and the company had taken a bad turn on its operation” “Mrs Anderson, I understand how you feel right now, but you need to calm down your nerves” Andy's voice echoed. "The board and I are putting plans together to get things back to order” “ What plan are you putting together?" Another angry voice came from the front row. “William was never like this when he was active. He is effective and strategic. He represented the company and its shareholders well enough” Andy stared at the scene in silence. “Andy you were elected as board chairman, you gain dominance and end up feeding up your selfish interest” another shareholder shouted “ Mr Cohen, there is no selfish interest anywhere.” Andy's voice hardened. “Everything that happened was never meant to be, and we have been working on possible measure to restore our operations” “ Andy, do you really understand what we are talking about?” Mrs Anderson added. “The share price reduced by 40% this year alone, with no specific hope of rising anytime soon” Murmuring rippled through the room. My hard earned retirement fund. My pension fund. We are not going to watch you ruin the reputation of this firm. Voices collapsed on one another Andy raised his hand for a call to order “Alright distinguished shareholders, I understand how you feel right now, and I sincerely apologize for any negativity we have brought on your hard earned income" He leaned forward a little bit. “ I promise you, we will get this sorted out as soon as possible. Just trust us with the work” “ Andy, you are not capable of doing the work, we need a new board chairman. Let the board work on that” Cohen protested again. “I second the proposal”, another shareholder added Andy felt a sharp cut in his heart like someone just sliced it into four pieces. He couldn't believe his ears “Why are they resisting everything I'm trying to communicate” He muttered to himself He turned to Julian who had been quiet all along suddenly beaming with a smile on his face. “I have to make them understand, I can't lose this position because of a minor setback. I stayed long enough behind dad to get this position. I can't lose it at this point” He raised his hand for another call to order. The sharp cut came again, this time more tighter like someone had stabbed him from behind until it puffed out from the chest. His hands dropped. He collapsed on the table The hall erupted in chaos as the board chairman of Los Angeles largest steel firm lay unconsciously on the hall table. The ambulance rushed in immediately, the noise of the siren matched with that of curious shareholders. Usher scattered around the room, clearing a path for the dying man to be rescued. Julian was shocked but his expression didn't shake. Every problem brings about an opportunity. Maybe his opportunity was here He jumped into his car and followed the ambulance. The meeting was finally rescheduled for another day to be communicated. ***** The wheel of the stretcher was screaming against the tiles as Andy was driven to the operating room. Paramedics alongside the ER trauma teams were all over him getting things ready with their eyes fixed on the monitor. “ Male 34, collapse at work BP 65 palp heart rate 144, giving aspirin and one round of epi en route” “Cut the clothes off immediately,” a female junior resident said with a calm voice. “Get his blood and test for type and cross” “Pericardial effusion, fluid around his heart” one of the team members responded. “Inform the cardiothoracic surgery of a likely aortic dissection” The residents said The nurse picked the wall phone, her voice echoing through the hospital speakers as she disclosed the situation. Regina immediately dashed off to the operating room as soon as she was informed. Not rushing to avoid panicking but fast enough to respond to an emergency. She bursted into the room, her eyes captured the figure lying unconsciously before her. Handsome and cool despite being on his way to death “Report,” she said sharply. “Male 34, collapsed at work. BP 65. palp heart rate 150, 0.2 sat dropping, fast exam shows tamponade.” "Regina! Can you get this done?" a voice echoed from behind. Dr Harvey— the hospital Chair of Surgery. Regina nodded. “Yeah… I can,” She turned her head back, her mind wondering who the man really was to be taken with so much care. “All the best” Harvey replied and turned to move. He collapsed with Vanessa who bursted in from the entrance “Do all you can to make him survive!” Vanessa's voice was terror. She was the Chief of Cardiothoracic surgery. Two steps higher in rank than Regina. Regina stared puzzled. She couldn't understand the reason for the threatening demand. “Dr Vannesa. To the gallery now!” Harvey yelled back. He turned back to Regina. “Get started immediately, we mustn't lose him and don't be disturbed in any form. Okay!” “Yeah..”